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FACULTY |
| Mario Armstead |
| Bill Bell |
| Gary Brown |
| Julia Chigamba |
| India Cooke |
| Bill Crossman |
| Ronnie Daliyo |
| Angela Dean-Baham |
| Lloyd Gregory |
| Anthony Hernandez |
| Ajayi Jackson |
| Babatunde Lea |
| Hector Lugo |
| Monico Ben Luis |
| Dr. Gregory Mertl |
| River McGhee |
| Branice McKenzie |
| Holly Bennett |
| Sandra I Noriega |
| Viola Pellegrini |
| Sandi Poindexter |
| Mela Amaiya Saunders |
| Walter Savage |
| Steven Turner |
| Angela Wellman |
| Mark Wright |
| Barbie Wong |
| Carlos Zialcita |
|
Founding Director, Dean
Trombonist Angela Wellman, hailing proudly from Kansas City, Missouri, has performed with the McCoy Tyner Big Band, Joe Williams, Al Grey, Slide Hampton and other noted musicians. From 1991-94, Angela was a California Arts Council Artist in Residence, during which time she designed and implemented a Jazz Studies Curriculum for Cole Visual and Performing Arts Magnet School in Oakland, CA. In 1997, she was awarded a Master’s degree in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. She subsequently returned to the Bay Area, and served as the Education Director for the Oakland Youth Chorus where she developed award-winning community music education programs. Ms. Wellman is a recipient of national, state, and city Arts awards and fellowships for performance study and music education. Among these awards is the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Study Fellowship to study with trombonist Steve Turre. Raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Ms. Wellman was nurtured in a musical family, and is a third generation jazz musician and music educator. She grew up listening to the stride piano style of her grandfather, her father's swinging ballad & blues piano, and the soul-stirring songstylings of her mother, Jyene Baker. Angela inherits her passion and understanding for the preservation of musical traditions through education from her uncle and mentor, Eddie B. Baker, Sr., founder of the Charlie Parker Memorial Foundation & Academy for Performing Arts and the International Jazz Hall of Fame. Angela's initiation into the world of Jazz as a player began while hanging out at sessions at the famed chitlin' circuit Local 626, the once–Black musicians' union in Kansas City, and now sanctuary for the spirits of jazz pioneers such as Ernie Williams (The Last of the Blue Devils), Count Basie, Charlie Parker, and countless others who got their start in that very place. Angela performs and teaches throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. Her band, New Roots, performs spirited, contemporary music, creating new forms, styles, and roots in the Jazz tradition.
Sandra I. Noriega
Bachelor of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music Sandra I Noriega received a full scholarship to the San
Francisco Conservatory of Music, becoming the first woman to graduate with a
degree in Percussion Performance from both the Conservatory in 1983 and CSU East
Bay, where she earned her master's degree in 1985. Sandra held a tenured
position as Principal Timpanist with the Women's Philharmonic from 1981 to 2004,
and has been honored on numerous "Who's Who" lists. She has recorded four
CDs with the Women's Philharmonic on the Koch International label.
Sandra also conducts the Bay Area Asian Children’s Percussion Ensemble, an
outreach program of the Wisdom Culture and Education Organization. In
addition, she has recently become founder and Music Director of the Oakland
Public Conservatory of Music’s Youth Symphony, Chamber Orchestra, Community
Concert Band, in addition to the Percussion Ensemble. In 2005, she became
the founder and director of The Bay Area Women’s Percussion Troupe, a
professional group dedicated to highlighting and promoting the presence of women
in the field of Percussion Performance. In 2008, Ms. Noriega completed an
intensive Post-Master's Studies Program receiving a Professional Certificate in
Instrumental Conducting at California State University, Sacramento.
