A junior at Steinbrenner High School is organizing a benefit jazz concert to help out a local food pantry.
Steinbrenner’s James Wall is hosting the Eagle Scout Jazz Benefit Concert on April 10 at 4 p.m., at the Messiah Lutheran Church, 14920 Hutchison Road in Tampa.
Admission is free, but attendees are asked to bring a food donation, which will be given to the Kaye Prox Food Bank in Tampa.
(Courtesy of James Wall)
Wall, who has been a Boy Scout since kindergarten, is hosting the traditional jazz concert as part of a service project in his quest to become an Eagle Scout.
“I want to be a musician. I want to major in music. I wanted to do an Eagle Scout project that would pertain to what my career would be like,” said Wall, who is currently in the final rank of Boy Scouts before advancing to an Eagle Scout.
“I felt like this would be a good idea, to help prepare a concert. It’s what I may be doing a lot of times when I go into my career,” the high school junior explained.
For the service project, Wall was able to secure some of Tampa Bay’s top musicians, including longtime pianist Chuck Berlin and bassist John Lamb, a former member of the Duke Ellington Jazz Orchestra.
In booking the longtime musicians, Wall said he met Berlin through a mutual friend, and noted that Berlin and Lamb are also “really good friends.”
“A lot of my family is from New Orleans, and (Berlin) is from New Orleans, so that got us talking a lot,” Wall said.
One of Wall’s classmates, Christian Bianchet, a senior, will be on drums during the concert.
As event organizer, Wall won’t be standing idle during the concert, either. The Steinbrenner student, who has practiced music for more than 10 years, will join in on the jazz session by playing the trombone.
“The trombone is my main instrument,” Wall said, adding that he also doubles on the euphonium. “I like its very mellow tone, and I like its dark sound.”
This won’t be the first time Wall has performed on stage.
He’s currently a member of the Steinbrenner Jazz Band and also plays lead trombone in the Ruth Eckerd Hall Jazz Youth Ensemble.
Wall is still mulling where he wants to study music after he graduates high school.
He’s currently considering the University of California-Berkeley, Florida State University and the University of South Florida.
For more information on the concert, email .
Eagle Scout Jazz Benefit Concert
What: A traditional jazz music concert benefitting the Kaye Prox Food Bank in Tampa
Who: James Wall, trombone; Chuck Berlin, piano; John Lamb, Bass; and Christian Bianchet, drums
Where: Messiah Lutheran Church, 14920 Hutchison Road in Tampa
When: April 10 at 4 p.m.
Other information: Admission is free, but attendees are asked to bring a food item to donation.
Published March 23, 2016
