6th Annual Kentucky Derby Party
Robert Anderson Gallery
Furry Scurry
Terri Jo Jenkins Slays ’Em At DazzleJazz
by Charles C. Bonniwell
Jazz singer/songwriter Terri Jo Jenkins wowed a jam-packed audience at the nightclub DazzleJazz located at 9th and
Lincoln. The event on Sunday night, March 13, was the live introduction of her newest CD release From this Moment. In the audience were local musical luminaries including singer Lannie Garrett. DazzleJazz has been ranked as one of the “Top 100” jazz clubs in the world according to Downbeat Magazine.
Jenkins was backed by what many are calling the best ensemble band in the Rocky Mountain region led by her husband Jeff Jenkins on piano and featuring John Gunther on clarinet and sax and Greg Gisbert blasting it out on trumpet. In addition Mike Mariler was on drums and Ken Walker on bass. Tia Rebolz provided the vocal harmonies.
While Jenkins has done CDs featuring only her original songs, this CD features songs and artists she admires along with a new song of hers, Afternoon Tea. The CD’s title comes from the Cole Porter song she sings on the CD From This Moment On. The theme of the CD is, however, perhaps best exemplified by the first song on the CD by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen Accentuate the Positive:
You’ve got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don’t mess with Mister In-Between
Having sung for her supper since age 5 and occasioned the many ups and downs of life, the simple verities of lyrics she found do have a profound effect on helping to lead a happy and productive life. Jenkins calls herself a Nebraska farm girl being brought up in Venango, Neb., with a dad, Dean Dodson, who was a farmer who loved music, and a mother, Willadean Dodson, who was a classical pianist and a fish out of water in the western Nebraska farming community of Venango.
Willadean channeled her considerable energy into becoming a classic “stage mom” taking Terri Jo and her two sisters around the country hoping to catch the “big break.” They traveled to Los Angeles for The Lawrence Welk Show hoping to be a replacement for the Lennon Sisters who after 13 years on the show were going out on their own. They met Lawrence Welk but he had just signed another sister act so it was back to Nebraska for the Dodson Sisters who would record their first song when Jenkins was 14 years old.
In the intervening years Jenkins has toured the country and abroad as a vocalist, guitarist, and flute player in folk, Americana, New Age and jazz groups. She has done everything from a Joni Mitchell Tribute Show to traveling for the past few summers to France to perform at the Jazz en Vercors festival.
The new CD is very much a family/band affair. The CD was produced by her husband Jeff Jenkins who teaches doctoral students on music theory. The graphics for the CD were done by her guitarist Ken Walker while the painting that graces the front cover is by her daughter Molly Anne Ruhlman who lives in Baltimore. She received a grant for the project from the Boulder County Arts Alliance which had a representative at the gala opening.
To help pay the bills Jenkins also teaches guitar and piano to both adults and children and is deemed one of the top music teachers in the Denver metropolitan area. Those interested in lessons can simply Google “Terri Jo Jenkins – Music Lessons.”
After singing through the CD songs at DazzleJazz the crowd clearly wanted more. After a standing ovation Jenkins came back and belted out an incredible rendition of St. James Infirmary Blues first made famous by Louis Armstrong in a 1928 recording. A happy crowd then filtered out into a warm pre-spring evening lengthened by the coming of daylight saving that Sunday.
Copies of the From this Moment CD can be obtained by going to www.terri jomusic.com. Her email is terrijojenkins@gmail.com and phone 720-320-6254.
Glendale Raptors Rugby Academy Youth Athlete Spotlights Gemma Ryu
by John Arthur
Writer for and on behalf of the City of Glendale
Beginning in April 2016, the Glendale Raptors Youth Rugby programs will transition to the new, more comprehensive Glendale Raptors Rugby Academy. Offering a variety of formats suitable for youth interest at all participation levels, the new program will work not only to promote rugby as a challenging, enjoyable means of pursuing personal growth, but will also provide participants a pathway to becoming players at an elite level.
To highlight the transition, Coach of the Glendale Raptors High School team Robin Roberts spoke about one of the most promising young players in rugby, Gemma Ryu. A high school sophomore playing on the Raptors 7s team, Gemma is a standout not only for her on-field performance, but also for her dedication off the field, as well as her discipline as a multi-sport athlete. Coach Roberts describes Ryu as “very dedicated to learning and improving at all levels. She has a very real passion for the sport and wants to play at the highest level she can.” In the fall season of 2015, Gemma led the 7s team in tackles, tries scored, and in creating turnovers.
Gemma’s dedication has not escaped notice. She has been announced as part of the Girls High School All American pool for 2016. To further improve her skills, Gemma is also in the process of trying out for the Flatirons Rugby Academy Team. The elite, performance and development based squad employs rugby to build life experiences and opportunities, whether at the collegiate, national, international, or Olympic level. In the first round of tryouts Gemma was in the top three for the 20 and 40 meter runs, and scored second highest in the Yo-Yo Test, a test designed to determine the physical endurance of athletes. Though teams have yet to be announced, Coach Roberts reports she is on track to make the A-side squad. Additionally, Gemma is participating in a lifting program with the Glendale coach, improving her back squat and nearly doubling her personal best bench press in just four weeks of training.
Though the power of the Raptors youth programs should not be underestimated, the commitment of athletes like Ryu is beyond compare. Her rugby accomplishments are legion, but the Colorado Academy sophomore is also a member of the school’s swim and track teams, as well as an aspiring triathlete. Outside of sport, she is a member of the school choir and an accomplished pianist. Originally from Chicago, Ryu’s experiences with the landscapes of the Midwest and Colorado have encouraged her to attend a coastal university, though as a sophomore she admits she hasn’t spent much time looking at specific schools. One thing she knows for sure — she wants to attend a college with a great 7s program. Even as a young athlete, Gemma’s outlook on the hard work required to excel is decidedly mature: “One thing I’ve learned from playing for Glendale and being around WPL and PRP champions is that success is never accidental. Seeing how hard all of these players work and all of the time they commit, I know if I want success for my team, I’ll have to do the same.”
Ryu’s success as part of the Glendale Raptors program is phenomenal, but not an anomaly. Two recent graduates, Caitlin Rogers and Grace Chao, have realized considerable achievement in rugby after moving on from the program, highlighting the invaluable foundation the Glendale experience offers.
Rogers, a freshman at Colby University in Maine, is a multi-position player for the school’s Division II rugby team. “In our past season, I became a starting lock, and Colby took third in the NESCRC (New England Small College Rugby Conference). At the end of the season, I was elected Vice President of the Colby Women’s Rugby Football Club, and now we’re practicing for our spring season, which will incorporate both 7s and 15.”
Chao, a former top try scorer and captain of the Glendale squad, attends Harvard University, where she plays alongside another former Glendale High School rugby teammate Maya Learned. Reflecting on her first season of collegiate play and her experience with Coach Roberts and the Raptors, Chao said, “I know for sure I wouldn’t be the athlete I am today without Robin, and this season has helped me realize what an amazing opportunity I had with the program at Glendale.”
Asked to reflect on her experience with the Raptors program, and with the accomplished athletes it has produced, Coach Robin Roberts was full of praise. “These girls all inspire me to work harder and do better to be the best coach I can for them. All I hope is that I somehow make a difference, however slight, in their lives and rugby.” If the success of Gemma Ryu and the Raptors alumni that have preceded her are any indication of the proficiency of the youth rugby programs, the forthcoming Glendale Raptors Rugby Academy, and its participants, will flourish.
