Jam Camp West

Patricio Angulo has been residing in the Bay Area since attending UC Berkeley in 1995, where he majored in Molecular & Cell Biology and minored in Music. Originally from Los Angeles, he studied classical percussion before discovering the world of Latin & Caribbean Rhythms. In the Bay Area he has studied intensively under world-renowned percussionist Michael Spiro, as well as taking master classes from various master percussionists. He has performed and/or recorded with international and local artists such as Yeni Valdes & Roberton of Los Van Van, Danny Lozada (former lead singer for La Charanga Habanera), Los Tigres del Norte, Dr. Loco and his Rockin’ Jalapeño Band, Fito Reinoso’s Ritmo y Armonia, LoCura, La Gente SF and Rumbaché.

Samara Atkins has been dancing and teaching hip-hop since 1999 and finds pure joy in sharing her love and passion of dance with others. She has been technically trained in jazz, ballet, and hip hop, while her main focus has predominantly been street styles. Not only has she been a choreographer since the age of 14 and directed a student-run dance company at Howard University while attending, but has performed in various dance companies including New Style Motherlode, Diamond Dance Company, Neopolitan, Dance 10, St. Mary's Dance Ensemble, Vizion Performance Team, Carla Service's Dance-A-Vision. She currently is a dance teaching artist through Destiny Arts Center and is Co-Founder and Associate Artistic Director of Mix'd Ingrdnts, where her influences of street dance have been developed. Traveling to Mexico, China, Thailand, Nepal, and Vietnam to showcase, teach, and share her love of dance with other cultures, her passion is to perform and teach youth and the community to freely express themselves with confidence. She has choreographed for Mix'd Ingrdnts, global artist Dahrio Wonder, local artists The Alphabet Rockers, Sara Lovell, Jonn Hart, Michelle Martinez, Moesoul, and Judit, and also has back-up danced for Nile Rodgers and the band Chic. Samara has also danced for LUAM, whose choreographer credits include Busta Rhymes, Nelly Furtado, and Rihanna. She teaches adult and youth hip-hop classes around the Bay Area and also is currently a hip-hop columnist for Dance Studio Life Magazine.

Kyle Blaze is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, singer, and educator with over 30 years of musical experience. Known for his soothing baritone voice, dynamic ukulele skills, and comedic stage presence, Blaze has captivated audiences at renowned venues like The Mountain Winery, Yoshi's, and Belly Up.

Blaze earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music from San Francisco State University in 1999. His journey began with writing music, earning praise from mentors like Igor Korneitchouk, which solidified his decision to pursue music full-time. After graduating, he performed and toured in France with the Acid Jazz Orchestra "Buzart" as a guitarist, flutist, and vocalist.

Blaze discovered the ukulele in 2010, captivated by its simplicity and versatility. Drawing on his Hawaiian and European heritage, he developed a unique style using chordal clusters and melodic techniques. He credits his studies with jazz guitar master Tru Born as pivotal to his growth as both a guitarist and ukulele player.

Blaze also holds a Master’s degree in Education (2010) and a Multi-Subject Teaching Credential (2018). As a passionate educator, he divides his time between teaching and performing, emphasizing the importance of music, community, and family as the foundation of a meaningful li

Bryan S. Dyer is a multi-talented musician who not only sings but plays several instruments including bass guitar, percussion and piano; writes and arranges music, conducts choirs and groups, and works in television, radio and film. A veteran of some of the Bay Area’s top vocal groups including Street Sounds, SoVoSo, Slammin All Body Band, Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir and Chelle and Friends he also performs with Zadell, Rankin Scroo and Ginger, and R&B group, D.A.P. His musical experiences have him taken around the globe including several trips throughout Europe, Japan, South Korea and Jamaica. Bryan’s talents have landed him alongside such artist as Al Green, Bobby McFerrin, Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers, Huey Lewis & The News and Ladysmith Black Mambazo to name a few.

Colin Hogan was born in San Francisco, CA into a very musical family. He began on drums, then experimented with guitar before finding his true passion for the piano. He was a member of the world-renowned Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble while also studying with the California Jazz Conservatory’s founder, Susan Muscarella. He then attended Cal State East Bay (Hayward) where he earned a BA in piano performance.

Colin has performed on five continents and has shared the stage with many legendary musicians including James Moody, Roy Ayers, Randy Brecker, David Garibaldi, Kurt Elling, Too $hort, Peter Erskine, Lenny Pickett, Martin Luther, DJ Qbert, Bob Brookmeyer, Chester Thompson, and Maria Schneider. In 2004 he performed with electric bass revolutionary Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone at the California Music Award which was nationally televised.

