John Burn

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John Burn

Giant Steps Big Band


Weare thrilled to welcome John Burn as director of the Giant Steps Big Band program!

John brings a wealth of experience as a top jazz educator, and is the Director of Bands and Orchestra and the Music Department Lead at Homestead High School, where he has taught since 1991. John is a Past-president of: California Music Educators Association, California Band Directors Association, California Music Educators Association Bay Section, Santa Clara County Band Directors Association, and the Santa Cruz Jazz Festival Board of Directors.

John has received several significant commendations including: the 2023 National Federation of High School Associations Region 7 (California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada & Hawaii) Outstanding Music Educator Award, a 2019 Grammy Music Educator Award Semi-finalist; the 2015 CBDA Distinguished Service Award; 2014 School Band & Orchestra Magazine’s California representative in their annual article, “50 Directors that Make a Difference”; the 2010 CMEA California Band Director of the Year; the 2009-2010 Homestead High School Teacher of the Year; and he is a 2009 Inductee to the John Philip Sousa Foundation’s Legion of Honor.

John is active as a guest conductor for honor groups and as an adjudicator for band, orchestra and jazz festivals. He has conducted seven different honor bands and orchestras so far including the 2018 California All-State Honor Junior High Concert Band. He has directed the Jazz Band, Orchestra and the Concert Band at Cazadero Performing Arts Camp. He is a regular adjudicator for CMEA Bay Section Band, Orchestra and Jazz Festivals and has also adjudicated concert and/or marching events in Santa Barbara, CA, and Reno, NV.

John is a contributing author in the book, “Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra,” Volume 4, GIA Publications, 2021, and has presented sessions at state and local conferences in California and Alaska.

Bands and orchestras under John’s direction consistently earn high ratings at regional, state, and international festivals, including performances in the Musikverein in Vienna, the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Kobe Jazz Festival in Kobe, Japan, Carnegie Hall in New York City, and Disney Hall in Los Angeles. The Homestead Marching Band performed in the 2011 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the 2018 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.

John plays lead trumpet in a semi-professional jazz band called, “The Footnotes,”  and is marching with the “Saluting America’s Band Directors” Band Director Marching Band in the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade as he did with this band in the 2022 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade.

John holds a B.A. in Music Education from UCLA and a Master’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Illinois, and graduated from the high school where he now teaches, Homestead High. John lives in Santa Cruz, with his patient and supportive wife, Allison.


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Irene Sazer

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Irene Sazer

Strings, Giant Steps Day Camp, Jazz Camp Week 1, Jazz Camp Package, Giant Steps Package


Internationally known founding member of Turtle Island String Quartet, soloist, recording artist, and respected educator, Irene Sazer is an in-demand genre-hopping violinist/fiddler of many styles. She founded Real Vocal String Quartet and the School of Strings and String Improvisation in Berkeley, California. Sazer’s recording First Things First highlights her original songs. She has performed with Ali Akbar Khan, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Smoky Robinson, David Grisman, Linda Rondstadt, Bjork, and Billy Joel, performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and concert halls around the world. A grant awarded composer, she has also built a body of work in visual arts with a distinctive portfolio of drawings, paintings and films.


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Sylvia Cuenca

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Sylvia Cuenca

Drums, Jazz Institute, Advanced Package


Sylvia Cuenca is an active drummer on the New York jazz scene who is contributing outstanding performances in a variety of situations. She has had the honor of sharing the bandstand with saxophone legend Joe Henderson for 4 years and trumpet legend Clark Terry for 17 years. The Joe Henderson quartet toured frequently in European countries Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, England, Switzerland, France, Italy and Germany and venues across the U.S. In a trio setting she performed with Joe Henderson and Charlie Haden in 1989 and with George Mraz in 1994. She performed with the Clark Terry Quintet and Big Band at Village Vanguard, Birdland, Blue Note, Queen Elizabeth 2, Royal Viking, S.S. Norway jazz cruises and clubs, concerts and festivals in the U.S, Europe, the Caribbean and South America. While working with the Clark Terry quintet she had the opportunity to perform with guest artists Al Grey, Red Holloway, Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Marian McPartland, Dianne Reeves, Joe Williams and Lou Donaldson to name a few.

