By Mary O’KEEFE

What could be better than a night of great music played by talented musicians and dancing to songs by Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller? How about adding a chocolate fountain and a lot of fun for all ages. That was last Friday night at Crescenta Valley High School’s Jazz Night at the Café.

The jazz night has been a longstanding tradition at CVHS. CV Instrumental Music Dept. parents, led by Dena Blood, organized the event and the talented jazz band kept the music going all night long.

For local resident Don Urquidez, it was a swing dance memory lane. He was in the CVHS Class of 1973.

“I was in the marching band in 1973. That was the year they marched in the Rose Parade,” he said. “I played B flat tenor and occasionally played alto when they needed one.

Urquidez said he performed when they had events similar to Jazz Night at the Café and he performed every year while at school. Nothing much has changed, he said. It is the same music and was a place where all ages, from grandparents to toddlers, took to the dance floor.

Although he lives just down the street from the school, Urquidez has not been back to the dance since he graduated.

“I saw it in the paper and my friends said they like jazz. So I said, ‘Why don’t we do this?” he said.

Urquidez’s name may sound a bit familiar – Urquidez Avenue is named after his grandfather who used to own a farm and nursery in the area off La Crescenta Avenue.

“It’s kind of neat to come back and see all the changes in the buildings [on campus],” he said.

He added it was fun to come back to Jazz Night at the Café and plans on making it an annual tradition.

  Mary Okeefe