Ajayi Jackson is one of the California Bay Area's most talented and rounded musical artists. He is a multi-instrumentalist with an uncommonly diverse and broad scope of expertise. Mr. Jackson tours internationally, working as a bassoonist, African percussionist, trap drummer, pianist, and composer. This Bay Area native has certainly broken the mold as he has accomplished what no other musician ever has, exemplifying such high degrees of excellence in several genres of music with such diverse instrumentation. He began his international career in Europe at the age of twelve as a classical bassoonist and shortly there after as a pianist in Japan, performing his own compositions. He has worked with some of the most talented musicians of our time such as Prince Lashaw, Omar Sosa, and John Santos, to name just a few. Mr. Jackson has also worked with several esteemed dance companies such as Dimensions Dance Ensemble (Zimbabwe Tour 2001 / CubaTour 2003), Ashe Dance Collective (N.Y.C. Suga Cula Wata), and Traci Bartlow and Dancers (Bay Area HipHop Theatre Festival 2005 / Malcolm X Jazz Festival 2004/5). With a BFA in classical bassoon performance from Cal State Hayward, this self-defined jazz musician has his hands and many instruments in several places. When not on tour performing on one or several instruments, he contributes to his community through arts education, and has an extensive background in the fields of African and African Diaspora arts education as well as music theory and analysis. Whether you see him on stage with artists such Marc Joseph Bamuthi (Word Becomes Flesh / Scourge), in the class rooms of Oakland's inner city schools, or hear his performances on the radio with Jazz artists Idriss Akamor or Hip Hop artist Zion I or Folk artist Hyim, Mr. Jackson is always a pleasure to experience and quite the honor to behold. Bill BellJazz Studies
Bill Bell's performance career as a pianist is equally distinguished. He has toured as musical director and piano accompanist for legendary jazz singer Carmen McRae. He has also worked with Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson, Anita Oday, Dianne Reeves, Lou Rawls and the Supremes. His credits also include work with instrumentalists Milt Jackson, Kenny Burrell, Louie Bellson, Benny Carter, and Clark Terry. Bill Bell is also the featured pianist on the Art Farmer CD "Live at Stanford". His current CD entitled "Just Swing Baby" has hit the San Francisco bay area jazz scene with a blast of long awaited freshness. Bill is accompanied by swing masters Eddie Marshall on drums and Jeff Chambers on bass. Guitarist Brad Buethe, bassist John Shifflet, and drummer Jason Lewis perform on the featured composition "Charisma". Stellar tenor Saxophonist David Ellis is special guests on three tracks. "Just Swing Baby " is currently number 15 on jazz radio playing list.
Dr. Gregory Mertl
Gregory Mertl has received commissions from the Phoenix Symphony, the Tanglewood Music Center, the Fairbanks Symphony, Richard Killmer, ASCAP/the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Chamber Music Festival of the East, and the Big Ten university wind ensembles. Recent awards include the Chicago Symphony’s First Hearing Award, a 1998 Tanglewood Composition Fellowship, and three ASCAP Foundation Grants to Young Composers in 1996, 1997, and 1998. At Tanglewood, he had the tremendous privilege of studying with Henri Dutilleux and Mauricio Kagel. Orchestras such as the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic (through ASCAP’s Millennium Commission in honor of the Aaron Copland Centenary) premiered his works. Other projects included composer-in-residence at the Chamber Music Festival of the East at Bennington College in Vermont in August 2001 and the Phoenix Symphony premiere of Pandora’s Beethoven-Box in January 2002. In recent years, his compositions have been performed at the 1999 International Double Reed Society Conference in Madison, WI, the Festival du Moulin d’Andé in France in 2001, the University of Illinois, the University of Alaska, Colgate University, the Eastman School of Music, and Yale University. In 2002 his music reached audiences in Honolulu, Boston, Rochester, France, Singapore and Taipei, Taiwan. Performances in 2003 and 2004 included Princeton, Hamilton, Colgate and Northwestern Universities, Eastman School of Music, Weill Recital Hall in New York and a French premiere by cellist Xavier Phillips on the France Musique radio station. He has worked frequently with choreographer Augusto Soledade and Brazz Dance Company. Stable Flux, one of their largest collaborations, premiered at Smith College in April, 2001 and subsequently in Salvador, Brazil. Awarded by the symphonic wind ensembles of the Big Ten Universities, the Big Ten Band Commission received its premiere in April 2003. The score, entitled Love, Play On, won third prize in the Harelbeke International Wind Ensemble Composition Competition in Belgium. 2005 winter concerts included four performances of Lover Calls in Florida and a Canadian premiere in January, a radio program on Vermont Public Radio on February 12th with live performances and, in March, a song cycle at Towson University in Baltimore. Subsequent performances occur in Taiwan and China in June. 2005-2006 commissions include a concerto for piano and winds for Taiwanese pianist Solungga Liu and a consortium of ensembles in the US and Europe, a work for the Ostrava Oboe Festival, and a cello concerto for the French cellist Xavier Phillips. He holds his undergraduate degree from Yale University and master’s and doctoral degrees in music composition from the Eastman School of Music. Acoustic & Electric Bass
