to our
2024 JEN Scholarship
Recipients!
Hana Uwai, born and raised in Osaka, Japan in 2002, is a composer and pianist. She pursued her studies in Jazz Composition at Berklee College of Music before embarking on the Jazz Composition Master Program at Manhattan School of Music, starting in September 2024. Throughout her academic journey, she has been the recipient of several scholarships and awards, including the Berklee Global Tour Scholarship, Zunz Family Indian Ensemble Scholarship, Zakir Hussain Scholarship, Duke Ellington Award as the Berklee Spring Award, and the President’s Award at Manhattan School of Music.
Joshua Ferrell is a Master’s Teaching Fellow, and director at the University of North (UNT) Texas in Denton, TX. There he serves as the director of the Five O’clock Lab Band and as a member of the Grammy Nominated Two O’clock Lab Band. He recently received his Bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University (SHSU) in Huntsville, TX.
Joshua has recorded with both the Sam Houston State University Wind Ensemble, and Jazz Ensemble. At UNT, he has toured the United States with premiere ensembles like the One O’clock Lab Band, as well as the Downbeat award winning Jazz Singers.
Vivian Shanley is a double bassist, educator, and composer from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in double bass performance and music education at Lawrence University and studies with Mark Urness, Bill Carrothers, Patty Darling, and José Encarnación.
As a freshman in college, Vivian participated in the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Academy Big Band, led by Christian McBride. She also received a DownBeat Student Music Award for her original composition, “Ideal Realism,” and has received recognition from YoungArts and the Jazz Education Network.
Vivian maintains an active schedule as a performer and teacher. She is a member of the Iowa Women’s Jazz Orchestra and a co-founder and co-president of Lawrence University’s Jazz and Gender Equity Initiative, both of which are dedicated to promoting the contributions women and non-binary people have made to the art form of jazz. Vivian has performed at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, the Iowa City Jazz Festival, and the Cedar Basin Music Festival. She has also taught private lessons to dozens of bass students and has taught lessons and clinics at multiple summer camps and schools. After college, Vivian plans to pursue a career in music education, performance, and composition.
Myles Wilson has been an active musician since teaching himself how to play bass, guitar and keyboard during the covid lockdown. In 2021, he was accepted to Las Vegas Academy of the Arts for jazz bass. In 2022, Myles successfully auditioned his way into the academy’s top big band, which has been awarded two DownBeat awards during hi tenure on the double bass.
In 2023, at age 16, Myles began his regular gig at Vic’s in Symphony Park, Las Vegas. He has performed on stage with an array of jazz luminaries, including Jeff Hamilton, Tom Scott, Bill Cunliffe, Joel Frahm and Benny Benack III. Beyond that, he has played electric bass for a local prog rock band as well as electric guitar for a math-rock band that he co-founded.
Beginning in the fall of 2024, Myles will attend Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance in the heart of Philadelphia, where he will study under Vicente Archer. At Boyer, Myles will be a Founder’s Scholar, for academic achievement, and a Boyer College Award recipient, for music. He is proud to be a 2024 recipient of JEN’s Deborah Landon Memorial Scholarship.
