Brahm Sasner

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Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, jazz pianist Brahm Sasner currently lives in Manhattan where he received a Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music. He is currently one of five finalists competing in the 2027 American Piano Awards.

In addition to gigging throughout New York City, Brahm has toured extensively throughout the United States and abroad. This past summer, in addition to gigging in the Bay Area, he performed throughout Portugal and has played multiple times at Dizzy’s Jazz at Lincoln Center and many other clubs. Over the past several years, Brahm has received awards from  international, national, and statewide competitions including YoungArts and Rubato International. Brahm is an alumnus of the Vail Jazz summer workshop and the SF Jazz High School All Stars.

Beyond performing and composing, one of Brahm’s favorite ways to share music is by teaching. Inspired at an early age by his incredible teachers, he’s committed to sharing his extensive knowledge of jazz technique and history as well as his passion for the art form with the next generation of jazz musicians. He is both honored and thrilled to be selected as a Mentor Fellow at the 2026 Stanford Jazz Workshop.

Joey Curreri

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Joey Curreri is a jazz trumpeter and composer from Los Angeles, California currently based in New York City. Curreri’s unique artistic outlook stems from the foundations in the trumpet tradition learned from his mentors,  jazz luminaries Brian Lynch and Ingrid Jensen, whos’s creative inspiration has led Joey to compose music that looks to go beyond the trumpet, generating excitement, harmony, and balance within the orchestration of the small ensemble.

As a working musician in New York, Joey has performed at the marquis venues: at the Jazz Gallery with his own band and music, as well as a side man, sharing the stage with NYC staples such as Joris Dudli, Vincent Herring, Mike LeDonne, Marcos Varela and Mike Clark among others at venues such as Smalls Jazz Club, Ornithology Jazz Club, and the Minton’s Playhouse. He performed with the Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra at the 2025 Unity Jazz Festival at Lincoln Center, and with the Miguel Zenon Big Band at the Jazz Gallery as a part of its 30th anniversary series.

As a recording artist, Curreri currently has four collections of original music released on Bandcamp. These feature many bands that Joey has led, from his time in Miami, as well as more recently in New York. Joey received a Downbeat Student Award for Outstanding Improvised Solo for his performance on his second EP. Joey has also been a seeked-out sideman, recording on acclaimed artists Deron Johnson, Toomas Keski-Santti, and Nikos Chatzisakos’ recent releases.

Joey has performed around the world. Most recently, he toured the west coast with a co-led band, Tabula Rasa, performing at full venues up and down California. In 2023, he traveled to Japan to perform with jazz piano legend Makoto Ozone at Orchard Concert Hall in Tokyo. He has been around Europe numerous times to perform with various bands in the UK, Italy, and Denmark. In October 2025, Joey embarked on a European tour with Joris Dudli’s band featuring Vincent Herring.

Joey has been highly awarded for his trumpet playing as well as his composing. Most recently, Joey competed and won 1st place in the ITG 2025 Ryan Anthony Memorial Jazz Soloist Competition. In 2021, Joey won 2nd place at the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition. Curreri has received merit for his composition, receiving the inaugural Dave Brubeck JEN Scholarship for Composition, as well as being an Honorable mention for the ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Composer Award. Joey was selected for and participated in the 2024 Kennedy Center Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program, run by Jason Moran.

Joey was selected as the 2018 Jazz Trumpet Finalist in the National YoungArts competition, toured Los Angeles and NYC as a member of the the 2017 and 2018 Grammy Camp Jazz Session Big Band, and toured Japan as a member of the 2018 Next Generation Jazz Orchestra.

Kevin Brewster

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Kevin Brewster is a saxophonist, bandleader, composer, and educator pushing the boundaries of Black American Music with a fresh, innovative sound. Drawing on the rich gospel traditions of his hometown, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Kevin creates music that blends contemporary jazz, straight-ahead swing, gospel, R&B, and original compositions offering audiences performances filled with energy, soul, and storytelling.

