Monday night, jazz musicians of all different abilities came together to bring music to the community. For almost two hours in the evening, Brentwood Middle School’s Jazzmanian Devils, Greeley West High School’s jazz musicians, and the John Mills Orchestra performed a variety of pieces at Gourmet Grub.

The Brentwood jazz band kicked the night off with their own four-piece set. West’s jazz band followed with a four piece repertoire comprised of two swing charts, a Latin piece, and a funk-rock tune. The West performance featured solos from a variety of musicians including a saxophone solo from senior Jonathan Arthur, a trombone solo by junior Jasmine DeMeyer, a piano solo by junior Autumn Truitt, and a guitar solo by freshman Liam Garcia. “It was a struggle,” said freshman trumpet player Tanner Elder, “but it helped us realize that more practice would help.”

Following West’s performance, a local professional band, John Mills Orchestra, took the stage with a compilation of pieces made up of primarily jazz tunes.

The centerpiece of the night was a piece called “Faith” from the animated film Sing. A mixture of middle school, high school, and professional musicians took the stage to end the night on a good note. “It definitely made you pick your head up and end on a good note,” Elder said, “it left both bands feeling good about the combined piece”.

For a single night, musicians of differing abilities and experience came together to bring jazz to Greeley. Although there were bumps in the road for West musicians, “it was a good stepping stone towards where we want to be,” Elder said.