Sant Andreu Jazz Band

The Sant Andreu Jazz Band is a Barcelona-based orchestra founded in 2006, made up of young musicians between the ages of 6 and 21. Every year, two or three members leave and new ones join. More than 90 young musicians have been part of the SAJB. Most of them are now professional musicians, and some have international careers, such as Andrea Motis, Rita Payés, Èlia Bastida, Alba Armengou, Joan Mar Saqué, among others.

The organization was founded and is led by Joan Chamorro. We are a non-profit project where the members of the youth orchestra pay nothing for rehearsals, individual lessons, or the albums we record. We receive no official funding and are able to do what we do thanks to concerts and support from individuals who love our project.

Each year we change our repertoire and record several albums in different collections. The band has recorded more than 60 albums, which have received critical acclaim and have been well received by the public. 

Awards

The Sant Andreu Jazz Band and its participants have won significant recognition, including placing 2nd overall at the prestigious Essentially Ellington Competition for youth big band jazz, where they also received multiple section/individual honors (Outstanding Trumpet Section, Outstanding Piano, etc.) in 2025. SAJB was spotlighted as the first non-US group to perform in the competition at Lincoln Center, New York City.

Also in 2025, Joan Chamorro was recognized with the Amics d'El Prat Award (friends of El Prat de Llobregat, a municipality in the Barcelona metropolitan area).

The organization received the Alicia Award for Best Educational Project in 2021, presented by the Catalan Academy of Music for an exceptional educational project in training emerging jazz talent.

In 2015, two of their albums were recognized as best-in-category at the Enderrock (Catalan Music Industry) Awards. These were:

Joan Chamorro – Enderrock Award for Best Jazz Album (Popular Vote) for “Joan Chamorro Presenta la magia de la veu.”

Joan Chamorro & Rita Payés – Enderrock Award for Best Jazz Album by a New Artist for “Joan Chamorro Presenta Rita Payés.”

Individual members have also garnered acclaim, and their collective and individual albums, like Febrero, have been voted best Catalan jazz albums. 

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