Charles Chen Sextet

Pianist and composer Charles Chen, celebrates his freshly released latest album, Building Characters . This show features a classic sextet playing originals and arrangements from classic repertoire, Building Characters. The songs and arrangements are a range of different styles from the golden age Blue Note era (think Art Blakey Messengers, Horace Silver, Benny Golson).

The sextet includes:

Charles Chen, a San Francisco Bay Area pianist who performed or recorded with notable musicians such as Randy Brecker, Billy Drummond, Bob Sheppard, Roy McCurdy, Adam Nussbaum, Mike Richmond, Ralph Moore, Peter Washington, and Kenny Washington. Charles leads a trio and has performed intentionally in Taiwan, Singapore and Japan. His debut album, Charles, Play!, was featured as one of the Best Albums of 2024 in Downbeat Magazine.

Armen Krakirian is an accomplished trumpeter and private teacher based in the Bay Area, California. Holding a degree in Jazz Trumpet Performance from Oberlin Conservatory (2023), Armen's musical journey has been enriched under the mentorship of the renowned jazz virtuoso, Dr. Eddie Henderson. Passionate about both performance and education, Armen has shared the stage with renowned artists such as Gerald Cannon, Gary Bartz, Billy Hart, Jay Ashby, Jake Silverman, and many others.

The career of saxophonist Carl Schultz has seen him as a soloist, composer, woodwind specialist, educator, and historian. Currently residing in Santa Clara, California where he serves as Director of Jazz Studies at Santa Clara University, Schultz is completing work on a new album, The Road To Trantor. This avant-fusion eight movement suite is an exploration of the themes found in science fiction author Issac Asimov’s works. This album is a follow up to Schultz’s trio recording, , an album featuring the compositions and playing of his mentor, pianist Art Lande.

Joel Behrman l has performed with such such notables as Jimmy Cobb, Chris Potter, Ledisi, Jazzmeia Horn, Helen Sung, Chester Thompson, Dayna Stephens, and has recently toured and recorded with drumming superstar, Sheila E as well as her father, the latin jazz legend, Pete Escovedo. Outside of the jazz world, Joel has performed with Etta James, Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole, Tony! Toni! Tone!, The Funk Brothers, Barry Manilow, and Josh Groban.

Josh Thurston-Milgrom is a jazz bassist and educator whose career has taken him from the Bay Area to the South Side of Chicago, to East Berlin and back again. He is Director of Instrumental Music at Castilleja School, Lecturer in Jazz Bass at Stanford University, and a longtime member of the faculty of the Stanford Jazz Workshop. He also teaches privately and performs both as a sideman and leading his own group, and his album Thirsty Pilgrim Songs is available on all platforms.

John MacDonald is a composer, educator, and drummer based in the San Francisco Bay area. After completing his studies at the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory, he performed alongside Taylor Dayne, opening for Earth, Wind, & Fire, Guggenheim Fellow David Fiuczynski, and David Gilmore. While primarily freelancing as a composer and sound designer for video games and short films, John continues to teach through the Stanford Jazz Workshop and present his ludomusicological research on breakbeat music in games, with recent presentations at Oxford University, the national meeting for the Popular Culture Association (PCA), the University of Calgary, and the University of Manchester.

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