Born into a family of musicians Gary Brown's inevitable musical career began at an early age. By his eleventh birthday Gary was already performing in jazz bands with his two brothers and his father, jazz trumpeter Wilbert Brown. Gary went on to form his own bands and develop a talent and reputation as a skilled and versatile bassist. While enrolled in San Jose State University's Art/Design program Gary came to realize that music was his true calling and made the decision to make it his life and his career. After leaving school he continued to study privately with the renowned Skip Parnell, a teacher and lecturer from the esteemed Philadelphia Academy of Music. In the past 20 years Gary has toured extensively in the United States, Europe, Asia ,South America and the Middle East where he has recorded and shared the stage with Flora Purim & Airto, Pharaoh Sanders Jeff Beal, Steve Winwood, Narada Michael Walden, Dianne Reeves, Lou Rawls , Ernie Watts, John Lucien, Torninho Horta , Eddie Henderson , Joyce, Alex Acuna, Dori Caymmi, George Duke, Roy Ayres ,Oscar Castro Neves , Lyle Mays, Giovanni Hidalgo, Mike Shrieve, Paul McCandles, Alphonse Mouzon, Andy Narrell, Pete and Sheila (Sheile E.) Escovedo, Jose Neto Quartet. As a member of Terra Sul he composed and co-produced on their CD "Kindness of Strangers" (Motown jazz label MOJazz). In addition to the co-writing and arranging Gary also shares a producer credit with drummer Celso Alberti for recording artist Zaza's ambitious CD "Book of Kings". Gary is one of the three members of Pray for Rain, a film and soundtrack production team whose credits include Sid & Nancy, Straight to Hell, Trust Me, Zandalee (with Judge Reinhold and Nicholas Cage) and The Linguini Incident (starring David Bowie). Their projects include work with famed Parliament keyboardist Bernie Worell on the movie Car 54 Where Are You? and the theme and dramatic underscore for the Fox television series Key West. They continue to compose underscore for various projects for the major cable networks including HBO, Lifetime, Showtime and Cinemax, as well as for the major television networks ABC, NBC and CBS. Currently dividing his time perfoming with Flora Purim & Airto, Anamandara Trio and the Rebeca Mauleon Group, a The Claudia Villela & Ricardo Piexto Group .Gary continues to compose, perform and produce with various artists and is writing music for his first solo project Back to faculty page
Babatunde Lea is a Bay Area percussionist, and an established session musician. He has forged a career steeped in the rhythms of the Motherland of Africa and its Caribbean & South American Diaspora. Lea was raised in New York and Englewood, New Jersey, but in the late 1960s migrated westward to the Bay Area, where he was further immersed in global rhythms, courtesy of such affiliations as fellow percussionist Bill Summers’ (The Headhunters; Los Hombres Calientes) visionary ensemble Bata Koto. ‘Tunde, as he is known to intimates, has also drawn immeasurable experience working with such singular stylists as Leon Thomas, Pharaoh Sanders, Stan Getz, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Van Morrison, Oscar Brown, Jr., and a host of others. Lea’s cultural quest doesn’t end at the bandstand. Since 1993 he and spouse Dr. Virginia Lea have operated the Educultural Foundation, a Bay Area youth education operation that through a variety of programs immerses students and schools in global rhythms primarily from Africa and the Caribbean Diaspora. “The Educultural Foundation is something my wife and I put together to sow seeds of change and be agents of change, trying to better ourselves and our communities. We teach critical thinking about social and cultural issues through the arts,” the drummer informs. One of their programs, Yo Ancestors! neatly dovetails and is a precursor to Suite Unseen: Summoner of the Ghost’s quest for the spiritual essences.
Lloyd Gregory
When you think of that certain style of classic jazz guitar that is smooth, soulful, melodic, flowing and immediately likeable, you think of names like Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessel, George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Earl Klugh and Larry Carlton. Now Lloyd Gregory has taken his place on that list of illustrious jazz guitarists. On his fourth album, Free Fallin, Gregory tips his hat to those who influenced him while carving out his own distinctive style that also includes hints of his R&B roots. "Music is comprised of traditions, even when mixed with innovations," Gregory says, "so, of course, every musician is building upon sounds that came before. I admire and respect those jazz guitarists and I learned a lot from them. But my influences also include early soul innovators like Curtis Mayfield, many of the guitarists in the various Motown artists’ bands, and Ike Turner. Going even further, I have been inspired by rock’n’rollers from Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley through Hendrix to Eddie Van Halen. And on the other end of the spectrum I have been influenced by acoustic players who bridged between jazz, Latin and classical like Django Reinhardt, Bola Sete, Andres Segovia and Manitas de Playta. Even so, I never sat down and simply learned other guitarists’ solos off their albums. Instead, I studied and absorbed their styles in a more general sense." Lloyd Gregory, a popular entertainer on the San Francisco/Bay Area music scene for several decades, has an instrumental sound that may be the epitome of smooth, but it also contains subtle elements of classic soul music due to his early career as an R&B performer, especially the years he spent touring extensively while serving as the musical director for The Ballads, Natural Four and Jesse James, and performing on their albums. Gregory also has recorded with Martha Reeves, MC Smooth and Freddie Stewart (Sly & The Family Stone); and has performed onstage with Rodney Franklin, Stanley Clarke, George Duke, Gerald Albright, Lenny Williams (Tower of Power),Freda Payne, The Dells, and Lowell Fulsom. Lloyd’s albums show his versatility. His debut album