Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Next-gen jazz kids

San Diego's International Academy of Jazz is festival bound

San Diego’s International Academy of Jazz 9 a.m. Ensemble is competing for a spot in the Monterey Jazz Festival in September. - Image by Robert Sanchez
San Diego’s International Academy of Jazz 9 a.m. Ensemble is competing for a spot in the Monterey Jazz Festival in September.

The students of the International Academy of Jazz are festival-bound, having been propelled from the strength of their audition tape into a spot at the Next Gen competition, celebrating its 47th year in conjunction with the Monterey Jazz Festival. The event gathers the top music students from around the country. The festival begins on March 31, and wraps up on April 2.

Video:

"Autumn Leaves"

...students from the International Academy of Jazz (2015)

...students from the International Academy of Jazz (2015)

Twelve-year-old bassist Johnny Murray is excited to be making his first visit. “It feels pretty awesome because in our division, only six groups in the entire nation got accepted.” Murray performs often with the Young Lions at Panama 66 in Balboa Park, but this is a different experience. “I’m kind of nervous,” he said. “But I think that we just need to do a lot of work so we can do our best up there.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Fourteen-year-old saxophonist Alvin Paige is returning to the festival for his second year in a row. “I feel like we’re much more prepared this year,” says Paige. “And we know what to expect, so I’m confident in our chances this time around.”

Paige has been playing jazz since elementary school, and he once studied with the late Daniel Jackson. “It’s kind of how I was raised and the home I grew up in. I feel like it’s important to carry on the tradition of playing jazz and I hope to do it professionally as I get older. Going to festivals like this will definitely help with getting into music schools later. I’m not thinking of any college in particular just yet, and I don’t want to limit myself to only doing jazz.”

Also returning for a second year is 15-year-old vocalist Zion Dyson. “It isn’t just a performance thing,” explains Dyson. “They have master-classes and all these cool talks about composing and arranging, too.” She made the most of her contacts. “Last year I got to audition for a five-week summer program at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. I got a full scholarship and I’m going back this year!”

Place

Panama 66

1450 El Prado, San Diego

Dyson feels this group is special. “We have this energy — there’s more of a will to practice and the material is more interesting.” The stakes are high. “If we win, we get to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September! Plus all the recognition that goes along with it.”

The International Academy of Jazz 9 a.m. ensemble, directed by Gilbert Castellanos, includes Murray, Paige, and Dyson, plus Johnny Steele on drums, Jason Picker on piano, Nicholas Vedder on trumpet, and Andrew Martinez on guitar. Visit iajsd.org.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
San Diego’s International Academy of Jazz 9 a.m. Ensemble is competing for a spot in the Monterey Jazz Festival in September. - Image by Robert Sanchez
San Diego’s International Academy of Jazz 9 a.m. Ensemble is competing for a spot in the Monterey Jazz Festival in September.

The students of the International Academy of Jazz are festival-bound, having been propelled from the strength of their audition tape into a spot at the Next Gen competition, celebrating its 47th year in conjunction with the Monterey Jazz Festival. The event gathers the top music students from around the country. The festival begins on March 31, and wraps up on April 2.

Video:

"Autumn Leaves"

...students from the International Academy of Jazz (2015)

...students from the International Academy of Jazz (2015)

Twelve-year-old bassist Johnny Murray is excited to be making his first visit. “It feels pretty awesome because in our division, only six groups in the entire nation got accepted.” Murray performs often with the Young Lions at Panama 66 in Balboa Park, but this is a different experience. “I’m kind of nervous,” he said. “But I think that we just need to do a lot of work so we can do our best up there.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Fourteen-year-old saxophonist Alvin Paige is returning to the festival for his second year in a row. “I feel like we’re much more prepared this year,” says Paige. “And we know what to expect, so I’m confident in our chances this time around.”

Paige has been playing jazz since elementary school, and he once studied with the late Daniel Jackson. “It’s kind of how I was raised and the home I grew up in. I feel like it’s important to carry on the tradition of playing jazz and I hope to do it professionally as I get older. Going to festivals like this will definitely help with getting into music schools later. I’m not thinking of any college in particular just yet, and I don’t want to limit myself to only doing jazz.”

Also returning for a second year is 15-year-old vocalist Zion Dyson. “It isn’t just a performance thing,” explains Dyson. “They have master-classes and all these cool talks about composing and arranging, too.” She made the most of her contacts. “Last year I got to audition for a five-week summer program at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. I got a full scholarship and I’m going back this year!”

Place

Panama 66

1450 El Prado, San Diego

Dyson feels this group is special. “We have this energy — there’s more of a will to practice and the material is more interesting.” The stakes are high. “If we win, we get to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September! Plus all the recognition that goes along with it.”

The International Academy of Jazz 9 a.m. ensemble, directed by Gilbert Castellanos, includes Murray, Paige, and Dyson, plus Johnny Steele on drums, Jason Picker on piano, Nicholas Vedder on trumpet, and Andrew Martinez on guitar. Visit iajsd.org.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

How to Get Legal Assistance When Your Car Accident Insurance Claim is Denied?

Next Article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.