Jazz Showcase

This concert will feature Music Department students from The Chicago Academy for the Arts along with, and at times alongside, Academy faculty members. Under the direction of Academy Jazz Combo Directors Gregory Dudzienski, Callandra Youngleson, and Nicholas Olynciw, Academy students will be joined by faculty members Christopher Nolte, Jonah Lazarus, and Casey Nielsen to perform jazz standards, modern tunes, and pop songs! The Chicago Academy for the Arts is the nation's premier performing and visual arts high school, where young artists master the skills necessary for academic success, critical thought, and creative expression. The Academy's Music Department curriculum is rooted in the traditions of classical music and jazz while looking ahead to the potentials of commercial music and experimental composition. Students are immersed in: private study; musicianship and audio engineering courses; chamber, electronic, new music, pop/rock, and jazz ensembles; music composition; as well as masterclasses and performances.

Julius Tucker is a pillar of Chicago's jazz and creative music community—a pianist, composer, bandleader, and producer whose expansive artistry transcends genre boundaries. With a career spanning over 15 years, Tucker has solidified his reputation for masterful keyboard fluency, harmonic sophistication, and a multifaceted voice that moves effortlessly between jazz, improvised music, electronic experimentation, and beyond. Rooted in Chicago's rich musical legacy, Tucker began his classical training at the Van Moody School of Music at age seven. He later honed his jazz sensibility at the Merit School of Music and Whitney Young Magnet High School, ultimately completing his academic journey at Northwestern University earning degrees in both Jazz Piano and Civil Engineering. Tucker is also a recipient of the Luminarts Cultrual Foundation's Jazz Improvisation Fellowship and is an Artist in Residence at The Cliff Dwellers.

Gabriel Wade - TrumpetJared Schultz - Alto & Tenor Saxophone Isaiah Jones Jr. - PianoNat Lin - BassSid Smith IV - Drums Born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Gabriel Wade is a trumpeter, pianist, and educator whohas been surrounded by music all his life. He has had the opportunity to play with the Count Basie Orchestra, Cab Calloway Orchestra, Clif Wallace Big Band, Tom Garling Jazz Orchestra, Diego Rodriguez Big Band, Evon J. Sams Quintet/Sextet/Nonet, Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective, and the Marlene Rosenberg Quartet. As a sideman, he has performed at notable venues and festivals in the Chicagoland area such as Andy's Jazz Club, the Elmhurst Jazz Festival, the Chicago Jazz Festival, Jazz Showcase, as well as venues in Indiana, Iowa, Madison WI, Milwaukee, WI, and Cleveland, OH. As a bandleader, he has performed at various locations in the Central and Southeast Arkansas area, Northern Illinois area, and at esteemed venues such as Fulton Street Collective and the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, IL. Recent achievements include being selected for the prestigious, donor-funded 2024 Jazz Aspen Snowmass Academy Big Band led by artistic director, Christian McBride, qualifying as a semi-finalist in the Jazz Improvisation Division for the International Trumpet Guild's 2024 and 2025 Ryan Anthony Memorial Trumpet Competition and earning 1st place in the 2024 Tom Williams Jazz Division of the National Trumpet Competition. Gabriel Wade is also an avid music educator as his educational roles include being the Trumpet Instructor for the Ravinia Lawndale Family Music School, a piano teacher at Naperville Music Academy, and a trumpet/piano teacher at the Northern Illinois University Community School of the Arts.