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The Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association (ABODA) and Mesa Arts Center are proud to present the 2024 Arizona All-State Jazz Band I and II concert. The concert will feature 40 of Arizona’s most outstanding high school jazz students.

Pharez Whitted from Chicago will conduct this year’s Jazz I ensemble. Pharez has performed throughout the United States and overseas, including performances at Presidential Inaugurations, The Arsenio Hall Show, The Billboard Music Awards, Carnegie Hall and major jazz festivals throughout the country, to name a few. Whitted studied music at DePauw University and earned a master’s degree from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He has taught at prestigious colleges and universities such as Wabash College, The Ohio State University, Chica State University, and most recently, Northern Illinois University. He is also the Director of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO) Jazz Orchestra.

Bassist Chris Finet will conduct the Jazz II ensemble this year. Chris is an active performer and educator in numerous styles and genres. A faculty member at the Northern Arizona University School of Music, he is a professor of bass and jazz studies. In addition to teaching at NAU, Chris is in demand as a classical, jazz and commercial bassist throughout Arizona and nationally.

As a jazz artist, Chris has performed and/or recorded with numerous jazz luminaries including Doc Severinsen, Roy Hargrove, Dave Douglas, David Liebman, John Tchicai, Flora Purim, Dave Gruisin, Jimmy Cobb and many others. He has appeared at venues and festivals such as Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Blue Note NYC, The Jazz Standard, the Telluride Jazz Festival, Prescott Jazz Summit and the Paradise Valley Jazz Party amongst others.