Yakubovich a major part of Wheeling's winning jazz program

Only two high schools have played in Jazz in the Meadows festival all of its 30 years - Buffalo Grove and Wheeling - and senior Eugene Yakubovich participated with both.

He played in the Buffalo Grove jazz band his freshman and sophomore years, and then after his family moved, he attended Wheeling High School for these last two years, playing in its jazz band under Director Brian Logan.

And if you count his years at Cooper Middle School in Buffalo Grove, whose jazz program has won Jazz in the Meadows more than any other school - high school or middle school - Yakubovich's passion for jazz becomes clearer.

During the grand finale concert at Jazz in the Meadows, Yakubovich was the last soloist to play in Wheeling's encore performance of "Stella by Starlight," a performance that drew a rare standing ovation from more than 2,000 people.

"Stella" is the Victor Young standard written in the early 1940s and covered by virtually every jazz great. Wheeling's arrangement is by Alan Baylock, that starts with a soft drum solo played by Nikko Gonzalez, before featuring Patrick Ryan on trumpet with Anthony Gonzalez on trombone, as well as two saxophones, played by Lewis Monaxios and Paul Wagner.

The momentum continued to build until Yakubovich and his alto saxophone brought down the house.

"I've never seen or felt an audience react quite that way," Logan said. "We could feel the energy in the room changing as our song progressed. For about the last minute it kind of felt like the place was about to lift off the ground. It was crazy and such a joy."

For Yakubovich, it culminated a love of jazz that began as far back as fourth grade, when he first heard it played.

"When I was first exposed to the jazz world I knew it was going to be my passion and that I would stick with it my whole life," he says. He plans to study music education in college and eventually direct a middle school or high school band program.

He was named Outstanding Soloist in the small combo division at the Rolling Meadows festival, after leading Wheeling's combo to a first place finish, on top of the jazz band's overall Grand Champion title.

A month ago, Wheeling also won first place at the North Shore Jazz Fest at Glenbrook South High School in Glenview. There, Yakubovich shared outstanding soloist honors with his classmates Anthony Gonzalez on trombone and Paul Wagner on saxophone.

At the end of the festival, Yakubovich was named best soloist of the day and he won a scholarship to the Birch Creek Summer Jazz Camp, in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin.

The awards are nice, he says, but it is the performance opportunities and the daily rehearsals with his classmates that he cherishes.

He relishes the memories of their trip last summer to Europe, where the band played in the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the Umbria festival in Perugia, Italy.

"Those were probably once in a lifetime experiences," Yakubovich says. "They were amazing."

Logan credits Eugene's hard work and passion for the jazz medium with helping him improve.

"His work ethic and talent have definitely influenced many others in our program," Logan says. "He is a wonderful soloist and section player in both our combo and Jazz 1 ensemble."

Yakubovich is the leader of Wheeling's combo and the only senior. He not only directs his classmates, but he arranges their music.

"With a combo each person gets to solo a lot more," he says, "and we can communicate between each other fluently, which is one of the amazing parts of a combo."

His love of the medium and how much it has inspired him musically, was just what the two founders of Jazz in the Meadows, Len King and George Southgate, hoped for when they created the festival in 1984.

"We wanted to have a festival that would include clinics, guest artists, and open jams for student improvisation," King says from his retirement home in Arizona. "After the first festival, we knew this was going to be something great."