SSU/Redwood Empire Jazz Festival 2025
February 14, 2025
Weill Hall, Green Music Center
The SSU/Redwood Empire Jazz Festival is a competitive and educational event open to middle school, high school, and junior college big bands and jazz combos. Trophies will be awarded to the top three bands of each class. Each band will receive taped and written comments, a 30-minute clinic from a renowned jazz educator, and a video of their performance. Top soloists from each band will be recognized with certificates. The SSU jazz faculty will provide additional rolling clinics and the SSU Jazz Orchestra will perform around lunchtime. Sign your band up at the link below!
Performance slots in Weill Hall are going fast! Due to increased demand this year, we have added a second performance venue and four more amazing adjudicator/clinicians for 2nd/3rd bands and combos. Please contact Doug Leibinger if you have any questions - leibinge@sonoma.edu
All performances and faculty clinics are free and open to the public.
Apply to the SSU/Redwood Empire Jazz Festival
(Due by January 17, 2025)
Adjudicators
Michael Galisatus
Michael Galisatus is the director of the Stanford University Jazz Orchestra, the Stanford Jazz Workshop “Miles Ahead” Big Band, and professor emeritus at the College of San Mateo. Mr.Galisatus has produced award winning jazz and symphonic groups since 1980 and has been the recipient of various teaching honors including the California Music Educators Association (CMEA) Jazz Educator of the year, The CMEA Bay Section Outstanding Jazz Educator Award,The Peninsula Arts Council Arts Educator of the Year, the Otter Distributors 2004 Jazz Educator Award for the state of California, the California PTA Honorary Service Award, and the CMEABay Section Gil Freitas Memorial Award for music education. As conductor of the Stanford Live Orchestra, Michael has had the honor of conducting orchestral productions for Gregory Porter, Rufus Wainwright, and Ann Hampton Callaway.
Mr. Galisatus is in demand as a guest conductor and clinician throughout the western United States, including organizations such as the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Stanford Jazz Workshop, California Alliance for Jazz, and a host of others. In addition, Mr. Galisatus has presented workshops abroad, including Japan, China, Norway, Mexico, and Canada.
As a freelance trumpeter in the San Francisco Bay Area, has recorded with Pete Escovedo, andQueen Ida, and has performed with a variety of artists including Dianne Reeves, Tito Puente,Sheila E., Louis Bellson, Natalie Cole, Johnny Mathis, Kenny Washington, Paula West, BarryManilow, Michael Feinstein, Mel Tormé, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The O’Jays, Malo,the Pacific Mambo Orchestra, and many others.
Jeff Jarvis
Jeff Jarvis comes from a family of music educators and has distinguished himself as a trumpeter, composer, professor and music publisher. Jeff is an S.E. Shires trumpet artist and has served as Director of Jazz Studies at the Bob Cole Conservatory at California State University Long Beach since 2005. As a trumpet soloist, adjudicator and clinician, Jeff makes frequent appearances at educational jazz festivals, jazz camps, and music education conferences.
Jeff Jarvis composes commissions for school, military, and professional big bands and pops orchestras. He has composed and/or arranged over 175 published works for Kendor Music, Belwin Jazz, iJazzMusic, and UNC Jazz Press. He co-authored The Jazz Educators Handbook with Doug Beach (which is also translated in Japanese), The Chord Voicing Handbook with Matt Harris, and Effective Etudes For Jazz, Volumes 1 & 2 with Mike Carubia. As a conductor, Jeff has led honors jazz ensembles in 39 states and 4 Canadian provinces. He is a Past President of the California Alliance for Jazz, served as Vice-President of the International Association for Jazz Education, Music Director of the Central New York Jazz Orchestra from 1998-2005, and was co-owner of Kendor Music Publishing from 1985-2015. Jarvis is a member of the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers and is a Gold Medal winner in the Global Music Awards, an international arts organization that recognized him in 2019 with a special award for "Lifetime Contributions to Jazz and Jazz Education."
Jeff’s solo recordings as a jazz trumpeter and composer have won critical acclaim and placed high on national air play charts. His early career as a studio trumpeter encompasses over 100 R&B and disco recordings for such names as Lou Rawls, Michael Jackson, Melba Moore, The O’Jays and more. Live performance credits include Gladys Knight, Van Morrison, Dizzy Gillespie, Louie Bellson, Joe Williams, Benny Golson, Jon Hendricks, Jimmy Heath, Joe Lovano, Henry Mancini, Slide Hampton, Kevin Mahogany, Grady Tate, Eddie Daniels, Rob McConnell, and Doc Severinsen.
