2 Jazz Concerts at Mt. San Jacinto College

"I am tasked to tell the story of the Army to America," says trombonist-vocalist Jeff Adams, a Hemet native who performs with the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors.
A musician for the U.S. Army, Jeff Adams has played for audiences from all over the country. On Saturday and Sunday, he will be playing at Mt. San Jacinto College for people from his hometown.

Adams, 42, is a trombone player and vocalist for the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors, a prestigious band based in Fort Meade, Md., outside of Washington.

He spends about 100 days each year, traveling around the country to tell local communities about the Army through music.
"I am tasked to tell the story of the Army to America," Adams said. "To put a human face and touch to the Army uniform."

Adams graduated from Hemet High School in 1985, received a bachelor's degree from Cal State Long Beach in commercial music and taught at high schools in the San Jacinto Valley in the mid 1990s.

This weekend, Adams will be playing with the MSJC Golden Eagles Big Bands directed by Bob Waner, who was Adams' music teacher and the person who introduced him to the trombone in elementary school.

"He was one of the students who did everything I asked him to do," Waner said. "And it paid off. He turned out to be a great musician."

Some of the music Adams and the Golden Eagles plan to perform include "Fly Me to the Moon" and "It Had to be You."

As a part of his visit back home, Adams has been conducting band clinics at high schools in Hemet and San Jacinto this week.

Though Adams is not foreign to talking to students about music and the Army, he said it's nostalgic to visit the schools where he once learned and taught.

"I want to paint a realistic picture of being a musician for the kids," Adams said. "It can be really tough. And you have to hustle. But the payoff is very rewarding."

The concerts are set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the theater of Mt. San Jacinto College, San Jacinto Campus, 1499 N. State St.

Tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for seniors, $5 for students in the college's Associated Student Body and free for children under 18. Reservations: 951-487-3790.
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