In a Sentimental Mood, Duke Ellington (1935)
Jake Artang is a jazz piano and computer science major at UW-Madison. Having studied piano his whole life, he most recently started jazz in high school. He loves the works of
Vince Guaraldi, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Oscar Peterson, and listens to modern jazz by the likes of Rob Araujo, Anomalie, Kiefer, and Robert Glasper. In Jake’s words, “they are all masters at fusing hip hop and electronic beats with jazz.” Currently with solo piano, Jake has been
working on increasing left hand movement by working on playing melody lines and getting a better stride/2 feel.
Turn Out the Stars, Bill Evans (1966)
Jack Johnson began piano at the age of 5, and started jazz as a freshman at Beloit Memorial High School. Throughout high school he attended several music performance camps, most notably Birch Creek. Jack is currently a junior at UW-Madison, studying jazz piano with Professor Johannes Wallmann. Jack is a huge fan of Bill Evans and Chick Corea, and most
recently opened up to the likes of McCoy Tyner and Lyle Mays, as he’s been seeking to expand both his improvisational and compositional influences.
Night In Tunisia, Dizzy Gillespie (1941)
Isaiah Dobbins is a sophomore at UW Madison, currently pursuing a degree in Jazz studies and neurobiology. Isaiah began piano at 6 years of age with an intro to improvised music at 13 when he joined the worship team at his church. From there, his jazz journey officially began in his
freshman year of high school when he played with his first ensemble with the University of Michigan Youth Big Band.
