Legendary Jazz Trumpet and Flugelhorn player, Clark Terry, receives the Grammy 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award on January 30th, 2010 in Los Angeles. During the acceptance speech by Clark and his wife, Gwen, Clark's oldest student, Quincy Jones, and Clark's youngest student/protege, Josh Shpak were recognized....and Josh was asked to stand up in the audience. What a special award for Clark Terry, who is such a bigger-than-life, absolute master of the music world! And what a wonderful joy it's been for Josh and his brother, Noah, as well as their friend & musical mentor, Michael Miller to become such a close part of Clark & Gwen Terry's lives.
A beautiful newspaper article about this can be read here: http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_14296615
And here is a clip of Quentin Tarantino introducing Clark when his Lifetime Achievement Award was announced the next day at the Grammy Awards broadcast show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19l2gPNVKBM
Hear more of Josh at http://www.myspace.com/joshshpak
BIO:
Jazz trumpeter, Josh Shpak, currently performs with the Northgate High School jazz band in Walnut Creek, California, as well as the Berkeley Jazzschool Monday Studio "A" Band, which placed 1st in the nation in their division at the Monterey Jazz Festival's "2010 Next Generation Festival" competition.
In August of 2010, the Berklee College of Music in Boston awarded Josh with a four-year, full-ride, full-tuition scholarship, commencing in the Fall of 2011. And, in November of 2010, Josh learned that he had been selected to perform with the 2011 Grammy Jazz Ensemble, the 2011 Jazz Band of America, as well as the 2011 California CBDA All-State Honor Jazz Band and the 2011 Reno Jazz Festival All-Star Combo.
Josh is currently very fortunate to make regular trips to the home of the great jazz trumpet legend, Clark Terry, for jazz-phrasing lessons (and plenty of story-telling), and in January of 2010, during Clark's acceptance speech of his 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, after Quincy Jones was introduced as Clark's oldest trumpet protégé, Josh was introduced to the Grammy audience as Clark's youngest protégé.
In May of 2010, Josh was selected as 1 of only 15 high school students in the world to participate in the prestigious Berklee College of Music 2010 "Summer Jazz Workshop", directed by Terri Lyne Carrington & Rick DiMuzio. The Berklee Summer Jazz Workshop is a full scholarship program, including tuition, room and board, and all related fees, for some of the most talented jazz students in the world.
Also, in 2010, Josh was selected as 1 of only 12 students in the world to participate in the exclusive Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony program. However, due to the Brubeck program overlapping with the Berklee Summer Jazz Workshop, Josh had to decline the Brubeck invitation.
Additionally, in the summer of 2010, Josh was selected as 1 of only 12 students to participate in the exclusive Vail Jazz Workshop. The program takes place at the end of August 2010 and is directed by John Clayton, noted jazz educator, bass virtuoso and co-leader of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and the Clayton Brothers Quintet. Joining him as instructors are Jeff Clayton, saxes and woodwinds; Terell Stafford, trumpet; Bill Cunliffe, piano; and Lewis Nash, drums.
Josh was one of only 5 high school trumpet players selected from the state of California for the 2009 and 2010 California All-State Honor Jazz Bands, and he was also a finalist in both the 2010 Grammy Jazz Ensemble and the 2010 Jazz Band of America.
Other teachers whom Josh has studied and performed with are jazz trumpeter extraordinaire, Bobby Shew, the masterful Tower of Power trumpet wizard, Mic Gillette, as well as Michael Miller who has been Josh's life-long musical mentor. Josh also takes private jazz improvisation lessons from Greg Brown and Dann Zinn in the San Francisco Bay Area. And, in June of 2010, Josh sat in with Tower of Power at their sell-out concert in Pleasanton, California, performing "What is Hip" and "You're Still A Young Man" in front of over 5000 people.
Josh performs regularly at Yoshi's S.F. and Yoshi's Oakland with the Jazzschool Advanced Combo and the Jazzschool Monday Studio "A" Band, with which he also toured Europe, playing at the 2009 Montreux Jazz Festival, the 2009 Vienne Jazz Festival, as well as the 2009 and 2010 Monterey Jazz Festivals. |
