2026 ArtistS AND ADJUDICATORS
2025 Guggenheim Fellow Michael Dease is one of the world's eminent trombonists, lending his versatile sound and signature improvisations to over 250 recordings and groups as diverse as Grammy winning artists David Sanborn, Christian McBride, Michel Camilo, and Alicia Keys. Born in Augusta, GA, he played the saxophone and trumpet before choosing the trombone at age 17. In 2001, Dease moved to New York City to become part of the historic first class of jazz students at The Juilliard School, earning both Bachelors and Masters degrees, and quickly established a reputation as a brilliant soloist, sideperson, and bandleader.
Flow (Posi-Tone, 2025), Dease’s newest release, his twenty-first as a band leader and eleventh on Posi-Tone, gathers together an assemblage of exceptional musicians to help him interactively explore the essence of melody, rhythm, and feeling with his diverse crew of long-term collaborators and gifted newcomers. Pleasure-forward, Flow entices, refreshes, buoys and inspires.
Dease, a 5x winner of the DownBeat Magazine Poll for Trombonist of the Year and multi-Grammy award winner, is also a sought-after lead, section and bass trombonist with today’s leading jazz orchestras. His experiences include bands led by Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton, Charles Tolliver, Rufus Reid, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band. However, it is on the frontline of quintets and sextets led by master musicians like The Heath Brothers, Winard Harper, Renee Rosnes, Bill Charlap, Claudio Roditi, and Lewis Nash, where Dease has revitalized the trombone’s image. Not content to simply improvise, Dease arranges and composes for many different bands, constantly adjusting his tone and timbre to add just the right flavor to the music.
Dease’s unique blend of curiosity, hard work and optimism has helped him earn worldwide recognition, including awards from ASCAP, The International Trombone Association, Yamaha, Eastern Trombone Workshop, New York Youth Symphony, Hot House Magazine, Michigan State University, among others. Dease was profiled in Cicily Janus’ book, The New Face of Jazz: An Intimate Look at Today’s Living Legends (Random House). His experience in the studio has led him to produce several recording sessions for emerging artists, often composing and writing liner notes for the releases.
Dease’s singular talent has made him an effective and prolific teacher, resulting in invitations, master classes and residencies at University of North Texas, Scranton University, University of Iowa, Florida State College, Broward College, and many institutions abroad. He serves as the Red Cedard Distinguished Professor of Jazz Trombone at the renowned Michigan State University jazz program and has also been on faculty at Queens College - CUNY, The New School and Northeastern University. Many of Dease’s current and former students are enjoying successful careers in the music world. For his teaching contributions, he has been recognized with the JEN Ellis Marsalis Jr. Jazz Educator of the Year, William J. Beal Oustanding Faculty Award, MSU Teacher Scholar Award and as the 2019 Michigan Association of State Universities Distinguished Professor of the Year.
Always an informed, but forward-thinking musician, Dease learned the craft from trombone legends Wycliffe Gordon and Joseph Alessi. His associations have run the entire spectrum of musical experience: Alicia Keys, Paul Simon, Paul Schaffer and the CBS Orchestra, Elton John, Neal Diamond, Illinois Jacquet, Slide Hampton & The World of Trombones, Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, WDR Big Band, George Gruntz, Billy Harper, and numerous others.
Dease enjoys spending every possible minute with his extraordinary wife and Professor of Percussion at MSU, Gwendolyn Dease, and their daughters, Brooklyn & Charly. Michael Dease is a Yamaha Performing Artist and uses Pickett Brass and Vandoren mouthpieces exclusively. Dease uses GARD bags for trumpets and trombones.
View Michael's All Music Guide entry here for a partial listing of his sideperson credits and discography.
Alex Annan is a bassist, and composer originally from Omaha, NE. Currently living in Lawrence, KS, Alex holds a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Bass Performance from the University of Nebraska - Omaha and he is currently working a Master's Degree in Jazz Composition from the University of Kansas. Alex has released two albums under his name, Naeja in 2016 and Differences in 2019.
Music has been an essential part of life for Seth since he was a child, singing with his mother and playing numerous instruments until age 12 when he found the bass. His most recent recording, Dream Theme, produced by Octave Records is available on all platforms and he can be heard on many other recordings as a leader and a sideman. Thanks to his life in music Seth has travelled the world performing and teaching and has collaborated with celebrated jazz artists as well as performing with Broadway and Las Vegas shows. During his time in New York, Seth regularly appeared at well-known jazz clubs including Smalls, Smoke, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Cleopatra’s Needle and The Iridium. Some of the outstanding artists Seth has worked with include: Mulgrew Miller, Louis Hayes, Eric Alexander, Adam Nussbaum, David Hazeltine, Chico Freeman, Bobby Watson, Harold Mabern, Gabriel Mervine, Jerry Dodgion, Randy Brecker, Sheila Jordan, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Greg Gisbert, Dave Liebman, Eric McPherson, Abraham Burton, Josh Evans, Stacey Dillard, Dawn Clement, Alexis Cole, Benny Golson, Jeff Hamilton, Evan Sherman, Jonathan Barber, Emmet Cohen and many others. Seth studied privately and was mentored by two legendary bassists; the late Bob Cranshaw and Ron Carter. Seth has also studied with Christian McBride, Nat Reeves, John Lockwood, Martin Wind, Bill Charlap and Steve Davis.
