Niles North has a long history of outstanding Vocal Jazz performances. Tonight, an annual event will take place that has been a tradition for longer than any students currently attending Niles North have been alive.

The 27th annual Vocal Jazz Night will take place the Niles North auditorium from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. It will feature performances from the three Niles North Vocal Jazz groups, Take One, Soundcheck and Harmonic Motion.

Take One will be the centerpiece of the evening, with a performance that will certainly live up to the lofty standards set by previous years of Niles North vocal jazz. They will perform last.

When asked of his expectations for the evening and his group’s performance, Stephen Decker said “I’m excited to be performing alongside my fellow members of Take One knowing how hard we have all worked on this years Vocal Jazz Night. This performance is one of our biggest and hopefully best of the year, and I’m hoping that we get a lot of support from the school and the community.”

Decker, a junior and member of Take One, is not the first member of his family to participate in the vocal jazz program at Niles North. His older sister, Emma, attended Niles North from 2008-2012 and was a four-year member of Vocal Jazz, performing in both Soundcheck and Take One. Her involvement influenced Decker to join the Vocal Jazz program in his freshman year, and he has not looked back since.

“My sister was and is such a big influence in my life, and she definitely laid the foundation for me to join the Vocal Jazz program. She enjoyed it so much when she was here and she had a great relationship with all the people involved, peers and instructors. I saw the joy and success Vocal Jazz brought her in high school, and so I knew that when I entered Niles North I was going to be involved with the program,” Decker said.

Niles North Vocal Jazz began in 1991 when a new staff member named Daniel Gregerman formed the first group of students dedicated to performing a style of singing known as vocal jazz or “jazz singing.”

Gregerman is still teaching at Niles North, and he leads the program today. The program has found continued success under his leadership, becoming nationally recognized as one of the premier high school vocal jazz programs in the nation. As a testament to his efforts with Niles North Vocal Jazz, Gregerman was awarded the John Laporta Jazz Educator of the Year Award in 2014.

The program has grown at an impressive level, and credit goes to the atmosphere that Gregerman and past members have created.