More honors for EWHS at Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival Saturday – My Edmonds News


EWHS Jazz 1 (Photos by Jake Bergevin)

The Edmonds-Woodway High School Jazz Ensemble 1 won the 2019 Sweepstakes Award for Outstanding Jazz Ensemble at the 52nd annual Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, hosted by the University of Idaho’s Lionel Hampton School of Music.

Band director Jake Bergevin noted this was the second straight year that the E-W Jazz Ensemble won the sweepstakes award.

Other EWHS winners announced Saturday include Jai Lasker as outstanding guitarist and the “Four of Hearts” Quartet as outstanding combo in AAA division. The EWHS “20/20” combo was named runner up.

The Saturday awards are in addition to the three EWHS honors announced on Friday.

More than 130 schools and approximately 4,000 students took part in the Lionel Hampton festival, which ended Saturday. The festival featured three days of student competitions and workshops taught by U of I faculty and staff, as well as jazz musicians and educators.