Jazz
In
May 2007, at age 14 and with less than two years experience playing
saxophone, Mikayla Gilbreath successfully auditioned for membership
in the nationally-recognized Deer
Valley Performance Jazz Ensemble.
During her first year with the band, Mikayla was the only female in the
seventeen member horn section. As one might expect, the "new
girl"
didn't get many opportunities to solo at first. But before
the end of her
first year, Gilbreath was named Lead Alto Saxophonist and
now
eagerly anticipates many more opportunities to solo with the band. The
DV Performance Jazz Ensemble is widely considered to be one of the
best high school jazz bands in America, so Mikayla is genuinely proud
to perform with this talented group of young musicians.
Mikayla also
plays flute, soprano sax ,and clarinet for the band.
In August 2008, at age 15, Mikayla
was admitted to Glendale College where she presently studies Saxophone
and Jazz
Improvisation.
Gilbreath's
passion for jazz grew from her exposure to the music of Sonny Rollins.
In November 2006, she had the great
honor of meeting Mr. Rollins and playing her music for him. She admits
that having Sonny listen to her play was one of
the most terrifying moments of her life! By merely showing an interest
in Gilbreath and her music, this legendary jazz
musician has created many opportunities for Mikayla and has instilled
in her a genuine desire for personal achievement.
Since
March 2007, Mikayla has been featured on SonnyRollins.com
as part of
"Meeting
Sonny - The Sonny Rollins Podcast - Episode 3."
In April 2007, Mikayla was interviewed on National
Public Radio as part of Jazz
Journalists Association President Howard Mandel's interview with Sonny
Rollins entitled
"Saxophonist Sonny Rollins Still Swinging
Strong." Gilbreath is particularly
pleased
to note that Mr. Rollins is referred to as her “mentor”
in that piece. And in the
September 2007 issue of JazzTimes Magazine,
Mikayla was featured in Nat Hentoff's
article entitled "Bridging Generations,"
a piece which also deals with Sonny Rollins.
On September 18th, 2007, Mikayla and her sister Briana hosted a
pre-concert reception in Carnegie Hall's Shorin
Club Room, just prior to Sonny Rollins' 50th Anniversary Carnegie Hall
concert. Their youngest sister, Sierra, also
attended. 
Shown here attending the event are (left-to-
right) Sierra Gilbreath, David Liebman, Briana Gilbreath,
Jimmy Heath, Joe Lovano, Mikayla Gilbreath,
Paquito D'Rivera, and Lou Donaldson. Other
guests who also attended the reception included
Dr. Lonnie Smith, Marion Meadows, Brenda
Feliciano, and Jazz Journalists Association
President Howard Mandel. Afterward, their
guests joined the Gilbreath girls for the concert.
At the conclusion of Sonny's remarkable
performance, the group went backstage where
they congratulated Sonny and visited with a
number of other jazz artists including Roy
Haynes, Christian McBride, Bob Cranshaw,
Yusef Lateef, and Billy Taylor. It was a
spectacular evening that the Gilbreath family
will never forget.
Saxophonist Candy Dulfer has also
played a crucial role in introducing Mikayla to
jazz. Early on, Dulfer's music caught Gilbreath's attention and now
Candy's influence
is reflected in Mikayla's own playing style. But it is Dulfer's
demonstrated success in
a field dominated primarily by male performers that perhaps inspires
Mikayla most, as
she strives to reach her own goals. Candy's friendship and
encouragement have given
Mikayla the confidence to continue reaching higher.
Gilbreath has also
been very fortunate to meet, and be inspired by, a surprising number of
other noted jazz artists
including Papa John DeFrancesco, Joey DeFrancesco, David
Sanborn, George Benson, and others.
Journalism
In addition to playing jazz,
Gilbreath is also very interested in writing about it. After
high school, Mikayla plans to attend the Walter
Cronkite School of Journalism at
Arizona State University. In February 2007, Gilbreath had the distinct
honor of meeting
Mr. Cronkite, who is perhaps the most respected journalist of all time.
Howard Mandel, President of the Jazz
Journalists Association, has been an
unwavering source of encouragement to Gilbreath as a young writer.
Without Mandel's
assistance, becoming a journalist would still be merely a dream for
Mikayla. Mandel
arranged for publication of Mikayla's first article in Jazz
Notes, the Journal of the Jazz
Journalists Association, in September 2007.
The piece was entitled "Why Would
I
Choose Anything Else." Gilbreath is currently the
youngest member of the Jazz
Journalists Association - and she hopes that she is fortunate enough to
one day become
the oldest!
Gilbreath
is also the youngest contributor to AllAboutJazz.com,
where she writes a column entitled “Mikayla's
Totally Jazzed." All About Jazz has been named
"Best Website on Jazz" by the Jazz Journalists Association, every
year since 2002. Mikayla is very grateful to AAJ Publisher Michael
Ricci and AAJ Managing Editor John Kelman for
allowing her to be a part of the All About Jazz team."
Mikayla's
Equipment
|
 1962
Selmer-Paris Mark VI alto saxophone
Yamaha
YTS-875 EXS Custom tenor saxophone
Cannonball
SC5-HS curved soprano saxophone
Yamaha
YCL-650 clarinet.
Yamaha
YFL-574 flute.
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