Jack Parr doesn’t like to be told what to do. It makes classical music, and following the rhythms someone else wrote, feel like a battle for the West Salem High School musician.Enter: jazz. As soon as Parr stepped foot into the world of improvisation, he was hooked. “I’m writing the music a s I go. That’s part of why I started composing my own music is because I just don’t like being told what to do,” Parr said, and laughed.That disposition, and two original pieces written by Parr, are what helped lead the West Salem Jazz Combo to win the top prize at the State Jazz Championships on Saturday, May 9, a first for the school. The group also took home first at the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival in April.Combo is a separate, and smaller, group than West Salem’s Jazz Band, which placed 3rd in state this year.The combo is entirely student run, with the six members picking their own outfits, and with Parr, currently a junior, leading their practices.  That meant that, ahead of the state competition where a year’s worth of  hard work would be put to the ultimate test, the students spent their final rehearsals playing Frisbee and making up a new song rather than repeatedly playing through their 20-minute nonstop set.  See it liveWant to see the West Salem Jazz Combo play live? The group will be playing along with middle school jazz bands and the West Salem Jazz Band, who finished 3rd in state, at a Friday, May 29, fundraiser. It’s open to the public at Straub Middle School, and features desserts and a silent auction. The show starts at 6 p.m. Tickets are $5, and can be purchased online here. The middle school is located at 1920 Wilmington Ave. N.W.  That’s because, as a jazz combo, being friends is more important than hitting all the right notes. The songs are short pieces of written music followed by the individual players taking turns with improvised solos.  It was new territory for piano player Yuval Pool, a graduating senior and lifelong classical piano player who Parr recruited to fill a vacancy. She said in a joint interview with Parr that jazz was a major learning curve, but that playing with friends made it fun.“In all the groups I’ve been in, this has been my favorite one by a long shot,” Pool said. “When someone’s succeeding and they’re having a good solo, it’s like everyone feels it. And it’s so joyful. When we finished our (state competition) set on stage, I just – that’s like the happiest I’ve ever felt.” Winning state wasn’t a top priority for the players, who just wanted to have fun. It also wasn’t a guarantee. West Salem’s jazz combo, revived after ending amid the pandemic, is only in its second consecutive year. They didn’t make the top three in state last year.Parr inherited the leadership position from his friend, who assembled a group of underclassmen to rebuild the program before he graduated. “He got a bunch of people younger than him, and he’s like ‘Alright guys, you’re in a combo now.’ And I was like, ‘Yes! I love jazz!,’” Parr said.Parr first picked up the saxophone during “band night” as a 5th grader, where students are encouraged to try out different instruments and given a score to guide their choice on what to play. When a teacher told Parr he should pick clarinet, he ignored the direction and chose a saxophone. He first played jazz in middle school, and said that improvisation felt like a place to express himself.Around his freshman year, he started making his own compositions with help from George Fox professor Nathanael Ankeny, who he played with in a Newberg-based jazz combo.“I was writing some song, and it was awful, but I came up with it,” Parr said. “That was my first time trying to write. (Ankeny) taught me that the best thing you can do for your writing is just to keep doing it.”This year, Parr’s original compositions helped the West Salem jazz combo clinch first place in state. “I love the pieces that Jack (Parr) writes. I feel like it’s so much more personal to us,” Pool said. “I think performing with friends is the best gift that I’ve been given. Playing Jack’s music, it’s so fun, because it’s seeing (his) thoughts and feelings come to life.” That included a piece dedicated to the drummer who wanted to play “something weird” with an unusual rhythm. Parr also wrote a ballad from his experience working through anxiety by playing music outdoors on his family’s farm. The ballad was Pool’s favorite to play, and it brought her to tears during the state competition. “I don’t think I can name another group that I’ve, in the same 20 minutes of playing, that I’ve cried, laughed, smiled — it’s so fun. I’m going to miss it so much,” she said.Pool will be heading to the University of Oregon in the fall. She was originally planning to just play classical piano there, but now she’s considering playing jazz.Parr, who will be a senior next year, plans to spend part of his summer building a home for their first-place trophy that sits in the school’s jazz band room. He’ll also be playing gigs throughout the Salem area and releasing his first album. All the songs on it are dedicated to friends and people who have impacted him.He’ll also be preparing for next year’s jazz combo. A few years ago, he said there wasn’t much interest in jazz at West Salem High School.Now, there’s enough interest to potentially have three combo groups compete for the state title next year from the same school.“I don’t take credit,” Parr said.Pool disagreed with him.  “I do feel like you deserve a lot of credit for it. He’s so passionate about jazz, and I feel like it really just affects other people in that way. When you see someone that’s so passionate about something, it gets you excited as well. And all the energy that you put into jazz. It’s admirable,” Pool said. “I know it’s inspired me.” Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251. SIGN UP: Subscribing to Salem Reporter helps sustain in-depth, local reporting that Salem depends on. Invest in your community’s news. Subscribe today. The post Student-run West Salem Jazz Combo takes home first in state contest appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less