Lauren Gibson is a 17-year-old jazz and blues vocalist from Vancouver, British Columbia. Her early days in music consisted of classical piano, and as she grew up, she fell in love with the art of singing, in choral music, vocal jazz and solo work in multiple styles. Storytelling and using emotions in her work is what motivates and drives her passion every day. Lauren has participated in all of her provinces’ honor groups, is in multiple ensembles through her highschool, and has her own band that plays in British Columbia, as well as taking vocal lessons with the incredible ‘Dee Daniels’ and mentoring young musicians in her community. Lauren is continuing her career at the prestigious “Eastman School of Music” where she will continue to grow her career under the teachings of the fabulous ‘Sara Gazereck’ with three other freshmen in the inaugural Vocal Jazz Program launching in Fall 2024. She dreams to be a performer in the future, inspiring and empowering those around her
Reese Pike is a jazz and classical pianist originally from Omaha, Nebraska. She is currently a senior at Lawrence University, where she studies with Bill Carrothers and Dr. Catherine Kautsky. She is pursuing degrees in both music and Spanish. At Lawrence, Reese has been a member of Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble, jazz combos, Wind Ensemble, chamber music groups, and frequently accompanies both singers and instrumentalists. She was honored to be selected to perform with Carl Allen at the inauguration of Lawrence’s current president, Laurie Carter. Reese regularly performs in a wide variety of musical styles, including a solo piano performance of contemporary classical music written by Gabriela Lena Frank at the 2022 Omaha Under the Radar Festival. She has also opened for Champian Fulton. The winner of the 2020 Nebraska Jazz Orchestra Young Jazz Artist Competition, she is passionate about expanding representation within the jazz world and is the co-founder of the Jazz and Gender Equity Initiative at Lawrence. She is excited to perform at the Iowa City Jazz Festival this summer. Reese is also committed to education and teaches elementary-age piano students, as well as offering workshops to middle school students and jazz enthusiasts of all ages.
Camila Quintero, born in Venezuela, has been a vocal major for the past 4 years at Osceola County School for the Arts (OCSA) in Orlando Florida. Her musical passions/interests include jazz, classical, latin, and various genres of contemporary music.
She has been a part of the chamber vocal and jazz ensemble for most of her highschool career, has received 2 Youngarts awards for jazz voice and was given the opportunity to participate in their interdisciplinary lab for 2023-24 (Miami & Los Angeles), she has received Outstanding Jazz Vocal Performance and Overall pop/Blues Winner Awards (2023-2024) from Downbeat Jazz Magazine, was selected to be a part of the Florida Music Education Association’s (FMEA) All-State choral ensemble in 2024, received a superior with distinction award for her classical vocal solo at FMEA’s state solo and ensemble event in 2023, has been selected to participate in the annual Central-Florida Arts-Alive performance competition since 2021 and won 4 awards in Voice, has been selected to attend the 2024 Brevard Summer Jazz institute on a full-tuition scholarship and has received a full tuition scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music.
Additionally, she has performed at Rose Hall in the Essentially Ellington jazz band competition with the winning band and members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; She has also been invited to perform at the Amway Center, the Florida State Capitol, the county City Hall, and political events held by congressmen such as Darren Soto, Maxwell Frost, and Olga Gonzalez, amongst many other accomplishments.
Furthermore, she is looking forward to expanding her musical education at her future university where she will continue to dedicate herself to jazz performance and advocate for the future of music.
A Canadian-American Composer/Saxophonist from Debary, Florida, Josh Chapple is a Studio Jazz Writing major at University of Miami, and holds a degree in Jazz Performance from University of North Florida. He started composing after finishing the game Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which made him realize he wanted to write music as a career. As a composer, Josh has received multiple commissions, worked with Grammy-winning artists, won 2 Downbeat Student Music Awards, and even organized a concert exclusively featuring his own big band arrangements of video game music.
Sam Leviatin is a composer and trumpet player based in Miami, Florida currently studying Jazz Instrumental Performance at the Frost School of Music. They have shared the stage with musical icons such as Chucho Valdes, Marcus Miller, Arturo O’Farrill, and many more. In addition to these legends, they have performed in notable venues including Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, and the Frick Collection, and they have toured throughout Cuba.