Jeff has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and Indonesia. He has been a featured guest soloist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Denver Symphony Orchestra, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, USAF Airmen of Note, US Army Jazz Ambassadors, US Army Blues, Jazz Knights of the United States Military Academy Band at West Point, USAF Commanders Jazz Band, USAF Shades of Blue, Riverside Jazz Orchestra, Dallas Jazz Orchestra, Oslo Big Band (Norway), Frank Mantooth Jazz Orchestra, Tom Kubis Big Band, and more.
Jeanne Geiger
Jeanne Geiger, a California Bay Area native, is proud to be a member of the greater music scene for over 20 years. She completed a BA in music performance (2002) and MA in music composition (2007) from California State University, East Bay. She has performed with numerous groups including: Sheila E, Tommy Igoe Groove Conspiracy, Deltron 3030, Lyrics Born, Green Day, Ozomatli, Joan Osborne, 10,000 Maniacs, Tony! Toni! Tone!, Gladys Knight, The Coup, The Dells, Roy Ayers, The O’Jays, KSDS Jazz 88.3 Orchestra, Jazz Mafia, Dave Eshelman’s Jazz Garden Big Band, Ray Brown Great Big Band, Dave Brubeck Big Band, Maza Cote, Michael Feinstein Jazz Orchestra, Johnny Mathis Orchestra, JSoul, Brass Mafia, The Uptones, Dynamic, among many others. She has also toured and/or recorded with the groups: Birdland All-Stars, Tommy Igoe Groove Conspiracy, Sheila E, Deltron 3030, and more.
Her compositions have been recorded and performed by schools such as CSU Fresno, Diablo Valley College, Los Medanos College, Adam’s Middle School, and CSU East Bay. She has played for many different theatrical works including SHN’s Broadway productions of Anything Goes, A Chorus Line, Annie, White Christmas, as well as numerous Broadway productions for over 10 years with the Contra Costa Musical Theater Company.
Recent composing/arranging projects have included: Joan Osborne’s Soul Revue at Stern Grove, Tommy Igoe Groove Conspiracy: The Music of Steely Dan, Deltron 3030 Live Orchestra, Roy Ayers with the Jazz Mafia Symphony, Jazz Mafia Symphony (Emperor Norton Suite), Lyrics Born (Tribute to Curtis Mayfield & James Brown), Heartical Roots, Fay Carol with Adams Middle School, Zoe Presley with the Bay Area Composers Big Band. Other studio work has included Sekai No Owari produced by Dan the Automator, The New Broadway Cast Recording of A Chorus Line, Tiger Club, Rupa and the April Fishes, Anais Croze’s The Love Album produced by Dan the Automator, U-Roy, The Influents, and Pinhead Gunpowder. She recently was an instructor of Jazz Trombone at CSU East Bay. Other recent educational work has included Lafayette Summer Music Jazz Workshop, Monterey Jazz Festival Summer Camp, University of Wisconsin Summer Music Clinic, Heritage High School, Palm Desert Charter Middle School, and Solano County Honor Jazz Band. She is currently working on a brand new original music project Teeny Tiger. Jeanne now plays Michael Rath Trombones exclusively.
Kasey Knudsen
Kasey Knudsen, a San Francisco-based saxophonist, composer, and educator, holds a BA in Jazz Composition from Berklee College of Music. Hailed as "one of the region's most esteemed saxophonists" (SF Classical Voice, 2018) and "an essential voice in the Bay Area jazz scene" (East Bay Express, 2014), she was named among "10 Female Instrumentalists Who Redefine Jazz" (Paste Magazine, 2016) and voted "One of the Best Female Jazz Musicians in the East Bay" (CBS SF, 2013).
Knudsen has received commissions from the San Jose Jazz 'New Works Festival', Intersection For the Arts, and the California Jazz Conservatory's Emerging Artist Series. She also earned InterMusic SF's Small Chamber Music Grant (2020) and showcased her compositions at the De Young Museum.
Leading and co-leading various projects, including the Schimscheimer Family Trio, The Kasey Knudsen Quintet and Sextet, the Holly Martins, the Klaxon Mutant Allstars, and many more, Knudsen frequently collaborates with many of the Bay Area's most prominent musicians.
Carolina Calvache
Carolina Calvache is a pianist and composer, winner of the 16th Independent Music Awards with her song “La Ultima Vez” featuring Camila Meza. In 2011, Carolina was selected to participate in the Mary Lou Williams Woman in Jazz Festival at The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Legendary pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi described her music as “Extraordinary and Marvelous”. Following her debut release, "Sotareño," featuring Antonio Sanchez and Jaleel Shaw, which earned a spot among the Best 10 Albums of 2014 by Latin Jazz Network, Calvache unleashes her voice as a composer, orchestrator, and songwriter on her album "Vida Profunda" (Sunnyside, 2020). The album engages various guest artists, including legendary singer Rubén Blades, vocalist Sara Serpa, Michael Rodriguez, Gregoire Mare, and Claudia Acuña.
