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An extracurricular musical program known as East Bay Jazz High School All-Stars has entered its seventh season of performances in and around the Tri-Valley.
The program operates after school for the students and works to train, educate and prepare them for professional musical development. Audiences can catch upcoming shows in the region this month.
With the current season now in full swing, the East Bay Jazz founder spoke to the Weekly about his reflections on the program over the years. Growing up, Spencer Sussman was aware of various jazz music programs, such as SFJazz High School All-Stars, for students wanting to gear themselves toward live band performances.
“I was familiar with these types of extracurricular music academies. I always really liked seeing young musicians play at a high level, the kind that sounded like a professional group even as high schoolers,” Sussman said. An accomplished musician in his own right, Sussman regularly performs and composes music across the region.
Following the completion of his graduate education at San Jose State University in 2013, Sussman was inspired to start a similar music program in the East Bay region.
“Having grown up in Pleasanton, I knew that there were a lot of great musicians still in the area and yet there wasn’t a program in the area that had the same format as some of these other all-stars type of groups,” he added.
“I just thought it would be a fun opportunity to create a really good band of kids that wanted to play music at a high level, in the area that I grew up in,” Sussman said. “What has kept me going with this is building a culture and a community that continues to give students a unique outlet to play music with other like minded musicians.”
East Bay Jazz is made up of two ensembles, a big band which features over 20 musicians, and a combo band which is around eight players. Each ensemble has performed in a variety of different jazz styles over the years including hot-style, funk, cool jazz and swing.
Students in the program rehearse weekly after school.
While similar programs exist throughout the nation, East Bay Jazz is the first and only one of its kind in the Tri-Valley area.
“East Bay Jazz High School Stars, as I like to call it, is a pre-professional training and extracurricular music program for high school-age students,” Sussman explained. “We have a varied performance schedule that kind of gives the students a window into what it’s like being a professional musician.”
“These are like some really formative experiences for them, it’s very new. It’s a unique opportunity for the students to work with a lot of other people, their peers or guest musicians,” he said. “It’s cool seeing them get so excited about it because I forget how new it is for some of them. I’m inspired by them.”
Currently, the program hosts 21 students from all over the area, from Fremont to Livermore to Brentwood.
“There’s a lot of great moments,” Sussman said. “Something that I’ve always been proud of about the program is watching students who are really passionate about music performance and jazz really rise to the occasion and develop as musicians.”
When thinking about past seasons and performances, Sussman feels incredibly proud of how far his students have come.
“Watching a group of musicians that I coached lead an ensemble themselves and seeing them rise to the occasion and play some music that is both complex but also very much them, really reflects the work they put in,” Sussman said. “That just made me really happy to see that it was possible in part because of the program that I created to kind of give them the opportunity to have that.”
Regardless of their musical background, students of varying skill levels are invited to join the musical community and share a love of jazz music.
Tri-Valley residents can support East Bay Jazz All-Stars by attending upcoming live events this month.
On April 16, the ensemble showcases its skills at the Almost Famous Wine Lounge in Livermore at 4 p.m. On April 30, the group will take to the Bankhead Theater stage in downtown Livermore.
To find out more information or apply for the group, visit www.eastbayjazz.org.
