Fantastic Planet

The Monterey Jazz Festival is one of the longest-running and most respected music events in the country. Now in its 56th year, the Monterey, Calif.-based music gathering has hosted such luminaries as Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, in addition to shining the spotlight on a new generation of jazz artists. In the 2013 edition, California State University, Northridge’s jazz combo Fantastic Planet will be part of that new wave.

Fantastic Planet—which is made up of CSUN students Shai Golan (saxophone), Tanner Dawson (saxophone), Michael Ragonese (piano), David Colon, (guitar
), Teresa Sanchez (double bass
) and Andres Salazar (drums)—was one of the few groups to emerge from Monterey’s yearly “Next Generation Festival” competition. The contest invites student musicians from across the country and around the world to submit entries via recorded auditions. Fantastic Planet captured top honors in the Open Combo division, giving them the chance to perform at the revered show in September.

“I simply cannot believe how fortunate we are to be associated with such a great group of talented young artists,” said Gary Pratt, CSUN jazz studies and improvisational music professor. “This group, Fantastic Planet, is very special—we will definitely hear of these folks in the years to come”.

Another group sponsored by CSUN, the Victor San Pedro Trio, captured second place in the Open Combo division. Members of the two groups also picked up solo awards, including Victor San Pedro for his guitar performance; Fantastic Planet’s Salazar for drums; and Fantastic Planet’s Dawson for saxophone.

This isn’t CSUN’s first foray into the world of the Monterey Jazz Festival. The school’s well-respected Jazz ‘A’ Band is invited to perform every other year, their last performance being in 2012.

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