Barry Cogert
Founder/Director

Jazz Angels Barry CogertBarry is a recipient of the 2005 Neuberger Young Leadership Development Award, the 2006 Performing Arts Fellowship Grant from the Arts Council for Long Beach, as well as the 2007 Arts Council for Long Beach Distinguished Artist of the Year. Barry has a BA from CSU Long Beach and has been a resident, active jazz artist, and music educator in Long Beach for over 25 years. Other performing locations include Disneyland, the Crystal Cathedral (1987-2007), and numerous engagements throughout Southern California. Past leadership experience includes the Board of Trustees of The American Federation of Musicians, Local 7. He is a recent graduate of Leadership Long Beach, a philanthropic networking organization.

 

Albert Alva
Director


In addition to his arranging and conducting duties with the Jazz Angels, Albert is the director of the jazz ensembles at Chapman University and performs regularly at Disneyland. Albert played on Rosemary Clooney's Grammy-nominated recording Sentimental Journey, The Girl Singer and her new Big Band (1991). He has performed, conducted, and arranged music for jazz legends Barbara Morrison, Louie Bellson, & Clark Terry, and toured with the national touring company of Oprah Winfrey's production, The Color Purple. He remains an in-demand sideman for engagements all over the United States.


Brandon Baker is a multi-instrumentalist born and raised in Long Beach, CA. He started on the flute when he was 10 years old, the guitar and saxophone at 13, and at the age of 16, he had the unique opportunity to perform at the Sydney Opera House as principal flutist of the Musique Sur La Mer Youth Orchestra. That experience alone made him want to pursue music as a career.  He graduated from Long Beach City College in June 2018 with an A.A. in Music after studying saxophone and vocal jazz. He is currently a full-time student at Cal State Long Beach pursuing his B.M. in Jazz Studies with a focus on saxophone performance expecting to graduate in Spring 2021. He plans to pursue a career as a music teacher/freelancer/studio musician post-graduation.

Max Cogert showed an interest in drums starting around when he could walk. He started taking drum lessons at age 9 and never looked back. Max spent time studying at Long Beach City College and El Camino college before earning a Bachelors of Music in Jazz and Commercial Percussion from CSU Fullerton. In addition to being a drumset instructor, Max is an avid performer, having played behind Fredya Payne, Bill Cunliffe, Francisco Torres, Michito Sanchez, and Debra Voight, accompanied the LBCC and CSUF vocal jazz ensembles, and played for CSUF and CSUCI musical theater productions. 

William Harper has been with The Jazz Angels since 2013, first as a musician, then as mentor, and now has been an employee since March 2016. He has a degree in Technical Theatre from CSULB and specializes in live audio engineering. He assists The Jazz Angels in rehearsal and concert setup and audio production as well as video recording and engineering.

Tatiana Tate is a Jazz Studies Major at California State University Fullerton. This California-based trumpeter and composer has a true passion for music. She has shared the stage with artists such as John Mayer, Shaka Khan, Clora Bryant and many more.  In her early career she attended the Colburn Conservatory and the Arturo Sandoval Institute. Tatiana relishes free improvisation, avant-garde experimentation and a melodic approach to her distinctive tone, mixing spiritual, afro-futurist jazz with hip-hop rhythms and global influences. This award-winning artist is band leader of the Tatiana Tate Quartet, a group of masterfully talented musicians ready to prove Jazz is alive and well with the next generation.

Brad Croes is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and teacher, whose main instrument is the saxophone. Brad has been playing for almost 15 years, and has recorded with multitudes of local artists and toured internationally. His favorite genres to play are Jazz, Reggae, R&B/Neo-Soul, and Funk! He often uses improvisation and jazz harmony in the music he writes, and through the saxophone has developed his true "voice"! Brad also regularly plays flute, bass, guitar, and keyboards.

Glenn Holdaway is a Grammy-Nominated trumpet player who is an alumni of Jazz Angels. He has toured, recorded and performed with artists like Stick Figure, Save Ferris, Don Carlos, Sister Nancy and many others. A Long Beach resident himself, he loves to give back to the community and enjoys helping students discover their passions.

Maile Hutchinson has been playing the violin since she was 8 years old. She was first introduced to playing jazz at Long Beach City College and soon discovered a style known as gypsy jazz where violin is a prominent instrument. She and two of her friends started playing together as a female trio called She Sings She Swings in which they play old swing tunes in the gypsy jazz style. Aside from her band, Maile enjoys playing in church, recording in the studio, teaching music classes, and jamming with friends

Rebekah Faith Woofter has been playing both upright and electric bass since middle school in a myriad of styles, including classical, folklorico, bluegrass, and of course, jazz. She has also had multiple leadership experiences, including leading her high school marching band as a drum major for two years. She was a part of the LBUSD High School Honor Orchestra for four years and has played in an abundance of local gigs in and around southern California. More recently, she is a part of LBCC’s Big Band,Wind Ensemble, and Symphonic Orchestra. As a former student of the Jazz Angels, now mentor, she enjoys sharing her passion for music by teaching others.

Luke Lizotte has a passion for jazz and loves playing the trombone. He fell in love with the trombone in 4th grade and hasn't stopped playing since. Luke attended the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at CSULB, where he studied under Francisco Torres and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Performance. Currently, Luke has 14 years of experience playing music. He was part of the Jazz Angels in 6th grade, which he says had a major impact on his playing, and has come full circle as as a member of the Jazz Angels staff.

RJ Root has been a music educator for over 11 years.  His experiences as a international touring and session musician, give him a unique perspective in his teaching curriculum. RJ has earned a Bachelors in Music, with emphasis in Jazz and Commercial Music Performance from Cal State Fullerton. While in attendance he studied composition, arranging, and improvisation with Bill Cunliffe and Kim Richmond. RJ has extended his studies in Classical, Studio, and Jazz guitar with Carlos Gonzalez, Mitch Holder, Rick Zahariades, and Ron Eschete.

 

The directors of the Jazz Angels are much more than just jazz music teachers in Southern California. They are accomplished professional musicians with extensive and varied careers in the professional music world. Their experience extends beyond Long Beach, but all through California and the rest of the world.