Cuenca has also performed with such jazz luminaries as Billy Taylor, Frank Foster’s Loud Minority Big Band, Houston Person, Etta Jones, Helen Merrill, John Hicks, Valery Ponomarov, Lew Soloff, James Spaulding, Kenny Barron, Ray Drummond, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, George Cables, Hilton Ruiz, Jon Faddis, Eddie Henderson, John Handy, Kenny Drew Jr., Emily Remler, Richie Cole, Dave Stryker, Gregory Porter, Jessie Davis, Sean Jones, John Clayton, Ralph Bowen, Vincent Herring, Paul Bollenback, Geoffrey Keezer, Mark Whitfield, Ralph Moore, Paula West, Catherine Russell, Dianne Reeves, Dianne Schuur, Denise Donatelli, Ernestine Anderson, Lea Delaria, the European based Vienna Art Orchestra and many others. In 2007 she performed in a live taping of Black Girls Rock concert in New York City with pop star Alicia Keys. In 2015 she performed at Dizzy’s Jazz at Lincoln Center in NYC and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. with Albert “Tootie” Heath’s 4 drum set group called “The Whole Drum Truth” which also included drummers Louis Hayes and Joe Saylor.

She was a guest clinician at the Sisters in Jazz Program at the IAJE Convention in NYC and the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Cuenca has been a longtime faculty member at the Jazz for Teens and Pre-Teen Program at NJPAC and the Stanford Jazz Workshop in California. Recently she has been on faculty at Roni Ben-Hur’s Summer Jazz Camp in Vermont. She was an artist-in-residence at various universities in the U.S. and Europe with the Clark Terry quintet, Eddie Henderson quartet and as a leader with her own groups. In 2014 she received a B.A. degree in Jazz Performance from Empire State University in NYC.

In 1988 and 1991 Cuenca received jazz performance grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and in 1992 she was a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Drum Competition. In 2022 she received San Jose Jazz New Works grant.

She has studied with jazz master drummers Adam Nussbaum, Victor Lewis, Keith Copeland and Brazilian drummer Portinho. Sylvia endorses Canopus Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and brushes, and Remo Drumheads.


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Edward Simon

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Edward Simon

Piano, Jazz Piano Intensive, Jazz Institute, Advanced Package


EdwardSimon, a native of Venezuela, has made a name for himself over decades in America as a jazz improviser, composer-arranger and band leader, with his profile heightening in recent years as he has explored the commonalities jazz can have with the folkloric sounds of Latin America. JazzTimes summed up his impact this way: “Simon is less talked about than many other important jazz pianists from the Caribbean and South America, but he may be the most complete creative artist among them.”

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, as a member of the all-star SFJAZZ Collective, he has been a Guggenheim Fellow along with being awarded multiple composition grants as part of the Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works initiative. Simon, a Yamaha artist, has recorded 16 albums as a leader or co-leader; his latest is Solo Live, released via Ridgeway Records in October 2021. This follows Simon’s 2020 album 25 Years and his 2016 album Latin American Songbook, with the four-and-a-half-star DownBeat review praising its “grand and sophisticated” sound. Latin American Songbook also won Simon an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album. The New York Times has praised Simon’s “light, warm touch” as a pianist, while Jazz Journal International singled out “his deep emotional statements” as a composer and improviser. Simon is a 2021 recipient of Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works and South Arts Jazz Road Creative Residencies awards.


