Two Monterey High School jazz musicians take center stage

Akili Bradley, left, and Marina Panzetta.

Two Monterey High School juniors who have been sitting in with jazz pros at the Hyatt Regency Monterey will be the center of attention Friday night as the Fireplace Lounge's featured performers.

Saxophonist Marina Panzetta and trumpeter Akili Bradley have made quite the impression on Hyatt jazz director and drummer in residence David Morwood.

They've studied with Monterey Jazz Festival clinicians and jammed with professional musicians during the hotel's weekly jazz program.

And their confidence is unshakable.

“I remember the weekend of the jazz festival, the room was packed with professional musicians and sophisticated fans," Morwood said. "They walked right up to me and said, ‘We want to play a Herbie Hancock tune, "Cantaloupe Island."' ... ‘They were so confident and clear and they knew what they wanted to do. They sat in with the professional band behind them and they held their own and really made the tune swing.”

They continued to practice and improve, he said, so “at a certain point I realized I wasn’t doing them any favors by having them sit in.”

He challenged them to come up with a list of 15 jazz tunes to play while backed up by a professional rhythm section. They came up with a mix of bebop, swing, jazz and bossa nova.

The program is from 7-10 p.m. It's what Morwood calls a Las Vegas-style set, with the house band -- Morwood, Gary Meek on keyboards and Billy Bosch on bass -- playing a few tunes, followed by Marina and Akili playing seven or eight songs. That format will repeat after an intermission.

Monterey officials celebrate Frank E. Sollecitio ballpark with March ribbon cutting

After the Monterey City Council voted unanimously last November to approve the Frank E. Sollecito Jr. Ballpark artificial turf field despite concerns over possible health problems from the rubber crumbs and goose droppings, officials from the city will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony honoring the new outfield at 1 p.m. on Satuday, March 12^th.

Monterey County's health officer Dr. Edward Moreno had put the council at ease before Christmas when he told them that based on the available studies, there's no evidence of public health impacts from the use of tire crumbs in artificial turf. 

“This ballpark is a centerpiece of Monterey's baseball heritage,” said Assistant City Manager Hans Uslar. “It's important for our baseball leagues and especially Monterey High School because they play their games there. We've had a lot of good ballplayers come from there.”

Construction on the field, which besides being used by the high school baseball team, is also used by the city recreation program, was done by NorCal Contractor for $713,700. Funds came from the city's Neighborhood Improvement Program, the Capital Improvement Program and contributions from the community.