Princeton High School Studio Band releases album recorded last year at Abbey Road Studios in London

The Princeton High School Studio Band visited the famed Abbey Road Studios in London a year ago. While there, they recorded the newly released full-length album, “Princeton Studio Band: The Abbey Road Sessions.”

The award-winning group of 36 students ranging from freshmen to seniors, along with three vocalists and band director Joe Bongiovi, spent three days in the studio recording a total of eight tracks. The band worked in Studio Two, the same room where the Beatles recorded most of their hits.

Seven of the eight songs on the album are new jazz arrangements of legendary classics from the 1960s to the 2000s that were commissioned for the album. The eighth song is an original jazz fusion composition written by Drew Zaremba for the band. Zaremba is an award-winning writer, conductor, and musician whose work has been performed around the globe.

Highlights include “High Octane,” Zaremba’s high-energy nod to Louis Cole with some Snarky Puppy added in and his soulful arrangement of the Beatles’ “Let It Be” featuring vocal powerhouse Gillian Scott.

The experience gave the students an inside look into the lives of working musicians and the rigor and precision involved in recording a studio album.

‘It’s hard to believe that at this time last year we were having an experience of a lifetime, playing together, traveling together and visiting England’s famous tourist spots,” Bongiovi said.

Digital copies of the album can be purchased from iTunes and Amazon. Physical copies can be ordered from the studio band’s website at www.princetonjazz.org or can be bought at the Princeton Record Exchange on Tulane Street. All proceeds directly benefit the Princeton High School band program. The music is also available for streaming on all the major services. The band has released videos for each song from their recording sessions that are available on YouTube.