TICKETS are $10 General/$5 Student. End time is estimate.

Concerts and events made possible, in part, with support from the Wells Philanthropic Services provided by grants from the John, Anna, and Martha Jane Fields Memorial Trust Foundation, Stanley A. and Flora P. Clark Memorial Community Trust Foundation, and the Florence V. Carroll Charitable Trust, The Esther and George Jaruga Charitable Foundation, the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County's ArtsEverywhere initiative, and the Arts Project Support Grant and Arts Recovery Grant through the Indiana Arts Commission. Special concert event support provided by the Arts Midwest Grow, Invest, Gather (GIG) Fund grant (2022-2023 season).

Our Student Jazz Performance Series presents:

Kyle Brooks - saxophone

Joshua Achiron - guitar

Stephen Parisi Jr. - bass

Kabir Dalawari - drums

Kyle Brooks is a saxophonist, composer, and educator from the suburbs of Chicago, currently residing in Bloomington, IN. A product of musical influences that span from John Coltrane to Stevie Wonder, Brooks has spent his budding career traveling the Midwest in pursuit of musical expression and experience. Brooks has collaborated and performed with Third Shore Collective, Shayna Steele, Diane Schuur, Toledo Jazz Orchestra, and Evansville Philharmonic, among others.

Brooks holds bachelor’s degrees in music education and jazz performance from Northern Illinois University, where he was fortunate enough to study with jazz greats including Geof Bradfield, Reggie Thomas, Rodrigo Villanueva, and Fareed Haque. Additionally, he studied classical saxophone intensively with Dr. Jessica Maxfield. During his undergraduate years, which were marred by the passing of his father, Kyle kept his nose to the grindstone and worked diligently to establish himself as an artist in an otherwise highly competitive musical environment. During his time at Northern, Kyle spent one year playing as a full-time baritone saxophonist for The Rhythm Rockets,a vintage-style jump blues band that is still to this day an active member of the Chicago music scene. Concurrently, Kyle was also a member of the illustrious NIU Jazz Orchestra (formally known as the NIU Jazz Ensemble), while working with the marching band, saxophone quartets, wind ensembles, and jazz combos at NIU. Brooks spent his last semester at NIU student teaching general music and middle school band in the suburbs of Chicago, which provided him with the stark realities of being a professional in the field of music. Additionally, it was at this time that Brooks began his studies with acclaimed saxophonist Adam Larson, whom he still studies with to this day. With all these experiences in mind, Brooks has been made a more creative and resilient individual, having made the most of his undergraduate experience.

In 2019, Brooks left Illinois for the first time in his life to pursue a master’s degree in jazz performance at Bowling Green State University, where he is currently studying with David Bixler, and Dr. John Sampen. During his master’s experience, he has been working as a freelance saxophonist throughout the Northwestern Ohio area. He is currently a substitute saxophonist, flautist, and clarinetist with the Toledo Jazz Orchestra, formerly under the direction of Ron Kischuk. Brooks has been a part of several different DIY projects that he has personally helped organize, including brass bands, a men’s choir, jazz fusion groups, and chamber ensembles. He has studied and established himself within the aforementioned idioms and is hailed as a versatile musician.

Joshua Achiron is a guitarist from Atlanta, GA. His journey in music began at the age of six, after a family trip to Graceland, home of one of the most iconic artists of our time, Elvis Presley.

After the pivotal trip to Graceland, Joshua was introduced to the music of Chicago, Herbie Hancock, Jimi Hendrix and Hiram Bullock by his father and with a gained interest in music, began taking lessons with local teachers across Atlanta, playing blues, rock and classical. He started classical guitar at the age of 9 with Charles Duncan and concurrently studied jazz and blues guitar with Bob Shaw and Barry Richman. Throughout his time in Atlanta, Joshua was fortunate to be surrounded by a vibrant jazz scene, where he was able to play with and listen to local musicians such as Kevin Bales, Louis Heriveaux and Dr. Gordon Vernick. He later joined the Rialto Youth Jazz Orchestra through Georgia State University as a pre-college program. As a rising senior, Joshua earned a scholarship to attend Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, where he continued his jazz and classical studies under the guidance of Bill Sears and Mary Akerman.

In 2017, Joshua attended the Eastman School of Music, where he earned a dual major in jazz and classical guitar performance, under the instruction of Bob Sneider (Jazz) and Nicholas Goluses (Classical). As a student he had the opportunity to perform and learn under the direction of Gary Versace, Clay Jenkins, Rich Thompson, and Bill Dobbins. Joshua performed in several degree recitals where he played other students' original compositions. In 2019, he shifted gears to explore how jazz lives as a pedagogical tool as a teaching assistant under Micheal Dease (Michigan State University) for the Brevard Jazz Institute with guest soloist David Sanborn.  In the last year of his undergraduate degree, Joshua participated in several classical chamber music ensembles, earned his Performance Certificate as a classical soloist and achieved third place at the 2020 Wilson Center International Guitar Competition in the Jazz Soloist category.

Stephen Parisi Jr. is a jazz bassist, composer, and arranger originally from the Buffalo New York region. Stephen attended the Eastman School of music achieving his bachelor’s degree in music and receiving the Schirmer Prize for Excellence in 2021. Stephen is continuing his education at the DePaul School of music where he is in the Jazz Workshop under the direction of Dana Hall. Over his career Stephen has played with or is a member of The Buffalo Jazz Collective, The Glen Miller Orchestra, Bobby Millitello, George Calldwell, Mark Kellog, Bob Sneider and Gordon Webster. Stephen has also played such venues as The Blues Alley, Pausa Art house, The California Clipper, Blue strawberry, and The Colored Musicians Club. Stephen was selected to participate in the 2020 Aspen Jazz Snowmass workshop where he performed with some of the best young musicians in the country, working with artists like Christian McBride, Veronica Swift, Bryan Lynch and Other Esteemed Faculty.

Kabir Dalawari is a drummer, composer and educator based in Chicago, Illinois. As a band leader, Dalawari has showcased his band at several venues throughout Chicago such as, Constellation Chicago, Evanston SPACE, California Clipper, Hungry Brain, The Whistler, Elastic Arts, Fulton Street Collective and many more. As an educator, Dalawari holds faculty position at Amos Alonzo Stagg High School and People's Center for Cultural & Contemporary Arts, where he leads ensemble rehearsals and teaches drumset/percussion lessons. Dalawari's debut album "Awareness" released on March 25th, 2022, surpassed 100k listens on Spotify within 6 months. Dalawari's artistic vision is to blend traditional Jazz Language with a contemporary approach inspired by African, Indian, and western roots.