Rising Stars
Courtesy of the New Jersey Jazz Society and Jersey Jazz Magazine, Rising Stars is a monthly column that shines the light on emerging jazz artists.
Introducing Trumpeter Nathaniel Williford
by Sanford Josephson
Nathaniel Williford's jazz education began when he entered the sixth grade at Osceola County School for the Arts in Kissimmee, FL. “The magic started happening at our instrument trial day," he recalled, “selecting what we'd play in the band program. The trombone was what stood out to me. I could make some basic sounds on the trombone." Things began to change, however, when he heard Osceola's top high school jazz band play. “I heard the lead trumpet sitting ...
Continue ReadingIntroducing Guitarist Ely Perlman
by Sanford Josephson
After graduating from Israel's Thelma Yellin High School for the Performing Arts about four years ago, guitarist Ely Perlman came to the United States to attend Boston's Berklee College of Music. The summer before school started, he went to the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Academy, a music education program in Aspen, CO, directed by bassist Christian McBride. “It was June 2021," the 26-year-old Perlman recalled, “during the last period of Covid. Christian was just forming his band, Ursa Major. ...
Continue ReadingLeonieke Scheuble in Japan
by Sanford Josephson
As someone whose passion for jazz developed when I lived in Japan in the mid-1960s, I was fascinated to learn that keyboardist Leonieke Scheuble was spending nine weeks there to perform in the USA Pavilion at the Osaka Expo 2025. She led a band called Leonieke and the NY Groove which included her father, Nick, on drums, guitarist Ilan Eisenzweig, and saxophonist/flutist John Michalak. “I played Hammond organ the whole time," she told me. “The organ was graciously provided by ...
Continue ReadingMeet Alto Saxophonist Erena Terakubo
by Sanford Josephson
For many years, trumpeter/educator Tiger Okoshi has been directing the Hokkaido Grove Jazz Camp during summers in Sapporo, Japan. At one of his first camps, he met a 12-year-old alto saxophonist named Erena Terakubo."She was shining, and she knew it," he recalled. “She was determined, driven, and already sounded like a young Charlie Parker." When Terakubo was 15, Okoshi, a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, awarded her a full scholarship to Berklee's five-week summer ...
Continue ReadingIntroducing Pianist Ben Collins-Siegel
by Sanford Josephson
I first saw Ben Collins-Siegel play piano in July 2019 at the Roselle Park Jazz Festival. Then a 12-year-old seventh grader at Maplewood Middle School, he led off a performance by the JTole Jazz Orchestra of Thad Jones' “Counter Block," written for the Count Basie Orchestra. It was stunning. JTole stands for Julius Tolentino, the Jazz Director at Livingston, NJ's Newark Academy and Director of the RP Festival. Collins-Siegel had already been studying with Tolentino and began attending ...
Continue ReadingIntroducing Vocalist Clara Campbell
by Sanford Josephson
More than 100 vocalists competed in this year's Blues Alley Ella Fitzgerald Vocal Competition. What separated Clara Campbell from the other applicants, according to vocalist/judge Nicole Zuraitis, “was her unique voice. She didn't sound like someone else. And, the arrangements were exciting and interesting. She didn't play it safe, and I think that's the most important part of being a jazz singer today--taking risks." The 25-year-old old Campbell grew up in Bountiful, Utah, a Salt Lake City suburb, ...
Continue ReadingIntroducing Pianist Holly Bean
by Sanford Josephson
For Holly Bean, in her last semester at Juilliard, it was the summit of a long journey that began when, as a three-year-old, she started playing on the piano in her Oak Ridge, TN, home. “I would hop on top of the bench and try to copy my mom, who plays piano and organ," she said. “The first thing I tried to play was 'Part of Your World' from Disney's Little Mermaid. I would hear things I liked and figure ...
Continue ReadingIntroducing Trumpeter Kal Ferretti
by Sanford Josephson
When she was attending the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art, Kal Ferretti rode the subway to Manhattan from her home in Staten Island. The music on her phone was Art Blakey's Moanin' (Blue Note, 1958). “I would wear that out every train ride," she said. The 22-year-old Ferretti always wanted to play the trumpet, but she soon became bored with performing in a classical setting. “I ended up not totally digging just sitting there in the orchestra," she ...
Continue ReadingIntroducing Trumpeter Skylar Tang
by Sanford Josephson
"Every now and then," said trumpeter Sean Jones, “a musician comes along who has a vision and focus that you just know will affect the world--a sense of high artistry, skill, and profound leadership. Skylar Tang is one of the ones in her generation who fits this description." Jones is Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall's NYO Jazz, a musical ensemble that invites 22 high school students from across the country each summer to be part of a residency, ...
Continue ReadingIntroducing Vocalist April May Webb
by Sanford Josephson
When April May Webb was attending William Paterson University more than 10 years ago, pianist Mulgrew Miller, who was Director of Jazz Studies, came to one of her ensemble classes and played a Sarah Vaughan record. “He kinda was trying to fool me," Webb said. “He didn't tell me who it was, and he asked me, 'Do you know what this is?' I said, 'Yeah, that's Sarah Vaughan.' He said, 'You need to study her even more because she encompasses ...
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