SAAS Jazz Band I (cont.)
When I entered Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences (SAAS) in 2020, I began to focus seriously on jazz, studying under Xavier Lecouturier.
During my freshman year, I was selected for Jazz Band I, the school’s most advanced jazz ensemble, directed by Seattle saxophonist Stuart MacDonald, who studied at Cornish College of the Arts and Berklee. He has performed professionally with Inversion Therapy and internationally-recognized artists.
Centrum's Jazz Port Townsend
In the summer of 2024, I was selected by audition to attend Centrum’s Jazz Port Townsend at Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Washington, under the artistic direction of John Clayton. The weeklong intensive consisted of small ensembles, master classes, and direct study with professional jazz artists. I studied drums with Jeff Hamilton, and performed in a combo directed by Gary Smulyan. Drum faculty included Ignacio Berroa, Jeremy Dutton, and Matt Wilson.
Stanford Jazz Workshop’s Jazz Institute
I continued intensive work over the summer at Stanford Jazz Workshop’s Jazz Institute on the Stanford University campus in 2025 and 2026. Mentors came from Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, and Berklee College of Music, as well as international programs and winning bands such as Essentially Ellington. In 2025, I studied drums under Nate Wood and Savannah Harris and played in ensembles directed by Taylor Eigsti and Carlos Henriquez. For the 2026 session, the Jazz Institute drum faculty included Obed Calvaire, Max Jaffe, and Parker Sibley. The full faculty roster included Taylor Eigsti, George Cables, Carlos Henriquez, Kalia Vandever, Carmen Staaf, Ben Williams, and Mark Turner. For my final performances, I played drums for "Evidence" by Thelonious Monk and "Black Narcissus" by Joe Henderson at the Showcase Performance on August 31, 2026.
Open Jam Sessions
Beginning my sophomore year, I also began playing at open jam sessions around Seattle. I met other musicians at jams and gigs in Seattle, playing with students from other established high-school programs, as well as with professional musicians from the Seattle jazz community. I have played monthly at Seattle Fellowship, The Rabbit Box, and Black and Tan Hall, including sessions led by or featuring Alexey Nikolaev (May 17th, 2026) and Jay Thomas (March 22, 2026) to audiences of up to 100.
Seattle Jazz Fellowship Futures
In May, 2026, I was selected as the drummer for Seattle Jazz Fellowship’s Fellowship Futures. The five-member working band consists of Margot Cox, bass; Bryan Emmanuel Abuda, alto saxophone; Jonathan Yang, piano; Luke Myhre, trumpet; and me on drums. Seattle Jazz Fellowship is led by trumpeter and Executive Director Thomas Marriott, a longtime Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra soloist who has performed and recorded with artists including Maynard Ferguson, Rosemary Clooney, Joe Locke, Roy McCurdy, and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra.
Through Fellowship Futures, I also work and perform with Seattle drummer D’Vonne Lewis, a multiple Earshot Golden Ear Award winner and three-time Essentially Ellington drum soloist, who has performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Maria Schneider, Christian McBride, John Clayton, George Cables, Wycliffe Gordon, and Julian Priester.
With Fellowship Futures, I have performed at Seattle Jazz Fellowship’s Pioneer Square venue at 103 S. Main Street and at its All-Ages Jam Sessions with D’Vonne Lewis on June 9, July 14, and August 11, 2026.
On August 11, 2026, the Fellowship Futures All-Ages Jam was guest-hosted by Seattle-born drummer, producer, and composer Kassa Overall, following his workshop on the making and release of CREAM.
Earlier Drumming
Starting in 2011, at age five, I took private drum lessons with Steve Smith, founder of The Seattle Drum School of Music. In 2016, I began playing at School of Rock Bellevue, studying with Matt Payne. At School of Rock, I moved from private instruction into regular ensemble rehearsal and live performance. As a drummer at School of Rock, I performed in shows centered on the music of The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC, Santana and Led Zeppelin. We played at The Crocodile in Seattle on January 21, 2016, Columbia City Theater on June 10, 2017, Hard Rock Cafe on September 29, 2018, JewelBox Theater on September 28th 2019 and Nectar on January 29, 2023. I continued with School of Rock through 2024, performing at the House Band level as a middle schooler, a level usually reserved for high-school students.
My story
I was born into a musical environment, primarily hearing the Grateful Dead, as well as other 70s-80s bands, around the house as a child. I starting hitting things with spoons and other utensils when I was eighteen-months old. By age four, I was building my own drum kits out of trashcans and stools. I am told that I "instinctively expressed a rhythmic sense," as a very forgiving way of putting it, by my family. Translation: "I banged on anything in my vicinity."
I started taking private drum lessons at age five and joined The School of Rock at age six. I remember my first show, playing Beatles' covers, at The Crocodile in Seattle, when I was seven.
I played nine full shows with The School of Rock, took a break during Covid, but returned to join the House Band for a year prior to starting middle school.
In sixth grade, I joined Seattle Academy of the Arts and Sciences (SAAS) and auditioned for the jazz ensemble.
In 8th grade, we got new band director, Stuart MacDonald, who exposed me to classic jazz arrangements. Freshman year, at SAAS, I was accepted into Jazz I, the high school's top ensemble.
I started playing in regional jam sessions around Seattle and calling tunes from the real book when I was 14.
Dvonne Lewis came to our practices as a guest artist in the spring of my sophomore year. He told us about the Monday jam sessions at the Seattle Jazz Fellowship. I tried my first one on April 28th, 2025.
I studied at Stanford's jazz workshop over the summer, and returned to the Seattle Jazz Fellowship the fall of junior year. I became a regular.
On May 30th, 2026, I was chosen as the drummer for the Fellowship Futures, the Seattle Jazz Fellowship's professional group of high school-age jazz musicians, selected each year from around the Seattle-area. Now, I am able to gig around Seattle with some of the best musicians that play in our city.
Over spring break, 2025, I traveled to New York. I got to hear Pedrito Martinez, Michel Camilo, Brad Mehldau, Gilad Hekselmen, and Marcus Gilmore play at Blue Note and The Village Vanguard. My goal is to perform there one day.