Francois Zayas with Chrissie Loftus and Ben Arsenal

Be a part of the creative process! Join our Jazz Residency artists for an interactive public workshop designed to incorporate YOUR creativity and input as each project, selected by an incredible panel of jazz experts from across the nation, continues to expand and develop from their original concepts to complete new works.

Francois Zayas with Melvis Santa and Ben Arsenal
Compose a jazz love story featuring Serbian inspired brass and digital sampling.

"I would like to connect and combine several different music traditions, such as R&B, Classical, and Balkan music with Jazz, into a series of thematically related songs that will highlight chronological and geographical connections among different music genres. The songs will tell a love story between a female character played by a singer/ songwriter/dancer/actress, Melvis Santa, and a male character played by a DJ, Ben Arsenal. . . This collaboration will also include a Serbian-style brass-and percussion band. The band will carry all the composed instrumental parts that will transition from Balkan to Classical to Jazz styles."
--Francois Zayas
Francois Zayas (Percussion)
Chrissie Loftus (Vocals)
Ben Schneible (DJ)