As my mom mentioned, last night was the jazz camp’s jam session, at the increasingly illustrious Monterey Live. I had never been to one of the jam sessions in the past, and besides wanting to lend my voice and ears to the evening, I also wanted to see the club. It turned out to be [...]
2007 Jazz Camp — The Mom Point of View
This year’s Monterey Jazz Festival Camp has been amazing in so many respects — but one of the most amazing parts has been watching my daughter change before my very eyes. Some of my wonderment comes from thinking about that other important Mom — Shirley Kiatta — who left such a beautiful comment here on this [...]
Jazz Camp, Day Four…oops.
I did miss a day yesterday, and I’m sorry for it. The highlight of yesterday was the clinic on Charlie “Bird” Parker, which discussed mainly his method of taking other songs and writing new melodies over them; “How High the Moon”, for example, became “Ornithology”, and some song about Indiana (for the life of me [...]
MJF Camp, Day Two
Today was my second day of camp, and, unfortunately, I didn’t get to test out any individual songs. So “Embraceable You” has gotten a chance to sit in the corner of my mind and develop, and hopefully will be that much more secure tomorrow. What I did definitely enjoy about today was full camp session [...]
The First Day of Camp
Today was the very first day of the Monterey Jazz Festival Jazz Camp. Being as this was Year Four of my attendance, I knew what to expect: we’d arrive in the auditorium at MPC (Monterey Peninsula College), listen to Rob detail our two-week experience and all its necessary regulations, and then listen to a very [...]
With Heartfelt Thanks to the Kiatta Family
Honoring Hydeus
The Hydeus Kiatta Scholarship to The Monterey Jazz Festival Camp
Sadly, last fall the world lost a talented and beautiful young jazz singer named Hydeus Kiatta. Thanks to the generosity of the Kiatta Family who established a jazz education scholarship in their daughter’s honor, I received a full scholarship to the world famous Monterey Jazz Festival Camp so that I could continue my vocal jazz [...]
The Monterey Jazz Festival Camp: Prelude
Every year, the Monterey Jazz Festival hosts Monterey County students in an intensive, two-week Summer Jazz Camp.This amazing program is under the direction of Dr. Rob Klevan. It is because of Rob that I am able to attend my fourth and final year of Jazz Camp, because he nominated me for the Kiatta family’s generous [...]
