While you sleep in on Wednesday mornings, jazz is ringing through the rafters of Liberty High School. For a select group of singers, normal just isn’t enough. The group known as the “Phat Jazzers” is much more than only a jazz choir. The room is a place for members to try new things and have new experiences. The choir performs at every concert, usually doing about four to seven songs that they have prepared.
Other than only performing during concerts at school, the Jazz choir also carols every year at the Nutcracker at McCaw hall.
“The Pacific Northwest Ballet puts on the show and for the past several years we’ve gone and sang carols before and during intermission,” senior Naira Jain said.

This December tradition started a few years back for the Jazz choir.
“Caroling at the nutcracker was a lot of fun. It was a new experience for me, both the caroling and the nutcracker,” sophomore Logan Harris said. “When you have a good group and a group that appreciates caroling, it’s awesome.”
While the singers all depend and support one another, they all respect and look up to one very important member of their choir: Mrs. Wood.
“She’s like a mom to us. She’s so passionate and so caring about what she does that she inspires us to be the best version of ourselves that we can be,” Jain said.
Mrs. Wood shows them how to be the best person they can be and shows them how to go past their limitations.
“The other kids and Mrs. Wood have helped me become more confident in my singing,” Harris said.
Another festival they have coming up is the annual Demiero Jazz festival.
“The Demiero Jazz festival was founded by a famous jazz musician named Frank Demiero, and it is where choirs work with people and get feedback. There are workshops and overall it’s a super cool experience,” Jain said.
The festival is being held on March 6th in Edmonds.
Although Jazz choir sounds like a lot, the group of kids have learned to face tasks together and work as a team rather than just individuals.