Category: News

  • Artist Highlight – Steve Campos

    Steve Campos directing the Big Band at the UC Jazz Ensembes

    “Music is a fair and glorious gift of God. I am strongly persuaded that after theology there is no art that can be placed on the same level with music.” Steve Campos favorite quote is by religious founder Martin Luther

    Steve Campos, teaches Trumpet for Big Band

    Mr. Campos has performed with Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Dr. John, Big Brother and the Holding Co., Boz Scaggs, Rosemary Clooney, Ray Brown’s Big Band, Dave Eshleman’s Jazz Garden, Full Faith and Credit, Rudy Salvini, and various other acts and bands. 

    As performer, Steve Campos has had the opportunity to play and record with some of L.A.’s best. He has worked professionally with jazz artists Alan Pasqua, Dave Carpenter, Joe Labarbara, Isaac Smith, Jason Goldman, Kristin Korb, Tim Davies, and others as well as with pop icons A.J. McClean and Colin Hay. He received the Friends of Jazz Scholarship for being an outstanding performer in the jazz field. He participates in the ASMAC composers’ workshop where he worked with established composers Bob Florence and Kim Richmond. 

    Steve Campos completed his studies in jazz, classical, and film composition and orchestration at the University of Southern California in May of 2004. He was the recipient of the prestigious Randy Newman Scholarship while attending USC and was commissioned to arrange and conduct a Newman original for symphony orchestra in honor of Randy Newman’s appearance at the annual Charles Dickens Dinner. Steve Campos’ works are performed by the Kim Richmond Jazz Orchestra, the Billy Frenzel Jazz Orchestra, the USC Thornton Symphony Orchestra, the USC Thornton Jazz Orchestra, as well as the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Jazz Ensemble.

    Steve Campos In the News

    The trumpet section, (Mike Vax, Dennis Noday, John Harner, Steve Campos and Steve Huffsteter) to quote Doug Hughes, “could peel off that old wallpaper you need removed in your home.” www.bigbandjazz.net

    “Steve is a young man with a genius for music. He shows great knowledge, perception and ability to express musical ideas in a variety of styles. He is well equipped with the tools of composition, orchestration, and arranging in a variety of styles. His aptitude for film scoring is evident in his work, whether for full orchestra or smaller ensemble. He is well versed in pop, classical and jazz sounds and textures. Steve is someone to watch as a new and fresh voice on the music scene. Add to this his enormous prowess as a brilliant jazz trumpet soloist, and you have something very special.” Kim Richmond saxophonist/grammy nominated composer 

    “This is one special jazz vocal debut album from Los Angeles area-based Judy Wexler, based upon the musicians and recording studio. Thirteen well-chosen tunes reflect a wide spectrum of popular music, and nary a one can be accused of being overexposed over the decades. the 1960s tune “Down Here On The Ground,” lifted from the film Cool Hand Luke and now a jazz standard, is also taken in a midtempo groove and features a Steven Campos trumpet solo. This album stands miles ahead in the proliferating femme jazz vocal field. I can only hope that it will find its way to the in-baskets of the various jazz radio programmers, and fast! Michael Gladstone, www.allaboutjazz.com 

    Produced by Barbara Brighton, “Easy on the Heart” has one memorable performance after another. The repertoire is filled with superior obscurities and occasional standards, with highlights including Henry Mancini’s “Moment to Moment,” Oscar Brown’s “Humdrum Blues,” a touching “Tell Him I Said Hello,” and “Down Here on the Ground.” The arrangements expertly utilize pianist Alan Pasqua’s trio (with bassist Darek Oles and drummer Tim Pleasant), Bob Sheppard’s reeds (which include bass clarinet and soprano), and trumpeter Steven Campos. Jazziz Magazine

    On The Long and the Short of It, the Bay Area-based Michael O’Neill Quintet has devised a unique role for featured singer Kenny Washington. Washington sings a number of standards in a fairly straightforward manner, but on the originals by O’Neill, he is essentially used as another horn, vocalizing the melody or harmony along with the horns of O’Neill and Steve Campos. Stephen Latessa www.allaboutjazz.com 

  • Frank Martin, Head of the UC Jazz Advanced Combo I

    Frank Martin - Arranger/Conductor/Keyboardist

     Arranger/conductor/keyboardist Frank Martin has performed and/or recorded with a variety of artists that include Andrea Bocelli, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Steve Winwood, Whitney Houston, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Chris Isaak, Tevin Campbell, Cheryl Crow, Philip Bailey, James Taylor, Joe Cocker, Billy Joel, and Madonna.