Wonderful -- which received heavy airplay nationwide and climbed the jazz charts in the top music industry radio publications Radio & Records and The Gavin Report -- featured contemporary jazz with some R&B and funk elements. Only For You continued in that vein with some tunes featuring his acoustic guitar playing and others showcasing Gregory on a solid-body electric. His third album was a change of pace as the title, Solo Guitar, indicates. The CD features Lloyd alone on acoustic playing standards like "Sophisticated Lady" and "Ain’t Misbehavin" for audiences that have come to know that side of him from his solo concerts. But Gregory most often performs live with an ensemble, and many of those musicians make appearances on his new Free Fallin disc (on the Integy Entertainment label). However, on the album Lloyd primarily plays his Ovation Custom Legend round-back acoustic guitar while at concerts with his band he likes to rock a bit harder and usually he plays a Yamaha electric. Free Fallin features a dozen tunes, mostly originals, plus covers of Thelonious Monk’s jazz standard "‘Round Midnight" and George Gershwin’s "I Love You Porgy." The material ranges from the rapid percussive sound of "Kermudgen" (which also includes a flute solo) to the beautiful ballad "Snow Bear." "Steve’s House," one of the few tracks with Lloyd playing both acoustic and electric guitar, was written in Stevie Wonder’s living room. Musicians on the album include bassist Eric Smith (Destiny’s Child), bassist Gary Calvin (Jean-Luc Ponty, Jeff Lorber), drummer Billy Johnson (Santana, Frankie Beverly & Maze), drummer Ritchie Aguan (The Whispers), multi-instrumentalist Felton Pilate (MC Hammer, Con Funk Shun), pianist and horn player Glenn Pearson (Boys Choir of Harlem), keyboardist Percy Scott (The Whispers) and other top Bay Area players. Gregory grew up in Cleveland with music a major part of his life -- at home (his mother played piano and Lloyd started at age five), at church (his grandfather was a minister) and at school (Lloyd played trombone, drums and cello -- the latter from elementary school through high school). Gregory began learning guitar at age 11, and through high school played guitar and piano in a R&B band covering James Brown, Curtis Mayfield and The Temptations. Lloyd’s senior year he moved to Berkeley, California, and put together a band called The Aztecs (Sly Stone joined them onstage one time). The band won a talent contest where Gregory was spotted by the manager of The Ballads, who got Lloyd in the musician’s union and made him the vocal group’s musical director for several national tours playing on the same bills with Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight & The Pips and many others. This early experience taught Gregory how to be a bandleader and it led to tours with other R&B acts. At one point he paid the rent by playing in San Francisco strip clubs with former members of Santana. He also did a USO tour of Japan, toured Europe with singer Mary McCrary (Edwin Hawkins Singers, New Generation), and went on tour with both Shirley Jones (Diana Ross) and jazz-poet Oscar Brown, Jr. Over the years Gregory and his band have been joined on-stage by artists such as Bernard Purdie (James Brown, Aretha Franklin, George Benson) and Gaylord Birch (Graham Central Station, Pointer Sisters). As a studio musician in Los Angeles, Gregory worked with producer Richard Perry and played sessions with top musicians such as Klaus Voorman (The Beatles), Arthur Adams (B.B. King, Quincy Jones), Harvey Mason (Herbie Hancock, George Benson) and Joe Sample (The Crusaders). Also as a session player Lloyd played on a Latin-jazz album by The Funky Aztecs. Gregory has played on several albums by upcoming blues artists including Zakiya Hooker (John Lee’s daughter), Sugarpie Desanto and Maxine Howard. In addition, Gregory studied under Warren Nunes and took a Masters Class Seminar from Barney Kessel. On Gregory’s first two albums he had musical guests that included Felton Pilate, Rodney Franklin, harmonica player Norton Buffalo (Steve Miller) and top session percussionist Ken Nash. When Lloyd tackled his acoustic Solo Guitar album, he found inspiration in the music of Bola Sete, Christopher Parkening and Juan Serrano. Other influences through the years have included Al Dimeola, John McLaughlin, Mel Brown, Oscar Peterson, Lester Young, Chet Atkins and Stanley Clarke. Before Gregory started his solo recording career, there was a period of five years when he put the study of martial arts (Tae Kwon Do -- the Korean system of Karate) ahead of his music. After studying under master Byong Yu, attaining a Second Degree Black Belt, and becoming a teacher (he brought Rodney Franklin to the Black Belt level), Gregory returned to his fulltime music career. "Through martial arts I learned to first start with the physical training, then the mental training and finally the spiritual training. This led me to an on-going period of spiritual exploration and meditation. At the same time I have studied certain aspects of music including harmonic structure, rhythms, arranging, musical mathematics and especially the vibrations of sound, and how all of this is linked to the body and to the spirit. What I strive for is to allow the God-Force of the Universe to come through my music to the listeners to make them feel better, to soothe them, and to take the stress of reality away for a few minutes." Most of the arrangements on Free Fallin were created in the studio as a result of the input and interplay of the musicians on each tune. "I only give the band the basic structure of the piece, just enough of a roadmap to get started, because I want them to each be creative themselves. We take the seed, water it and allow it to grow. We nurture the music with love. Hopefully each listener feels what went into the music and can take some of that away with them."