In 2023, Kevin founded Black Renaissance, a collective dedicated to advancing the legacy of Black American Music into bold new creative territory. Through daring improvisation, genre-crossing compositions, and a mission to connect deeply with listeners, the group has developed a distinctive sound that audiences describe as both innovative and soul-stirring. Black Renaissance has quickly become a sought-after feature, headlining at venues including Keystone Korner Baltimore, An Die Musik Live, Blue Llama Jazz Club, and Cliff Bells where their performances have drawn acclaim for their passion and originality.

Kevin’s career has also been shaped by prestigious programs such as the donor-funded 2024 JAS Academy led by Christian McBride, the Gathering Nonet founded by the late Geri Allen, and the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra directed by Gerald Clayton. Through these opportunities, he has performed alongside acclaimed artists including Lisa Fischer, Terri Lyne Carrington, Patrice Rushen, Jazzmeia Horn, Christian Sands, and Immanuel Wilkins, experiences that continue to inspire the depth and range of his music today.

A recent graduate of Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies, Kevin studied under the mentorship of Walter Blanding Jr. and Rodney Whitaker, both of whom played a pivotal role in shaping his voice as a musician and bandleader. His artistic development has also been enriched by encounters with artists such as Bob Nixon, Diego Rivera, and Vincent Herring, each leaving a lasting imprint on his craft. Now beginning his graduate studies at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University as one the recipients of the Graduate Jazz Fellowship, Kevin is focused on continuing his growth as a musician, leader, and educator under the mentorship and teachings of Sean Jones and Tim Green.

Carlo Rabano

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Carlo Rabano’s entire musical philosophy is backed by one simple rule: “Tell Your Story”.

Hailed as “[one of the] San Francisco Young Lions” by Ulysses Owens Jr., the Filipino-American trombonist’s soulful, powerful sound takes both the traditional and modern aspects of jazz to always storytell through improvisation and composition. His vocabulary and compositional style captures the raw excitement, passion, and energy that is necessary to connect both musically and emotionally with musicians and the audience.

His latest community project, PANGANDOY: The Dreams We Share Overseas, bridged music and culture with the San Francisco Filipino community. Carlo’s original compositions performed by his quartet celebrated Filipino roots and heritage, fusing together themes of cultural identity and personal experience with the traditions of jazz composition and improvisation.

After relocating from Orange County, CA to San Francisco in 2021, Carlo recently graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music from the Roots, Jazz, and American Music program. He now regularly performs throughout the Bay with his groups, and is an in-demand sideperson for both jazz and commercial music. Carlo has performed with Ulysses Ownes Jr., Steven Lugerner, The Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, the M’Orchestra, and Adam Klipple, in addition to international musicians such as Arthur Verocai and Vladimir Cetkar, and is principal trombonist for the Filipino American Symphony Orchestra in LA.

An equally passionate music educator, Carlo has embraced his role as Lead Artist-in-Residence at the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, leading the longstanding jazz program into a new era. Focusing on community through music as well as traditional and modern jazz big band and small group styles, he directs the SOTA Advanced Big Band and SOTA Advanced Combo. Carlo also collaborates with Stanford Jazz Workshop as a coach for their middle school programs, visits schools for brass masterclasses, and privately teaches throughout the Bay.

Carmen Quill

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Carmen Quill is an upright bassist, composer, and songwriter working mainly in jazz, improvised and experimental music. Carmen leads a trio with Jacob Sacks and Billy Hart; co-leads the band tilt (Kalia Vandever, Isabel Crespo Pardo); and is a core member of the band Scree (Ryan El-Solh, Jason Burger). She is known for her sound and versatility on the double bass, her captivating performances as a solo artist, and her intuitive sensitivity as an improviser.

Carmen’s debut solo recording, Don’t Get Comfy / Nowhere (2021), “thrives on the meeting of reservation and vulnerability, and its songs feel as emotional and virtuosic as a power ballad yet are sparse and withholding as a Rembrandt” (Pitchfork). Carmen has performed internationally as a solo artist and as a core collaborator on works including Asa Horvitz’s GHOST, a music-based choreographic piece supported by Musiktheatertage Wien, Het HEM, and others. She has performed with various projects on notable stages including at Big Ears Festival, Carnegie Hall, Winter Jazz Fest, Vision Festival, and brutWien. Carmen is a 2025 Next Jazz Legacy Awardee (New Music USA).