Seth has been awarded research grants from the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers
University and the University of Northern Colorado. His research has been published
in Allegro Magazine (Feb. 2020) and he has presented research at the Jazz Education
Network Conference and the International Society of Bassists Conference. Seth holds
a Bachelor of Music degree from the Hartt School of Music and a Master of Music degree
from William Paterson University and a Doctorate from the University of Northern Colorado.
Seth currently teaches at Colorado State University, The University of Wyoming and
the Stanford Jazz Workshop. Seth has previously taught at the Hartt School of Music,
The Artists Collective, Newark Academy and the Litchfield Jazz Camp. Music is a gift
that is meant to be shared and Seth is grateful for the continued opportunities he
has to bring music to new audiences.
Ben Parrish is a guitarist, composer, arranger, and educator currently based in Denver, CO. A Seattle native, he moved to Greeley in 2012 where he attended the University of Northern Colorado. He graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor’s degree in jazz guitar and again in 2019 with a Master’s degree in jazz guitar from the University of Denver.
Ben plays in several different groups, including internationally-renowned rock band Milquetoast and Company, Dart Echo, indie-rock sensation Amazing Adventures, Thunder Hill Jazz Band, and RnB groups Unsus and SSIIGGHH. His studio experiences include work with MLQ, The Cairn Project, UNC Lab Band I, and numerous pop, RnB, and folk projects. Ben has performed at various music festivals including Music in The Mountains 2018 in Durango, CO with an orchestra comprising of members from the Dallas Symphony. His debut recording, “Song of the Forest” was released in 2015 and featured all original compositions. He has performed with musicians like Chris Potter, Debra Brown, and Brad Leali, and has experience performing on the Norwegian Jade cruise ship. In 2013, Ben won 1st place in the UNC Jazz Composition Contest. In 2018, he was a member of the Lamont Jazz Orchestra which won the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival. Ben currently plays throughout Denver in jazz settings, wedding bands, and rock groups both on guitar and bass.
In addition to actively performing, Ben maintains a private teaching studio with students of all ages.
Jonathan Saraga is a New York City-based, GRAMMY©-Winning trumpeter and
flugelhornist as well as an internationally-acclaimed composer, arranger, educator
and Doctor of Musical Arts. He holds 3 degrees in jazz studies/trumpet performance,
has earned over 35 musical accolades from 30 different organizations, and has garnered
25+ years experience performing, recording, competing and teaching on a global scale.
He appears on 40+ studio albums, in 250+ YouTube videos, and has engaged with audiences
in over 500 cities, nearly 70 countries and just short of 100 different universities
worldwide.
Saraga has worked as a trumpeter and flugelhornist for many highly acclaimed and/or
Grammy nominated/winning artists such as Maria Schneider, Jon Faddis, John Pizzarelli,
Darcy James Argue, Orrin Evans, Arturo O'Farrill, Tyshawn Sorey, Jimmy Greene, Dan
Pugach, Steve Coleman, Henry Cole, Remy Le Boeuf, Valery
Ponomarev, Steven Feifke, Migiwa Miyajima, Manuel Valera, Samuel Torres, Jihye
Lee, Erica Seguine, the Revive Big, the Birdland Big Band, the Mingus Big Band, the
Terraza Big Band, and Brass Against. He has performed at premier NYC venues such as
Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, the Jazz Standard, Birdland Jazz Club, the Jazz Gallery,
the Barclay's Center, Smoke Jazz Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Le Poisson Rouge, the
Iridium, Joe's Pub, Fotografiska, Roulette, Smalls Jazz Club as well as Rockefeller
Center to name only a few.
Jonathan's work has been recognized, featured and/or awarded by notable
organizations such as the International Trumpet Guild, the ASCAP Foundation,
Broadcast Music Incorporated, Chamber Music America, the Jazz Education
Network, the Association for Popular Music Education, the International Society for
Improvised Music, United States Artists, the Millay Colony, the International Society
of Jazz Arrangers and Composers, the Louis Armstrong Foundation, the Banff Center,
the International Songwriting Competition, the Jazz Foundation of America, the United
States Navy as well as the United States Air Force.
