Jazz Festival Artists
Jazz Festival 2026
Live music is performed on the festival lawn 12:30pm to 9:00pm*.
*with intermissions
Live music is performed on the festival lawn 12:30pm to 9:00pm*.
*with intermissions
GEORGE CABLES
George Cables is an acclaimed jazz pianist and composer whose career spans more than five decades. Known for his lyrical touch, harmonic sophistication, and deep swing. He has performed and recorded with some of the greatest jazz musicians of our time, including: Joe Henderson, Roy Haynes, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Sarah Vaughn, Tony Williams, Bobby Hutcherson and Dizzy Gillespie.
George Cables has emerged as a major voice in modern jazz. He is currently performing and recording as a soloist, with trio and larger ensembles, and as a clinician in college jazz programs. In addition to composing and arranging for his own albums, George Cables has contributed to recordings by Dexter Gordon, Art Pepper, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Bobby Hutcherson and many others. He is noted for his fresh Interpretations of classic compositions and for his innovative style of writing.
Jerome Jennings
Jerome Jennings is a drummer, activist, bandleader, sideman, and Emmy Award winning composer. His debut recording ‘The Beast’ is a reflection of the every day joys and traumas of black life in the U.S. It was named one of the top three jazz releases by NPR, received a four star rating in Downbeat Magazine, and was nominated for the prestigious French ‘Grand Prix du Disque’ award for Album of the Year in 2016. Jerome’s sophomore recording, ‘Solidarity’, released November 2019 was recognized by NPR as best music that spoke truth to power of 2019. Currently, he performs and tours with his groundbreaking musical group, Jerome Jennings & iLL Philosophy.
To date, Jerome has performed, toured and recorded with legendary musicians like Sonny Rollins, Hank Jones, Gerald Wilson, Christian McBride, Ron Carter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Wynton Marsalis (J@LC), The Count Basie Orchestra, Philip Bailey, Henry Butler, and countless others. He has also made recordings and shared the stage with contemporary musicians, Brandee Younger, Camille Thurman, Jazzmeia Horn, Christian Sands, and Thembelihle Dunjana, to name a few. He has been a member of piano master, George Cables’ trio since 2021.
Essiet Essiet
Essiet Okon Essiet first received critical acclaim more than a decade ago as a member of saxophonist Bobby Watson's post hard bop group Horizon He has long since established himself as one of New York's premier bassist. He has performed and recorded with such notables as Benny Golson, Johnny Griffin, James Moody, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Cedar Walton, Sam Rivers, George Adams, Pat Martino, Kenny Burrell, Jackie McLean, Frank Morgan, Kenny Barron, Louis Hayes, Ben Riley, Jimmy Cobb, Billy Higgins, Billy Hart, Art Farmer, Abby Lincoln, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Billy Cobham, Bennie Maupin, Al Foster, Eddie Henderson, Steve Turre, Jon Faddis, Bobby Watson, Victor Lewis, Kenny Garrett, Kenny Kirkland, Mulgrew Miller, Jeff "Tain " Watts, Mike Stern, Kevin Mahogany, Kurt Elling, Fort Apache Band, Danilo Perez, Claudia Acuna, Geri Allen, and Ralph Peterson to highlight only a partial list.
Currently, Essiet leads his own group called "IBO" named after a Nigerian tribe. It is a Nigerian jazz project which mixes jazz harmonies with West African rhythms.
Jeff Hamilton
Jeff Hamilton is an acclaimed jazz drummer born in Richmond, Indiana, whose career spans decades of performances and recordings with some of the greatest names in jazz. Influenced by legends like Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, he rose to prominence with the New Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, and the L.A.4., later performing with Ella Fitzgerald, the Count Basie Orchestra, Oscar Peterson, and Ray Brown. A four-time Modern Drummer Readers’ Poll winner, Hamilton has appeared on over 300 recordings and toured worldwide with the Jeff Hamilton Trio and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, earning honors including induction into The Jazz Cruise Hall of Fame and recognition from the Monterey Jazz Festival.
