For the last jazz band performance of the 2024-25 school year, all of West High’s jazz bands performed downtown as a part of the “Friday Night Concert Series” hosted by Summer of the Arts in downtown Iowa City.

The concert opened with West Liberty’s jazz band. Afterwards Jazz Lab, West’s lowest jazz band, played their set. They played “Six by Six,” “MA’s Que Nada,” “Just a Minor Thing,” and “Jammin at Rockos.” Solos were played by Kazu Goto ‘28 on trombone, Eric Brofitt ‘28 on trombone, Connor Wagner ‘28 on tenor saxophone, Micah Blackley ‘28 on bari sax, Kate Johnson ‘27 on trombone, and Thaniel Rent ‘28 on trumpet.

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Jordan Smith

Jazz Lab begins their set at the Friday Night Concert Series on May 23.

Then, Jazz Collective, West’s middle jazz band, played their set. They played “Come Fly with Me” by Frank Sinatra, with Eli Asper ‘25 singing. Then they played “Makin’ Whoopee” by Frank Sinatra, with a trombone feature by Michael Shonrock ‘25. Afterwards, they played “Little Suede Shoes,” “Orange Sherbert,” and “I’m Not So Sure.” Solos were played by Siddharth Venkatesan ‘27 on tenor sax, Maddux Neukirch ‘27 on alto sax, Sam Weitz ‘26 on trombone, Michael Shonrock ‘25 on trombone, Lydia Cruce ‘27 on trombone, Addison Long ‘25 on trombone, Gwen Smith ‘26 on trombone, Lea Abou Alaiwa ‘27 on trumpet, Michael Hanna ‘28 on trumpet, and Eli Asper ‘25 on trumpet.

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Jordan Smith

Jazz Collective begins their set.

At the end of the night, Jazz Ensemble, West’s top jazz band, played their set. They played “Sabor de Cuba,” “Big Dipper,” “Michelangelo,” “Moanin,” “Strut,” and “Sing Sang Sung.” Solos were played by Sam Abdel-Malek ‘25 on trumpet, Grace Wang ‘27 on trombone, Anjali Lodh ‘25 on trumpet, Henry Lawler ‘27 on trombone, Sean Kearney ‘26 on piano, Waylon Houchins-Witt ‘25 on trumpet, Claire Lawler ‘25 on alto saxophone, Genna Ray ‘25 on bari sax, Alice Goobler-Perovic ‘27 on trombone, Kobi Nott ‘26 on trumpet, Nathan Butler ‘27 on tenor saxophone, Colin Wehrle ’27 on alto saxophone, Solomon Schafer ‘26 on bass, Derick Doresca ‘26 on drums, Caleb Davies ‘26 on clarinet and Oliver Miller ‘25 on drums. “Moanin’” featured Ray on the bari sax, “Strut” featured Orhon on the bass trombone and “Sing Sang Sung” featured Lawler on the clarinet.

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Jordan Smith

Jazz Ensemble begins playing their set.

Even though the 2024-25 jazz season is coming to an end for the West High jazz bands, make sure to stay tuned for the final performance by West High’s Wind Ensemble at graduation on June 1.