When the San Diego Music Awards approached musician and homelessness advocate Steph Johnson about having her Voices of Our City Choir open the show at House of Blues last month, she and the group were …

It’s hard to imagine that there is a busier musician on the San Diego pop music scene than bassist Jacob Miranda. He plays in nine bands; two of them, Sister Speak and the Lyrical Groove, …

“It’s kind of like living a double life,” says trumpeter Stephanie Richards, who arrived in San Diego two years ago to become an assistant professor of music at UCSD while still maintaining a Brooklyn residency. …

Wednesday 5 Saxophonist Drew Ceccato and his quintet perform Roscoe Mitchell’s Nonaah at UC San Diego’s Conrad Prebys Music Center Experimental Theater with Kyle Motl, Tommy Babin, Judith Hamann, and T.J. Borden at 7 p.m. …

Mandi Jo Miller wasn’t looking for a new career when a chance meeting redirected her path in life on New Year’s Eve in 2008. “I met a music therapist in a bar,” says Miller. “I …

Monday 27There’s a jam session going on tonight, led by guitarist Louis Valenzuela with Harley Magsino and TBA on drums at Busalacchi’s Modo Mio (3707 Fifth Avenue) from 6 to 9 p.m. No cover. Tuesday …

The students of the International Academy of Jazz are festival-bound, having been propelled from the strength of their audition tape into a spot at the Next Gen competition, celebrating its 47th year in conjunction with …

Monday 20Begin the jazz week in style with a free concert featuring Joshua White on piano in duet with Peter Sprague on guitar at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library (1008 Wall Street) from 12 …

Make no mistake about it, San Diego is home to its share of top talents in pop, rock, jazz, and blues. The Reader’s music crew cast its net to find out why these music makers …

This year’s winner of the San Diego Music Awards’ “Lifetime Achievement” prize is guitarist Wayne Riker, who is still kind of processing that information. “Having worked in all the different genres professionally, I can name …

New-music concert promoter Bonnie Wright sees many positive changes in the local scene. “It’s expanding in ways that I like,” says Wright. “The Symphony, the Opera, and the La Jolla Music Society are all doing …

The team of Gilbert and Lorraine Castellanos make music together and apart. She plays guitar and sings in Besos de Coco and her own sextet, and he might be San Diego’s busiest jazz musician.” The …

To El Cajon–based pianist Joshua White, “vibe” is the determining factor for just about every place he chooses to spend his time. “My number-one music venue is the Athenaeum Library in La Jolla. It’s a …

“I think San Diego has a really wide music scene and it’s fairly splintered, too,” says drummer Nathan Hubbard as he tries a variety of techniques to entertain his two-year-old son while we speak. “There’s …

Monday 13Start off the jazz week in San Diego with a free, noon-time concert featuring pianist Joshua White and trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos at the Lyceum Theatre (79 Horton Plaza)…. Stephanie Richards + Phantom Station: Conduction …

Tuesday 7Sue Palmer & the Motel Swing Quintet play Tio Leo’s (5302 Napa Street ) at 7:30 p.m. No cover charge. Wednesday 8The Danny Green Trio with Justin Grinnell and Julien Cantelm perform at the …

During Black History Month there did not appear to be huge rush to present the works of African-American composers to the San Diego classical music audience. UCSD professor/composer Anthony Davis did see two productions of …

Monday 27Start the jazz week off with a free lunchtime concert showcasing the U.S. Marine Corps Jazz Orchestra with special guest Gilbert Castellanos at SDSU’s Smith Recital Hall (5500 Campanile Drive) from noon to 1:30 …

“I was at home working on a new project,” says musician/producer Kamau Kenyatta explaining why he had to miss this year’s Grammy awards. Kenyatta helmed the sessions behind Gregory Porter’s Take Me to the Alley, …

Reclusive jazz composer Joe Garrison is unveiling a new CD called The People Upstairs with his large ensemble Night People. The musician makes his living tuning pianos and long ago he came to this revelation: …

Tuesday 21KSDS Jazz 88 presents Jazz Live celebrating the music of Tadd Dameron with the Paul Combs Quintet featuring Bill Cunliffe at the Saville Theatre on the campus of San Diego City College. The doors …

“Before we started this nine years ago,” says vocalist Allison Adams Tucker, “many San Diegans had no experience with Brazilian culture — the language, the music, the dances. Now it’s become a part of the …

Monday 13There’s a Monday jam session going down at Busalacchi’s (3707 Fifth Avenue) with Louis Valenzuela on guitar, Mackenzie Leighton on bass, and Kevin Higuchi on drums from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. No cover …

Monday 6The jazz week begins with a free, noon-time concert by the Gilbert Castellanos Trio at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library (1008 Wall Street.) All ages… Pianist Mikan Zlatkovich plays “acoustic fusion” with a …

The annual NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) convention just wrapped in Anaheim, and San Diego musicians were well represented, as performers, consumers, and product endorsers. Guitarist Wayne Riker has been attending the convention for …

Monday 30Start off the jazz week with a free solo piano concert featuring Joshua White at the Lyceum Westfield Horton Plaza from noon to 1 p.m…. Trumpeter Stephanie Richards plus Phantom Station present Conduction for …

