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Sonya Jason

"She's a hundred pounds of rompin' stompin' sax. She's so hot her horn smokes. Her first CD, Tigress, (Warner Music Discovery) defines mood, zest, verve and sizzling straight-on jazz from the hip. Some elements of jazz never change, but Sonya Jason picks up the leftovers and moves them into her own dimension."

-- Jan Holland for Venice: The L.A. Arts and Entertainment Magazine

There is no doubt jazz has been a man's world for sometime. Be it due to a lack of credible women musicians or outright bigotry we may never know, but the tide is certainly turning toward more women being accepted into the jazz realm.

The biggest gains for women have been in the smooth and contemporary jazz arena. The imminently talented Sonya Jason is part of this new woman instrumentalist insurgence. Able to play with the verve and panache equal to smooth jazz's Walter Beasley, as she does on Tigress, yet also able to turn standards into vehicles of straight-ahead emotional singularity, as on The Supper Club, Jason's talents make her, conceivably, too good for radio.

Originally born in Wayne, Nebraska, she was playing piano by the age of four. At the age of ten she took up the saxophone. When the family moved to the Phoenix area she joined the Apollo High School band, considered, at the time, to be Arizona's leading jazz band. Two years of liberal arts study at Mills College in Oakland, and the experience of playing with the UC Berkeley big bands, led her to win the revered Phil Woods Scholarship at the Berklee College of Music. A summa cum laude graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Performance and Arranging, she originally moved back to Phoenix following graduation, then paid her dues in the Los Angeles music scene. Today Jason makes her home in the San Francisco Bay area, runs a thriving teaching studio, is offered more gigs than she can ever possibly accept, leads a number of jazz workshops every year and truly lives the life of a working musician.

With three recordings as a solo artist under her belt, Jason has worked on recordings with Sheila E., the Yellowjacket's bassist Jimmy Haslip, Pete Escovedo, Alphonso Johnson, Vinnie Colaiuta, Bill Cunliffe, Joyce Cooling, Grant Geissman and John Beasely to name only a few. Live she has appeared in more than 4,000 concerts with artists like The Brothers Johnson, Ray Anthony, Narada Michael Walden, Debbie Reynolds, Barry Manilow, Shirley MacClaine, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Carol Channing, Mindi Abair, Dick Van Dyke and Nelson Braxton of the Braxton Brothers. In addition, Jason has appeared at more than 50 music festivals including the Golden Jubilee International Jazz Festival in Bangkok where she played for the King of Thailand.

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Tags

“This female sax player is all guts and no gimmick. She plays it like she means it.”

�” Santa Barbara International Jazz Festival

“Sonya Jason has all the ingredients for success; a powerful and original musical voice, charisma, dedication, ambition, and professionalism. Clearly this is a woman on the move.”

�” Contemporary Jazz Review Magazine

“For those of you who appreciate people who play their butts off, Jason smashes all hot-saxdiva stereotypes with her sophisticated repertoire and dignified presentation.”

�” BUZZ Magazine, the Talk of Los Angeles

“Tigress is the perfect title for her debut, as she alternates between the cool sensuality of a cat and the fiery roar of its more ferocious counterpart.”

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Primary Instrument

Saxophone

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Credentials/Background

What is Sonya Jason's educational background and teaching experience? Sonya has studied privately with ten different music teachers, beginning with nine years of classical piano lessons from the age of 4 and learning saxophone from the age of 10. By the time she graduated from college majoring in music performance and arranging, she had earned eighteen separate awards for outstanding musicianship from such institutions as the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE). She won the Phil Woods Scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, the top musical university in the country, and graduated summa cum laude in 1985 after passing tough proficiency exams on saxophone, flute, and clarinet. Sonya began teaching privately immediately upon graduation and was a staff instructor at Milano Music in Scottsdale and Phoenix AZ, Killeen Music in Burbank CA, Santa Monica Music in Santa Monica CA, and Manor Music in Pacifica CA. She has taught in the San Francisco Bay Area since April 1999. What is her teaching philosophy? 1) Most people are not studying to become professional musicians; the point of lessons is to enjoy learning to play music and gain a sense of accomplishment. 2)Mistakes are not bad; they simply indicate something to be learned. 3)Consistency over time produces results. How much does it cost? Beginning and Intermediate students pay $35 for a 30-minute weekly lesson. Advanced students pay $67 for a 60-minute weekly lesson. Payments are made once every twelve weeks on a tuition basis. An additional Registration and Materials Fee of $40-$60 is due once a year and covers all music books and sheet music. What days and times are available? Lessons may be scheduled Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons between 2pm and 8pm. You may choose the available time slot that is most convenient for you. Where do I go for lessons? Sonya teaches at her music studio located in Moss Beach, California, halfway between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay (approximately 6 miles from either city). How do I sign up? Call Sonya Jason at (650) 728-8002 today!

Clinic/Workshop Information

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