Colfax jazz band will roll to Hood River competition

Jaydan Burt on baritone saxophone and Maddie Cox and Ryan Reynolds on tenor saxophones perform English Folk Tale with the CHS concert band.

Trentin Ensley and Jonjon Kinley play their saxophones with the sixth grade band in the recent Colfax concert.

Colfax High School jazz band will depart Friday to compete Saturday in the jazz competition at Mt. Hood Community College in Hood River, Ore. The jazz band's annual concert will be next Thursday, May 12, after they return from Oregon.

The band will make the trip this weekend after winning the A division of the the Jazz Unlimited competition at Columbia Basin College in Pasco April 16.

The win at Pasco marked the first time the band won the A division since 2006. Another Colfax win went to the band's rhythm section, which received "best section" award for bands playing at the CBC Gjerde Center, one of two sites for the festival competition. All bands in the A and AA divisions played at that site

The jazz band's competition set includes "Sonny's Place," "Here's that Rainy Day" and Count Basie's "Wind Machine."

Sara Whelchel on tenor saxophone and Ryan Reynolds on guitar won outstanding musician on the first number, and Elizabeth Harwood on piano and Abbie Miller on trumpet won honors on the second number. Drummer Austin Ledbetter earned an outstanding musician honor on Wind Machine.