CLINICIANS for the
7th annual TJYBF
Sat., Feb. 11, 2012:
Gordon Au, trumpet
David Robinson, trumpet
Bob Draga, clarinet
Mike McMullen, reeds
Craig Faniani, piano
Bob Secor, piano
Jason Wanner, piano
Steve Homan, guitar
Bill Dendle, banjo
Eddie Erickson, banjo/vocals
Lenny Pollacchi, bass
Ron Jones, drums
2012 CLINICIANS
Dr. Steve Roach
is pleased to
announce an
outstanding
faculty for the
2012 Festival
Gordon Au
Trumpet
As a graduate of Berklee College of Music, and as inaugural graduate of the Monk Institute (under the artistic direction of Terence Blanchard), Gordon is at the forefront of creating the next generation of jazz music. Through the Institute, Gordon has studied and performed with and written arrangements for some of today's biggest names in jazz. He has served as guest lecturer at Loyola University of New Orleans, taught a course at UC Berkeley, served as Visiting Artist at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, taught at countless music camps, and given clinics in Japan, Finland, Panama, and the US. His musical tours have taken him to India, Japan, Australia, England, France, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, and Panama. Currently, Gordon resides in Brooklyn, NY, where he continues to write, teach, and perform in both traditional and modern musical veins. He can be seen performing regularly with bands such as Vince Giordano & His Nighthawks, the Louis Armstrong Centennial Band at Birdland, the Gordon Au Sextet, the Grand St. Stompers, the Melissa Aldana Quartet, the Cangelosi Cards, Baby Soda Jazz Band, the Gregorio Uribe Big Band, and others.
John Cocuzzi
Vibraphone/Piano/Drums
John will serve as an adjudicator.
Bill Dendle
Trombone / Guitar / Banjo
Bill began playing banjo in 1963, and by 1967 he performed at Mickie Finn's in San Diego as leader of the South Market Street Jazz Band. Bill was the lead banjoist at Capone's Warehouse in Monterey for nine years. 1977 found Bill as an entertainment consultant, banjoist, trombonist, band leader and entertainer at Florida's Disneyworld, where he opened on the Empress Lilly Showboat. In late 1977 he revived the South Market Street Jazz Band. From 1982 to 1995, Bill appeared as one-half of the duo called Goodtime Banjos. Bill is currently director of three trad. jazz camp programs. He plays trombone, guitar and banjo in Shelley Burns & Avalon Swing, and with Fast Eddie Erickson. Bill has performed with Bob Haggart, Bob Crosby, Johnny Varro, Dick Cary, Abe Most, Nick Fatool, Bob Draga and others. He is currently Vice-Principal at Lindbergh Educational Center in Manteca, California.
Bob Draga
Clarinet
TJYBF Guest Clinician in 2006
Bob’s professional career encompasses over thirty-five years of live performances (national and international) at jazz festivals, jazz cruises, and personal engagements. Bob has appeared regularly with the Titan Hot 7, Wally’s Warehouse Waifs, and as a duo with Jeff Barnhart. Bob performs exclusively on the “high seas” for Jazzdagen Cruises, sailing throughout the world. Since leaving the Garden Avenue Seven, a band he founded and led for twenty-two years, Bob has led several all-star bands, was co-leader of the Draga-Vax Connection for three years, and has worked frequently with Johnny Varro, Tom Saunders, Rick Fay, Bob Haggart, and other world-class jazz performers, and has many recordings to his credit. In addition to playing superb clarinet, Bob presents an almost wicked brand of humor, making him one of the busiest musicians on the trad jazz circuit today.
Eddie Erickson
Banjo/Vocals
TJYBF Guest Clinician in 2008
"Fast Eddie" Erickson began his banjo/guitar career the mid '60s in the San Jose, CA area. He moved to Monterey, CA in 1969 to work at Capone's Warehouse on Cannery Row. From there, Ed went to DisneyWorld and Disneyland. He has been a featured performer at banjo shows, conventions, private parties, jazz concerts, and has appeared with such noted jazz performers as Jackie Coon, Rick Fay, Dan Barrett, Dave Frishberg, Johnny Varro, and others. Eddie has been featured with Big Mama Sue at festivals, fairs, and even the Sancy Snow Jazz Festival in France. Also a vocalist, Eddie has joined forces with Rebecca Kilgore and Dan Barrett to form BED, a fabulous jazz quartet that's a staple at jazz events throughout the country. Fast Eddie is a respected and beloved member of the jazz fraternity, and one of the funniest performers on the scene.
