Readers of The Syncopated Times may be familiar with the remarkable Sant Andreu Jazz Band of Barcelona, which has been the focus of several articles here in recent years. Since 2006, the band, created and directed by Joan Chamorro, has been giving aspiring young musicians in the Barcelona area an opportunity to learn, perform, and record classic jazz, while earning a worldwide reputation for performing and sounding like seasoned professionals, even with some of the band members joining even before reaching their teens, and leaving as they turn 21.
They have performed all over Europe, have 1,000 videos on YouTube, and in 2020 received the honor of being invited to the Essentially Ellington festival for high school bands, created by Wynton Marsalis and hosted by the Jazz at Lincoln Center ensemble. The SAJB participated remotely that year due to the pandemic, and have just announced their invitation to play in the 2025 event in May. However, bringing as many as 30 people from Barcelona to New York for a week is a major expense.
“A dream that, in order to fulfill it, will need economic support,” Chamorro says. “The organization provides us with a considerable amount for t
