Justin Vernon/Memorial HS jazz concert CD released

Hey, remember last April when Justin Vernon joined Memorial High School’s Jazz Ensemble I for an eight-song set which included adaptations of two Bon Iver songs: “For Emma” and “Lump Sum”?

Of course, you do.

The concert was a fundraising event for Vernon’s alma mater, and now you can get that concert on CD. Yep, that’s right, Bon Iver and/or Eau Claire Memorial High School Jazz I fans, A Decade with Duke is now available. The CD includes two sets of music – Jazz I’s “Essentially Ellington” set and the tunes with Vernon.

The CD is available for purchase only in Eau Claire and only at Brickhouse Music, Morgan Music, and Volume One’s office starting today. But a digital version of the Vernon set is available right now from iTunes, Amazon.com, eMusic, and the like (or will be soon). Proceeds from CD and download sales will be donated to Memorial’s band programs.

Obviously, Vernon’s being a hell of guy with this. Tune your web browser in to our big ol’ web-a-thon event right here on the VolumeOne.org homepage this Friday, Dec. 11 from 1-4pm – where Vernon is one of several guests – and hear what the man has to say about the whole deal.

Here’s the CD’s track list and more about the concert ...

First Set
1. Wind Machine
2. Symphony in Riffs
3. Moon Over Cuba
4. Happy Go Lucky Local
5. Portrait Of Louie Armstrong (featuring Bruce Hering)
6. Bye Bye Blackbird 

Second Set
1. Lump Sum
2. Rocks In My Bed (featuring Addie Strei)
3. Bewitched
4. Miss Otis Regrets
5. For Emma
6. Lady Is A Tramp
7. Since I Fell For You (featuring Mike Noyce)
8. Satisfied Mind

On April 19th, 2009, Eau Claire Memorial Jazz Ensemble I, under the direction of Bruce Hering, invited former Eau Claire Memorial Jazz I alumnus Justin Vernon to perform with them at their annual fund raising concert. The concert was held to raise money for the band's sixth trip to The Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. At the concert, the band performed their Essentially Ellington set, then invited Vernon on stage to sing an eight-song set with them, which included several jazz and blues standards as well as two songs, "Lump Sum" and "For Emma", from Vernon's acclaimed Bon Iver release, For Emma, Forever Ago.

The concert is dubbed A Decade With Duke to commemorate Eau Claire Memorial Jazz I's ten years of involvement in The Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival. Vernon was the guitar player in the first Eau Claire Memorial Jazz Ensemble I to attend the competition back in 1999.

The 2009 Eau Claire Memorial Jazz Ensemble I went on to be named “One of America’s Best Jazz Bands” by ranking third at Essentially Ellington, which earned them the honor of performing onstage at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis, the coveted Essentially Ellington trophy, and a check for $1,000.