Recently students from the music program of the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) came into the WBGO Studios in Newark, New Jersey for a taping of a special performance by their Jazz Ensemble. The ensemble consisting of Jaime Andrés Diaz Granados Almanza (voice), Terra Joanne Greer (voice), Nicole Pettit (voice), Jose Sabillon (alto saxophone), Ruben T Gutierrez (tenor saxophone), Jhakenson Cetoute (clarinet), Jonathan Edward Haughton (bass Clarinet), Sam Fairey (piano), Andrew P Tuzhilin (bass) and Joel Fuentes-Perez (drums) is led by Music Department professors Quentin Angus and Can Olgun, established jazz musicians in their own right. The students were welcomed by WBGO CEO Steve Williams.
Jaime Diaz, one of the student musicians, is majoring in Jazz and Popular Music. “I am a singer and BMCC has opened a lot of doors for my career, and that has been the best thing as a new musician,” Diaz explained. “In the next years I would like to start working in the music scene in NYC as well as transferring to a music conservatory.” He said he felt nervous before arriving to WBGO, “but as soon as we walked in the room, I felt comfortable and excited to start performing.”
Appearing in this series in the coming weeks during Jazz Appreciation Month are ensembles from Newark Arts High School, William Paterson University, New York University, Juilliard School of Music and the Guitar Ensemble from CUNY.
Funding for this series was made possible by a generous grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Listen to the CUNY Jazz Ensemble's performance of “The Cat” above.