Ari Munkres | Bass Tim Bulkley | Drums Kevin Gerzevitz | Piano Kevin Gerzevitz fell in love with jazz piano at an early age, listening to Duke Ellington and Oscar Peterson. In high school, he discovered the genius of Thelonious Monk. During college, his advisor and Music Theory professor James Dapogny steered his attention to the piano music of Jelly Roll Morton, James P. Johnson and Thomas “Fats” Waller. Kevin also began listening deeply to McCoy Tyler, Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. Kevin began performing jazz piano throughout the San Francisco Bay Area in the early ‘90s, and was eventually introduced to the quirky, eclectic swingin’ sound of pianist Herbie Nichols. For the last six years, his trio has been focusing on the tunes of Herbie Nichols, performing regularly at the annual Flower Piano event held in the SF Botanical Garden.
Ari Munkres | Bass Tim Bulkley | Drums Kevin Gerzevitz | Piano Kevin Gerzevitz fell in love with jazz piano at an early age, listening to Duke Ellington and Oscar Peterson. In high school, he discovered the genius of Thelonious Monk. During college, his advisor and Music Theory professor James Dapogny steered his attention to the piano music of Jelly Roll Morton, James P. Johnson and Thomas “Fats” Waller. Kevin also began listening deeply to McCoy Tyler, Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. Kevin began performing jazz piano throughout the San Francisco Bay Area in the early ‘90s, and was eventually introduced to the quirky, eclectic swingin’ sound of pianist Herbie Nichols. For the last six years, his trio has been focusing on the tunes of Herbie Nichols, performing regularly at the annual Flower Piano event held in the SF Botanical Garden.
The Jazzschool Advanced High School Workshop *Winner of the 2026 Downbeat Student Music Award for Small Jazz Ensemble/Combo Sai Ray | Trumpet Victor Taraboukhine | Tenor Max Roston-Saul | Piano Levi Friedman | Bass Benjamin Gleason | Drums
Contemporary jazz pianist, keyboardist, composer and longtime Jazzschool faculty member Peter Horvath has been perfecting his craft since the age of six when he began taking classical piano lessons. Born in Budapest, Hungary, he attended the Bela Bartok Conservatory of Music before relocating to the US in 1983 and studied at the Berklee College of Music. He has since performed, recorded and toured nationally and worldwide with a long line of world-class artist, including jazz greats Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, Richie Cole, Ernie Watts, Eddie Henderson, Charles McPherson, Benny Maupin, Lenny White, Arturo Sandoval, Randy Brecker, Marcus Miller, Bob Mintzer, Bob Sheppard, Craig Handy, Ledisi, Keith Washington, and the Oakland Symphony. Peter composed for and performed with David Garibaldi for his critically acclaimed Warner Brothers video/CD series and recorded the tracks for Aretha Franklin’s performance of the National Anthem at the 1993 World Series. Carl Schultz | Tenor Essiet Okon Essiet | Bass Jason Lewis | Drums Peter Horvath, piano
Henry Plotnick | Piano Robbie Nicolls | Bass Miles Turk | Drums Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee | Sax Born and raised in Oakland, California, saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee embodies a striking mix of sounds deriving from improvised, vocal, blues, and jazz traditions. He is a graduate of The New School’s Jazz and Contemporary Music program, where he studied with luminaries such as Melissa Aldana, Darius Jones, Tivon Pennicott, David Glasser, Or Bareket, Jon Irabagon, Anat Cohen, Joshua Rubin, and Ismail Lumaneovsky. In Oakland, Nathan has taught at Oakland Summer Music, Oakland Public Conservatory, and his alma mater Claremont Middle School, providing music education at no cost to middle schoolers. As a performer, Nathan has appeared alongside generational artists such as Billy Martin, Faye Carol, Azure McCall, Selendis Sebastian Alexander Johnson, and Lesley Mok. He has performed internationally in Tokyo, and the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland, in the Bay Area at Yoshi’s Oakland, and The Soundroom, and NYC at Dizzy’s Jazz Club, The Stone, and Le Poisson Rouge. A big supporter of community organizing, Nathan hosts eclectic house shows and Improv Nights, and continues to compose, improvise, and perform in New York City and the Bay Area.
Henry Plotnick | Piano Robbie Nicolls | Bass Miles Turk | Drums Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee | Sax Born and raised in Oakland, California, saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee embodies a striking mix of sounds deriving from improvised, vocal, blues, and jazz traditions. He is a graduate of The New School’s Jazz and Contemporary Music program, where he studied with luminaries such as Melissa Aldana, Darius Jones, Tivon Pennicott, David Glasser, Or Bareket, Jon Irabagon, Anat Cohen, Joshua Rubin, and Ismail Lumaneovsky. In Oakland, Nathan has taught at Oakland Summer Music, Oakland Public Conservatory, and his alma mater Claremont Middle School, providing music education at no cost to middle schoolers. As a performer, Nathan has appeared alongside generational artists such as Billy Martin, Faye Carol, Azure McCall, Selendis Sebastian Alexander Johnson, and Lesley Mok. He has performed internationally in Tokyo, and the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland, in the Bay Area at Yoshi’s Oakland, and The Soundroom, and NYC at Dizzy’s Jazz Club, The Stone, and Le Poisson Rouge. A big supporter of community organizing, Nathan hosts eclectic house shows and Improv Nights, and continues to compose, improvise, and perform in New York City and the Bay Area.
