Chris KornelisWalk! Don’t run! The WMS Jazz Combo and String Ensemble played

Chris KornelisWalk! Don’t run! The WMS Jazz Combo and String Ensemble played Voterra’s Drawing Room Saturday evening as part of Seattle Weekly’s REVERB Festival.Who: Washington Middle School Jazz Quartet and String EnsembleWhen: 5 p.m.Where: Volterra Drawing RoomNOTE: WMS’s music program is funded by Friends of Washington Music, the non-profit beneficiary of REVERB 09 that received five percent of event’s proceeds.Watching the Washington Middle School Jazz Combo and String Ensemble took me back to my awkward junior high days. Oh, to be young and self-conscious, rather than old and self-conscious. What we saw last night were some serious, inspirational players exceeding pay grade by a few notches. (We also saw some of the sharpest bow tie/cummerbund ensembles I’ve seen this side of high school.) The musicians demonstrated a keen understanding of the music on paper, and exhibited some impressive moments of improvisation.