The finest young musicians in the Bay Area deliver their valedictory concert, joined onstage by SFJAZZ Collective alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón!
It takes a particularly well-rounded jazz musician to be
equally accomplished as a bandleader, soloist, ensemble
member, and sideman. Add to that list the ability to teach,
and you have a perfect description of the multi-talented alto
saxophonist Miguel Zenón, tonight’s special guest with the
SFJAZZ High School All-Stars.
A founding member of the SFJAZZ Collective, Zenón first
came to prominence as a member of tenor saxophonist and
fellow Escuela Libre de Musica alumnus David Sánchez (performing
6/13). After earning a Masters degree in Saxophone
Performance at the Manhattan School of Music, he was quickly
in heavy demand as a sideman in New York City, including
work with bassist Charlie Haden, the Village Vanguard Orchestra,
the Mingus Big Band and Jerry Gonzales & the Fort
Apache Big Band.
His live and recorded work as a bandleader has since been well
received and his fourth album Awake was just released April 1
on Marsalis Music. “Zenón, unlike many young players with his
chops, is uninterested in wailing simply because he can,” wrote
Jazz Times. “He wails with purpose. He is all about his songs,
and their fervent delineations and logical elaborations.”
In this evening’s concert Zenon joins the all-stars of tomorrow,
the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars. Selected annually by
competitive audition, the All-Stars rehearse and perform with
today’s top jazz educators and artists, and serve as “testimony
to the continuing persistence of the creative spirit” (Los Angeles
Times). As part of this Spring Season’s Shorter Project, they
tackle big band arrangements of works written by saxophonist
and composer Wayne Shorter.
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