Twenty five schools in the county gathered at Sherwood High School this past December to take part in the annual Big Band Jazz Festival. The Whitman Jazz band swept the competition, but one musician stood above the rest.

Junior Andrew Wright was awarded Best Outstanding Jazz Soloist May 26 for his brilliant solo in “Have you Heard” by the Duprees with the Whitman Jazz band at the festival.

“The Jazz band scored well, but the judges throughout the day also picked an overall soloist of the day,” music teacher Terry Alvey said. “He’s a very expressive player. The audience loves him, and they appreciate his talent.”

The Whitman Jazz ensemble is one of the county’s most acclaimed, and Wright is one of the strongest trumpeters in the ensemble. Even after playing the trumpet for five years, Wright was still surprised when Whitman’s supervisor of instrumental music, Rick Penix, presented the award to him.

“Receiving it six months after the festival happened, I was kind of shocked—I didn’t even know it existed,” Wright said.“But it’s also really exciting and I can’t wait until next year because there are many other deserving members in the Jazz band that could win this award too.”

Wright played in the Jazz band as a freshman, even though the band members are usually upperclassmen. Wright always had great potential, Alvey said.

“Normally, we don’t have ninth graders in the Jazz band, but we saw promise in him,” Alvey said. “He does what it takes to practice and be good at what he does; he wasn’t born with it. But it’s been exciting to watch him grow as a musician.”