Ella Grace is an up-and-coming trumpeter, composer, educator, and producer based in Chicago. Ella’s musical upbringing began in Minnesota, where she learned under the mentorship of the state’s salient youth honors jazz ensembles including Minnesota Youth Jazz Bands, Minnesota All-State Jazz Band under the direction of Patty Darling, and the Dakota Combo under the direction of Michael Cain, and began performing professionally. As a senior in high school, Ella studied jazz at the University of Minnesota. In 2021, Ella moved to Chicago to pursue a degree in Jazz Studies at DePaul University where she currently studies with Chad McCullough, Kat Sherman, Scott Burns, and Sharel Cassity, among others. Ella now performs frequently throughout the midwest as both a side-woman and bandleader with her original compositions in a variety of jazz and jazz-adjacent styles at venues ranging from The Dakota to Symphony Center in Chicago. Ella is passionate about furthering gender equity in jazz and is working on publishing an academic study on the subject. Marcus Printup has called Ella’s sound “big, soulful, human” and “unlike anyone I’ve ever heard before,” and Ella plays to share that sound with the world.
Khamari Hall is an African-American aspiring Jazz bassist and educator currently residing in Chicago, IL. Born into a musical and Christian family, Halls musical journey is rooted in his initial exposure to gospel at an early age. He fondly remembers his love for bass blossoming in his local church’s musicians pit, eventually learning to play alongside them whilst developing a broad vocabulary of African-American music styles including hip-hop, soul, funk, and his favorite, Jazz.
Now a graduating senior from Kenwood Academy Highschool, Khamari has had the opportunity to play within his schools accomplished Jazz Orchestra and Combos. The band has been invited to play at the Chicago Jazz festival for 17 consecutive years, received numerous first place awards and honors via Illinois state music associations, and performed at renowned venues such as the Midwest Clinic, Kennedy Center and Chicago Symphony Center. Hall and the ensemble have also participated in masterclasses in collaboration with the Jazz Institute of Chicago, learning from a variety of teaching artists including bassist Katie Ernst, trumpeter Victor Garcia, tenor saxophonist Julius Salter, and alto saxophonist Alexa Tarantino.
Outside of school, Khamari participates in a multitude of Jazz programs which have allowed him to elevate his playing and pedagogy to the next level. He is a former scholar of Ravinia’s Jazz mentor program, studying jazz composition, history and performing in group settings alongside other Chicago Public School students. Some of his former mentors include guitarist Bobby Broom, drummer Ernie Adams, Jazz Historian and Percussionist Dr. Eric Hines, and pianist Richard Johnson. Currently, Hall is a member of the Jazz Institute of Chicago’s “Jazz Links” Student Council, in which he regularly performs with student led ensembles across the City of Chicago. He recently opened for the Chris Green Quartet as apart of the “Jazz City” initiative through the Chicago Park District. Hall also has upcoming performances with two trios as apart of the organizations “NextGenJazz Emerging Artist Project” over the summer in popular locations such as Navy Pier, Jazz Showcase, Millennium Park and more. Additionally, he has meet and worked with Jazz musicians performing in Chicago through Jazz Links, assisting and learning from acclaimed bassist Christian McBride at his most recent performance at Chicago Symphony Center. Individually, Khamari continues to study with professional jazz musicians across the Chicagoland area. He currently studies with bassists Michael Manson and Dennis Carroll, and in the past has studied with Marlene Rosenberg, Bethany Pickens, Joan Collaso and Lawrence Hanks.
When not actively performing, Hall dedicates much of his time towards doing what he feels is most important: serving his community. He provides free afterschool music theory and bass lessons to those interested at Kenwood Academy. He does so in conjunction with teaching aspects of Jazz history, particularly focusing on aspects of the African diaspora. Hall passionately believes honoring and keeping alive the traditions of Black performance through his playing.
Khamari plans to pursue a Bachelors of Music with a minor in Jazz Studies at DePauw University beginning in the Fall of 2024. He plans to later attain teaching certifications to pursue a career music education.
An innate and enthralling electric and double bassist from Washington, DC, Laesio Littlejohn majestically tames the bottom and keeps it in the pocket. In May 2024, Læsio will be performing with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz’s National All-Star Peer-to-Peer Jazz Quintet Tour and competing in the national Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Orchestra competition with the Plano West Senior High School Jazz Orchestra. Selected as a 2024 YoungArts Winner with Distinction, Læsio performed with the YoungArts Jazz Winners with Distinction Ensemble at YoungArts Week in Miami, FL and was selected to attend the Vail Jazz Workshop and performed with the Vail Jazz All-Stars Orchestra at the Vail Jazz Party.