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Jazz Piano Intensive

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For pianists age 21 and over

By audition only

SJW JAZZ PIANO INTENSIVE FOR ADULTS

  • Open to adults 21 and over by audition
  • Includes daily piano trio sessions, coached by SJW piano faculty Bennett Paster & Edward Simon
  • Master classes with SJW piano faculty; previous faculty artists include Taylor EIgsti, Kenny Barron, George Cables, Harold Mabern, Ethan Iverson, and many others
  • Access to SJW Jazz Institute classes such as jazz theory, musicianship, and special presentations from faculty such as (in previous years) Chris Potter, Anat Cohen, Charles McPherson, Joshua Redman, Larry Grenadier, Melissa Aldana, and many others
  • Showcase on August 2
  • Free admission to nightly Stanford Jazz Festival concerts and jam sessions

Sample schedule:

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m., Piano Intensive warm-up with SJW piano faculty

10:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m., piano masterclass taught by SJW piano faculty (open to all Jazz Institute students)

11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., lunch / noon concert by SJW faculty 

1:00 p.m – 2:25 p.m, special presentations taught by SJW Jazz Institute faculty (open to all Jazz Institute students)

2:30 p.m – 6:20 p.m, Piano Intensive coaching sessions 

8:00 p.m, free admission to nightly Stanford Jazz Festival concerts

Subject to change.


PROGRAM DATES AND TUITION


JAZZ PIANO INTENSIVE

Tuition: $1,650

Housing for adults, double occupancy: $695

Optional on-campus meal plan: $300

Six-day program: July 28 – August 2

Sign up now!

Christina Galisatus

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Christina Galisatus

Piano – Giant Steps Day Camp, Jazz Camp Week 1, Giant Steps Package, Jazz Camp Package


Pianist and composer Christina Galisatus is an SJW family member, having practically grown up in SJW’s summer and after-school programs. Her development into a composer and recording artist has made her an even more popular faculty member than she already was — and she was already one of the favorites!

After the release of her debut single “Root” featuring Jeff Parker, Christina Galisatus has quickly established herself as an up-and-coming artist and composer. Christina has developed a strong compositional voice, with songs that blur the lines between genres and feature lyrical melodies, all emphasized with her ability to express herself as a pianist. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area in a musical family, Christina graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Jazz Piano Performance. Christina is now based in Los Angeles where she writes, performs, records, and teaches music in a variety of settings.

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Tiffany Austin

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Tiffany Austin

Vocals – Jazz Camp Week 2, Advanced Package, Jazz Camp Package, Jazz Camp Vocal Program


Born and raised in South Los Angeles, Austin grew up in a house filled with music. Her parents listened to soul and pop masters like Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder, while her Louisiana Creole grandmother introduced her to jazz. “She really taught me what soul was about,” Austin says. “She had a great sense of herself, and didn’t let anyone make her feel less than herself. When I sing the blues or jazz, I draw on that Grandmama place.”

Her older brother John Austin IV was also a profound influence. A celebrated emcee and rapper, he’s best known as Ras Kass. “He got signed to a record label at 17,” she recalls. “I watched him pursue his music, for better or worse, He never had a day job, and sustained himself from music. I’d sneak in his room and riffle through his records. He sampled lots of great music, and he’s responsible for my obsession with Ella scatting over the break in ‘A Night in Tunisia.’”

Austin took a very different path. She graduated from the vaunted Los Angeles High School of the Arts. At Cal State Northridge, she majored in creative writing, while studying classical voice. During the year she spent studying in the U.K., she started sitting in at jazz sessions around London. After graduating in 2004, Austin set out for Tokyo with the plan that she’d look for work as a singer and spend a year in Japan. After finding regular work as an R&B chanteuse Austin ended up staying in Tokyo through 2009 and only returned because UC Berkeley’s School of Law made her a scholarship offer she couldn’t refuse.

Austin submerged herself in law school and left music behind. After the first year, she realized that she desperately needed a musical outlet. She began performing with bassist, composer, and bandleader Marcus Shelby on numerous projects, including a title role in Harriet’s Spirit, an opera about Harriet Tubman. “There was such a stark contrast between what I was doing in law school and what I wanted to do. I don’t regret going through the program—it made me understand what is truly important to me.”