Bass
& Composition
Known mostly as a jazz bassist, Walter Savage has proven himself as singer, pianist and composer as well. His blues, pop, rock and jazz vocals are truly distinctive and compelling. Walter became interested in bass after seeing and hearing Paul Chambers perform with Miles Davis. He immediately purchased a bass and began to take lessons with Leroy Vinegar, Al McKibbon, and other bassists in the Los Angeles area. From 1963 to the present, Walter has appeared in the rhythm sections of Tony Scott, Gerald Wilson, Mary Jenkins, Horace Tapscott, Taj Mahal, Gloria Lynn, Sonny Chris and Arthur Blythe, to name a few. Walter has also appeared with Bobby Hutcherson at Hermosa Beach’s famed Lighthouse Jazz Club. Since moving to the Bay Area, Walter has worked with the likes of David (Fathead) Newman, John Handy, Pharaoh Sanders and Richie Cole, Harold Jones, Donald Bailey and Mary Stallings (jazz cruises). Besides working actively as a teacher, Walter also works a full schedule of club, casual and concert performances around the San Francisco Bay Area. Regular venues for this talented artist include Jazz at Pearl’s in North Beach, Enrico’s, The Black Cat, Yoshi’s in Jack London Square, Napa Valley wineries and numerous festivals including San Francisco’s Fillmore Street Fair, the Union Street Festival and the Vallejo Shoreline Jazz, Art, and Wine Festival. Percussionist
Héctor Lugo is a talented and experienced percussionist, singer, songwriter, and teacher. A native of Puerto Rico, Héctor has performed, recorded, and toured with renowned local and international artists in the Latin, Jazz, and Afro-Caribbean music communities, including, among others, Luis Cepeda and the Los Cepeda Folkloric Ensemble, Bobby Céspedes, Conjunto Céspedes, Luis Romero and Mazacote, John Santos and the Machete Ensemble, Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez, Gilberto Gutierrez and Mono Blanco, the Larry Vukovich Latin Jazz Orchestra, the Venezuelan Music Project, and the Mission Project. He composed music for a theatre piece, Living in Spanish, that has been produced in San Francisco, New York, and Seoul. He has lectured on the history of Puerto Rican music and taught workshops on Latin percussion locally and internationally. Hector has a Masters in Sociology from the University of California at Berkeley, where he has also done substantial doctoral work in the political sociology and cultural history of Latin America and the Caribbean. Presently, he leads Son Borikua, a seven piece ensemble, dedicated to creating original music inspired in the Puerto Rican folklore. He is co-director of the Bomba and Plena Workshop at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley, and a percussion instructor with the Oakland Youth Chorus’ Music of Our World program. Vocal Performance
Branice McKenzie's career includes everything from jazz to theatre to prolific songwriting. Some of her credits include critically acclaimed performances at the Newport Jazz Festival, Clifford Brown Jazz Festival and The Umbria Jazz Festival. On the theatrical stage she has created roles in Shades of Harlem, Sing Sister Sing and Jazz Alley. As a composer and musical director, she has penned music for Shelter, Voices: A Children's Song, Shades of Harlem and Blackbirds of Courage. Most recently she is the recipient of the Meet the Composer grant. She made her directorial and writing debut with the world premier of Celebrate Kwanzaa at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center to which she is also a contributing composer. She can be heard on numerous jingles and recordings including Hugh Masekela's Uptownship singing the heralded single, If You Don't Know Me By Now, Grammy nominated Loves Drum Passion by Olatunji and the just released single Maybe Next Year with jazz artist extraordinaire Onaje Allan Gumbs on his latest CD, Remember Their Innocence. Ms. McKenzie has just released her first children’s CD, I Am Me: Melodies, Lyrics and Lessons, to rave reviews from children of all ages! Her composition, Sing, Sing, Sing, was selected as the second grade song in McGraw-Hill’s music textbook, Share The Music, to be released later this year for children around the world. Ms. McKenzie holds a B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and an M.A. in Music Education from New York University. Ms. McKenzie is the co-founder of the landmark Black Chorus of Brown University where she served as director for her entire tenure at Brown, the first ensemble of its kind in the history of Brown University. Her busy schedule includes her work as a choir director and Minister of Music for the past several decades. She remains in great demand as a choral and vocal coach, conductor and soloist, as well as Music Minister in the tri-state area of New York City. Ms. McKenzie is the Assistant Minister of Music at the Antioch Baptist Church of Corona in Queens, New York where she has been for the past 23 years under the pastorate of Rev. Dr. Marvin J. Bentley. Trumpet Mark Wright, trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, arranger, has been an active part of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene for about 16 years. He studied music formally, at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Pacific. Mark has performed with many greats, including, Clark Terry, Ray Charles, Plas Johnson, John Handy, Pharaoh Sanders, Louie Bellson, Herb Geller, Grover Washington Jr., David Murray, Steve Turre, Rodney Franklin, Freddie Redd, Dave Ellis, Joshua Redman and Don Carlos. Born in Berkeley, California, his first teacher was Vernon Carlson. Strongly versed in the Jazz tradition, Mark places an emphasis on performing his own compositions, of which he has written over 250. In addition to performing with his own Jazz band, Mark also works as an independent contractor performing, arranging, and composing for diverse musical groups and styles, including Latin, R&B, large Jazz units, Reggae, and Pop. Mark's musical activities have taken him to Puerto Rico, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Hawaii, Seattle, Idaho, and other locations throughout the country.
