Schedule your audition for the SJW Giant Steps Big Band now

Thanks to your support, last year’s Giant Steps Big Band for Middle School was a huge success, so much so that this Fall we’re offering two after-school big bands.

Giant Steps Big Band North will rehearse Wednesdays at Carlmont High School, and will be directed by Mike Galisatus, of the College of San Mateo.

Giant Steps Big Band South will rehearse Tuesdays at The Harker School in Santa Clara, and will be directed by Dave Gregoric.

As with last year’s successful band, the program is in a big band format, and its focus is on developing improvisations skills, mastering jazz styles and articulations, and instilling good practice discipline.

We’ll hold auditions in two weeks for the program at Stanford University on September 6 and 7, and the weekly rehearsals will begin on September 23 at The Harker School, and September 24 at Carlmont High.

For more information, click here.

To schedule an audition, write [email protected] or call 650-736-0324.

Kenny Burrell shines at Stanford Jazz with new quartet

We have been privileged this past week to have Kenny Burrell on our faculty at Jazz Institute! He delivered a series of invigorating masterclasses on guitar performance as well as the music of Duke Ellington. On Monday he performed at the Stanford Jazz Festival, first as a duo with masterful pianist Fred Hersch, and then with a brand new quartet consisting of Dena DeRose on piano, David Wong on bass, and Peter Erskine on drums. The star-studded performance was one for the ages! In addition to his active performance schedule, Kenny also teaches actively at UCLA where he is the Director of Jazz Studies and a Distinguished Professor of Jazz and Ethnomusicology.

Jazz Camp Week 2 Showcase schedule and other info

Tonight’s the night! The Jazz Camp Week 3 Showcase will feature nearly 200 rising stars of jazz performing on four stages. How do you find out who is performing on which stage at which time? Download the Jazz Camp Showcase schedule here, then read below to find out how to interpret the schedule.
Here’s how the schedule is organized:
  • Jazz Camp participants are listed alphabetically by last name
  • The center column indicates combos that rehearse in the early afternoon, which are known as “early combos”
  • The right column indicates combos that rehearse in the late afternoon, which are known as “late combos”
  • Vocalists will perform in Braun Rehearsal Hall, Room 110, and their performance order is indicated in the center column
The numbers indicate the order in which the combos perform on a particular stage:
  • If your combo or vocalist is indicated as “05”, that means they will be the fifth to perform.
  • Performances begin at 7 p.m. on Dinkelspiel, Campbell, and Braun Rehearsal Hall; performances on the Outdoor Stage begin at 6 p.m.
  • Each performance takes approximately 12 – 15 minutes, so a combo slated to perform fifth on the Dinkelspiel stage would begin at between 8 and 8:15 p.m.
  • A combo slated to perform eighth (08) on the Outdoor stage would begin at between 7: 30 and 7:45  p.m.
  • Vocal performances take approximately 5 minutes, so a vocalist slated to perform fourth in Braun Rehearsal Hall, Room 110, would begin at approximately 7:15.
Friends and Family Dinner
If you’re purchased tickets for the Friends and Family Dinner, you can pick them up in front of Tresidder Union, directly across from Dinkelspiel Auditorium, at 5:30 p.m.
New this year: Combo photos
Following each combo’s performance, the performers will proceed to our new Photo Station next to Dinkelspiel Auditorium to have a band portrait taken. Photo prints and downloads will be available for sale online following the Showcase.