Blazer Jazz Combo performs at former Blair Assistant Principal Dr. Docca’s retirement ceremony

Blazer Jazz Combo performs at former Blair Assistant Principal Dr. Docca’s retirement ceremony

Photo: The select group of musicians from Blair’s Jazz Ensemble was invited to perform at the ceremony by MCPS (Image courtesy of @blairprincipal)

The select group of musicians from Blair’s Jazz Ensemble was invited to perform at the ceremony by MCPS (Image courtesy of @blairprincipal)

On Nov. 29, the Montgomery Blair High School Jazz Combo attended and performed at longtime Montgomery County Board of Education (BoE) member Dr. Judith Docca’s retirement celebration at the University at Shady Grove. MCPS held the ceremony to commemorate the former teacher, human relations specialist, and assistant principal of Blair who spent 38 years with the county. Docca was also elected to four four-year terms on the BoE and served as the principal of Argyle Middle School. 

The Blair Blazers Jazz Combo is a select group of students from Blair’s Jazz Band who play combo-style jazz at events per the organizer's request. They have played at numerous events including the principal’s lunch, career fair, and Pinecrest Grandparents day. The combo is comprised of 7 members, including junior guitarist Milo Simon, who joined the combo at the end of his freshman year. 

At Docca’s retirement ceremony, the combo performed an hour of jazz, picking repertoire from “The Real Book,” the best-selling jazz book of all time. “We got a 45-minute warmup and then an hour to play so we played for quite a while,” Simon said. 

To any people looking to join the Blair Jazz Combo, Simon recommends starting with Blair’s Jazz Band. “You should definitely join Blair Jazz Band first since Blair Jazz Combo is really the cream of the crop,” he said. 

Along with the Blair Jazz Combo, there was also a performance from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP’s) Afro Academic Cultural Technological Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) vocalist Kevin Dukes.