Image Courtesy of FSS Flickr

The Friends Select Jazz Band, a former club, was always an integral part of the Friends Select music department, playing at World Cafe Live, seasonal performances, and musicals. However, for the 2025-2026 school year, the club is officially a class.

With Music Teacher Cutter Mummert, who joined FSS last year, and the increasing popularity of the Jazz Band, members of the Friends Select faculty believed the club had what it takes to be converted to a full-size class. Heather Fortune, the Upper School Music Director, noticed this influx in students. “We finally saw a critical mass of students showing a high degree of commitment to the club,” Heather said. This, along with the club’s numerous performances, were factors that helped the club’s transition to the classroom.

Now, as a class, the Jazz Band has much more time to work on their songs, which eliminates previous problems that affected the Jazz Band as a club. “It was really difficult last year when it was an after-school club… We were lucky to get everyone in the same room on a Friday evening after school.” Cutter said. With strict, regimented meeting times that come with being in a class, Cutter will be able to provide one-on-one time with students. 

Jazz Band will remain relatively the same as its former self; however, with the increased time that comes with being a class, the ensemble can delve into more theory and expand the minds of students musically. “My main goal is to really hone in on traditional standards and really work with everyone on their soloing techniques… having the time to hear everybody and getting everybody on the same page to solo in front of everyone,” Cutter said. The Jazz Band will play more challenging pieces this year and enhance them with solos that reflect the increased time practiced.

Previous members of the Jazz Band club view the change positively. David Ryan ‘26, who is a senior member in the Jazz Band, feels both a weight off his shoulders and excitement for the year to come. “It’s a relief… we often couldn’t flesh out projects in the way we wanted to… I’m excited for the class,” David said. The jazz band repeatedly needed to cut songs from their set list due to time constraints, but as a class, this will no longer be an issue. This year, the band already has an expansive list of music to perform.

As the school year gets in motion, David is optimistic about the future of the Friends Select Jazz Band. “We have a bunch of folks who are really talented and psyched to be in Cutter’s room… I think we have a setup for an awesome year of music making,” he said.