Carmen has taught at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Roosevelt High School (Seattle), and Seattle JazzED in addition to teaching private lessons, ensemble classes and workshops since 2014.

Michael Blasky

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Michael Blasky is a Los Angeles based saxophone player, composer, and record producer. Originally from Marin County, he found early community in the vibrant youth music scene and educational institutions in the Bay Area at large, performing music as a member of the SFJazz High School All Stars as well as adventuresome peer-led ensembles, before moving south to attend the jazz program at the USC Thornton School of Music. There he deepened his relationship with the intersection of improvised and composed music, as well as established new avenues of his creative practice…studio recording, film scoring, avant-garde sound design, large ensemble writing, and more.

As such, Michael’s professional musical life is quite multi-faceted. As a touring saxophone player he’s performed on stage with artists such as HAIM, Suki Waterhouse, Vagabon, Rostam, and many more. An active member of Los Angeles’s creative music scene, he regularly performs with improvising ensembles as well as collaborates with a wide range of the city’s indie artists as a sideperson, arranger, and producer. In addition to his instrumental work, Michael works extensively in the creation of music for film and TV, operating as a composer, orchestrator, arranger, score & music editor, and copyist.

A longtime Stanford Jazz Workshop attendee (he credits the Workshop as “why he chose to pursue music”) and later counselor, he’s thrilled to join the faculty this summer. His current areas of musical study and interest include: sound and phrasing, working with creative resistance, identifying priorities and “The Why”, horn playing as accompaniment, and novel composing practices. He strongly believes that a life in music is a worthwhile and joyful way to effect positive change in the world.

Kalia Vandever

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Kalia Vandever is an award-winning trombonist and composer living in New York. Their approach to the trombone is distinctive and defined by their sonorous tone and lyrical improvisational voice. They lean into the challenges of the instrument and allow patience and melody guide their process.

In their compositional practice, Kalia draws from their love of songs and improvisation, creating a landscape of sounds that resonate in the body and hold the listener. They released their debut ensemble album In Bloom in 2019, described as “the rise of an exciting voice for the music” (Seton Hawkins, Hot House Jazz Magazine). Their sophomore album Regrowth released in May 2022 on New Amsterdam Records and “confirms [their] strengths as a composer and bandleader with a distinctly contemporary point of view” (Nate Chinen, WBGO Jazz). Their debut solo album We Fell In Turn, featuring their works for trombone, voice and electronics, released on AKP Records in March 2023.  Their newest album, Another View, features Mary Halvorson, Kanoa Mendenhall, and Kayvon Gordon, released in November 2025 and was praised by Downbeat for “its entrancing, cyclical rhythms and longing melodicism.”

Kalia received their Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies at the Juilliard School in 2017.  They have toured and performed internationally with their quartet, performing at festivals such as the Winter Jazz Festival and BRIC Jazz Festival. They are also known for their work as a side-person, performing with jazz artists including  Joel Ross, Immanuel Wilkins, Fay Victor, to name a few. Kalia has also performed with popular artists including Harry Styles, Lizzo, Japanese Breakfast, Moses Sumney, Jennifer Hudson, and Demi Lovato. They have appeared on Saturday Night Live twice, as well as Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal.

Kalia is an awardee of the 2022 Next Jazz Legacy, a program founded by New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice. Kalia was also selected to curate the 2022 Music Series for The Arts Center at Duck Creek in East Hampton. Along with their performance work, Kalia has been commissioned to write works for groups and individuals including Tesla Quartet, The Westerlies, Katherine Kyu Hyeon Lim, and Hats & Heels Duo.

Kalia is also experienced as an educator and is currently on faculty at the New England Conservatory. In addition, they have led masterclasses at universities including California Institute of the Arts, University of Chicago Illinois, Cal State Northridge, Saddleback College, University of Maine Farmington, and University of Missouri.

Kalia is also a founding member of tilt, a Brooklyn-based collective bringing together the voices of Isabel Crespo Pardo, Carmen Quill, and Kalia. The intimacy found in the ensemble is apparent through their evolving chemistry on stage and their symbiotic improvisational approach. They released their debut record something we once knew in 2024 on Dear Life Records.

