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Meet Saxophonist Zoe Obadia

by Sanford Josephson
In April 2019, alto saxophonist Zoe Obadia sat in with the Bill Charlap Trio to play Dave Brubeck's Time Out" at International Jazz Day. I was definitely very nervous to sit in with such an established and refined trio," she said," but I had fun and felt very supported on stage and off." Said Charlap: She ...
Meet Bassist Laura Simone-Martin

by Sanford Josephson
As a fifth grader at Lawrence Intermediate School in Lawrenceville, NJ, Laura Simone-Martin was planning to play the cello. But her mother, Dr. Trineice Robinson-Martin, who teaches Vocal Jazz at Princeton University, showed her a video of bassist Esperanza Spalding performing at the White House. I saw her in her Afro, playing and singing. I just ...
Meet Liam Sutcliffe, Jimmy Waltman, Sam AuBuchon, Derick Freitas Campos

by Sanford Josephson
The winners of the New Jersey Jazz Society's new Juried Scholarship Competition are:$1,000 prize for PerformanceTrumpeter Liam Sutcliffe, Rutgers' Mason Gross School of the Arts Jazz Studies Program$1,000 prize for Composition Vocalist Jimmy Waltman, Princeton University Program in Jazz Studies$500 prize for Performance Bassist Sam AuBuchon, William Paterson University Jazz ...
Wells Fargo Jazz For Teens

by Sanford Josephson
Clay Hudson grew up in a family surrounded by music, and it rubbed off on me." Henry Spencer remembers that in the second grade at St. Luke's School in the West Village, every student took drum lessons. I was the only one who stuck with it." Hudson and Spencer, both drummers, are two of ...
Meet Trumpeter Anthony Hervey

by Sanford Josephson
Anthony Hervey was in the sixth grade when he discovered jazz. My mother encouraged me to play trumpet because my grandfather played trumpet," he said. I was very reluctant to do so, but she convinced me to do it and said I could quit after a year if I wanted to." Then, Hervey was ...
Meet Vocalist Anais Reno

by Sanford Josephson
When she was eight years old, Anais Reno (now 18) began taking voice lessons from singer/songwriter Sarah Tolar. I feel very grateful to her," Reno said, because after a couple of months of working together, she sensed that maybe some older American Songbook music would be good for me. So, she started to give me songs ...
Meet Bassist Hannah Marks

by Sanford Josephson
Growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, Hannah Marks started off playing guitar. I didn't really take to the instrument," she recalled, so I picked up the cello in fourth grade. I was shy and wanted to be in the background." She discovered jazz when the middle school jazz band performed at her elementary school. So, she ...
Meet Pianist Caelan Cardello

by Sanford Josephson
On November 16, 2019, the Giants of Jazz concert at the South Orange Performing Arts Center honored the late pianist and educator Harold Mabern, who died two months earlier on September 17. The majority of performers that night were recognizable jazz veterans, but there were also some memorable performances by young upcoming artists. One of those ...
Meet Vocalist G. Thomas Allen

by Sanford Josephson
When G. Thomas Allen was a freshman vocal performance major at Baltimore's Morgan State University, he initially concentrated on classical music, because of my range. I'm classified as a countertenor (a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voices). I was really more connected ...
Meet Violinist Daisy Castro

by Sanford Josephson
Jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembel first saw violinist Daisy Castro play nine years ago when she was 15. Her tone," he said, was already powerful. Her rhythmical placement, her intonation were already unreal. And, most importantly, her soul pours out music and shows amazing creativity, poetry, imagination, dreams." I saw Castro for the first time ...