Tag Archives: Jazz WaHi

Fernando Garcia & Behique at The Washington Heights Jazz Festival

Fernando Garcia: drums and vocals; Jan Kus: tenor Sax; Cesar Orozco: piano; Carlos Mena: bass; Juan Diego Villalobos: percussion; Gabriel Vicens: guitar; Raul Rios: trumpet and vocals

Puerto Rican drummer Fernando Garcia is part of a young vanguard of musicians who are celebrating the island’s folk traditions by studying it faithfully, reproducing it, then combining it with jazz in a sound that sounds familiar yet so-very-new.
Born in San Juan and raised in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, García studied guitar at the extension program of the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico and drumset at Micheo Music Academy (Santurce), while later receiving a bachelor’s degree in música popular from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, graduating in May 2011. Furthermore, he was awarded the Juan Luis Guerra Scholarship to complete a master’s degree in contemporary performance at Berklee College of Music, Valencia, Spain, graduating in July 2013). In May 2018, García completed a second master’s degree in music education at the Teachers College of Columbia University.

In New York City, he has established himself as a drummer, percussionist, composer and educator. Throughout his career, he has worked equally as a band leader as well as a sideman. Some of the musicians García has toured and/or recorded with include Abraham Laboriel, Perico Sambeat, Ricardo Pons, Héctor Matos, Pepe Rivero, Alain Pérez, Guillermo Klein, Julio Montalvo, Victor Mendoza, John Benitez, Ximo Tébar, Nathaniel Townsley, Jim Ridl, Boris Koslov, and Miguel Zenón, among others.

Julie Maniscalco Septet: The Washington Heights Jazz Festival

Staten Island based composer and music educator Julie Maniscalco is the 2023 Jazz WaHi Jazz Composition Commission Winner. “State of Affairs” is Julie’s piece commissioned by Jazz WaHi to premiere at the 2023 Washington Heights Jazz Festival. It is a six-movement suite for septet, reflecting various stages and events through the COVID-19 pandemic. From uncertainty surrounding the virus and quarantining to political unrest, this is an observation of society from the point of view of a New Yorker and educator.

In the past few years, Julie’s projects have received NYC Cultural Affairs grants, including the virtual performance of her debut project, Terroir: Music for Jazz Orchestra. Currently, she is a member of the Howard Gilman Foundation Artist Residency Cohort through Staten Island Arts, as well as a member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop. Julie has premiered compositions at Carnegie Hall for both jazz band and symphonic band and has premiered and performed with the Jazz WaHi Composers Sextet.

Intended for music fans of all genres, Julie Maniscalco’s often genre-fluid compositional style marries Western classical instrumentation and orchestration with jazz. It sheds light on the evolution of the traditional big band into today’s jazz orchestra.

Beginning her journey at the College of Staten Island (City University of New York), Julie went on to continue her studies at William Paterson University (State University of New Jersey) earning a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies and Music Management. After working in the music industry for a few years, she went on to explore a career in music education. She earned an Advanced Certificate in Music Education at Brooklyn College (CUNY) and later a Master’s Degree in Music Education, where she studied composition with Grammy award winning composer and bandleader, Arturo O’Farrill.
Julie Maniscalco has been a music educator in the New York City Public School System for almost ten years, teaching in programs for elementary and middle school age students, such as the Salute to Music Band Program. She credits working with her younger students and exploring music to finding her own identity as a composer.

Paul Corn – Alto Sax
Salim Washington – Tenor Sax
Mike Morreale – Trumpet
Jennifer Wharton – Bass Trombone
Mamiko Watanabe – Piano
Steve LaSpina – Bass
Joseph Chidiebere Emmanuel – Drums
tix at www.jazzwahi.org/jazz-fest

The Gotham Kings: The Washington Heights Jazz Festival

Gotham Kings is a high energy immersive jazz experience! Two-time Grammy nominated trumpeter Alphonso Horne has put together a band that weaves the sound of New Orleans into a rich musical fabric that demonstrates the history of the trumpet and the story of jazz. Inspired by the music of King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, Gotham Kings uses the virtuosity of the young Louis Armstrong and innovative genius of King Oliver to take you on a journey of sound that encompasses rags, stomps, shouts and funk! The band has played in venues including Caramoor Jazz Festival, Louis Armstrong House Museum, Jazz at Lincoln Center and many more! Individually, members of the Gotham Kings have compiled a diverse resume of collaborations with top artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Michael Feinstein, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, The Colbert Show and more!