Carlos Alonzo Rivera is a multifaceted guitarist, composer, and educator based in the Bay Area. Carlos possesses

  a diverse musical background and is well-versed in genres including classical, jazz. rock, metal and blues.  

  He holds a Masters of Music in Classical Guitar Performance degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of

  Music as well as a Bachelor's of Music and Music Industry from CSU Chico.

 

  Carlos regularly performs in the Bay Area in both solo and ensemble settings, and is working on his debut

  7 string solo guitar album.

 

 San Francisco Bay Area native D-Lucca (Daniel Lucca Parenti) is one of the bay areas premiere bassists,

 at ease with every style from Rock, Jazz, R&B and Gospel. He has performed with jazz legends

 Rosemary Clooney, Michael Brecker, and Lionel Hampton, and appeared on two Grammy-nominated

 albums as well as "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" and "The View."

  D-Lucca's career has taken him throughout the continental U.S., Hawaii, Germany, and Canada. Along the way

  he has performed at popular festivals such as the Stuttgart Jazz Open, the Westbury Jazz Festival,

  the Maysville Jazz Festival, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Jazz Trax Smooth Jazz Festivals

  at Incline Village and Catalina Island.

 

  D-Lucca has performed and collaborated with a vast array of talented musicians across many genres.

  A partial list:  Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein, Michael Brecker, John Oddo, Maureen McGovern,

  Debbie Boone,  Martha Wash, Ronnie Laws, Mario Cantone, Tom Browne, Fred Wesley, Jimmy Darren, Tony Tennille, Lionel Hampton and Matt Catingub and the Honolulu Symphony Pops Orchestra.

D-Lucca has released six full length original albums: "The All For You Project," "Cruise Control," "The Next Level," “Pressing Forward,” "Have Yourself a Fretless Little
Christmas," and his most recent, "Focus." He can be found playing throughout the Bay Area at jazz festivals and world class venues like Yoshi's in Oakland,

as well as in all manner of ensembles and collaborations. Recently, Daniel has turned his focus to music education. He firmly believes that knowledge is meant to passed to the next generations. Now as a Faculty member at The Oakland School For the Arts since 2019, and Faculty at The California Jazz Conservatory, since 2013, you will find Daniel imersed in teaching music at all levels in the classroom and privately.

In the spring of 2020, the world faced an unprecedented event, The Covid-19 Virus. This essentialy shut down all of the arts, and although some schools adapted to on-line classrooms, Music and the rest of the arts were heavily impacted, especially the students. This is what led Daniel to discover a new passion, Film. With the help of his small family Daniel began producation on a Short Film, “The 2020 Kid,” starring his son Luca and focusing on the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown experience but from a childs perspective. Having been entered into many Film Festivals, “The 2020 Kid,” is noe a multi award winning Short Film, having earned over a dosen Awards and Official Selections at festivals across the Country. Dnaiel intends to continue his new passion as a Film Maker into the future.

 

  Following her solo debut at age 16 with the SF Symphony, Ilana Blumberg Thomas appeared at the Tanglewood,

  Marlboro, and Aspen festivals and now is a regular with Bay Area groups including the Left Coast Ensemble,
  Eclecta Quartet, Jazz Mafia, Earplay, San Francisco Opera, Fever's Candlelight Concerts, and many more.

  As an  orchestral musician, Ilana performs with the Oakland Symphony, Symphony San Jose and the symphonies

  of Santa Rosa, Sacramento & Marin, among others. She has recorded for Philip Glass, the Monophonics,

  and on countless classical recordings and has appeared live in recent years with artists including the Eagles, Kygo,

  Kris  Bowers, Warren Haynes, Josh Groban, Wynton Marsalis, Luciano Pavarotti, Il Divo, Michael Buble, Sara
  Brightman, and Andrea Bocelli. Adding to her diverse experience, she appeared internationally and on tour with

  ODESZA and performed on Broadway in NYC in the orchestra for The Producers and Aida. She was a member

  of the  Crowden School's founding class, and as a student of Anne Crowden, is a passionate educator devoted

  to bettering the lives of students through music.

