Joe Mazzaferro
trumpet and flugelhorn
Sean Bri Andrew Mell
guitar bass
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
7:30 pm
Recital Hall
Bouncing With Bud (1947)
MLS (2025)
My Foolish Heart (1949)
Queen of Fermanagh (2023)
Reflection (1959)
Smatter (1976)
Song For Fizz (2013)
Soon (1929)
Bud Powell (1924–1966)
Andrew Mell (b. 1995)
Victor Young (1899–1956)
Sean Britt (b. 1995)
Ray Bryant (1931–2011)
Kenny Wheeler (1930–2014)
Joe Mazzaferro (b. 1984)
George Gershwin (1898–1937)
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Joe Mazzaferro is the associate director of jazz studies and associate professor of practice in jazz at University of the Pacific. As a trumpeter, educator, and composer, Mazzaferro is active in the Northern California jazz scene and in demand as a guest artist and clinician across the United States. Mazzaferro’s debut release In Terms of . . . (2017)—which features saxophonist Jeff Clayton along with special guests, drummer Carl Allen and pianist Donald Brown—received high praise from critics and was described as “vintage hard bop with maturity” (George Harris, Jazz Weekly).
Mazzaferro has gained critical acclaim as a composer and arranger and has arranged works for pianist Edward Simon, drummer Carl Allen, trumpeter Terell Stafford, and vocalist Jazzmeia Horn. In 2019 he contributed arrangements to Smoke Session Record’s release Bird at 100, commemorating the centennial of Charlie Parker’s birth, which featured alto saxophonists Vincent Herring, Bobby Watson, and Gary Bartz. Mazzaferro’s July 2020 big-band release Talk About It! Live @ The CLARA features exclusively his arrangements and compositions.
Mazzaferro is a graduate of University of the Pacific (BM, music education) and the University of Tennessee (MM, jazz and studio music).
Andrew Mell joined University of the Pacific's Conservatory of Music faculty as assistant professor of practice in jazz and music industry studies in 2023. As a bassist, Mell has performed across the country at renowned venues with jazz, Latin, classical, and popular music groups. He has shared the stage with celebrated artists such as Emilio Solla, Marcus Lewis, Jeffery Jenkins, and Mitch Towne.
Mell has worked in many areas of the music industry. He has held the position of artistic operations coordinator for the Eugene Symphony, stage manager for the Stanford Jazz Festival, and recording engineer for the University of Oregon. Mell holds a bachelor’s degree from Willamette University, a master’s degree from the University of Oregon, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He has also held the position of bass instructor at Willamette University and taught in the jazz and music technology departments at University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Sean Britt, a Massachusetts native, became the first guitarist for the Brubeck Institute Fellowship program at University of the Pacific in 2013. He was a member of the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet (currently Pacific Jazz Ambassadors) which Downbeat Magazine named the best undergraduate jazz combo in their Student Awards Poll in 2016. Currently, he serves on Pacific’s jazz studies faculty.
While at Pacific, Britt performed with visiting artists including Christian McBride, Stefon Harris and Chris and Darius Brubeck among others. Britt transferred to The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City where he received his BFA in Jazz Studies. He went on to receive a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music in 2019.