06/02/2026
Meet Annie Orzen — pianist, bandleader, educator and self-proclaimed cook—now a member of the SJZ Summer Jazz Camp faculty. 🎹🍳
A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Annie leads the Annie Orzen Trio and jazz-pop project Seldon in the Bay Area, serves as an in-demand music director for vocalists — most recently completing a six-day residency at the Castro Theatre performing with Sam Smith — and teaches at four Bay Area schools including Ruth Asawa School of the Arts.
This summer she joins the San Jose Jazz Summer Camp faculty as a piano instructor.
Camp is coming soon–June 15–26! Register now at sanjosejazz.org/camp 🎶
05/30/2026
Meet Nick Aganad — drummer, educator and self-described golf enthusiast joins the SJZ Summer Jazz Camp faculty this year. ⛳🥁
Nick has been playing drums for nearly 20 years and teaching since 2017. A San Jose State Jazz Studies grad, he performs with Bay Area groups Frunkyman, Character Select and PACHEX, and serves as Assistant Director of the SJZ High School All-Stars program.
A die-hard Warriors and 49ers fan, Nick brings serious Bay Area energy to everything he does — on the kit, on the course and in the classroom. 🏀🏈
Camp is coming soon–June 15–26! Register now at sanjosejazz.org/camp 🎶
05/30/2026
New Jazz Underground's debut album "Hoodies" is out today. 🎶
Bridging jazz tradition with hip-hop-inflected grooves, Afro-Cuban rhythms and raw, vocal-led blues, DownBeat praises "a foundation of solid groove, enabled by a remarkable synergy between the players." And NPR calls the track "Oney Ones One" "classy and classic, it absolutely cooks."
Stream it to hear what everyone is talking about — then catch them live at Summer Fest, August 7–9.
Grab an All Stages ticket at bit.ly/SJZ26TIX 🎟️
05/28/2026
🔥💃🏽🪘 The 2026 ¡WEPA! Fest brings the salsa heat to Parque de Los Pobladores on Friday, June 12 from 5–10PM — and this year’s lineup is 🔥🔥
🎤 Hosted by Summer Fest emcee Santos Lopez
🎶 Featuring LIVE performances by:
✨ Jeri y El Kombo Klasiko
✨ Los Calderones
✨ Headliners Orquesta Bembé closing out the night with high-energy salsa heat 💥🔥
PLUS 👀
🎧 DJ Leydis
💃🏽 Salsa dance instruction with Alyssa Aguilar
🥁 Special performance by Aguacero Bomba
🍹 Food & drinks
🛍️ Local vendors
FREE with Registration! bit.ly/26WEPA
Brought to you by MACLA / Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana & San Jose Jazz with support from San José District 1 Councilmember Rosemary Kamei and CityDance (San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs).
05/23/2026
aja monet just dropped "the color of rain" — and the world is paying attention. 🌧️
The New York Times calls her work "a fluid mix of jazz and poetry," The New Yorker says "a dreamlike tangle of genre-blurring ideas," and Pitchfork praises her "profound and forceful clarity." Co-produced with Justin Brown and Meshell Ndegeocello, the album weaves jazz, soul, hip-hop and afropunk into something entirely its own.
Stream "the color of rain" on Spotify, Apple Music and major platforms — then catch aja monet live at Summer Fest, Saturday, August 8. 🎶 Tickets at bit.ly/SJZ26TIX 🎟️
05/23/2026