JAZZIZ Magazine was on the scene in Aspen, Colorado, this week to observe a few days at the 2019 JAS Academy summer session, presented by Jazz Aspen Snowmass in collaboration with the Frost School of Music. The event, which runs from Aug. 4-19, is one of the country’s most exciting showcases for young jazz talent, featuring 23 jazz students from across the U.S. and beyond who convened the the picturesque Colorado city to work with and learn from some of the greatest musicians in the field, including six-time Grammy Award-winning bassist Christian McBride, Grammy-nominated vocalist Catherine Russell, Frost School Dean Shelly Berg and Frost School alumni Emmet Cohen and Veronica Swift.
The diverse group of students represent elite music programs across the country, including The Frost School at the University of Miami, Michigan State University, Florida State University, Eastman School of Music, The Hartt School, California State University Northridge, Manhattan School of Music and Tel Aviv University. We’re proud to feature them in this special edition of our Weekly Discover playlist (alongside the phenomenal guest artists and faculty who generously shared their expertise). You’ll hear musicians wise beyond their years, with boundless talent and loads of ambition. So make sure you’re paying attention, because these students may well shape the future of jazz. Check them out via the Spotify player above and in the Soundcloud and YouTube clips below.
The JAS Academy is one of the nation’s most prestigious full-scholarship summer jazz residencies, and has been providing unparalleled jazz education to college-age students since its inception in 1996. (Its 2019 edition marked a return to form after a 10-year hiatus.) Like many of the jazz-based initiatives in Aspen, it falls under the umbrella of the Jazz Aspen Snowmass organization, which was founded in 1991 by President and CEO Jim Horowitz in an effort to fund and operate community-enriching jazz programs in the Roaring Fork Valley region and beyond. To date, those programs include the JAS Café, which hosts internationally acclaimed jazz musicians year-round; the JAS June Experience, a monthlong celebration of jazz that brings marquee acts to various venues in town; and JAS Labor Day Experience, a summer blockbuster event featuring world-class pop and rock talent (this year’s Labor Day Experience will feature Weezer, John Mayer and Sting, to name a few). To learn more visit the organization’s website.
Pictured in feature photo: Luther Allison, Markus Howell, Alexander Larionov, Stanley Ruvinov, Sequoia Snyder, Jered Byford, Marcello Carelli, Maxwell Schwartz, David Sneider, Timothy Watson, Michael Dudley Jr., Makayla Forgione, Sarah Hanahan, Rico Jones, Mikailo Kasha, Brendan Kersey-Wilson, Duncan McElman, Gregory Newman, Ohad Niceberg, Aidan O’Connor, Conner Sanchez, Maya Stepansky. Not pictured: Patrick Campbell.