Monico Ben Luis
Violin/Piano
India Cooke, violinist, composer and educator, plays a wide range of music – from classical to jazz. India has performed in San Francisco Bay Area symphony and opera orchestras, chamber ensembles, and Broadway shows. As one of California’s most respected contract artists, she has performed as featured soloist with Joe Williams and the Louie Bellson Orchestra, and has played with Sarah Vaughn, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra and many others. Her continuing jazz and improvisation experiences include performances with Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, Pauline Oliveros and many others. As an educator, Ms. Cooke was an Artist-in-Residence at the San Francisco School of the Arts, and currently teaches at the San Francisco Community Music Center, Mills College and at her private studio. She has conducted lecture/performances in Bay Area public schools, colleges, and other educational programs. Steel Pan
Steelpan master and multi-instrumentalist Anthony “Cannon” Hernandez was born and raised on the beautiful Island of Tobago. He began playing the steel drum at age 9 and was playing double tenor pans with the world-renowned Our Boys Steel Orchestra by age 19. While with "Our Boys" Cannon performed for several exclusive audiences including Queen Elizabeth II, Nelson Mandela, Phil Collins and basketball star David Robinson. They also shared the stage with infamous Calypsonians David Rudder, Mighty Sparrow, Crazy, Brother Resistance, The Baron, Arrow, as well as with world famous steel pan artists Andy Narell, and Len "Boogsie" Sharp. Cannon has performed with well known Bay Areas bands such as Dr. Loco’s Rockin’ Jalapeno Band, Jeff Narrell's Rhythm and Steel, Caribbean Allstars, Junglz Apart, Creations, Tropical Vibrations, Junglagoove, Harmonics Steel Orchestra, The Hyler Jones Jazz quartet, and many more. In 1993, he formed Caribbean Rhythms, a band with an exciting, provocative, new Caribbean sound. In 2000 he produced, arranged, and composed the debut release CD for Caribbean Rhythms on the CR Record label. Additionally, Cannon has recorded for numerous local and international artists, including Jazz & Blues artist Roberta Donnay, master drummer Sanga of the Valley, Folk & Blues artist Alesia Panojota, Africa’s renowned Salif Keita, master drummer Babatunde Lea, master panists Len "Boogsie Sharp & Andy Narell, and the Caribbean Allstars. In October, 2004, Cannon was honored by the City of Vallejo Commission on Culture and the Arts. He was awarded a special plaque and certificate as Vallejo’s “Best Performer of the Year”, beating out the Vallejo Symphony! Cannon's musical talents range from Classical, to Pop, Jazz, Funk, Contemporary, Latin, Reggae, Calypso and Soca/SoulCalypso. Additionally, he offers private lessons to anyone interested in learning this amazing instrument.
