21 High School Musicians from Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Texas, Virginia,
and Israel Comprise the Festival’s Renowned National High School All-Star Big Band
Two Monterey County Students are in the Orchestra, the First Time Since 2005
Orchestra performs at Folktale Winery in Carmel, July 22
NGJO Makes Two-Week Tour of Japan July 23-August 8, and Performs at the 59th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival
Monterey, CA; June 30, 2016; Monterey Jazz Festival is proud to announce the members of its 2016 Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, the Festival’s internationally-renowned high school all-star big band, featuring the best high school jazz musicians in the country.
21 high school musicians from seven states comprise the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, including California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Texas, Virginia, and Israel. Read the biographies of the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra members.
California musicians include students from Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Los Angeles, Marin, Monterey, Orange, and San Diego counties.
Four members of the orchestra are returning for a second time, including trombonists Jasim Perales (Berkeley High School, Berkeley, Calif.) and Ethan Santos (Buchanan High School, Clovis, Calif.); trumpeter Carlos Ramos (Downey High School, Downey, Calif.); and tenor saxophonist Morgan Guerin (Westlake High School, Atlanta, Ga).
Two Monterey County musicians, trumpeter Akili Bradley of Seaside, and guitarist Isaac de Vera of Monterey, are the first Monterey County students to be accepted in the NGJO since 2005.
Trumpeter Akili Bradley, 17, is a graduate of California Virtual Academies in Seaside, and started playing trumpet in fourth grade. Bradley is a member of the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Orchestra and Combo, MJF’s Monterey County High School All-Star Big Band, the Pacific Grove Jazz Club, and the Monterey Peninsula College Jazz Ensemble, and has traveled and performed in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Portland, and Washington D.C. Akili will continue her studies at California State University Monterey Bay as a Music major.
Guitarist Isaac de Vera, 18, is a graduate of Monterey High School in Monterey. He began playing guitar in the sixth grade, and was exposed to jazz while attending the Monterey Jazz Festival Summer Jazz Camp. Isaac has studied with Bruce Forman and Charlie DeWeese, and has been a member in various ensembles in Monterey including the Pacific Grove Jazz Club, the Monterey Peninsula College Jazz Ensemble, the MJF County All-Star Band, and the Brecker Brother Lab Band. During his senior year, Isaac won multiple awards with the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Orchestra and Combo, including first place conglomerate combo at the 2016 Next Generation Jazz Festival, and two DownBeat Student Awards. He will attend UCLA in the fall of 2016.
The 2016 orchestra will gather in Monterey on July 20 to prepare for the two-week tour of Japan, with a concert at the Folktale Winery in Carmel on July 22.
The Friday, July 22 Folktale Winery concert is at 7pm, and is their only public performance before the orchestra leaves for Japan. Tickets are $25 for General Admission. A special winemaker’s pre-concert dinner option that features Folktale owner Gregory Ahn and food from Tarpy’s Roadhouse five-star chef Todd Fisher is also available for $150, and includes VIP seating for the performance.
The 2016 orchestra will travel to Monterey on July 20 to prepare for the two-week tour of Japan, a West Coast concert in Carmel: at the Folktale Winery on July 22. Leaving for Japan on July 23, the orchestra will perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival in Noto on July 30; the Tokyo TUC Jazz Club in Tokyo on August 3; and the Tomisato Jazz Festival on August 5, with additional concerts and cultural exchange programs scheduled at the Yanagi Gakuen and Teikyo high schools. The orchestra will make also perform at the 10th Jazz Legends Gala honoring Quincy Jones at the Inn at Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach, Calif. on September 15, as well as the 26th annual free noontime “Concert for Kids” at the Monterey County Fairgrounds at the Garden Stage that same day. The orchestra will appear on the Jimmy Lyons main stage at their traditional Sunday appearance at the 59th Monterey Jazz Festival on September 18 with 2016 Artist-In-Residence, Terri Lyne Carrington.
Created in 1971 as a part of Monterey Jazz Festival’s continuing commitment to jazz education, members of the orchestra are selected through an application and audition process during the Festival’s Next Generation Jazz Festival each spring. Former members of the orchestra include professional musicians such as pianists Benny Green and Patrice Rushen, bassist Larry Grenadier, drummer Chad Wackerman, saxophonists Joshua Redman, Donny McCaslin, Eric Marienthal, Ted Nash, Mark Turner, and Dave Koz; trombonist Andy Martin, trumpeters Gilbert Castellanos, Ambrose Akinmusire, and big band leader Gordon Goodwin to name a few. In the past, the band has been under the leadership of Ladd McIntosh, Don Schamber, Benny Golson, Bill Berry, and many others. Monterey Jazz Festival’s Education Director, Paul Contos, the renowned saxophonist and flutist serves as the director of the orchestra and presents the ensemble with some of the most challenging big band repertoire available.
