The 2003-2004 Brubeck Fellows

Pianist Tobin Chodos is a 2003 graduate of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. A semi-finalist in Los Angeles’ 2002 Spotlight Awards, Tobin also won the “Outstanding Musician” scholarship at the 2002 Monterey Jazz Festival High School Competition. Tobin has been a member of the LACHSA Big Band and Combo, the Idyllwild Academy Summer Big Band, LA’s Colburn School for the Performing Arts Advanced Band, the Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony Jazz Band, and a freelancer in several bands in Los Angeles. He also performed with the with the LACHSA Band at the 2003 IAJE Conference in Toronto, and the “Essentially Ellington” concert at Lincoln Center in New York City.

Saxophonist Scott McGinty is a 2003 graduate of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas where he was a member of the acclaimed HSPVA Big Band and combo, as well as a two-year member of the Texas All-State Jazz Ensemble. He was awarded the Jason Moran Scholarship, the Duke Ellington Leadership and the Horace Alexander Young “Most Outstanding Saxophonist” Awards, and had has performed at the Houston International, Kemah, Texas, and Monterey Jazz Festivals. He attended the 2002 Brubeck Institute Summer Jazz Colony where he performed with Jeff “Tain” Watts, Christian McBride and Dave Brubeck.

Alto saxophonist Mark Zaleski is from Boylston Massachusetts. He has been playing jazz saxophone and classical clarinet for nine years and is a 2003 graduate from Tahanto Regional High School.   Mark qualified for the Massachusetts Central District band and All-State Jazz Band 4 years in a row, and graduated with two of Tehanto’s Louis Armstrong Jazz Awards, the John Philip Sousa Award and the Most Valuable Player Award from the Regional IAJE Festival. In addition to being in several jazz ensembles with Worcester’s the Joy of Music program, Mark formed his own jazz quartet at the age of 13 with other local student musicians recently receiving honorable mention from Worcester for "Best Local Jazz Act". 

Anthony Coleman II, Joe Sanders and Justin Brown are two-year members of the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet. In their first year, they made their debut performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival, performed at the Experience Music Project in Seattle with saxophonist Bobby Watson, recorded 2 discs of original material and standards at rock star Steve Miller’s studio, played in Miami and throughout northern California. They finished the year with a performance at the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl. In every instance, they garnered fans with their thrilling and virtuosic playing. Their debut recording, Inner Presence, came out in 2002.

Trumpeter Anthony Coleman II has received outstanding soloist awards for his playing from numerous jazz festivals and competitions. A graduate of Sacramento High School, he has performed with the American River College Big Band and California State University Sacramento’s Latin Jazz Ensemble. “I want to find my own voice on my instrument,” he declares in his personal statement, and expresses his desire to include teaching as part of his career “to help keep jazz growing.”

As a member of the Milwaukee High School of the Arts Jazz Combo, bassist Joe Sanders performed twice at the JVC Jazz Festival in New York City as well as at some of the top European summer jazz festivals – Vienna; North Sea (The Hague); Montreaux (Switzerland); and Vienne (France). He was also a member of the National 2002 GRAMMY High School Jazz Band. Joe began his musical training with bassist Catherine McGinn of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and was a member of the Symphony’s Youth Orchestra for five years.

Justin Brown a graduate of Berkeley High School in California, started playing the drums when he was two years old. He participated in the UC Berkeley Young Musicians Summer Program for five years before high school. Brown has performed at several jazz festivals around the world -- as a member of the National 2002 GRAMMY High School Jazz Combo; the 1999 Monterey and 2002 San Francisco Jazz Festival all-star high school bands; and with Berkeley High’s award-winning jazz ensemble and combo. Justin’s personal statement clearly explains where he sees his life going: “My career objective includes becoming an educated professional drummer with the ability to play all styles of music, and to become a teacher, clinician, composer, and to do world tours.”