Composer and Guitarist Jim Scully recalls his earliest exposure to music - his grandfather Carmen Caputo - playing jazz standards and TV theme songs by ear at the piano.  "He had a great ear, and tons of knowledge about harmony and melody.  When I was old enough to really listen to him, I learned a lot."

Scully started playing the guitar at age eleven, and practiced extensively throughout his teens.  He entered college at CSU Bakersfield in the fall of 1991 to study music.  He followed his heart - focusing on jazz guitar performance and composition. As an undergrad, his works were performed throughout California by jazz groups featuring students in the CSUB jazz program, helping him win composition awards presented by the Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival and the Bakersfield Symphony.  "I was fortunate to be at CSUB during an especially exciting time. I was able to perform regularly with stellar student colleagues who pushed me to be smarter, better and work harder at my craft.  Making music with Kris Tiner, Dennis Hamm and Kyle Burnham - among others - helped shape me musically."

After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music, Scully began graduate studies in jazz composition with acclaimed pianists Billy Childs and Kei Akagi at University of California, Irvine.  He earned his Master of Fine Arts in Music in 2002.  "Kei was a joy to work with. He was always supportive, and his extraordinary skill always reminded you that there was much work to do.  You wanted to get better to show him you were worth his considerable effort."

"My most lasting memory of UCI might be sitting at the piano and playing my piece Bouncing About for violin and piano during composition seminar as a four-hand duet with Billy Childs.  It was fun to talk music with both of them - they were so generous with their knowledge."

In the Spring of 2003, Scully landed back in Bakersfield as a lecturer in Theory, Jazz, Technology and Guitar at CSUB.  Since his appointment, he has served as Director of Small Jazz Ensembles, the Guitar Ensemble, The Bakersfield Student Composers' Concert and The CSUB Audio/MIDI Lab.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Scully has kept busy as a composer.  He is an ASCAPlus Award winner, has received multiple grants from American Composers Forum and the Teacher Learning Center at CSU Bakersfield and has had works commissioned by Dr. Nicolas Deuson, Rachel Arnold and Ashley Addington and Dr. Keith Calmes.  His pieces have been performed around the US at concerts, recitals, master classes and various conferences.   Three works are commercially available on the Beauport Classical and Navona labels.

<:{Paul Cruz Saenz}:> Singer Guitarist, Composer, Producer, Studio Musician, Entertainer. Of Smooth Jazz, R&B, Latin Jazz, Country Rock, & Pop. Was born in La Union, New Mexico. To Mother Apolonia Cruz. An Apache  Native American, A High School Teacher. And Father Joseph H Saenz. Of Russian, German, Ancestry. "Paul"  has Perform music most of his Life. With Artists such as, Little Ray Jimenez, The Midniters, Etta James, Lydia Pence & Cold Blood, The Champs, Rick James, Teena Marie Lady T, Malo, Jimmy Smith, Freddy Fender.   

Called a "fixture in the Central Valley" (NPR), Jay Smith has had a wide variety of talent flow through his band.  From jazz fusion to pop, the band has channeled a wide spectrum of musical genres to stay working and relevant.  He is an Alum of California State University Bakersfield and Fresno City College where he earned his Bachelors of Arts and Associates of Arts Degree.  
He has opened up for groups and musicians as Carl Saunders, Poncho Sanchez, Jeff Coffin,
Allan Holdsworth, Malo, Ozomatli, Clayton Cameron, and worked with Kelulu, Mento Buru, The Fresno Philharmonic,
Andre Bush, Mike Dana, Velorio, and Patrick Contreras to name a few.

His current projects include Mento Buru which was voted best band of 2018 by Bakersfield Magazine and
The Jay Smith Trio/Group which features a variety of players including Cesareo Garasa, Paul Perez, Jay Jay Hicks,
Fernando Montoya, Steve Eisen, and Patrick Contreras to name a few.

He has been on several radio stations and TV stations including  Bakersfield's Channels
17, 23, 29/58, The Michael Nayt Show, Brighthouse Networks, and 107.1 FM
KRAB, Fresno's 90.7 KSFR where he had his own radio show for 5 years.
Two of his bands (Jay Smith Trio/Group and
Mento Buru) are selected as Featured Artists on
the Global Level on Reverbnation.com. He
was the lead instructor at the Bakersfield
Jazz Workshop for first four years. He's been teaching
at Nick Rail Music Bakersfield since the store opened in 2009.

His first album, Unashamed Portrayal, (available now on iTunes and 30 other retailers)
features Grammy Nominated Guitarist Andre Bush, Jay Jay Hicks, Saxophonist Chris Nguyen,
trombonist Joe Vazquez, trumpeter Mark Manda, Fernando Montoya on acoustic and electric bass,
Jonathan Weinmann on drums, and Jorge Nunzio Urbina on percussion. It's been featured on
ALL ABOUT JAZZ as their download of the day.
 
Smith's second record, Too Many Notes, was titled by his  fans based on his reputation for a blisteringly  fast  
playing style.  Patrick Contreras on electric  violin, Jay  Jay Hicks on 8 string bass, Cesareo Garasa on drums,  
Fernando Montoya on electric bass, Gary Rink on bass,  Jonathan Weinmann on drums, and Marlon Mackey on vocals.

 

Smith's third and fourth album are Just Stop and The Trio Showed Up. 
Just Stop is an album encompassing the time the group spent with Marlon Mackey (vocals) featuring Paul Perez (sax), Justin Kirk on (trombone), Patrick Contreras (violin), Cesareo Garasa (drums), Fernando Montoya (bass), Caleb Moore (bass on "I'm Yours"), Salvador Galindo (guitar on "Torture") James Russell (auxiliary sax on Have I Told You), and Jay Smith (keys). 
 
The Trio Showed Up is a live album that Smith produced when the band was performing trio dates throughout 2018 and 2019.  Jay Smith (keys, ROLI Seaboard Rise 49), Fernando Montoya (bass) and Cesareo Garasa (electric drums).

BIRCH DENNEY is following