The Jazzschool Institute presents three student ensembles for this end-of-semester performance series!

Directed by violinist Mads Tolling, the JI Jazz Fusion Ensemble explores the roots of fusion, including classic tunes by Stanley Clarke, the Brecker Brothers and Weather Report. Featuring Esther Berndt, sax; Gael Alcock, cello; Ryan Susoev, guitar; Craig Browning, piano; Seth Honig, bass; and Alex Shapiro-Romano, drums.

The new Bluegrass Ensemble, directed by banjo player Bill Evans, brings together musicians from jazz and bluegrass backgrounds. Expect traditional and contemporary bluegrass and original pieces. Featuring the double fiddles of Jan Purat and Yehudit Lieberman. Also featuring Simon Linstead, guitar/voice; Kyra Gordon, voice; Seth Honig, bass; Andy O'Brien, mandolin/voice; Ross Howe, guitar; and Bill Evans, banjo. Bill is well-known to Bay Area banjo fans as a player and a teacher and will be teaching this ensemble class at the Jazzschool Institute in the Fall Semester, along with a American Roots Music Survey Course and private banjo instruction.

Paul Mehling and Evan Price co-direct the Gypsy Jazz Ensemble, an ensemble in the style of Django Reinhardt’s and Stephane Grappelli’s Quintet of the Hot Club of France. Beginning with their first record­ings in 1934, these two innovators forged a new genre — gypsy jazz or jazz Manouche — acoustic music combining pumping, infec­tious rhythm with virtuosity, inventiveness, and soul. Featuring Della Melton, vocal; Lucy Southern, violin; Robert Feiner, violin; Samuel Boer, guitar; Ross Howe, guitar; Leo Nava, guitar; and Craig Browning, accordion.

The Jazzschool Institute offers a conservatory program devoted to the study and performance of jazz and related styles of music, fostering the artistic development of aspiring professional jazz musicians and building new audiences to sustain and promote the jazz art form. The institute integrates a comprehensive, progressive undergraduate education program taught by world-class musicians and music educators, preparing the next generation for a fulfilling life in the dynamic world of the performing arts.

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