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Where are they now?
Graduates of the Monk Institute have gone on to do many outstanding - yet very diverse - things in the jazz world. Here are five of the most successful graduates.
By Matt Jung
We've Got the Monk
Ambrose Akinmusire - Trumpet, Class of 2007
It has only been half a year since Akinmusire graduated, but his career is already off to a quick start. In October he won the 20th annual Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, the genre's most prestigious showcase for rising talent. Last summer, Akinmusire was on the road touring with Macy Gray.
Lionel Loueke - Guitar, Class of 2003
Perhaps the best-known graduate, the West Africa native has recorded with Terence Blanchard and Herbie Hancock. He was also recently signed to the major jazz label Blue Note and is currently working on his third album under his own name. Louke has been nominated for the 2007 Up and Coming Musician of the Year award by the Jazz Journalist Association.
Jason Goldman - Saxophone, Class of 2001
Since graduating, Goldman stayed in Los Angeles and found his niche in education. Goldman is currently an adjunct instructor at the University of Southern California and the director of jazz at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. He has also done several big band arrangements for singer Michael Bublé, earning a gold and platinum record.
Billy Mohler - Bass, Class of 2001
Mohler has showcased his talents in a wide variety of genres. He has recorded with singers Kelly Clarkson and Liz Phair, as well as produced for nu-metal band Limp Bizkit. Mohler's current musical project is the alternative rock band The Jimmy Chamberlin Project, a group with Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.
Helen Sung - Piano, Class of 1997
A member of the inaugural Monk Institute class, Sung lived in Boston and then New York where she has performed with trumpeter Clark Terry and the Charles Mingus Big Band. Sung has released three albums under her own name including the 2007 album Sungbird. Also this year, she won the Kennedy Center's Mary Lou Williams Competition, given to one outstanding female jazz artist each year.
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