Drawing from diverse influences, Carolina's music encompasses a wide range of genres. Her repertoire includes solo pieces, duets, chamber music, studio orchestra, and jazz big band compositions. Carolina is well-known for her trombone pieces, ranging from classical commissions to jazz compositions, including chamber works for brass that premiered at the Trombone and Trumpet International Festival. Carolina joined the prestigious BMI Jazz Workshop led by Jim McNeely, and have participated in the jazz composers showcase organized by Miho Hazama at the Jazz Gallery. In the past year, Carolina participated in the American Composers Sonic Festival curated by Clarice Asaad, in which she performed with her jazz quartet.
As an educator, Carolina has taught at the Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music in Tamil Nadu, India, LaGuardia Community College, Jazz Power Initiative program in NYC, as well as conducted masterclasses and summer camps at the University of Miami and the Vermont Jazz Center. Currently, Carolina is a composer-in-residence at the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music in California. Carolina holds a Bachelor of Music from Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia, a Master of Music from the University of North Texas, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Composition from the University of Miami.
Erik Jekabson
Erik Jekabson is a freelance composer, arranger, trumpet player and educator who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is equally busy composing, arranging and playing for different bands, leading his own groups, teaching a wide variety of students and running the Young Musicians Program at the Jazzschool in Berkeley.
As an arranger and composer, he’s arranged for symphony orchestras, (the San Francisco Symphony, the BBC Radio Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, the Coltrane: Legacy for Orchestra Project) vocalists, (Madeleine Peyroux, Ani DiFranco, Jane Krakowski, Jackie Ryan, Kenny Washington, Madeline Eastman) jazz ensembles, (The Daggerboard- Erik Jekabson Orchestra, the Erik Jekabson String-tet, and his own Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, which holds a monthly residency at the Jazzschool in Berkeley) and co-composed the score for the documentary film "Exiled"
As a trumpet player, he’s spent time on the road with John Mayer, Galactic and Illinois Jacquet, and has performed and recorded with other notable musicians such as Taj Mahal, Maceo Parker, Boz Skaggs and Kermit Ruffins. He has released eight albums under his own name (including four on his own record label, Jekab’s Music), and produced three records with the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra.
Jeff Denson
Jeff Denson is an award-winning bassist, vocalist, and composer who has released 16 albums as a leader or co-leader and toured extensively throughout the US, Canada, and Europe with both his own groups and others at some of the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals such as the Village Vanguard, Birdland, The Kennedy Center, JVC Jazz Festival Paris, Montreal Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, and SFJazz, among many others. Jeff has worked with some of jazz’s finest artists such as Brian Blade, Joe Lovano, Chris Potter, Mike Stern, Charles McPherson, Billy Childs, Jane Ira Bloom, Craig Handy, Ingird Jensen, Dave Douglas, Walter Smith III, Kendrick Scott, Rachel Z, Omar Hakim, Gerald Cleaver, Anat Cohen, Warren Wolf, Leo Genovese, Etienne Charles, Edward Simon, Paul McCandless, Cuong Vu, Ralph Alessi, Dan Weiss, Lionel Loueke, Mark Turner, Paul Hanson, George Cables, Terri Lyne Carrington, Romain Pilon, Mimi Fox, and many others, and had an ongoing relationship with the legendary Lee Konitz for over a decade until his passing in 2020. Jeff’s work has been reviewed in many of the world’s leading periodicals including The New York Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, along with many more international periodicals, and has been ranked in the DownBeat Rising Star Critic's Poll 16 times in the Bass, Electric Bass and Male Vocalist categories, and was the First Place Winner of the 69th Annual DownBeat Magazine Rising Star Critic’s Poll for “Electric Bass” in 2021. Jeff is the Founder and President of Ridgeway Arts, Inc., a 501c3 arts nonprofit organization and the Dean of Instruction at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley.
Jon Arkin
Originally from the Boston area, Jon Arkin is a Bay Area based drummer/percussionist who is active in a wide variety of musical genres, including a multitude of collaborations in the avant garde, jazz, funk/rock, singer-songwriter, and Afrobeat scenes. In addition to leading his own groups, he is an in-demand freelance musician who is frequently found performing with notable local, national and international artists, and his list of recording credits includes dozens of albums and guest appearances. He is also a noted educator, teaching unique classes, workshops, clinics, and lessons to students in the Bay Area and elsewhere. His electroacoustic work, using a self-designed hybrid laptop/drums setup, has been featured with a number of groups as well as in his own solo/duo collaborations.
Festival Schedule
TBA