With a series of prestigious gigs and residencies, Austin quickly gained attention as the most exciting new voice in the region. Performing a program of songs associated with Hoagy Carmichael led to her 2015 debut Nothing But Soul, the album that catapulted her into national prominence. With Unbroken, Austin makes it clear that she’s far more than a beautiful voice. Claiming her cultural birthright, she’s an artist drawing nourishment from all of jazz’s roots.


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Mikailo Kasha

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Mikailo Kasha

Bass, Jazz Camp Week 1, Jazz Camp Package, Giant Steps Package


Mikailo Kasha is a jazz bassist, composer, and “in the top 1% of bassists worldwide”, as stated by Scotty Barnhart of the Count Basie Orchestra. Arising from the renowned jazz scene in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mikailo is an alumnus of the SF High School All-stars, San Jose Jazz, and SJW Jazz Institute — where he quickly earned himself a spot on the SJW faculty with his warm personality and inviting educational approach. He holds a Bachelor’s in Music from Florida State University, where he studied under Rodney Jordan and Marcus Roberts. 

Mikailo has been invited to attend programs worldwide, including Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute for Jazz in Chicago, Jazz Aspen’s JAS Academy in Colorado, the Siena Jazz Workshop in Italy, and the Generations Workshop in Switzerland. 

This past May, Mikailo graduated from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami with a Master’s of Music in Jazz Performance. While at Frost, he won the “Jazz Soloist” category in the graduate division of the 2022 Downbeat Magazine Student Music Awards, and his trio received an award for “Outstanding Performance”.


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Nick Panoutsos

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Nick Panoutsos

Bass, Giant Steps Day Camp, Giant Steps Package


In the three years that Nick Panoutsos has been teaching for SJW, he’s become one of the most popular of all SJW’s bass instructors. His expertise is vast, and his mastery of the instrument is truly impressive. But best of all, Nick loves teaching, and his warm and easy-going manner makes him a favorite among our students of all ages.

Nick has become an increasingly prominent voice in the New York City jazz community since moving from the San Francisco Bay Area in 2016. He has earned a reputation as a versatile collaborator and leader on both upright and electric bass. His forthcoming album, Monos, features solo bass performances of his own compositions and Greek folk songs. Originally from San Jose, California, Panoutsos studied with Bruce Moyer, principal bass of Monterey Symphony, and John Shifflett, the beloved first-call Bay Area jazz bassist. Both musicians helped to refine Panoutsos’s technique and gave him the skills necessary to pick up work as a sideman, and eventually a bandleader.

When he moved to New York, Panoutsos began taking lessons with Martin Wind, Gregg August, and Yasushi Nakamura, in addition to performing several nights a week at clubs in midtown Manhattan and the East Village. Throughout his time in New York, Panoutsos has collaborated with Queens-based singer songwriter duendita, and has performed with pianist Gil Goldstein. During return visits to the West Coast, he has led his own band at the San Jose Jazz Festival, toured locally and recorded with the Richard Howell Quartet, and performed alongside Bay Area improvisers Steven Lugerner and Richard Sears. Nick teaches private music lessons for all ages in Brooklyn.


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SJW Big Band Showcase

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SJW Spring Big Band Showcase



BECOME A MEMBER AND GET BENEFITS


Sunday, May 7

2:00 p.m.

Dinkelspiel Auditorium

SJW MEMBERS: Free | Child (17 and under) & Student (present valid student ID card) Free

NON-MEMBERS: $10 | Child (17 and under) & Student (present valid student ID card) Free



Three amazing big bands — the Giant Steps Big Band and two of our Miles Ahead Big Bands — powered by the most talented young musicians in the Bay Area perform music that will have you tapping your toes, snapping your fingers, and smiling with delight. Directed by Dave Gregoric, Kristen Strom, and Mike Galisatus, these bands meet every week duing the school year to dig deep into jazz history and styles, ensemble performance, and to master the art of improvisation. Come and see the future of jazz developing before your eyes!





JOIN THE LIVESTREAM AT 2 PM PST

BECOME A MEMBER, SAVE $ AND SUPPORT JAZZ EDUCATION