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| Jaz Sawyer |
Jaz Sawyer, master
drummer extraordinaire, united with some of the best and hardworking talents in
the bay showcased a spectacular night of music at Yoshi’s Oakland, in October.
In celebration of
the release of their live recording from 2009, with his longtime peers, the Bay
Area All Stars, Sawyer’s artistry, versatility and ingenuity in musicianship
illuminated the stage.
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| Geechi Taylor |
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| Marcus Shelby |
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| Matt Clark |
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| Ryan "Solar" Burke, Valerie Troutt, Howard Wiley |
“Bassist, Marcus
Shelby, is one of the worlds preeminent talented composers, Matt Clark is a
great talent on piano, Howard Wiley, saxophones, and Geechi Taylor, trumpets,
have been playing together for years as a unit and they are flat out awesome
musicians,” says Julian Carroll, Jazz Poet and Musicologist.
The All Stars were
joined by special guest vocalists, Valerie Troutt and Ryan “Solas” Burke, and
Adrian Areas, formerly of Carlos Santana’s band played Congas.
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| Jaz Sawyer, Adrian Areas |
“Jaz Sawyer is my
birth name. My parents were inspired by the music and decided to name me that.
I grew into it around the age of 5,” says Sawyer.
Born and raised in
the San Francisco Bay Area, Sawyer learned to play the trumpet and bass before
beginning music studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music/Preparatory
Division.
As a teenager, he
participated in the Stanford Jazz Workshop’s programs for several years and was
a member of the San Francisco Youth Orchestra for two years before graduating
from the San Francisco School of the Arts. He has performed at many of the
world’s premier venues, including the Blue Note, Village Vanguard and Carnegie
Hall in New York City, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, New Morning in
Paris, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Eilat, Israel,
and the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague, Holland.
Having worked with
luminaries such as Abbey Lincoln, Wynton Marsalis, George Benson, Bobby
Hutcherson, Mose Allison, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the San Francisco
Symphony Orchestra, Dee Dee Bridgewater and M’lumbo, Sawyer, gives much back to
the community as a teacher at Oakland School of the Arts and Oakland Public
Conservatory of Music.
“Jaz is great
teacher of young people and role model for all musicians in Bay Area, says
Carroll.
Sawyer swung like
a strong breeze, and called all his young students in the audience to the stage
to do solo performances.
According to
Sawyer, performing with his peers from high school and for the next generation
to join him was like a 360. “Wondering where the music would take me and
knowing that the next generation is ready to push the music forward.”
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| Ryan "Solas"Burke, Valerie Troutt, Renzel Merritt, Traci Fitzsimmons, Jasim Paralas, Ayinde Webb |
From Jasim
Peralas, 13, on trombone, to his older teen students, Ayinde Webb on drums,
Traci Fitzsimmons on trumpet, and the oldest, Ranzel Merritt, firing up the
stage on Tenor/Soprano Saxophones.
“Jaz has
influenced me from a very young age. I find elements of his persona reflected
in me everyday. It's always great to be around him whether I'm playing or not,
but last night was a beautiful experience and I got to stretch out with great
musicians,” says 17 year old Ayinde Webb.
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| Ayinde Webb |
“I am humbled by
my son's dedication to the art of making music. I am thrilled about his determination to perfect his skills
and expand his knowledge - not just as a performer, but also as a composer.
His thirst to soak
up good music by the masters is unquenchable. Their music is instructive and encourages him to work hard to
unfold the depths of his own talent.
I am very happy
that he is exploring his own depth and finding his way,” says Georgia Webb,
mother of Ayinde Web.
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| Renzell Merrit |
“Ranzell
Merrit is one of the next up and
growing "Great Saxophonists," he is only 19 years old with all of
that sound and music in his heart,” says Carroll.
Merrit currently
attends San Francisco State University.
Periodically
stalking the perimeter of the stage with cool finger snaps, Sawyer elevated the
audience in full participation in improvisational art.
The praise that he
showers on his band mates and guests implies that he didn’t get there by
himself.
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