The orchestra has also performed at jazz festivals and venues around the world including the North Sea Jazz Festival (Rotterdam, The Netherlands); Montreal Jazz Festival (Montreal, Canada); Umbria Jazz Festival (Perugia, Italy); International Music Festival (Dubrovnik, Croatia); Jazz at Lincoln Center (New York City, New York); and many others on three continents.
Monterey Jazz Festival invests over $500,000 annually in its education program which includes jazz clinics in schools, a Summer Jazz Camp, the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, and more.
Tickets for the 59th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival, September 16-18 are available by phone at 888.248.6499 and online at montereyjazzfestival.org.
About Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival celebrates the legacy of jazz, expands its boundaries, and provides opportunities to experience jazz through the creative production of performances and educational programs.
2016 NEXT GENERATION JAZZ ORCHESTRA MEMBERS
Director – Mr. Paul Contos
WOODWINDS
Matt Richards, alto / Las Lomas High School, Walnut Creek, CA
Aviv Blum, alto / Sudbury Democratic School, Jerusalem, Israel
Morgan Guerin,** tenor / Westlake High School, Atlanta, GA
Michael Schwartz, tenor / Redwood High School, Larkspur, CA
Adam Band, baritone / Bullard High School, Fresno, CA
TROMBONES
Ian Kaufman / Mt. Carmel High School, San Diego, CA
Jasim Perales** / Berkeley High School, Berkeley, CA
Ethan Santos** / Buchanan High School, Fresno, CA
Jack Kotze / Lincoln-Way North High School, Frankfort, IL
Joshua Hernandez (bass) / J. M. Hanks High School, El Paso, TX
TRUMPETS
Carlos Ramos** (lead) / Downey High School, Downey, CA
Erik Ondrejko (asst. lead) / Denver School of the Arts, Denver, CO
Geoff Gallante / West Potomac High School, Alexandria, VA
Evan Abounassar** / Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Los Angeles, CA
Akili Bradley / California Virtual Academies, Seaside, CA
RHYTHM
Luca Mendoza, piano / Crossroads School, Santa Monica, CA
Isaac de Vera, guitar / Monterey High School, Monterey, CA
Max Schwartz, bass / Berkeley High School, Berkeley, CA
Julius Rodriguez, drums / The Masters School, White Plains, NY
Benjamin Ring, drums / Piedmont High School, Piedmont, CA
Abigail Berry, vocals / Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Los Angeles, CA
** 2-year NGJO member
2016 Tour Dates
07.22: Folktale Winery, Carmel, Calif.
07.23: Depart for Japan
07.26: Yanagi Gakuen School, Awaji Island, Japan
07.30: Monterey Jazz Festival in Noto, Nanao, Japan
08.02: Teikyo High School, Itabashi, Japan
08.03: Tokyo TUC Jazz Club, Tokyo, Japan
08.05: Tomisato Jazz Festival, Tomisato, Japan
09.15: 10th Annual Jazz Legends Gala, Pebble Beach, Calif.09
9.15: 26th Annual Concert for Kids, Monterey County Fairgrounds, Monterey, Calif.
09.18: 59th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, Calif.
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For more information, bios, interview opportunities, and high-resolution pictures, please contact:
Timothy Orr, Marketing Associate, Monterey Jazz Festival
Direct Line: 831.646.8670
MJF Phone: 831.373.3366
timorr@montereyjazzfestival.org
www.montereyjazzfestival.org
MJF59 Partners include: Alaska Airlines, AT&T, Cal Humanities, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; DownBeat, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Inns of Monterey, The Jazz Cruise, Jazziz, JazzTimes, KAZU 90.3FM, KSBW/Central Coast ABC, Mission Linen, National Endowment for the Arts, North Coast Brewing Company, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Scheid Family Wines, SmoothJazz.com Global, Yamaha Drums, and Yamaha Pianos.
Monterey Jazz Festival Education programs are sponsored by: Arts Council for Monterey County, the Carmel, Pacific Grove and Monterey Rotary Clubs; Community Foundation for Monterey County, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, Harden Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Monterey County Gives, Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Pebble Beach Company Foundation, Quest Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, William H. Donner Foundation, Bill Graham Supporting Foundation, Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation, Monterey Peninsula Volunteer Services, Yellow Brick Road Foundation, and the Upjohn California Fund.