 

  A native of the great state of Oklahoma, Jaymes Kirksey has gained national recognition as a violinist, pianist,

  and conductor. In Fall 2021, he conducted the world premiere of Marcus Shelby's opera "Harriet’s Spirit,"
  acclaimed by the San Francisco Classical Voice for its "clean, well-defined performance." Kirksey was

  subsequently appointed assistant conductor for the West Coast premiere of Mark Campbell and Paul Moravec's

  adaptation of Stephen King's "The Shining." In June 2024, Kirksey, alongside Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel,

  led Opera Parallèle's West Coast premiere of "Fellow Travelers," praised by the San Francisco Classical Voice for his

  "fine leadership."

  The production featured exceptional vocalism and acting, underscoring Kirksey’s pivotal role in delivering a

  memorable artistic experience as Opera Parallèle’s inaugural guest conductor for three performances of Gregory

  Spear’s opera.  After receiving a double bachelor’s degree in music performance for both piano and violin

  from  Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Kirksey attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music

  for his graduate degree in Violin performance. His teachers included Bettina Mussumeli (violin), Dr. Jim
  Breckenridge (piano), Valery Kuleshov(Silver Medalist of Van Cliburn Competition1993), Peter Nguyen (violin) and

  famed violinist Robert McDuffie.

 
As a resident of the Bay Area, Kirksey strives to bridge gaps between societal norms for classical music and the presence of African American musicians on the
concert stage. Many of his students often join him on stage and go off to receive training from many renowned artists and institutions including Curtis, Peabody,
Juilliard, USC, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and others. Kirksey has performed in venues across Europe and the US and remains a steadfast performer
in all fields in the Bay Area. Kirksey currently serves as the Classical Music Studies director at Oakland School for the Arts.

 

 

  Jimmy Touzel has been a mainstay in the San Francisco Bay Area’s traditional American music scene for the past

  15+ years. Playing upright bass, electric bass, tuba, clarinet, and sax, he specializes in traditional bluegrass,

   traditional jazz, django jazz, old time, rockabilly, classic country, and western swing. In addition to numerous music

   and film recordings on the upright bass fiddle, electric bass guitar, and clarinet, Mr. Touzel has toured coast-to-coast

   at home in the US, as well as performances in Canada, Holland, France, Belgium, Costa Rica, and Russia.

   He has performed live on stage with groups of note, such as the Earl Brothers, Gaucho, the Stylistics,

   Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, Evanescence, Lindsey Sterling, the Brothers Comatose, Jackie Gore, and

   the Tams.

   In addition to his love for traditional American music, Jimmy has a passion for performing classical music on the

   clarinet. Before moving to the Bay Area, he held the Bass Clarinet chair in the Symphony Orchestra Augusta (GA)

   and the 2nd/Eb Clarinet position in the Long Bay (Myrtle Beach, SC) Symphony. Additionally, he played with the

  Wilmington (NC) Symphony and the Aspen Festival Orchestra. Mr. Touzel has performed under the batons of many

  of the worlds leading conductors such as David Zinman, James Dupriest, Julius Rudel, Michael Stern, and

  Damon Gupton. He attended  the Aspen Music Festival where he studied with Bass Clarinet legend Dennis Smylie.

  Originally from Georgetown, South Carolina, Jimmy earned his Bachelor of Music Performance from the University of

  South Carolina where he studied clarinet with Doug Graham and jazz bass with Jim Mings. Past clarinet studies

  also include Mark Brandon, Gloria Campione, Carey Bell, Jerome Simas, and Ted Gurch. Past bass teachers have

  included Ken Miller, Djordje Stijepovic, Craig Butterfield, and Reggie Sullivan. An educator himself, Mr. Touzel is a

  member of the instrumental music faculty at the Oakland School for the Arts, where he teaches classes in classical,

  jazz, rock, and music history.

 

  Drummer & Percussionist Josh Jones is recognized internationally from his touring and recording with such Jazz

  greats as Don Cherry, Steve Coleman, Omar Sosa, Yosvany Terry, and Jacqui Naylor. His recent recording projects

  include “Then and Now” with Blue Note recording artist Benny Green, as well as a project with Cuban royalty

  Chuchito  Valdes.

 

  Other notable recordings include Yosvany Terry & Columna B, Peter Apfelbaum, Steve Bernstein, Chico Freeman,

  Arthur Blythe, Larry Coryell, Tupac Shakur, Goapele, Zion- I, Taj Mahal, Bob Weir, and AfroCuba de Matanzas.

 
 Josh continues to perform with his various ensembles at clubs and festivals in the Bay Area and remains a major

  influence on the jazz community not only as a performer, but as a highly respected educator.