The Maple Grove Jazz Ensemble: A Lyrical Local Gem

Paul Mazzacano’s life has almost never been without music. He started fooling around with music when he was 6; by the time he was 11, he was a professional musician, and by the time he was 15, he was playing with big bands. So, as he puts it, music “has just sort of been my entire life.”
    
Since his youthful debut, Mazzacano has balanced many musical careers from professional musician to composer, professor and conductor. Mazzacano has played with a lot of top rated musical talent including Tommy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett. He worked as a staff conductor and arranger/composer for CBS, NBC and a handful of radio stations. His list of impressive credentials is long and he’s touched many individuals on a global scale, but what he has done for our community has also made an impact.
    
About six years ago, Mazzacano decided to bring jazz to the residents of Maple Grove. He approached the Maple Grove Arts Council with an entire jazz program that included creating a local jazz ensemble and they’ve been playing ever since.
    
It wasn’t all smooth sailing. One of the major challenges the ensemble faced was getting the word out. “For a while, I advertised the ensemble as the best kept secret in Maple Grove,” Mazzacano jokes. The group is composed completely of volunteers and doesn’t have a lot of money for advertising, so its reputation really grew by word-of-mouth from dedicated fans.
    
Laurie Sherman, the bass player for the group, has been with the ensemble since the early days. She started out playing bass in the 5th grade, but stopped after high school– until she saw the jazz ensemble listed in the Maple Grove Parks and Recreation brochure. Without a bass of her own and not having played since high school, she contacted Mazzacano to ask if she could join. She says he “warmly welcomed” her and provided a school bass to play. It was hard starting up again, but Sherman really enjoys the experience. “I play for the fun of it…there is nothing in it for us monetarily, so you have to enjoy playing in order to show up at every rehearsal and every gig you play” she says.
    
Jeff Rudoy, trumpet section leader, agrees that along with being a good time, the ensemble is also good, hard work. “Everybody wants to do a good job and wants to please the crowd and that is the main reason we are around,” he says. Apart from the joy of playing, Rudoy loves that the ensemble has the opportunity to teach the public about jazz. Having played the trumpet for more than 50 years, he appreciates how important it is to please the audience and help them love the music as much as the ensemble does.
    
The group rehearses once a week, but members also spend time practicing on their own. Mazzacano has watched the group grow and is impressed and constantly challenged by them. He says all of the musicians “play at an extremely high professional level and there isn’t anything or any style that they can’t play. They have mastered them all.”
    
What started off as a humble handful has since grown into an ensemble 20 musicians strong, playing music all around Maple Grove and the Twin Cities area. Mazzacano estimates that the ensemble has held about 40 performances and “each one of these has been to a full house, standing-room-only, standing-ovation crowd.”
    
Over time, the Maple Grove Jazz Ensemble has become an impressive representation of the kind of musical talent that exists in Maple Grove. “We are challenged to do better than at our last performance; if our last performance rated a 10 out of 10, you need to match that performance and go further,” says Mazzacano, who adds, “so far we have been able to exceed our expectations every time.”
 
For information about upcoming performances by the Maple Grove Jazz Ensemble, check out maplegroveartscouncil.org or follow the Maple Grove Jazz Ensemble on Facebook.