    In the jazz world of music his performance credits include Flora Purim & Airto Moriera, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Narada Michael Walden, Stanley Jordan, Dizzy Gillespie, Mel Torme, Bobby McFerrin, John Handy, Ramsey Lewis, Joe Farrell, and the Slide Hampton Big Band.
    Orchestra performances included concerts with the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Lukes (New York Philharmonic Orchestra).

    As a producer he has worked with such artists as Al Jarreau, Lisa Fischer, Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra, the Award Winning A Cappella group SoVoSo, Gospel vocalists NuVision, story telling Jazz vocalist Rhiannon, Jazz guitarist Mimi Fox featuring organist Joey DeFrancesco and vocalist Angela Bofill, jazz vocalist Karin Blixt featuring Buddy Montgomery, Russell Ferrante, Bruce Forman, Alex Acuna, and William Kennedy, as well as Dutch vocalist Ellen Honert featuring Dori Caymmi, Abraham Laboriel, Turtle Island String Quartet, Tuck & Patti, and Pedro Eustache.

    As Musical Director he has toured with such artists as Patti Austin, Angela Bofill, Narada Michael Walden, Mickey Thomas, Roy Ares, Tevin Campbell, and Clarence Clemens.

    For two years he also worked as assistant Musical Director for The Afternoon Show on KPIX Television in San Francisco, California. Currently on staff as an educator at the Jazzschool in Berkeley, California, he is in demand as a clinician both in the United States, having taught at the Naropa Institute in Boulder Colorado, Stanford Jazz Workshops at Stanford University, as well as in Europe at the acclaimed SAMI Institute in Sweden. Annual music summer camps include JazzCampWest and the Lafayette Summer Music Workshops.

  • Frank Martin

    Frank Martin infuses the Advanced Combo I with the professionalism and creativity he is so famous and beloved for.

    Frank Martin is a great performer and a wonderful teacher. A wide range of compositional techniques and musical devices are explored and applied to class assignments including: the use of different rhythmic feels and grooves; reharmonization; form changes; innovative intros, outros, codas and vamps; and alterations to melody and lyrics. Students sing and/or play selected repertoire in a variety of styles and learn how to make even the most common standards sound new. Read feature article about Frank Martin

    In the News 

    Frank Martin Keyboard virtuoso/arranger/musical director Frank Martin has amassed a very impressive track record working with world-class performers in a diverse array of musical styles. In the pop arena, Martin has performed and/or recorded with stars that include Sting, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Steve Winwood, Whitney Houston, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Chris Isaak, Andrea Bocelli, Cheryl Crow, Philip Bailey, James Taylor, Joe Cocker, Billy Joel, Madonna and Ricki Martin. In the jazz world, his performance credits include Flora Purim & Airto Moriera, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Dizzy Gilespie, Mel Torme, Bobby McFerrin, John Handy, Ramsey Lewis, Joe Farrell and the Slide Hampton Big Band. Orchestra performances have included concerts with the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and the “Orchestra of St. Lukes” (New York Philharmonic Orchestra). 

    As a producer, he has worked with high-profile artists such as Al Jarreau, Bobby McFerrin’s “Voicestra,” SoVoSo,” Joey DeFrancesco and Alex Acuña, Jazz guitarist Mimi Fox, vocalist Angela Bofill and the Turtle Island String Quartet. As musical director, he has toured with such artists as Patti Austin, Angela Bofill, Narada Michael Walden, Mickey Thomas, Roy Ayres, and Clarence Clemens. Currently, Martin is on staff at the University of California in Berkeley as well as the Jazzschool in Berkeley, California. He is in demand as a clinician both in the United States and in Europe. 

    Great musicians make What’s New, Pussycat? come alive and help Lisa B keep the atmosphere fun and swinging. Ben Flint’s keyboards on the first two tracks help set the tone, and Frank Martin’s clever piano playing on the rest of the disc complements Lisa B’s singing perfectly (check out the electric piano in “Cha Cha de la Gata (Kitty-Cat Cha)”). The recording is vibrant and detailed. What’s New Pussycat? is fun, impressively played and sung, and, yes, very sexy.” SoundstageAV.com, Joseph Taylor

    Frank Martin’s “In the Pocket” class on rhythm is super-fun. You’ll be on your feet and moving. Frank gives enough handouts that you’ll have two years’ worth of practice materials by the end of the class. Student on yelp.com 2009 

