Golden City

Golden City is a multi-movement extended composition which draws inspiration from the history of San Francisco and the Bay Area, specifically from the perspective of its immigrant communities and racial minority groups. The piece features a nine-piece jazz ensemble and a video installation by David Murakami.

Originally commissioned by the Hewlett Foundation and premiered at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, CA in May of 2023, the spring 2025 performance at MIT is the Boston premiere of the piece.

Miguel Zenón is an alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, music producer and educator. He is a Grammy Award winner, the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a MacArthur Fellowship, and a Doris Duke Artist Award. He has released seventeen albums as a leader and has collaborated with some of the most highly heralded jazz musicians of our time.

Bio: MIT MTA
Website: miguelzenon.com
Social: Instagram | Facebook | Youtube

Matt Mitchell is a pianist, composer, and electronic musician interested in the intersections of various strains of acoustic, electric, composed, and improvised new music. He has released several forward-thinking, critically acclaimed, and influential albums as a leader on Pi Recordings, Screwgun Records, and Out of Your Head Records, and together with Kate Gentile he runs Obliquity Records. 

Website: mattmitchell.us

Miles Okazaki is a NYC-based guitarist and composer. His sideman experience over the last two decades covers a broad spectrum, from standards to experimental music. He has released nine albums of original compositions and received wide critical acclaim for his 2018 six-album recording of the complete compositions of Thelonious Monk for solo guitar.

Website: milesokazaki.com
Socials: Instagram | Youtube | X

Christopher Tordini is an in-demand bassist in the jazz and experimental music scene, touring and recording both nationally and internationally. He has performed and recorded with prominent bandleaders of today, and has led groups playing his music all around New York City for the past decade.

Socials: Instagram 

Three-time Shifting Foundation grantee Dan Weiss has been hailed as one of the top five jazz drummers by The New York Times. His innovative drumming and forward-thinking compositions have been pushing musical limits for decades, and have brought multiple accolades. He has released 12 albums as a leader and has collaborated with some of the most recognized names in jazz.

Website: danweiss.net
Socials: Instagram | Facebook | X

Daniel Díaz is a virtuoso percussionist and multi-instrumentalist, originally from Naranjito, Puerto Rico. His musical journey has given him the opportunity to collaborate with artists from a great variety of genres, including Salsa, Popular Music and Jazz. He is also the creator of the Tripandero, an instrument that has garnered him worldwide acclaim.

Socials: Facebook | Youtube | Instagram

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, three-time Grammy nominee Diego Urcola is a highly sought-after trumpeter and valve trombonist. He performs regularly with some of the most well-recognized names in jazz and has released six albums as a leader.

Website: diegourcola.com
Socials: Youtube

Multiple GRAMMY-nominated/winning trombonist-composer-arranger Alan Ferber has been called “one of the jazz world’s premier composers and arrangers for larger groups” by All About Jazz NY. He has released nine albums as a bandleader and currently serves as the Associate Director of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in New York City, and teaches on the faculties of New York University and Montclair State University.

Website: alanferber.com
Socials: Instagram | Facebook | X

Jacob Garchik, multi-instrumentalist and composer, was born in San Francisco and has lived in New York since 1994. At home in a wide variety of styles and musical roles, he has worked with many luminaries of jazz and the avant-garde and has released six albums as a leader.

Website: jacobgarchik.com
Socials: Facebook | X | Youtube

Golden City is supported by a faculty grant from the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology and co-presented with MIT Music and Theater Arts.