Monterey, Calif.; March 14, 2016; Building on a 27-year history of cultural exchange, the Monterey Jazz Festival is pleased to announce that a group of talented young musicians from Japan, the Tomisato High School “Mad Hatters,” will be visiting the 46th Next Generation Jazz Festival April 8-10 for exhibition performances and a cultural overview of Monterey County, coordinated in partnership with the Salinas Valley Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League.
Directed by trumpeter Masaki Shinohara, a protégé of Wynton Marsalis, the Mad Hatters are recent winners of the East Japanese Jazz Competition. The students begin their stay in Monterey County with a visit to the National Steinbeck Center on Thursday, April 7, where they will meet City Councilmember Steve McShane and other community leaders and their host families, followed by a reception at Patria in Oldtown Salinas, generously hosted by the Japanese American Citizens League. They will also perform at Salinas High School on April 8, and tour Carmel and Pebble Beach prior to the Next Generation Jazz Festival’s Opening Night Judges Concert that evening. The Mad Hatters will also perform twice on Saturday, April 9 in the Monterey Conference Center Pavilion.
Monterey Jazz Festival Managing Director Colleen Bailey remarked, “We look forward to welcoming these talented students from Japan to our area and our festival. And we look forward to seeing them again in July when our Next Generation Jazz Orchestra travels to Japan.”
“We are excited to once again welcome our very dear friends from Tomisato,” said Paul Contos, Monterey Jazz Festival Education Director. “They have hosted us many times during our tours to Japan. The Mad Hatters are superbly directed by Mr. Shinohara, and carry on the jazz legacy by swinging and playing expertly!”
The Mad Hatters and Tomisato High School have a long relationship with the Monterey Jazz Festival. Since 1989, MJF has sent national and local high school all-star bands nearly every year to perform at Monterey’s sister city in Noto, Japan. As the cultural exchange and performance program expanded, the Tomisato Jazz Festival was added to the tour, with additional concerts in Tokyo, Nagoya, and many other cities.
The Mad Hatters have visited Monterey and performed at the Next Generation Jazz Festival in 2008, 2011, and 2013. In 2015, Paul Contos, the Monterey Jazz Festival’s Education Director, visited Japan on a six-day educational and performance tour, where he gave instrumental and improvisational workshops, directed the Mad Hatters, and performed with the High Notes Jazz Orchestra at the Tomisato Jazz Festival.
The 2016 Next Generation Jazz Festival is sponsored by the City of Monterey, and Partners include Alvarez Technology Group, Inc.; AT&T,Gallien-Krueger, Inns of Monterey, Japanese American Citizens League-Salinas Valley Chapter; McGraw-Hill Education, Museum of Monterey,Remo Drumheads, Scheid Family Wines, Yamaha Drums, Yamaha Pianos, and Zildjian Cymbals. Supporters include York School, ACTION Council of Monterey County, Community Foundation for Monterey County, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Harden Foundation,Monterey Peninsula Foundation, Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation, theWilliam and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Monterey Peninsula Volunteer Services, Pacific Grove Rotary Club, Carmel Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Monterey, Yellow Brick Road Foundation, and the Upjohn California Fund.
About Monterey Jazz Festival
Monterey Jazz Festival, a leader in the jazz world since 1958, celebrates the legacy of jazz, expands its boundaries, and provides opportunities to experience jazz through the creative production of performances and educational programs.
About the Japanese Citizens League, Salinas Valley Chapter
Founded in 1929, the Japanese American Citizens League is the oldest and largest Asian Pacific American civil rights organization in the United States. The JACL monitors and responds to issues that enhance or threaten the civil and human rights of all Americans. Members of the organization also work to preserve the heritage and legacy of the Japanese American community.
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For more information, high-resolution pictures and interview requests, please contact:
Timothy Orr
Marketing Associate
Monterey Jazz Festival
831.646.8670
[email protected]
www.montereyjazzfestival.org