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Results for "Rising Stars"
Introducing 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. ...
Leonieke 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 ...
Meet 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."
Introducing 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, ...
Introducing 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 ...
Introducing 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. ...
Introducing 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, ...
Introducing 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 ...
Introducing 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, ...
Introducing Pianist Karen Xie
by Sanford Josephson
While attending City University of New York's Hunter College as a music major, Karen Xie stumbled upon one of the jazz studies program's big-band concerts. “There were four other people in the audience and 20 people on stage," she recalled. Xie, who is classically trained, felt the band's performance was “really cool. I thought that was ...