Colin is currently involved in many projects including The Tommy Igoe Groove Conspiracy, The Mads Tolling Quartet, The Jazz Mafia, Oakadelic, The Josh Jones Latin Jazz Ensemble, and The Hogan Brothers with brothers Steve and Julian.

He currently is an instructor at Cal State East Bay, The California Jazz Conservatory and Berkeley High School and lives in Oakland, CA.

Instrumental Ensembles

Daria 'Shani' Johnson is a San Francisco based drummer, singer and multi-instrumentalist. Her style is solid, smooth, dependable and sensual. Her dynamic spirit has earned her the title as one of the most sought-after drummers in the Bay Area.Shani’s appetite to create flourished at a young age.

In Los Angeles, she began playing music while attending elementary school. Excelling in the art form, music became her primary subject. She continued her education at Hamilton High Academy of Music. Awarded a scholarship she went on to Berklee College of Music, where she studied with Victor Mendoza, Larry Finn, Rick Considine, Anne Peckham, Luanne Warner Katz and Joe Hunt. Her exceptional skills with percussion and drums brought her to San Francisco where she co-founded the band London Street. drumdariajohnson.com

Brian has been playing and teaching music in Brooklyn, NY, since 2008, but also has a history in the Bay Area. When he had no idea what to do with himself after dropping out of New School Jazz program in 1994, he randomly moved to the Mission, and eventually happened upon Loco Bloco—a multi-carnaval-winning youth-oriented music and dance troupe, and played with their club band. He also played with the LB-adjacent salsa band Mala Fama, and co-founded the hip-hop funk group Bayonics with Jairo Vargas, the lead singer for the Loco Bloco band.

After the Bay he spent a year in Tulum, Mexico, where played with Bandikoro, a West African-influenced band with members from Mexico, France, Sweden, and the US. He also fell in love with Cumbia there.

On to New York City in 2008, where he co-founded and led the band Cumbiagra (lead vocals and guitar), a dance band playing a mix of Mexican and Colombian cumbias. During this time, Brian was cutting his teeth—like most NYC musicians—playing lots of restaurants, bars, weddings, etc, including a long-running residency with Jam Camp alumnae Jason Ewald and Gillian Harwin.

Meanwhile he got into teaching afterschool programs in the public schools—GarageBand, chorus, guitar among others.

In 2014 he started teaching music privately, one-on-one and in groups (he loves the groups).

He has a guitar tutorial Youtube channel if you want to check his vibe.

He is suuuuuuper psyched to teach at jam camp. Music, nature, campfires, let’s go!

LiL MC is a Latina rapper, singer, and producer based in the Bay Area. Her dynamic delivery, sassy wit, and bilingual flow sets her apart on any stage she's on. This paired with her freestyle rap skills got her recognized quickly after she started performing in 2010 by competing as one of the only women on the Oakland rap battle scene and going on to become a rap battle champion.

In 2018 she began producing beats, making her one of the 3% of women music producers in the world. Now, she teaches beat-making and rapping to thousands of students all over the country as the program coordinator for Oakland-based non-profit Hip Hop for Change. This work and her original Women’s Empowerment Hip Hop curriculum led to her contributing to Meta's educational initiative, Code Remix, a free program aimed at developing students' computer science skills through coding and beat-making.

She's toured internationally both musically and as a Cultural Ambassador of Hip Hop with the U.S. Embassy, but she’s most passionate about building up women in Hip Hop and amplifying Bay Area artists. This led her to found the Queens of the Underground in 2020, a woman-powered performance showcase and professional development platform.

Her songs have been featured in video games, on Billboards and in movies.  She's also shared stages with legends like Jacquees, Too Short and E-40. 

New Orleans-based vocalist, bandleader, and arranger Anna Laura Quinn is known for her particular blend of contemporary jazz, reworked gems from the American Songbook, French and Brazilian music, and more, all delivered with style, sensitivity, emotional power, and a joie de vivre that recalls the charm and mystique of a bygone era.

Anna currently performs and leads projects under her own name, also appearing as the duo Quinn & Barrett with her longtime guitar player, Ed Barrett; and with the Unmentionables, a band she founded in 2020 that plays what she likes to call "New Orleans Getdown Music." She can be found performing all around New Orleans – from such venerable jazz venues as Snug Harbor, Dos Jefes Uptown Cigar Bar and the New Orleans Jazz Museum, to some of the city's most well loved barrooms like Saturn Bar, Vaughan's, and BJ's Lounge. 

