Two outstanding big bands – the Jazzschool Studio Band, featuring many of the best high school musicians in the Bay Area, and the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, featuring many of the Bay Area’s finest studio musicians along with special guest John Santos – present an evening of dynamic big band music at the Freight!

Under the direction of legendary composer, arranger, trombonist, and educator Dave Eshelman, the Jazzschool Studio Band showcases the cream of the high school crop of aspiring jazz musicians, and has played at festivals from New York to Montreux.

The Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, one of the hottest new big bands on the San Francisco scene, just released their first album, Cheap Rent, which AllAboutJazz.com calls “a splendid debut, one that betokens great promise for enterprises yet to come.”

John Santos is a Bay Area jazz institution all by himself. Charismatic bandleader, percussionist extraordinaire, dedicated educator, and five-time Grammy nominee, John has worked with enough musical legends to fill a hall of fame, from Dizzy Gillespie to Max Roach, Tito Puente to Tootie Heath. His Machete Ensemble occupied the pinnacle of Latin jazz in the Bay Area for more than twenty years.

The California Jazz Conservatory 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.

Jazz in the Neighborhood is a volunteer-run organization that brings jazz performances by local musicians to communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. It collaborates with arts organizations and venues to develop programming, produce public performances, and secure funding to pay musicians and other artists. Special efforts are made to mentor and support emerging jazz artists and composers through workshops, showcases, and competitions. These and other activities are designed to promote jazz to the public at-large and to encourage the continuing development of jazz as an art form.

Visit the California Jazz Conservatory website

Visit the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra website

Visit the John Santos website

Visit the Jazz in the Neighborhood website