Steve Kovalcheck
Guitarist and composer, Steve Kovalcheck, brings a distinctive voice to modern jazz, a sound rooted in the blues, rock, and country music of his Nashville upbringing and refined through decades of creative work. Now based in Colorado, he performs and records extensively across the United States and abroad, from The Hollywood Bowl to Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center to the Jazz Cruise, the Vail Jazz Party, and concert stages throughout Europe and Asia. His playing reflects a deep understanding of the jazz tradition while always carrying the soulful, earthy inflections of the blues, an element that remains at the heart of his music.
Jon Hamar
Jon Hamar is a versatile artist whose ability to find a tasteful, unique voice in any musical situation has made him a staple in the music scene. Hamar’s work ethic and discipline have kept him busy over his career that spans more than twenty years.Jon began performing with the Jeff Hamilton Trio in July of 2018 and recently toured Europe with the Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Jeff Hamilton and John Clayton featuring renowned vocalist Cecil McLaren Salvant.
ACID COLE TRIO
The Acid Cole Trio—featuring Bill Cunliffe on piano, Larry Koonse on guitar, Scott Breadman on percussion, and Darek Oles on bass
The Acid Cole Trio—featuring Bill Cunliffe on piano, Larry Koonse on guitar, and Darek Oles on bass—brings a vibrant and conversational approach to the classic piano-guitar-bass format. Inspired by the music of Nat King Cole, Ahmad Jamal, and Oscar Peterson, the trio blends beloved standards with original compositions that range from swinging and lyrical to deeply meditative. Their performances balance thoughtful arrangements with moments of spontaneous freedom, creating a dynamic and interactive experience. With an extensive repertoire tailored to each audience—whether highlighting music from the movies or the Cool Era—the Acid Cole Trio delivers sophisticated jazz with warmth, wit, and energy.
Josh Nelson
Josh Nelson is a pianist, composer, and recording artist with an active international career. He has performed and recorded with many of jazz’s most respected artists, including Natalie Cole, Ivan Lins, Michael Bublé, Benny Golson, John Clayton, Lewis Nash, Eddie Daniels, and Gaby Moreno. He toured worldwide for six years with Natalie Cole and continues to perform and arrange for leading vocalists and instrumentalists across genres.
Josh has released a series of critically acclaimed albums, beginning with Anticipation (2004) and Let It Go (2007), followed by concept-driven projects such as The Discovery Project, Exploring Mars, Dream in the Blue (with Sara Gazarek), and The Sky Remains, which was featured on NPR’s Jazz Night in America. His recent releases include several live recordings from Japan and Los Angeles.
A recipient of numerous honors including the Louis Armstrong and John Philip Sousa Awards, Josh was a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. Recent highlights include touring with Rufus Wainwright in 2023 and appearing on Ivan Lins’ album My Heart Speaks.
Francisco Torres
Francisco Torres is a well-respected trombonist, bass trombonist, educator, composer and arranger who hails from Hermosillo, Sonora. Francisco has emerged as a first-class arranger and composer, particularly in the field of Latin jazz. He has served as musical director, producer and arranger for the Grammy-winning percussionist Poncho Sanchez for 12 years. He is also a member of Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, John Beasley’s Monkestra, Bill Cunliffe’s Bachannalia, and has performed or recorded with Arturo Sandoval, Bill Holman, Manhattan Transfer, Joey Defrancesco, Natalie Cole, Doc Severinsen, Sammy Nestico, and Terence Blanchard, as well as Santana, Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Lopez, Johnny Mathis, Robbie Williams, and many others. For eight seasons he was first-call sub with the Dancing With the Stars Orchestra, and has appeared with different artists on the Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, The Late Late Show, and Jimmy Kimmel.
mina choi ORCHESTRA
18-piece Jazz Big Band featuring, George Cables, piano.
Mina Choi is a Korean-born, Los Angeles-based jazz pianist, composer, and conductor whose music uniquely blends jazz, classical, and the rich traditions of her Korean heritage. With years of experience as both a performer and educator in California, Mina’s work reflects her personal journey, characterized by beautiful melodies, intricate rhythms, and colorful harmonies. Each composition tells a story, inviting listeners to experience a deep emotional connection to her music.
The Mina Choi Orchestra recently released a studio big band album, Stories, which reflects her journey as an immigrant—capturing themes of struggle, longing, and self-discovery. The album features jazz greats George Cables, Alex Acuña, and Bill Cunliffe.