Kalia endorses Conn Selmer and Bach instruments as well as Denis Wick London.

Photos by Leslie Mok.

Carlos Henriquez

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Carlos Henriquez’s musical journey began in the vibrant borough of the Bronx, New York, where he first drew breath in 1979. His affinity for music became evident from an early age as he immersed himself in its world. As the chords of opportunity sounded, he embraced the guitar during his formative years, later embracing the resonant allure of the bass while honing his talents within The Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program. His path led him to the illustrious halls of LaGuardia High School of Music & Arts and Performing Arts. Here, his passion converged with the LaGuardia Concert Jazz Ensemble, a musical endeavor that would ascend to grand heights. The ensemble’s victory in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Prestigious Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival of 1996 solidified their legacy.

Upon graduating in 1998, Carlos Henriquez embarked on an expedition that transcended borders and genres. An invitation to join the Wynton Marsalis Septet and the esteemed Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra transformed him into a global virtuoso. His resonant bass notes have graced over 25 albums, resonating harmoniously with the talents of luminaries like Chucho Valdes, Paco De Lucia, Tito Puente, and Eddie Palmieri.Henriquez’s melodic tapestry extends far and wide, weaving intricate threads with legends like Danilo Perez, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and the Marsalis Family. His musical voyage encompasses transcendent collaborations with icons including Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, and Stevie Wonder, as well as contemporary greats like Lenny Kravitz and Marc Anthony.An educator as well as a performer, Carlos has wielded his expertise as a member of the faculty at Northwestern University School of Music since 2008.

His role as music director during Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s momentous cultural exchange with the Cuban Institute of Music in 2010 further underscores his commitment to musical diplomacy and cultural unity.In recent years, Carlos Henriquez has ascended to new pinnacles. His leadership and artistry have radiated in the spotlight, guiding Jazz at Lincoln Center concerts with a dual force of musicianship and vision. A landmark collaboration with Ruben Blades in November 2014 etched a fresh chapter in the orchestra’s history, interweaving salsa, and jazz harmonies into an unforgettable crescendo.The pulse of his creativity resonates through a quartet of groundbreaking projects. “The Bronx Pyramid” stands as a testament to his innovation, released under the Blue Engine label. “Dizzy Con Clave,” released through RodBros, further demonstrates his compositional prowess. A significant milestone was marked with his first Grammy-nominated opus, “The South Bronx Story,” a multifaceted opus that entwines the South Bronx’s social history with his Puerto Rican heritage.As the dawn of September 15th, 2023, approaches, a new masterpiece readies itself for the world’s ears. “A Nuyorican Tale,” meticulously crafted in collaboration with Symphonic Distributions, unveils an urban Latin-jazz odyssey. This musical tapestry tells tales of Puerto Rican and Nuyorican heritage, a melodic testament to the struggles and triumphs within New York City’s vibrant tapestry. Voices rise to recount historical crossroads, from the struggles of San Juan Hill to the heart of The South Bronx, etching their narratives into the very landscape they’ve shaped.Presently, Carlos Henriquez’s resonance as a maestro echoes from the Bass chair of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, a testament to his artistry and enduring contribution to the world of music.

Andy Clausen

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Andy Clausen is a GRAMMY-nominated trombonist, composer, arranger, producer and educator. A sought-after touring and studio musician across genres, Andy has collaborated with a wide range of artists including Fleet Foxes, Aaron Dessner, Joanna Newsom, Feist, Sylvan Esso, Vieux Farka Touré, Celisse, John Zorn, Samora Pinderhughes, Dave Douglas, Haley Heynderickx, Aoife O’Donovan, Silvana Estrada, Caroline Shaw, Theo Bleckmann, Chris Thile, Nico Muhly, and Conrad Tao.

Andy is a founding member of The Westerlies, an acclaimed new music brass chamber ensemble with “a unique reputation for exploring the emotional textures of American music” (DownBeat). From Carnegie Hall to Coachella, The Westerlies navigate a wide array of projects with the precision of a string quartet, the audacity of a rock band, and the charm of a family sing-along, creating music that is “folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous” – NPR.

