Introducing the 2015 Luminarts Fellows in Jazz

The Luminarts Cultural Foundation named five young jazz musicians as Luminarts Fellows during its annual jazz improvisation competition last night at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago. The event featured 11 young area jazz musicians, who each performed in turn with a trio of seasoned Chicago jazz professionals. The event was hosted by WDCB’s Barry Winograd and recorded for future broadcast on the “Chicago Jazz Spotlight” radio program. Each Fellow received a $5,000 grant award and Luminarts Fellowship. The Luminarts Cultural Foundation at the Union League Club of Chicago supports young Chicago artists, writers, and musicians by selecting 20 Luminarts Fellows annually through a rigorous competitive process. Luminarts Fellows receive recognition and financial support, and are cultivated by the Foundation as they continue their artistic practice to the betterment of Chicago’s cultural landscape.

Thomas Caminito
DePaul University, Soprano Saxophone
Thomas Caminito is a Chicago-based jazz saxophonist specializing in free-form and contemporary improvisational music. After beginning his saxophone studies in middle school, he continued onward to obtain a bachelor's degree in jazz composition from the highly-esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston. While at Berklee, he studied jazz performance and composition under the tutelage of numerous prolific musicians and educators including George Garzone, Greg Osby, Ayn Inserto, Hal Crook, Dave Santoro, and Terri Lyne Carrington. Thomas is currently an active performer in the Chicago area pursuing a Master of Music degree at the DePaul University School of Music.
CLICK HERE TO PLAY "Central Park West"

Justin Copeland
Northwestern University, Trumpet
Upon entering into his undergraduate studies at California State University, Fresno, it became clear to Justin that pursuing a career in learning, performing and eventually teaching music was the path for him. Throughout his time at Fresno State, he received world-class instruction in concepts of general music theory, jazz harmony and theory, music history, as well as the fundamentals of the trumpet by Dr. Michael Caldwell. After his time at Fresno State he continued collegiate studies at the graduate level at Northwestern University. It was at Northwestern that he began private study with one of his musical childhood heroes, Victor Goines.  His ultimate goal is to teach jazz and trumpet at the collegiate level, all the while refining his own projects as a Chicago artist.
CLICK HERE TO PLAY "Four M Davis"

Emma Dayhuff
Oberlin College, Bass
Emma Dayhuff is an acoustic and electric bassist based in Chicago. Emma has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Robert Irving III’s Generations, Matthew Santos, Rajiv Halim, Larry Brown Jr, Frank Catalano and Paul Wertico, Don Stiernberg, and Ernest Dawkins among others.  She is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory’s Jazz Studies program, where she studied privately with Peter Dominguez and Eddie Gomez.
CLICK HERE TO PLAY "Far Away"

Lenard Simpson
Northern Illinois University, Alto Saxophone
Saxophonist Lenard Simpson, is a rising jazz musician from Milwaukee, WI. He was a member of the Batterman Ensemble at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, a group that was selected to participate in the Charles Mingus competition in New York in both 2012 and 2013. In 2012, Simpson won an Outstanding soloist award at the Charles Mingus competition and had the opportunity to play with the Charles Mingus Big Band. In addition, Simpson was selected as 1 of only 32 high school students in the country to participate in the 2013 Grammy Camp Jazz Session, one of the most prestigious opportunities for high school musicians. Simpson has played with some of the best jazz musicians in the world including Brian Lynch and Arturo Sandoval. Simpson is a student at Northern Illinois University where he studies with Geoff Bradfield and Jessica Maxfield.
CLICK HERE TO PLAY "Stabelmate"

Thaddeus Tukes
Northwestern University, Vibraphone
Thaddeus Tukes has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Hall in Chicago; earned top Jazz Vibraphonist in Illinois among high schools; and was a winner of Fidelity's Future Stage Young Artists competition. He has played at various Chicago locations including Chicago Jazz Festival, Fitzgerald’s, Ravinia, Room 43, Millennium Park, Jazz Showcase, Andy’s Jazz Club, and Buddy Guy’s Legends, and performed with many jazz greats, including Victor Goines, Dee Alexander, Wycliffe Gordon, Willie Pickens, and Donald Harrison
CLICK HERE TO PLAY "Bags Groove"