The Saint Paul’s Jazz Wolves is a band that plays many killer songs from the past with each song having its own catchy groove. The Jazz Wolves, directed by Saint Paul’s instructor Lacy Blackledge, began their season on Nov. 6, 2024, and are ready to have another successful year.

The two central performances the Jazz Wolves perform at are the Luminaries Christmas Concert and the annual Spring Concert.

The Jazz Wolves successfully performed six Christmas standards at Luminaries: “Christmas Time Is Here,” “O Holy Night,” “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” ”I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day,” ”In The Mood,” “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch,” ”Sleigh Ride,” and “White Christmas.”

Now, the Jazz Wolves will focus on the next major event: the Spring concert.

The Jazz Wolves perform at four or more concerts every year, and each concert starts off the same, with the band warming up while the audience takes their seats. Once the audience takes their seats, the concert begins with the band’s signature song, “Jazz Wolf Blues,” written by Blackledge. After that, the band starts playing the featured songs of the night.

Last year, the Jazz Wolves performed at four concerts: the Luminaries Christmas concert, the Bill Evans Festival, Saint Paul’s Crawfish Cook-Off, and the Spring Concert.

At the rest of the concerts aside from Luminaries, the Jazz Wolves played three jazz standards last year: “Jordu,” a jazz standard produced by drummer Max Roach, “A Night in Tunisia,” a song produced by famous trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and professional pianist Frank Paparelli, and “Feels so Good,” a song by Chuck Mangione.

The second concert of the year was the Bill Evans Festival. During this concert, the band performed for an audience and judges. 

The third concert of the year was Saint Paul’s Crawfish Cook-Off. The Jazz Wolves played alongside the rock band (another band directed by Blackledge) and the Combo (a smaller jazz band filled with the best musicians from the Jazz Wolves).

The final concert of the year was the annual Spring Concert. The Jazz Wolves performed alongside the Concert band, which is the whole Saint Paul’s Marching Wolves band directed by Andrew Moran, with Blackledge assisting.

Many people have heard about the Saint Paul Marching Wolves; however, not many people know about the Jazz Wolves. The Jazz Wolves is comprised of 28 students.

Not only is there the Jazz Wolves, but there is also the Combo. The Combo is a smaller band with the best musicians from the Jazz Wolves. The Combo’s songs are usually filled with challenging songs and groovy solos from each person. 

Last year, the Combo played three jazz standards – “Strasburg St. Denis,” “Magnum Force 3/24,” and “Freddie Freeloader” – at three different concerts last year.

The Jazz Wolves play a variety of instruments, including woodwinds (saxophones and clarinets), brass (trombones, trumpets, and baritones), and chordophones (guitars). In addition, there is a good chance that every instrument will have an improvisational style solo, which is a staple of professional jazz music.

After a successful showing at Luminaries, the Jazz Wolves expect to continue to impress many concertgoers at three more major concerts this school year.