Julia Chigamba
Angela Dean-Baham
Angela Dean-Baham has made her reputation in the San Francisco Bay Area where she is a much sought-after performer. She has been recognized for her Aexuberant portrayal and her distinctive silvery soprano voice. Ms. Dean-Baham spent two consecutive seasons with Pocket Opera of San Francisco, performing as Erste Dame in Die Zauberflote and Pauline in Offenbach's operetta La Vie Parisienne. She has also performed with Festival Opera and Berkeley Opera singing roles including Suor Genevieve in Suor Angelica.Her Performances have been said to leave an "indelible impression." In 2001, Ms. Dean-Baham made her Berkeley Opera debut as Frasquita in Carmen and created the role of La Novia in the contemporary opera Asi que Pasen Cinco Arios at the Oakland Opera Theatre. Other notable roles include Lady with a Cacke Bos inPostcard from Morocco, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Serena in Porgy and Bess. Ms. Dean-Baham returned to the Oakland Opera Theatre in the spring of 2003 where she sang the role of Helen in their production of Three Sisters Who are Not Sisters. She has continued her work with Oakland Lyric Opera's outreach program, where she has been featured in concert at East Bay elementary schools. A gifted recitalist, Ms. Dean-Baham was greatly honored to perform at Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown's 2000 inaugural festivities. In addition, she has been a featured artist at the City of Oakland"s Italian Festa and at Walnut Creek's Opera in the Park. Maestro Eric Kujawsky, Music Director of the Redwood Symphony Orchestra, calls Ms. Dean-Baham"s performance as Serena in Porgy and Bess ". . . deeply moving and impeccably sung" and recalls that " her >My Man's Gone Now< brought the house down." In competition, Ms. Dean-Baham has earned recognition. In 1999, she was selected as one of only thirty international artists to perform at the Israel Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv. At the Leontyne Price Vocal Arts Competition, she was named a third place regional winner and was also a finalist in the Columbus Opera Competition. Ms. Dean-Baham received her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from Spelman College and continued her studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she obtained a Master of Music in Voice. She has studied both the lyric and dramatic coloratur repertoire and has furthered her training at the Bay Area Summer Opera Theatre Institute, the Brevard Music Center and most recently, at OperaWorks in Los Angeles.
Russ Landers
Russ Landers has played Shona music since 1983, guided by Ephat Mujuru, Mondreck Muchena, Tute Chigamba, Irene Chigamba, Frank Gomba, Simon Mashoko, Forward Kwenda, and others. During extended stays in Zimbabwe, he studied and performed with many highly respected musicians, including Mhuri Yekwa Chigamba. In the United States, Mr. Landers has performed with Mutupo Mbira Group, Our Spirits Blend Together, Tatenda Music and Dance Ensemble, and Zawadi (“gift”), a group he formed with musicians Joy Gamble and Abdi Jabril. As a member of Zawadi, Mr. Landers brings music and stories of Africa and the African Diaspora to schools and universities, festivals, and cultural centers. Zawadi does this through classes, performances, and cultural exchange, bringing artists from Zimbabwe to meet with the people of Oakland and the Bay Area. His instruction of mbira (thumb piano) and chipendani (mouth bow) have been enjoyed from San Diego to British Columbia and New York City. He teaches regularly in Santa Cruz and in Oakland Public Schools.
Barbie Wong Barbie Wong is passionate about music and has played the piano since she was six years old. She received her B.A. in music from Stanford University and M.A. in music from Smith College. Barbie recently joined the faculty at Oakland Public Conservatory and enjoys teaching piano, music theory, and ear training. Class Description: Piano Class for Beginning and Intermediate Students will cover basic piano skills for those with elementary or no experience with playing the piano. Students will learn to read note pitches, rhythmic values, key and signatures, and selected scales. Piano technique, hand positions, and elementary music theory will also be covered.
Viola Pellegrini
Viola Pellegrini is currently a student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) majoring in violin performance. She previously studied in Italy at the Florence Conservatory of Music with professor S. Michelucci. She performs with the SFCM orchestra and has performed with the Oakland Civic Orchestra. Ms. Pellegrini finished her Music Together training and became a certified Music Together teacher in October, 2005. She teaches both private and group violin as well as Music Together.
Mela Amaiya Saunders
Mela specializes in Latin, African and Middle Eastern dance forms. With the connection of movement and Spirit as her inspiration, she created the following three styles fusing elements of all of her studies: Chakra Integration Technique, Roots Movement, and Salsa Du Ventre. Mela has been dancing for 20 years, and has been blessed to study with Master Afro-Cuban and Cuban Popular teachers in Cuba and the US since 1998. Additionally, she studied Middle Eastern Dance in Cairo and New York, and Congolese Dance in New York and Oakland. In the Bay, Mela has danced with Alayo Dance Company, Las Que Son Son, Arenas Dance and Rara Tou Limen. Mela recently completed her MA in Women’s Spirituality, and is currently teaching, performing and dancing with the joy of motherhood.
River McGhee
River McGhee has been making and teaching art (sculpture, drawing, painting, and ceramics) in Oakland for the past 26 years except for the 2 years in which she lived in St. Croix, doing the same. River’s work is multi-disciplinary and can include or reference other artists’ work. One such project was inspired by Burning Man—working with images of the people and art in Black Rock City—drawn over time, then painted, representing record, memory and imagination. Her newest passion, which she has been working on for the past 2 years, is her Jazz music project. She employs her skill in using two types of drawing—representational images of live musicians and abstract linear interpretations of Jazz music. Combining both of these representational strategies, and her deep background in sculpture she then builds abstract sculptural models from these Jazz drawings. River has her Bachelor of Fine Arts from California College of Arts & Crafts. She has taught throughout her life as an artist sharing her inspirations and skills, and using art to emphasize the beauty of her students.