    Multi-Platinum record winner, composer/keyboardist Frank Martin has performed his edgy-jazz style with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Sting and Elton John. Count on hearing a jazz trio of the highest of caliber — pushing the limits of harmony and improvisation in modern jazz expressions. http://www.sanjosejazz.org 

    Frank Martin’s clever piano playing on the rest of the disc complements Lisa B’s singing perfectly (check out the electric piano in ‘Cha Cha de la Gata (Kitty-Cat Cha)’). The recording is vibrant and detailed. ‘What’s New Pussycat?’ is fun, impressively played and sung, and, yes, very sexy.” Radio stations across the country have jumped on the record. www.jazz review.com 

    Convergence by Ian Dogole & Hemispheres offers up a kaleidoscopic brew of innovative, adventurous Jazz spiced with flavors from around the globe. Blending African, Middle Eastern, Asian and South American instruments with more traditional Jazz instrumentation and song forms, percussionist Ian Dogole, along with Grammy-nominated woodwind virtuosi Paul McCandless (with Oregon) and Sheldon Brown (formerly with Omar Sosa), bassist/flutist Bill Douglass (with Marian McPartland and Mose Allison), and Frank Martin take their listeners on an unforgettable aural journey that it is simply out of this world. www.jazzheads.com 

    Keyboard virtuoso/arranger/musical director Frank Martin has amassed a very impressive track record working with world-class performers in a diverse array … www.jazzheads.com 

    “Jazzmérica,” is produced by three-time Grammy nominee Wayne Wallace and boasts an all-star band including Frank Martin, John Santos, Ricardo Peixoto, Michael Spiro, Paul Van Wangeningen, David Belove, Edgardo Cambón, Melecio Magdaluyo and many others. 

    Convergence by Ian Dogole & Hemispheres offers up a kaleidoscopic brew of innovative, adventurous Jazz spiced with flavors from around the globe. Blending African, Middle Eastern, Asian and South American instruments with more traditional Jazz instrumentation and song forms, percussionist Ian Dogole, along with Grammy-nominated woodwind virtuosi Paul McCandless (with Oregon) and Sheldon Brown (formerly with Omar Sosa), bassist/flutist Bill Douglass (with Marian McPartland and Mose Allison), and Frank Martin take their listeners on an unforgettable aural journey that it is simply out of this world. www.jazzheads.com 

    Keyboard virtuoso/arranger/musical director Frank Martin has amassed a very impressive track record working with world-class performers in a diverse array … www.jazzheads.com 

    Read feature article about Frank Martin 

    Created for the UC Jazz Club by RioVida Networks, LLC ©

  • Artist Highlight – Dann Zinn

    Dann Zinn teaches saxophone and leads the UC Jazz Intermediate Combo III Ensemble

    Dann Zinn https://www.dannzinn.com/
    Dann Zinn https://www.dannzinn.com/

    Dann Zinn plays saxophones, flutes, and various ethnic flutes. He has recorded or performed with Joe Henderson, Russell Ferrante (from The Yellow Jackets), Chuck Findley (The Tonight Show), Jeff Tain Watts, Freddie Hubbard, Mary Wells, and Martha and the Vandellas, among many others. 

    Dann’s first solo album of original music, Ten Songs, has garnered critical acclaim through the U.S. and Europe from publications such as Jazz Times and JazzIz. Current projects include original world fusion band Jack, jazz group The Deadly Zinns, and free improv band Spontanous Burstation. 

    Dann Zinn performs and teaches a blend of processed and original jazz and world music

    He tours throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Locally, he has been featured at the Monterey Jazz Festival, San Francisco Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, Yoshi’s Nightspot, and the Kuumbwa Jazz Center among countless others.  

    His first solo recording of original music, Ten Songs, has garnered critical acclaim throughout the U.S. and Europe from such prestigious publications as Jazz Times and JazzIz. Other performances include numerous television, radio, and multi media projects, such as Tiger Woods and John Madden video games, Kangaroddy children show on PBS, and a Willie Mays special on CBS. 

    He is also working on a series of tone and technique books which present various systems for organizing scales and related subjects.

    In addition to teaching the UC Jazz Intermediate Combo III, Dann has taught saxophone, big bands, jazz combos, history of jazz, history of rock and roll, music appreciation, and applied woodwind classes at Cal State University, East Bay for ten years. He is also on the faculty of the Dave Brubeck Institute and the Jazz School. Dann has received two teacher recognition awards from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, and has been selected for inclusion in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, 2005.Current projects include original world fusion band Jack, jazz group The Deadly Zinns, and free improv band Spontanous Burstation.