Critics have remarked that Saraga's original music is "skillfully conceived",
"exquisitely realized", "assertive" and "inventive" (Jazz Wise, U.K.) and that it
features "an uncommon freshness" (All About Jazz, U.S.). The U.K.'s 'Jazz Journal'
has called it "intriguing", and that it "comes out of the speakers with a rare confidence
and finish, but without the smuggery and sheen that a lot of contemporary jazz has
in place of real content." Jerry Gordon of Evidence Records has deemed it "brilliant",
France's 'Jazz Magazine' notes its “astonishing maturity”, and McArthur-fellow, saxophonist
and composer, Miguel Zenon has hailed it as "impressive", "very focused" and "well
conceived." All About Jazz has also noticed an "uncommon freshness" from Jonathan's
music and has even proclaimed it as "a stand-up-and-take-notice offering."
Altin Sencalar is a California-born, Texas-raised, New York-based trombonist, composer, and educator whose voice in jazz is both personal and expansive. A Yamaha Performing Artist and Posi-Tone Records recording artist, Sencalar has toured and recorded with luminaries including Dee Dee Bridgewater, Christian McBride, Rodney Whitaker, and Michael Bublé, as well as soul icons the Temptations and the Four Tops.
Deeply informed by his Mexican and Turkish heritage, Sencalar’s music merges contemporary
jazz with folkloric roots, creating a sound that is at once grounded and globally
resonant. His work has drawn praise from DownBeat, All About Jazz, and the International
Trombone Association Journal, the latter citing his “crystal-clear articulations and
impressive control of the wide possibilities of the instrument.”
Sencalar studied at Texas State University and the University of Texas at Austin,
where he toured internationally with the UT Jazz Orchestra and studied under Andre
Hayward. After winning multiple national trombone competitions, he was invited to
Michigan State University by trombonist Michael Dease, later joining Dease’s studio
as a teaching assistant and building a national profile.
His discography includes Introducing Altin Sencalar (2017), Realization (2020), Reconnected
(2021), and Live at Monks Jazz EP (2022). After relocating to New York, he made his
Posi-Tone debut with In Good Standing (2023), followed by Discover the Present (2024)
and Unleashed (2025), which earned four stars in DownBeat for its emotional range
and technical command.
Now in his early thirties, Sencalar is a first-time parent and a lifelong student
of the craft. His forward motion is constant — whether composing, performing, or mentoring
others. “Consistency, awareness, and intention,” he says. “That’s what I live my life
by in everything that I do.”
Composer and saxophonist, Wil Swindler currently resides near Denver, CO where he
leads Wil Swindler's Elevenet, the modern bop quintet GoodRattle, and the Wil Swindler
Quartet. In addition to his own bands, he is an active performer with the Peter Sommer
Septet, Al Hood’s H2 Big Band, Colorado Symphony, the Ben Markley Big Band, the Colorado
Jazz Orchestra, the Adam Bartzcak Republic, and many more. In addition to receiving
IAJE's Gil Evans Fellowship in 2008, Wil has completed numerous commissions from jazz
ensembles, military bands, and symphony orchestras around the world. Wil has three
CDs available under his own name, Universe B (OA2 Records 2010), the Right Riot (2014)
with GoodRqattle, and Chamber Jazz Ensemble (NohJoh Music 2006), and can be heard
on numerous other albums including Ingrid
Michaelson’s Songs for the Season, Steve Owen's Stand Up Eight, Peter Sommer’s Happy-Go-Lucky-Locals,
Al Hood/Dave Hansen's You're It, Bob Washut’s Journey to Knowhere, and David Caffey’s
Enter Autumn and All in One.
Wil is an Instructor of Music and the Associate Director of Jazz Bands at Colorado State University, a position he has held since 2009. He is a frequent adjudicator for high school and college jazz festivals around the country and maintains a private saxophone/composition studio in the Denver area. Wil has served as an adjunct saxophone teacher and Jazz Ensemble director at Denver University, instructor at the University of Northern Colorado, composition teacher for the Colorado Conservatory of the Jazz Arts, faculty at the Yellowstone Jazz Camp, as well as the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Camp, and the Rocky Mountain Summer Music Camp.
Originally from Central Texas, Wil began studying music at age five, and picked up
the saxophone at age nine. He earned a B.M. in Jazz Studies from the University of
North Texas in 2001 where he played in, composed for, and recorded with the 1:00 Lab
Band. While at North Texas, he studied with Jim Riggs, Paris Rutherford, Neil Slater,
and others. In 2000 he attended the Henry Mancini Institute on a full scholarship
from BMI, and received a commission the following year from HMI for a piece premiered
at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. In 2001, Wil relocated to New York City, where
he played with Toshiko Akiyoshi and Bill Warfield's NY Fusion Ensemble, among others.
During his time in N.Y., Wil studied saxophone with Dave Pietro and composition with
Michael Abene and Jim McNeely as a member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop. In 2003,
he returned to his hometown of Austin, Texas, where he cofounded the 10-pc Chamber
Jazz Ensemble and served as musical director for vocalist Kevin Ahart. Mr. Swindler
has lived in Colorado since 2006 with his wife April Johannesen and daughter Annika.