Craig Faniani
Piano
Craig taught in the San Juan Unified School District (SJUSD) for twenty-five years at Rio Americano High School. During that tenure his bands steadily and consistently built and maintained a reputation of music excellence. Craig was a Mentor Teacher for twelve years in the SJUSD. His many awards and honors include: Teacher of the Year from the Carmichael Chamber of Commerce in 1990, and in the SJUSD in 1994, Music Educator of the Year by the CMEA 1994, a fellowship from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Association for Excellence in Arts Education, “Music of the Heart” award in 1999, and Teacher of the Year for Sacramento County in 2000. Sacramento Magazine honored Craig and his bands in 2001, as the “Best of” in Sacramento. School Band and Orchestra Magazine chose Craig as one of their 50 Music Directors in the Nation that “make a difference”. And most recently Sacramento News and Review recognized him with a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to music education. Currently Craig is the Curriculum Coordinator for the Visual and Performing Arts for the SJUSD.
Mike McMullen
Reeds
Mike McMullen is on the jazz faculty at CSU Sacramento, and is a founding member of the Capital jazz Project. He studied saxophone with Joe Henderson, studio woodwinds with Phil Sobel, and composition and arranging with Dick Grove through a NARAS scholarship. Mike has performed in concert, toured, or recorded with many jazz greats, including Dave Liebman, Bobby Shew, Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Doc Severinson, Manhattan Transfer, Johnny Mathis, Frankie Valle, and Dianne Schuur.
Lenny Pollacchi
Bass
Lenny has been a music educator for over 35 years at middle school, high school and college levels, and has been a professional bassist since 1958. He currently works with several bands in the Sacramento area, and has appeared in every Sacramento Jazz Jubilee since its inception. For the past seven years, he served as the Music Supervisor for the Sacramento City Unified School District until his retirement last year.
Steve Homan
Guitar
Steve Homan is a jazz musician, composer and arranger who has performed professionally and taught jazz music for over 35 years. Steve toured the African continent twice in 1998 and 2000 as USA Jazz Ambassador sponsored by The US State Dept. and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In addition to maintaining a private jazz guitar studio, Steve currently teaches adjunct at California State University Sacramento, Cosumnes River College and American River College. He has also taught at several regional summer jazz programs including the Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony and Jazz Band Camp (both held at UOP), the STJS Trad Jazz Camp and The Jazz Masters/ Jazz Guitar Series. He has performed, toured and/or recorded with the following jazz artists: Jimmy Smith, Anita O’Day, Mike Clark Quartet, Allan Vache’, John Cocuzzi, John and Bill Allred, Babatunde Lea, Gene Estes, Jake Hanna, Frank Morgan, Herb Ellis, Donald Harrison, Ingrid Jensen, Rob Dixon, Harold Jones, Wycliffe Gordon, Pete Jolly, Delbert Bump, Joe Williams, Diane Schuur, Nelson Riddle Orchestra, Art Van Damme Quintet, Howard Alden, Joe Gilman, Ray Drummond, Willie Jones III, etc. Steve recently appeared on jazz drummer Mike Clark’s CD “Carnival Of Soul,” Owl Records, which climbed to #6 on the international jazz radio charts. www.stevehomanjazz.com
Ron Jones
Drums
After Ron retired from playing drums with the US Air Force show bands for many years, he backed up such prime time entertainers as Frankie Laine, Kay Starr, the Ink Spots, and Diahann Carroll. Since he moved to Sacramento in the early 1980s, he’s played with many top West Coast jazz bands. A member of the Festival Committee and Vice President of the STJS Board of Directors, Ron is a very popular drummer on the national jazz festival circuit and performs with Sister Swing..