Læsio has performed as a Texas Music Educators Associations (TMEA) All-State bassist in 2022, 2023 and 2024. In 2022, Læsio was selected as the bassist for the Monterey Jazz Festival’s Next Generation Jazz Orchestra and performed on the Jimmy Lyons Main Stage, he was a YoungArts Honorable Mention awardee and awarded a 2nd consecutive full merit scholarship to Berklee College of Music’s Summer Jazz Workshop. Læsio donates his time, talents and services as a peer tutor and performs for numerous non-profit organizations, churches, and educational institutions.
Currently, Laesio is a junior at Plano West Senior High School in Plano, Texas and his future aspirations are to attend and graduate from college and graduate school and, ultimately, become one of the best composers, producers and musicians, who happens to play bass, on the planet.
As a semi-finalist in the world’s most prestigious competition, the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition 2023, Alan Bartus is among the top 10 jazz pianists of his generation. /
Alan was born on February 22, 2001, in Lucenec, Slovakia, and comes from a family of musicians (his father, Stefan, is a renowned jazz artist). Alan’s talent began to manifest itself at an early age, in his childhood. At the age of four, he started attending piano lessons at the art school in Lucenec. Alan received his first diploma at a very young age at a regional piano competition. After moving with his family to Neusiedl am See, Austria, in 2012, he began his studies at the local music school. Within a short period of time, he developed into one of the best students in Burgenland, which opened the door to masterclasses led by the best teachers and performers. He has performed in several public concerts organized by the Oberschützen Piano Academy.
In 2014, Alan applied to the Bratislava Conservatory, where he was accepted, as a special student, into the class of Mgr. Andrea Balesova, ArtD. Under her guidance, he participated in several international competitions, the most important of which are Brno 2015–3rd place (Czech Republic) Eisenstadt 2016–2nd place (Austria) , Kamenica nad Lipou 2016–1st (Czech Republic) , and Milano 2017–2nd place (Italy).
In 2018, he started studying jazz piano at MUK, University of Vienna, under the guidance of Professor Oliver Kent. At the age of 17, he has valuable experience performing on jazz stages with professional artists behind him. After auditioning at the Vienna Festival, Alan was selected as one of the finalists. Festival appearances with legends of the Austrian jazz scene helped Alan launch his career. Alan’s name is already on nine different albums in addition to his own:
As leader / Alan Bartus – Solology, Alan&Stefan Bartus Trio – Connectivity, Alan Bartus Born in Millennium feat. Gregory Hutchinson.
As sideman / Nina Berglová – Another Country, New Faces of Slovak Jazz, Go Blow – More Blues, Klemens Marktl Experience feat. Tim Armacost, Alan Bartus&Robert Unterkofler – Synergy, Lukas Oravec Quartet feat. Jerry Bergonzi – Hope.
In 2022, Alan won the Excellence Piano Awards, the Grand Prix Majestic Excellence Award, and the Piano Solo Professional Gold Award. In the same year, Alan won the prestigious Ö1 Austrian Jazz Prize and was accepted to one of the top jazz schools in the world, the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. He is the recipient of the ARTEDEA prize in Austria, which he won in May 2023, and the 1st prize winner of the International Piano Competition Langnau in Switzerland.
Alan has had the great honor of working with living American jazz legend, saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi, with whom he has toured and recorded an album. Alan has also recorded and toured with respected New York saxophonist Tim Armacost. Alan’s new albums, SOLOLOGY and BORN IN MILLENNIUM, are attracting attention and have received excellent reviews from legendary geniuses such as Peter Bernstein, Tony Lakatos, Jerry Bergonzi, Harry Sokal, etc.