Steeldrum

Mark has been teaching steel drum classes in the Bay Area since 1996. He is now co-director of Cazadero Performing Arts Family Camp, where he also teaches. After earning his BA in Music Performance at Humboldt State University in 1992, Mark traveled to Trinidad and performed with Phase 2 Pan Groove during the 1994 annual Panorama competition. He is also currently teaching at East Bay School of Science and Art, Head-Royce School, Joaquin Miller Elementary, and the annual summer jazz program Jazz Camp West. caribbeansteeldrums.com

Instrumental Ensembles

As a musician, Simon has had the great honor of performing with The James Brown Band, El Debarge, Ziggy Modeliste, Elvin Bishop, Pete Escovedo, Vet Stone, Rose Stone, The Angels, Anika Noni Rose, Tom Politzer, Micheal Blankenship, Kevin Levar, Professor Sylvester Henderson, Sylvester Burkes, Kim Waters, John Nemeth, Mads Tolling, Tony Lindsay, Tommy Castro, David Grissom, Lady Bianca, Mitch Woods, EC Scott, Zakiya Hooker, Curtis Lawson, Beverly Stoval and many that are truly remarkable musical phenoms yet to be discovered on a grand scale commercially. In 2007 Simon Russell performed with the Soul Generals in Toronto, Ontario, Canada opening for the Morris Day and The Time.

In 2012, Simon joined Kim Waters to perform for and honor Quincy Jones on Black History Month. In 2013, Simon joined Paula Harris and the Beast of Blues who were awarded a Blues nomination and multiple Blues awards for their release "Turning On The Naughty". Simon is also a prolific composer and songwriter with hundreds of compositions throughout his career, covering many different styles and genres.

In 2018, Simon started a music school for youth and adults called Notes Music Academy as well as a non-profit, Notes for Change, both helping the community to develop and flourish their artistic expression through music education and mentorship.

Dance & Songwriting 

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Charles Simon has been a part of the Jam Camp West community since 2008, attending since the age of 13. A dedicated educator, artist, and mentor, they have committed their life to uplifting the next generation—those behind them in age but ahead in future.

Currently, they teach drama and dance at Fremont High School in Oakland, CA, using the arts as a tool for empowerment and self-expression. They recently earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico, specializing in Business of Arts Management and Black Studies. Believing that knowledge is power and power is freedom, they strive to equip young people with the tools to shape their own futures.

As a performer, Charles has danced with the Golden State Warriors, Oakland Raiders, and San Francisco 49ers, as well as being a member of Future Shock Oakland. Their artistic excellence has been recognized through numerous accolades, including winning Lobos Got Talent (2019), being named a Hooded Scholar (2019), and earning the title of UNM Poetry Slam Champion (2019).

Beyond the classroom, Charles Simon teaches dance throughout the Bay Area and is deeply involved in the region’s artist-activist community. Looking ahead, they plan to further their impact by pursuing a master’s degree in education at UC Berkeley. With a passion for mentorship and social change, they are dedicated to making a lasting difference—one youth at a time.

Born in Fairborn, Ohio and raised in California Josiah Woodson started his musical journey under the tutelage of his mentor Khalil Shaheed in Oakland Ca at the age of 14. Beginning in Shaheed’s own Oaktown Jazz Workshop among the now prominent musicians like Ambrose Akinmusire, Dayna Stevens, Jonathan Finlayson, and Geoffrey Countrymen, Josiah later went on to complete his undergraduate degree at the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory of Music. The late founder and director Wendell Logan alongside Marcus Belgrave, Billy Hart, and Donald Byrd among other mentors helped prepare Woodson for the masters program at New England Conservatory where he graduated with academic honors under the continued instruction of John McNeil, Cecil McBee, Jerry Bergonzi, and Danilo Perez.

Since graduating, Josiah has gone on to pursue his career in New York, performing with such greats as Branford Marsalis, the late Mulgrew Miller, Ben Williams, and the late Clarence Clemons as well as recording with rappers Yasin Bey (formerly Mos Def) and Curren$y as well as recording on the grammy winning album “4” with Beyoné Knowles .

Woodson’s career has flourished after moving overseas to Paris, France where he has worked with musicians such as Mario Canonge, Gregory Privat, Arnaud Dolmen, Swaele Mbappe, Logan Richardson, Hermon Mahori, China Moses, and Blitz the Ambassador (Samuel Bazawulé). 

Notable performances include a season-opening performance of Woodson’s own “Suite Elemental” (written, arranged, and scored for symphony orchestra by Josiah) with the Oakland Symphony, winning the 2019 Sibiu Jazz Competition, tours in Lebanon and Niger with Woodson’s own projects, NBA Paris Symphonic Tribute to Biggie Smalls at the Theatre de Chatelet with DJ Clark Kent, the unveiling of Moncer’s fashion line with Pharrell Williams and Tobé Nwingwe in Milan, and the Scoring of Samuel Bazawule’s first film “The Burial of Kojo” which went on to international acclaim.

Words and Writing