MINA CHOI Quintet
Please join us for an unforgettable afternoon featuring the captivating sounds of a distinguished jazz troupe: Mina Choi on piano, Kye Palmer on trombone, Mark Ferber on drums, Sezin Ahmet on bass, and Ana Carvalho on voice.
TONY GUERRERO
Tony Guerrero has established himself in a variety of areas. His work as a contemporary jazz flugelhornist, trumpeter, composer, and producer has garnered him both critical success and a worldwide audience. He has toured the United States and much of the world as a headliner in major jazz festivals, concert halls, and clubs and has enjoyed commercial radio success not only with his own releases but with the music he's written for other artists. To date, he has released twelve solo CDs, some of which have charted on the Billboard Top 20, as well as a variety of special releases. He has appeared on around 200 albums as either producer, composer, arranger, or musician performing on trumpet, flugelhorn, piano, guitar, and more. Guerrero’s work as a musician and composer can also be heard in movies and on television.
LIA BOOTH
Lia Booth is a Southern California–based jazz vocalist whose performances blur the line between structure and spontaneity. A two‑time DownBeat Outstanding Soloist, she reimagines classic standards through playful improvisation and intimate, audience-shaped collaboration. Each set unfolds in real time—alive, conversational, and uniquely of the moment.
RODOLFO ZUNIGA
Rodolfo Zúñiga is a drummer and composer from San José, Costa Rica, now based in Los Angeles. He has performed with a wide range of acclaimed jazz artists, including Randy Brecker, Joe Locke, Lew Tabackin, Bill Cunliffe, Camila Meza, Jonathan Kreisberg, Troy Roberts, and many others.
Rodolfo is a tenured Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at Cal State Fullerton and an active international educator, having presented at the Jazz Education Network Conference and taught masterclasses across Europe, Latin America, and the United States. As a bandleader, his quartet Surfaces has released two albums and performs throughout the U.S., Central, and South America.
As a sideman, Rodolfo has toured extensively at major international jazz festivals and serves as the drummer for multi-Grammy Award–winning artist Julio Iglesias, performing at iconic venues worldwide including Royal Albert Hall, Dubai Opera House, and Rockefeller Center. He is a proud endorser of Zildjian Cymbals and Vic Firth.
TAWANDA
Tawanda is a multi-national jazz vocalist currently based in Los Angeles, California. With German and Mozambican roots, her upbringing in New Mexico led her to Santa Fe University of Art and Design where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Contemporary music focused on Jazz vocals, and went on to win multiple prestigious awards including first place in the Sarah Vaughan Vocal Jazz Competition (2021) and the BISTRO Outstanding Achievement Award for Jazz Vocalists (2023). Her debut jazz album "Smile" (2022), made with love at Beverly Hills’ very own Resonance Records, is available on all streaming platforms; alongside it, she has recently been featured on Ivan Lins’ Grammy-nominated album ‘My Heart Speaks’ (2023) and is proud to have been a featured performer with Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, having toured with the prestigious group throughout the United States and across Europe, in four tours throughout 2024. Tawanda is currently in the early phases of developing a new, long-awaited EP, an immersive exploration of global rhythms and timeless standards, weaving together themes from appreciation of our natural world, to the powerful spirit of resistance.
Jake Chapman
Jake Chapman is an internationally renowned vibraphonist, mallet percussionist, pianist, and composer from Los Angeles, California. Jake plays a integral part of the Los Angeles music scene as a bandleader, sideman, and session musician.
Jake has demonstrated his excellence in a wide variety of musical idioms, including jazz, R&B, hip-hop, funk, psychedelic rock, folk, dance, meditation, and musical theatre. As an artist, he has released a body of work which predominantly incorporates virtuosic mallet percussion performance with his unique blend of musical influences. His 2024 single “an angel will be with you shortly” has reached audiences worldwide, amassing over 2 million streams and over 20 million views on Instagram.
He has shared the stage with Patrick Bartley, Houston Person, Mary Stallings, Eric Bobo, Casey Abrams, Kyle Poole, and Ulysses Owens III. He has worked with Linda Perry, H.E.R., Dave Koz, Kenny Beats, LaRussell, Hit-Boy, Rex Kudo, Ink, Jessie Murph, Lucy Clearwater, Stella Cole, Stephen Kramer Glickman, and Postmodern Jukebox.
