34 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JULY 25-31, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com MUSIC In the mecca of jazz, new stars are rising. One of them is Evan Wiederanders, a 14-year-old from Carmel, who has already joined the nationally-ranked SFJAZZ High School All Star Band, a rare honor for a young musician. In addition, this eighth grader from Ocean Grove Charter School is a member of the Monterey Jazz Festival High School All Star big band, Palenke Arts Latin Jazz Band and McMonarchs, a Celtic teen band in Pacific Grove. “I don’t count the hours,” he says when asked about his daily practice. “I just play.” Piano is Wiederanders’ main instrument, but he also plays melodica, Celtic harp, drums and electric bass. Coming from a family of musicians, it was his brother who started the adventure with jazz. Because of this, Wiederanders was drawn to the genre. He started taking beginning piano lessons at age 11 and continued to pursue online piano lessons with a jazz musician in New Orleans, Scott Johnson. Wiederanders now takes piano lessons with Peter Horvath from San Francisco. Wiederanders is so committed to music that he has no immediate plans to go to college. He uses Monterey County as his classroom, observing such talented local musicians as Gary Meek, Paul Contos, Bob Phillips, Steve Uccello and Andy Weis. He and his brother attend the Monterey Jazz Festival regularly. Wiederanders already had a chance to play at the most famous jazz stage in the U.S. “It’s a super cool area to be,” he says. “It has great professional musicians.” Wiederanders is versed in solo performance. He adores the freedom of jazz, because there’s so much space for improvisation. Yet he finds a lot to be gained from fitting this spirit into a band. “Solo is exciting, but playing with the band lets you interact with good musicians and converse [with their instruments] while performing,” he explains. Wiederanders was exposed to music early on. His family jams together in various combinations. Wiederanders has been taking an Afro-Caribbean drumming class. In January 2024 he attended the JEN Convention in New Orleans where he and others played for a crowd of some 2,000 people. These days you can hear him at Embassy Suites by Hilton Monterey in Seaside, where he jams at 1pm on Sundays at least once a month. COURTESY OF SUNA PRICE Jazz Age At 14, Evan Wiederanders plays in several groups, including two all-star bands. By Agata Pop˛eda Evan Wiederanders on stage. In his downtime from music, the eighth grader likes to code video games and draw cartoons. FRESH. LOCAL. TASTY. Fisherman’s Wharf FRESHEST SEAFOOD with PANORAMIC VIEWS Open Daily at 11:30am • At the end of Fisherman’s Wharf #1 www.rockfishmonterey.com • 831.324.4375
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