Zigi Lowenberg |
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Zimbabwe Marimbas - Gumboots Dance - Mbire
As the only male Zimbabwean traditional dancer in the Bay Area, Mr. Daliyo’s classes have offered students the completely unique experience of learning the culture, history, songs, drumming and dance steps of Zimbabwe. There is nowhere else in the Bay Area where students can learn such dances as Dinhe, of the Korekore; Muchungoyo of the Ndebele; and Mbakumba, Mbira and Mhande of the Shona people. We know of no other Zimbabwean man in the Bay Area or Western United States with the experiences and artistry that Mr. Daliyo brings, allowing for this unique teaching experience. Mr. Daliyo will continue to teach and perform, not just in the Bay Area, but in Boulder, Colorado; Cedar Crest, New Mexico; and throughout other parts of California (Sacramento, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara). His present dance and music students are very much looking forward to continue experiencing the deep traditions and culture of Zimbabwe as only presented in his classes, workshops and performances. Mr. Daliyo’s teaching and performances have facilitated the bridging of African and Western cultures. As guest artist with the Chinyakare Ensemble, his presence has enhanced group members’ development as artists and deepened their connection with Zimbabwean tradition. In the past, the Chinyakare Ensemble members have had the opportunity to travel to Zimbabwe to immerse themselves in the cultural experience and in music and dance as taught by the artistic director’s, Julia Chigamba’s family. Mr. Daliyo has brought that experience to the Chinyakare Ensemble’s rehearsals that take place three days each week. Mr. Daliyo’s tutelage has allowed the Chinyakare Ensemble to showcase what is uniquely Zimbabwean at such performances as the Annual Collage des Cultures Africaines at the Berkeley Community Theater, the largest Pan-African gathering of musicians and dancers on the West Coast, the Berkeley World Music Festival and the World Music and Dance Festival in Sacramento. Organizations throughout the Bay Area and the United States recognize Mr. Daliyo’s unique ability to immerse audiences in his art form and further audience members’ understanding of traditional Zimbabwean music. Since Mr. Daliyo has been guest artist with the Chinyakare Ensemble, such events as Young Audiences showcases and Oakland Public Conservatory of Music repertory performances have engaged children and adults in enhancing their understanding of the music, dance and culture of Zimbabwe. Mr. Daliyo’s teaching and performances help audiences to appreciate their own cultures, as they are similar to, yet distinct from Zimbabwean traditions.
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Carlos Zialcita
Harmonica player and vocalist Carlos Zialcita has been part of the San Francisco Bay Area blues scene for three decades as a performer, promoter, educator, and radio announcer. His career began in the early 70's with the Chico David Blues Band, a group first based in the Bay Area, and then Los Angeles. They backed artists like T-Bone Walker, Charles Brown, and Big Mama Thornton. Since those early days Zialcita has recorded and toured throughout the United States and Canada with several major blues artists including Johnny Otis, Sugar Pie DeSanto, and Sonny Rhodes. Not exactly a stranger to the jazz scene, Zialcita has also performed with many well known artists over the years including Donald Byrd, Eddie Palmieri, John Handy, Donald Bailey, and Calvin Keys. He has two CDs as a solo artist – Train Through Oakland with The Johnny Otis Band in 2000, and Evolution, released in 2004. His most recent release is with the Filipino Jazz-Fusion group, Little Brown Brother in 2009. The CD is entitled Soul Shadows. He has recorded with many different artists and groups, including the gospel group The West Coast Spiritual Corinthians in 1988, the rap/hip-hop group, The Coup in 1987, Oakland blues singer Country Pete McGill in 1997, and the legendary soul-blues diva Sugar Pie DeSanto in 2008. In 2003 Zialcita expanded his musical horizons and formed The Carlos Zialcita Jazztet, incorporating jazz and Latin elements into his vocal and instrumental repertoire. Breaking away from the standard diatonic blues diatonic harmonica, Zialcita’s sets now also features his chromatic harmonica stylings. Playing both chromatic and diatonic harmonicas to compliment his vocals, Zialcita performs songs from a wide repertoire that includes many jazz, Latin, and blues standards as well as some traditional Filipino music. Zialcita has considerable experience as an educator, working as the class coordinator with Johnny Otis from 1998-2006 to present the Jazz, Blues, and Popular Music class with the Peralta Community College District. Zialcita has recently retired from the Alameda Unified School District where he taught computer applications and PC Hardware Repair and Maintenance classes at Encinal High School in Alameda. He also founded and co-sponsored the Filipino Club while at Encinal High. Zialcita provides harmonica lessons to students both in a private setting and has taught at the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music. He has conducted a number of music education seminars sponsored by Hohner Harmonicas, the City of Oakland, and the Music in the Schools Program in for the San Francisco Unified School District.
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| 2005 - Oakland Public Conservatory of Music -
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