“We were thinking about ‘Big Moth’ as a name,” says saxophonist Ian Tordella, referring to the search for identity on a new project and recording. “But we decided on ‘Moth & Sons’ because it’s a …

Trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos and his manager Arlene Damasco are ready to begin a collaboration with Bread & Salt, the multi-arts venue in Logan Heights that combines a jazz concert with an art showing on Saturday, …

Monday 23Start the jazz week off with a free solo piano concert featuring Joshua White at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library (1008 Wall Street) starting at noon. Wednesday 25Vocalist Leonard Patton performs in duo …

“I wanted to have musicians who’ve played here before,” says music promoter Bonnie Wright. She’s on the verge of celebrating 20 years of her Fresh Sound music series. “And our very first concert featured Steve …

Tuesday 17Vocalist Rebecca Jade performs at Café 21 (802 Fifth Avenue) in a trio with pianist David Owen and bassist Michael Kennedy from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. No cover charge. Wednesday 18Trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos begins …

“I’ve been going out to Otay Lakes to train,” says local jazz bassist and bicycle aficionado Rob Thorsen. “Just riding up and down the trails, getting muddy and testing the limits of my bike.” On …

“It was a labor of love, that album,” said flutist Lori Bell, speaking from the second floor of her North Park studio. That album is Brooklyn Dreaming, which has earned a place in the top …

Monday 9Bassist Gunnar Biggs kicks off the jazz week with a Tribute to Mose Allison at Dizzy’s (1717 Morena Boulevard) at 8 p.m. with Tripp Sprague, John Opferkuch, Duncan Moore, Ruby Etoire, and Robin Henkel. …

Wednesday 4Trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos begins a double-header evening at Panama 66 (1450 El Prado) when he hosts the Young Lions Series this week featuring high-school bassist Angelica Yume Pruitt at 6 p.m. At 8:30, he …

“I got the recommendation from [hand-drum pro] Monette Marino,” confides 14-year-old percussionist Carmen Murray. “The symphony asked her for a young player and I got the call one day before the audition. I just played …

Tuesday 27Trombonist/vocalist Lizzi Trumbore is back in town, playing a house party gig with guitarist Peter Sprague and vocalist Leonard Patton at the Trumbore household (17738 Villamoura Drive, Poway). Concert begins at 5:30 p.m. and …

Tuesday 20The annual “Unsilent Night” festivities kick off at 7 p.m. at the Gaslamp Quarter Station (Fifth Avenue/King Promenade). A large group of participants, each carrying a different sonic device, play Phil Kline’s “Unsilent Night” …

“I joined the group about 13 years ago and bought the company 9 years later. We have between 45 and 50 singers, depending on the season,” says Angelica Eclar Ryan, speaking with me on a …

Monday 12 Gilbert Castellanos will be leading a group to celebrate the inauguration of SD City Councilmember Chris Ward, with Lorraine Castellanos on vocals, Bob Boss on guitar, Dean Hulett on bass, and Kevin Higuchi …

Currently based in NYC, Chilean musician Camila Meza made her San Diego debut on December 3, with a two-set house-capacity performance at the Athenaeum’s new Logan Heights outlet in the multi-arts venue Bread & Salt. …

Although 16-year-old percussionist Johnny Steele is a committed jazz head, he actually caught the drum bug when his dad took him to his first concert at the age of eight to see the Canadian prog-rock …

Monday 5 The Mikan Zlatkovich Trio plays acoustic jazz fusion at Eddie V’s Seaport Village (789 W. Harbor Drive) at 6 p.m. No cover. Tuesday 6 The Mikan Zlatkovich Trio play acoustic jazz fusion, this …

Soul-jazz vocalist Steph Johnson is involved in activism relating to the homeless in San Diego, culminating in the formation of the Voices of Our City Choir, a group she co-leads with Nina Leilani that blends …

Tuesday 29 Dorado Schmitt & the Django All-Stars with Amati Schmitt, Franko Mehrstein, Ludovic Beier, Pierre Blanchard, and Xavier Nikq play Athenaeum Jazz at TSRI (10620 John Jay Hopkins Drive) at 7:30 p.m. General admission …

“The school kind of opened as a response to a pre-existing demand,” says Avant Garde Music Company founder Antonio Grajeda, on a Skype call from Chula Vista, where they are gearing up for a grand …

Wednesday 23 Trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos has two gigs at Panama 66 (1450 El Prado) beginning at 6 p.m. when he hosts the Young Lions Series this week featuring the Pizzaro Brothers outside on the patio …

“The whole thing was made and produced in Los Angeles at Capital Records,” says jazz singer Anna Danes, on the phone from her home in Solana Beach. We’re speaking of her brand-new release Find Your …

Tuesday 15 The School of Creative and Performing Arts Jazz Ensemble performs at Dizzy’s new location (1717 Morena Boulevard). Tickets run $15 cash at the door. Wednesday 16 Gilbert Castellanos begins the first of two …

“I’ve been here four and a half years,” says Chuck Perrin, the one-man operation behind Dizzy’s, currently located on Mission Bay Drive at the San Diego Jet Ski Rental. “The building has been sold. I …