On March 6, 2025 Chabot College started its mid-semester refresh with the company of an outstanding Jazz Combo Concert. Jazz filled the halls of Chabot as students and faculty filled the recital hall and enjoyed the soothing music. 

The Chabot Jazz program hosted its yearly Jazz combo concert with Chabot Jazz Collective and Mary Fettig as a special guest. The concert was divided into 3 combo groups with eleven songs in total. Combo 1 had Irving Gonzalez on Trumpet , Cale Lee Takaki on Tenor Sax, Ysabella Ballesil on Trombone, and  Ronald Aguinaldo on Vibes. They played “Dreams So Real”, “On The Sweet Side”, “Jammit”, and “Anthropology”. Anthropology was their fastest and most upbeat song of the night, the crowd was pleasantly surprised as the other songs played were calmer and relaxing. The combination of slow and fast paste along with an upbeat and connected group made it all the more thrilling to watch. 

“I really liked it. I really noticed how smooth the sax was from the special guest tonight, Mary Fettig. In particular, I really liked the fast-paced, the last piece that they played, Anthropology. They didn’t look like they were nervous at all. I really liked that. And then the atmosphere overall over here was pretty cool.” – Kyle Dilarno/Chabot Student. 

  Combo 2 had David Alvarez on Trumpet, Kai Rasmusson on Tenor Sax, and Connor Cruey on Guitar, they played “Bittadose”, “Stolen Moments”, and “Samba De Flora”. Stolen Moments was the top crowd-pleaser, and left the room feeling cozy and centered in the roots of the instruments. The trumpet solo was gracefully executed alongside the Tenor Sax, the performers left the crowd pleased and eager to hear more. As the performance continued the group became more and more comfortable with their instruments and played an astonishing set.

The third group to perform was the Chabot Jazz Collective with Ryan Panifo on Trumpet, Jaden Finau on Alto Sax, and Adriel Macapagal on Tenor Sax, The collective group was a combination of East Bay High School students and Chabot students, with a carbonation like this they brought new performers to the platform and a new sound to the well-written songs of Jon Palacio Jr. The Jazz Collective played “You’re my sugar”, “Expressions”, and “Oh Sweet And Lovely”, all written by the concert’s director Jon. All songs were beautifully played and showcased the true talents of all the performers and Jon’s writing. Each song was creatively performed and wonderfully directed, making it amazingly well played for high school students playing at a college jazz level. The songs left an atmosphere of relaxation and peace, making it a perfect reset for anyone stressed out over midterms.  

    Chabots student Alina Gomez shares her thoughts on the concert, “I really wish it was more incorporated or normalized how it used to be back in the day, so it’s nice to come to events like this and kind of hear and kind of see students who are learning instruments and are passionate about it.” 

Chabot College does an excellent job at providing a variety of events for students to enjoy and participate in. With such a tight community of students and faculty, it’s no surprise that students come together and enjoy their college activities in stressful times like midterms.

The Jazz Combo Concert was the perfect starter to these activities and paved an exciting path for the rest of Chabots 2025 spring semester. If you missed out on the Jazz Combo Concert this time around there will be another concert on May 15 alongside many other Chabot music events.