Dr. Steve Roach
TJYBF Director
Steve has been the Director of Jazz Studies at Sacramento State University since 2001. He has also served as Director of Jazz Studies at Baylor University and has held teaching positions at the University of Northern Colorado and Northern Illinois University. Steve's duties at Sacramento State include directing large jazz ensembles, the Latin Jazz Ensemble, and teaching courses in jazz pedagogy and jazz history. In addition, Roach directs the annual Winter Jazz Festival and Trad. Jazz Youth Band Festival at Sacramento State.
Steve holds a Bachelor of Music degree in trumpet performance from Indiana University, a Master of Music degree in trumpet performance from Northern Illinois University, and a Doctor of Arts degree in trumpet and jazz pedagogy from the University of Northern Colorado. Professional appearances as an assisting artist by Roach include studio and live sessions with such jazz/pop musicians as Tito Puente, Louis Bellson, Conrad Herwig, Lou Rawls, Jon Tchicai, Ben Vereen, Melissa Manchester, Toni Tennille, Roberta Flack, Rosemary Clooney, Jeffrey Osbourne, Carl Fontana, Paquito D'Rivera, the Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey Orchestras, and others. Steve is currently serving on the Executive Board for the California Institute for the Preservation of Jazz and the Capital Section of the California Music Educators Association. Roach also works as a clinician and adjudicator for jazz festivals and workshops nationwide and has directed several California high school honor jazz ensembles including the Sacramento Capital Section Honor Jazz Band, the San Mateo Honor Jazz Band, the Fresno-Madera County Honor Jazz Band, and the Solono County High School Honor Jazz Ensemble. For more information on the Sacramento State Jazz Studies program, visit:
www.csus.edu/music/jazz/
Dave Robinson
Cornet / Trumpet
Dave has played and toured with the top traditional jazz and swing bands in the Washington, D.C. area for over 30 years. He is the founder of the Traditional Jazz Educators Network (TJEN), is past President of the American Federation of Jazz Societies (AFJS), and has produced the Smithsonian's Jazz Concert Series. For three years he hosted "The French Quarter," heard nationally on XM Satellite Radio. Dave has directed the award-winning Capital Focus Jazz Band youth group since 1988. He has served on the faculty of the STJS Trad. Jazz Youth Camp, and currently serves on the resource teams of the Jazz Education Network (JEN) and the National Association for Music Education (MENC). He and his youth band were selected to perform and present a clinic on traditional jazz at last year’s JEN conference. Dave will be teaching a Trad Jazz Track at this year's National Jazz Workshop summer camp at Shenandoah University. He is currently producing the Traditional Jazz Curriculum Kit for national distribution..
Bob Secor
Piano
Bob Secor plays piano and trumpet, and with a Masters in Music Composition, he has written over 300 arrangements for jazz band, concert band and orchestra. He writes for radio and television shows and commercials, including being on staff for Young Indiana Jones. Bob has taught jazz ensemble since 1990 at Delta Community College and at Cosumnes River College.
Jason Wanner
Piano
TJYBF Guest Clinician in 2010
In younger days, Jason Wanner's dad used to bring him to the Sac. Jazz Jubilee, where his love for jazz grew. As an STJS Music Award recipient, he played piano for TNT, the STJS-sponsored youth band. Amazingly, Jason went from being a student at the STJS Jazz Camp to earning his place as an instructor there. It brings a smile those who have watched him evolve into the brilliant musician he is today. Jason is also part of the faculty at the jazz camp in Mammoth Lakes, CA, and performs regularly with Blue Street Jazz Band across the U.S. He also apprears every so often with Sister Swing. He enjoys composing and arranging, and performing with his 11-piece swing band, Swing Syndicate.
Jason studied music for one year at USC but returned north to graduate from the California State University Sacramento School of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Classical Piano Performance. You can find him on Facebook and Twitter, or visit Jason's website for the latest info and lots of great photos: www.jasonwanner.com
Trad Jazz Youth Band Festival (TJYBF) • Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society(STJS)
c/o 1101 Kingsford Drive • Carmichael, CA 95608-6161
(916) 372-5277 • E-mail: youthbandfest@sacjazz.org
