The con­tem­po­rary big band pro­gram at Foothill Com­mu­ni­ty Col­lege appears to be end­ing it’s long run, falling vic­tim to the sad econ­o­my. Under the baton of John Gove, the bands attract­ed many of the bay area’s first call play­ers as well as pro­vid­ing a friend­ly envi­ron­ment for up and com­ing stu­dents. Con­tem­po­rary music was the key. From Jim McNeely to Maria Schnei­der to Thad Jones to obsure Duke Elling­ton pieces and also local com­posers such as Ray Brown. I lis­tened to my wife Lori prac­tice the most bizarre trom­bone and piano parts and picked up quite an edu­ca­tion by proxy. While oth­ers record­ed their end of semes­ter con­certs, I start­ed tak­ing pic­tures and have put togeth­er a col­lec­tion. Click here or any of the pic­tures below to go to the full gallery.