TJC Jazz Festival to feature trumpet virtuoso Wayne Bergeron
In celebration of its 20th anniversary year, Tyler Junior College Jazz Festival organizers have booked one of the most in-demand musicians working today.
Wayne Bergeron and his trumpet can be heard on more than 500 TV and motion picture soundtracks, including “The Incredibles,” “West Side Story” (2021), “La La Land,” “Frozen,” “Dreamgirls,” “Hairspray,” “Spiderman” 1 and 2, “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Jersey Boys,” “Despicable Me” and “Moana,” just to name a few.
Bergeron and his wife, jazz pianist Barb Catlin, will be the featured artists for TJC’s annual Jazz Festival, set Thursday and Friday, March 27 and 28, on the TJC central campus.
They will share their knowledge and performance skills with young musicians from area schools during the two-day festival, which will be held in Wise Auditorium, located in the Rogers Palmer Performing Arts Center.
On both nights at 7:30 p.m., they will perform with the TJC Jazz Ensembles in Wise Auditorium in the Rogers Palmer Performing Arts Center. Admission is free, and the public is invited to attend.
“Wayne has been a great friend to the TJC Music program and was kind enough to perform with the TJC Wind Ensemble at their Midwest Clinic performance in Chicago last year,” said Micah Bell, TJC trumpet and jazz professor. “We’re thrilled to have Wayne and Barb join us for this year’s Jazz Festival.
“Not only will they give outstanding performances with our jazz ensembles, but they will also provide valuable insight to area musicians during the daily clinics. The students are in for an amazing two days of learning from Wayne and Barb.”
About Wayne Bergeron and Barb Catlin
Bergeron first caught the ear of many when he landed the lead trumpet chair with Maynard Ferguson’s band in 1986. Bergeron demonstrates daily why Ferguson said, “Wayne is the most musical lead trumpet player I’ve had in my band.”
As a sideman, Bergeron’s list of recording credits is a “who’s who” in contemporary jazz and pop, running the stylistic gamut from Ray Charles to Green Day. Other names include Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Barbra Streisand, Michael Bublé, Idina Menzel, Leslie Odom Jr., Natalie Cole, Celine Dion, Seal, Diana Krall, Christina Aguilera, Rosemary Clooney, Barry Manilow and Kenny G.
Numerous TV credits include the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, SAG Awards, the NBC, ESPN and TNT sports themes, Grammy Awards, “Family Guy,” “American Dad,” “The Simpsons,” “Jeopardy,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “Phineas & Ferb,” and “Hey, Arnold.”
He also performs various events for the Hollywood Bowl summer season and has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Taiwan Symphony and Tokyo Philharmonic.
Despite his extensive list of soundtrack appearances, Bergeron’s greatest love is playing lead in big bands. He has recorded and played with some of Los Angeles’ most respected bands including Quincy Jones, Gordon Goodwin, Pat Williams and Sammy Nestico, and he’s the current lead trumpet in the newly formed Pacific Jazz Orchestra founded by composer Chris Walden.
Bergeron hopes to inspire a new generation of young players and enjoys his work as a clinician and educator. “Nothing makes me feel more accomplished than hearing a young musician say that I inspired them or had a positive influence on their life,” he said. “For me, that’s the real payday.”
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Barb Catlin has become one of the leading jazz educators in the Southwest. After 18 successful years in Arizona, she returned to her home state of California, where she directs the jazz programs at Pomona College and the California Institute of Technology.
She has many accolades as a jazz pianist but is equally well known for her tenure as musical director of the highly acclaimed youth honor jazz program, The Young Sounds of Arizona, as well as her years as director of jazz studies at Mesa Community College.
Catlin majored in music education on woodwinds at California State University at Fresno, graduated Summa Cum Laude from Grand Canyon University with a Bachelor of Science in Music Education and a Master of Music Education with an emphasis in jazz studies on piano from Arizona State University, where she was the recipient of the William English Music Education Award.
Her enthusiasm for playing, real-life approach to education, and expertise in the rhythm section has made Catlin a popular clinician and adjudicator at the high school and college levels. She was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by Jazz in Arizona for her outstanding contribution to jazz education and was recently named the CMEA “Paul Shaghoian” Jazz Educator Award for 2021.
The TJC Jazz Ensembles
TJC Jazz Ensemble 1 students and their hometowns are: Nayati Ates, Tyler; Micah Brown, Tyler; Sebastian Colon, Longview; Dalton Echols, Paris; Anthony Foto, Bullard; Brayden Frank, Paris; Noah Kelly, Tyler; Aidan Lester, The Colony; Gabriel Martinez, Springtown; Sullivan McWhirter, McKinney; Manases Nieto, Longview; Nico Perez, Mineola; Nehemiah Shamlin, Sulphur Springs; Abigail Smirl, Springtown; Tanner Sparrow, Crandall; Anthony Vargas, Tyler; Drake Williams, Longview; and Riley Woodward, Tyler.
TJC Jazz Ensemble 2 students and their hometowns are: Francisco Albarran, Tyler; Reed Bryant, Rockwall; Brandon Eley, Waxahachie; Drew Gaddis, Tyler; Zackary Gee, Burleson; Natalie Giles, Malakoff; Noah Hafner, Rusk; Jeremiah Haskett, Tyler; Christian Himel, Big Sandy; Emily James, Palestine; Emi Jones, San Angelo; Jose Loredo-Amador, Grand Saline; Marcos Loya, Longview; Juan Najera, Springtown; Ryan Nolan, Palestine; Liam Ricketts, Tyler; David Smith, Longview; Nehemiah Shamlin, Sulphur Springs; Jared Strait, Tyler; and Daylen Wells, Longview.
Clinic schedule
The festival will include music clinics and performances by jazz bands from area schools. Each group will perform for about 20 minutes on the Wise Auditorium stage, and then Bergeron and Catlin will join them and offer advice on their performance.
The public is invited to attend the daytime clinics and performances. Admission is free.
Thursday, March 27
- 9 a.m. — Tyler Legacy High School 2
- 10 a.m. — Tyler Legacy High School 1
- 11:15 a.m. — McKinney Boyd High School 2
- 1:15 p.m. — McKinney Boyd High School 2
- 2:15 p.m. — Kaufman High School
- 3:30 p.m. — Wayne Bergeron/Barb Catlin Masterclass
- 4:30 p.m. — Barber’s Hill
Friday, March 28
- 9 a.m. — UT Tyler Jazz 2
- 10 a.m. — UT Tyler Jazz 1
- 11:15 a.m. — Pantego Christian Academy Middle School
- 1:15 p.m. — Pantego Christian Academy High School
- 2:15 p.m. — Brownsboro High School
- 3:30 p.m. — West Rusk High School
- 4:30 p.m. —LeTourneau University
For more information on TJC bands, go to TJC.edu/band.
Recommended for you
