The Stray Horns at California Jazz Conservatory

Immerse yourself in the captivating sounds of Thelonious Monk as the Stray Horns, a dynamic 5-horn little big band, explores the renowned pianist and composer’s iconic repertoire. Led by veteran Bay Area musician David Slusser, the Stray Horns boast an ensemble of stellar talent you won’t want to miss!


Band Members and Instrumentation:

Christopher Lowell Clarke – trumpet
Mara Fox – trombone
Steve Adams – alto sax
David Boyce – tenor sax
David Slusser – baritone and soprano sax
Safa Shokrai – acoustic bass
Greg German – drums...

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Immerse yourself in the captivating sounds of Thelonious Monk as the Stray Horns, a dynamic 5-horn little big band, explores the renowned pianist and composer’s iconic repertoire. Led by veteran Bay Area musician David Slusser, the Stray Horns boast an ensemble of stellar talent you won’t want to miss!


Band Members and Instrumentation:

Christopher Lowell Clarke – trumpet
Mara Fox – trombone
Steve Adams – alto sax
David Boyce – tenor sax
David Slusser – baritone and soprano sax
Safa Shokrai – acoustic bass
Greg German – drums


Group Bio:

The Stray Horns are truly an all-star band, with several leaders in its ranks. The leader of this aggregation is David Slusser, a veteran of over 40 years in the Bay Area music scene. Still working his day job at Skywalker Ranch, he’s had a long career in film sound working for George Lucas, Pixar, Francis Coppola, David Lynch and Guillermo del Toro, among others. His work with Lynch included co-composing musical pieces for two of his features. Slusser has also maintained a working relationship with New York composer John Zorn; performing, touring, and recording with him since the mid 80s, and contributing to his Arcana book series on music. Through Zorn he met vocalist Mike Patton, who included him in a trio with drummer Han Bennink at the 1996 Saafelden Jazz Festival in Austria, and a large ensemble at the 2010 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. Zorn also introduced him to trumpeter Dave Douglas, in whose group he performed at Stanford in 2014. Locally, David Slusser has left his musical imprint with his jazz group Rubber City and the Improv Rock group Pluto, both teaming him in tandem with the late Ralph Carney. A life long student of band arranging, Slusser won 2 prizes in the 1999 Julius Hemphill Composition Awards, including first prize for jazz orchestra. He has also composed for film documentaries and public radio.


Proof of vaccination is no longer required for Covid-19. Masking is optional and masks are available upon request. The California Jazz Conservatory kindly requests that anyone feeling unwell refrain from attending in-person events of any kind.

This concert is sponsored by JAMBAR

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