Andy has also gained stature as a bandleader for creative music with the albums The Wishbone Suite, Shutter Vols. 1 & 2, Few Ill Words: Solo Trombone at The TANK, Vol. 1, and Heart of Tones: Solo Trombone at The TANK, Vol. 2. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks, Coachella, Radio City Music Hall, the Kennedy Center, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, NPR Tiny Desk, Newport Folk Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, Newport Classical Festival, FreshGrass, Pitchfork Music Festival, SFJAZZ, and Jazz at Lincoln Center.

In addition to his performance work, Andy is an active composer for film, television, and radio, contributing original music to NBC, MSNBC, Showtime, The Michelle Obama Podcast, PBS, NPR, The New York Times, Blue Chalk Media, the Whitney Museum, and Freedom House.

Andy is a graduate of The Juilliard School, and in 2021 joined the faculty at The New School as an artist-in-residence and professor of trombone and composition. From 2015–2023, Andy served as Artistic Director for Jazz at New York Youth Symphony, collaborating with guest artists including Maria Schneider, Rufus Reid, Matt Wilson, Ingrid Jensen, Ted Nash, Jim McNeely, Sean Jones, and more. Additionally, Andy works with thousands of students each year through The Westerlies’ educational initiatives, and has given masterclasses at Juilliard, Yale, Colburn, Northwestern, Manhattan School of Music, Boston Conservatory, and Michigan State University.

Andy is an endorsing artist of Conn-Selmer/King Trombones, Eventide Effects, and Moog Synthesizers. He lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, with his wife Rachel. Aside from music, he enjoys cooking, cycling, walking, travel, and photography.

Stefon Harris

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Stefon Harris is a four-time Grammy-nominated jazz vibraphonist, educator, app developer, and thought leader. He has been heralded as “one of the most important artists in jazz” (Los Angeles Times) and is a recipient of the prestigious Doris Duke Artist Award and the Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center. He has been named Best Mallet Player eight times by the Jazz Journalist Association and Best Vibes Player in DownBeat Magazine’s Critics Poll. Harris currently tours with his Grammy-nominated band, Blackout, and has released eleven albums as a leader. He has also recorded and performed with The Classical Jazz Quartet, Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, Lewis Nash, the SFJAZZ Collective, Joe Henderson, Wynton Marsalis, Milt Jackson, Lionel Hampton, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall, Max Roach, Chaka Khan, Kurt Elling, Buster Williams, Dianne Reeves, Common, and Pablo Zeigler.

Harris’ band, Stefon Harris & Blackout, is a pioneering force in contemporary jazz. With influential albums like Sonic Creed (named Jazz Album of the Year by WBGO – the world’s #1 jazz station) and Urbanus (Grammy-nominated), Stefon Harris & Blackout showcase a dynamic interplay of intricate arrangements and soulful improvisation, solidifying their status as trailblazers in the modern jazz landscape. Their performances promise an electrifying fusion of tradition and innovation, leaving an indelible mark on audiences and further shaping the evolving narrative of jazz expression. They recently released Sonic Creed II: Life Signs (Motema Music), which is the highly anticipated sequel to their critically acclaimed album, Sonic Creed.

Along with performing, Harris has taught at universities throughout the world, led curriculum development at the Brubeck Institute, served as a part of the jazz faculty at New York University, and formerly served as the Associate Dean and Director of Jazz Arts at Manhattan School of Music. He is currently Artistic Advisor of Jazz Education at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), the Director of the Harmony Lab at Express Newark, and a tenured Associate Professor of Music at Rutgers University – Newark.

In 2013, he founded The Melodic Progression Institute (MPI) and created a revolutionary ear training app called Harmony Cloud which is widely used by musicians across multiple genres.

As a thought leader, Harris leads transformative presentations on corporate leadership and team empowerment for Fortune 100 companies using jazz as a metaphor. His 2012 TED Talk, “There Are No Mistakes on the Bandstand,” has gained nearly 900,000 views. Through these presentations, Harris is committed to the proliferation of empathy through the arts and empowering others with the necessary tools to articulate their authentic voices through music.