JACOB WENDT
Drummer, composer, and bandleader JACOB WENDT has a unique sound; balanced, supportive, and interactive, with a driving energy that serves the music while leaving space for others to speak — he is an authoritative yet never intrusive player. Originally from the Bay Area, his original ensembles have headlined major venues across Northern and Southern California including Blue Whale, Dizzy’s, Yoshi’s, The Fillmore Jazz Festival, Catalina’s Bar & Grille, Campus JAX, and The Grape. To date he has released one album as a leader (Jacob Wendt Quartet, 2011), another as co-leader (Carter-White-Wendt, 2013), and a collection of original compositions (Jacob Wendt Sextet: Live at the Blue Whale, 2020). His critically acclaimed album, Silver Street (Hayden Records, 2024) is a classic hardbop quintet project in the spirit of Blue Note Records during the 1950’s & 60’s. Already dubbed "an instant jazz classic," the album features all original compositions by Wendt, influenced by jazz greats such as Horace Silver, Sonny Clark, Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, and Hank Mobley. Recent tours include San Diego, Florida, Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, and Sonoma County.
Scotty Bramer
Scotty Bramer is a jazz guitarist, composer/arranger, and educator from Los Angeles, California. Since graduating from USC’s Thornton School of Music in 2011, he has performed, recorded and toured with numerous artists in SoCal and around the country. He also leads and composes original music for his own trio and his exciting psychedelic jazz project “Bodhisattva.”
His original music carries a deep soulfulness, expressing an array of emotions and can be both fiery and adventurous as well as introspective and heartfelt. As an improviser, he loves to explore the unknown with an adventurous spirit and is often described as “melodic and tasteful.” Scotty strives to convey honesty and vulnerability in his music, openly sharing his heart and his life with the audience.
SANGRIA
Sangria is a Cover Band playing the latest hits, such as R&B, Latin, Top 40, Classic Hits and Old School. Sangria has been around over 50 years and is a high energy entertaining band.
Jake Brown
Jake Brown is a high-intensity saxophone player and dynamic entertainer based in Southern California. Blending jazz, rock, and fusion with fearless creativity, Jake delivers electrifying performances that leave a lasting impression. Known for giving everything he's got every time he hits the stage, his genre-bending sound and raw energy make him a standout voice in the modern music scene.
Kaity B
Kaity B is a singer-songwriter, pianist, and aspiring producer based in Corona, California. She is a recent graduate of Concordia University Irvine, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Music with an emphasis in Songwriting. During her time at Concordia, she was a member of the Concordia Choir and the Commercial Music Ensemble, and she currently serves as a worship leader at ministries throughout Southern California. Kaity B has performed at numerous public events, including the 2025 LCMS Youth Gathering, which hosted over 20,000 attendees at Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, as well as the Top Honors Recital held at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in July 2025. She frequently shares her original music at different venues throughout Orange County and Los Angeles, and she continues to inspire those around her by embodying positivity and striving to create music that truly resonates with her listeners. Follow Kaity B on Instagram @kaity.beee to catch behind‑the‑scenes moments, album updates, and the exciting rollout of her first releases coming in 2026!
MAJO & MASON
Colombian singer songwriter Maria Jose Insuasti is a graduate of Concordia University Irvine whose artistry bridges Latin American soul with contemporary jazz and pop. A two time recipient of the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation scholarship, she was also selected as a mentee for Leading Ladies of the Entertainment, where she was mentored by acclaimed Chilean artist Mon Laferte.
Her discography includes her 2022 debut album Origen and her 2025 release Traveler, projects that fuse Colombian musical sensibilities with pop and jazz influences. She collaborated with Grammy winning producer Tony Guerrero on her original song “Canción de un Adiós,” further expanding her cross genre sound.
In Colombia, she won the National Songwriter Contest and gained national recognition as a participant on The Voice in 2018. Through lyrical storytelling and a sophisticated vocal style, Maria Jose continues to build a sound that honors her roots while engaging global audiences.
The Fullerton Jazz orchestra
