PRAIRIE JAZZ BAND ONE

Kelli Swehla, Director | Featuring Jim Dreier*, Congas

MOFONGO DE MAMA (Michael Philip Mossman)

Saxophone: Riley Kruse, Hailey Asbe, Matthew Urich, Carlie Robertson, Sophia Johnson, Takeshi Fottral

Trumpet: Michael Barton, Joseph Weimer, Michael Till, Sam Neira, Mackenzie Baustian

Trombone: Jonathan Reu*, Michael Davis, John Hynek, Adam Schwertfeger

Piano: Chase Beightler* | Guitar: Yuri Ishihara | Bass: Claire Cornelius

Drums: Benjamin Hollinger* | Auxiliary Percussion: Dexter Quanrud

About Prairie Jazz Band One:

Prairie High School Jazz Band One is in its second year of direction by Prairie alumna Kelli Swehla. They’ve competed at the Liberty Jazz Festival, Coe College Jazz Summit and District Jazz Festival this year. In addition, JBO received their 26th consecutive Division I rating at the State Jazz Band Festival in January.

About Jim Dreier:

Growing up in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Jim Dreier had to largely teach himself, because there were too many snare drum players at his high school. But this didn’t stop him playing professionally in rock and soul bands as a young man. He would tell you that hearing the music of Carlos Santana as a teenager would kindle an interest in Latin rhythms, which would then become the hallmark of his career. That passion would be fueled when he arrived at the prestigious Berklee College of Music at the same time as Berklee’s very first Latin percussion instructor. Later, as a grad student at the University of Iowa, he would tour and study with Brazilian pianist Rafael Dos Santos.

Jim was a founding member of the Iowa based-Latin/jazz group Orquesta Alto Maiz. He now leads his own Latin jazz group Ritmocano. He has not slowed down a bit since retiring from the UI faculty. He also performs with the Beaker Brothers and a new Blues group, The Fabulous Tru-Tones, as well as keeping busy as a clinician and mentor to the hundreds of students he has taught.