Inspired by ’60’s “Blue Note” style jazz, as well as by the music of Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaria, The Elliott Caine Quintet plays original compositions, as well as the works of Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, Donald Byrd, and more. Latin Beat Magazine describes Elliott Caine as “one of the West Coast’s finest trumpeters.” His original compositions have been heard on programs including The Oprah Winfrey Show and Late Night with David Letterman. In addition to being an accomplished musician, Elliott Caine has had a parallel career as an optometrist with a practice in Highland Park.

Grace Fae & the Grandbirds are a vintage jazz band based in Pasadena. Versatile vocalist Grace is a Yale graduate who leads this excellent jazz trio, specializing in swinging tunes from the 1920s to the 1940s. She is joined by the legendary Wayne Wilentz on the piano, and local favorite Satoshi Kirisawa on the drums. Grace scats and sings classic tunes by Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, the Gershwin brothers and more in new and energizing interpretations, with additional classic songs in Spanish, French & Italian.

Louie Cruz Beltran blends Afro Cuban rhythms with jazz, Latin jazz, pop and R&B influences. Louie is an entertainer at heart – a bandleader who is also a superbly skilled conguero, timbalero and vocalist. In his early career Beltran performed with great artists such as Ray Baretto, Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, Francisco Aquabella, and Jorge Claudio. Recently he has shared the stage with legends Natalie Cole, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson. In venues large and small, Louie always connects with the audience with humor, solid musicianship and dazzling percussion work.

Little Brazil was born with the idea of revisiting the defining moments of Brazilian music from a contemporary perspective. Samba, Choro, Baião and Bossa Nova are addressed in an acoustic set with vocal, nylon guitar, drums and percussion led by the Brazilian musicians Natália Spadini and Marcelo Bucater. The arrangements are well crafted and modern, all played by Brazilian musicians who live in Pasadena, what makes the music stay true to its Brazilian identity.

The Los Angeles College of Music, LACM, prepares students to be leaders in music and offers music degrees in Music Performance, Music Production, and Composition. Located in the heart of the music and entertainment industries, the faculty of this music school is comprised of current, leading, musical professionals with a passion for inspiring the next generation. The music college offers a significant number of real world playing situations with professional musicians, not just peers, making it one of the top music schools today and setting the school apart from other prestigious music institutions. The college is comprised of talented students from around the world who partner together in an intimate and supportive environment to learn to create, record, perform and market in today’s competitive music industry.

Violinist Susie Hansen and her musicians perform an infectious blend of salsa and Latin jazz that has the audiences smiling and dancing. Popular from the start, the Susie Hansen Latin Band mixes together infectious Latin rhythms with jazz improvising, vocals in both Spanish and English, recognizable standards and strong soloing from players.

Kira Morrison first started playing jazz with her classmates at Los Angeles College of Music (LACM) in Pasadena. Having previously studied jazz in classes at LACM with instructors such as Tierney Sutton (6-time Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist), Sara Leib, and Steve Billman (Grammy-winning bassist), she thought it was the perfect time to apply her performing skills out in Los Angeles. After Kira decided to form a jazz group, Kira & The Major 3 was born! This LA-based jazz quartet has a repertoire of over 40 standards from American jazz, Brazilian jazz, and Afro-Cuban music.

Born in Pasadena, Michael Haggins began his musical journey at the tender age of eight-years-old. Today, he is a renowned recording and touring artist, bassist, and composer of the worldwide smash hit “Daybreak” featured in the hit NBC show Community. Michael has his own unique sound & style which The Los Angeles Times has referred to as being “a special brand of smooth funk.”