Stamps Jazz Quintet Class of 2025

Major: Studio Music and Jazz

Instrument: Trumpet

Profile:

Joshua Polion is a jazz trumpeter from Louisville, Kentucky. He recently graduated from DuPont Manual and the Youth Performing Arts School, a renowned magnet school in the state of Kentucky. Joshua has been playing trumpet for 7 years and has had many successes in music. He has played with a variety of ensembles and groups. A few of Joshua's accomplishments include:

• 7 years in the Kentucky All-County Symphonic Band
• 2 years in the Kentucky All-State Concert Band
• 2 years as the Lead Trumpet of the Kentucky All-State Jazz Band
• Awarded the Principal's Leadership award of The Youth Performing Arts School
• Awarded the Louis Armstrong award of The Youth Performing Arts School
• Attending Berklee College of Music's 5-week Jazz Summer Program (Aspire)

Joshua is attending the Frost school of music, majoring in Jazz Performance and minoring in Business.

Major: Studio Music and Jazz

Instrument: piano

Profile:

Devin Shaw is a pianist who graduated from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago, Illinois. Devin studied music under the Direction of Mr. Jim Barbick, Director of Bands at Whitney Young.

At the age of 12, Devin began his classical music training at the Merit School of Music and has studied jazz with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Ravinia Jazz Scholars. In 2019, 2020, and 2021, Devin was selected to play piano in the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) state-wide music festival at the highest level in the Honors Jazz Combo. Devin studied jazz privately with pianist Ryan Cohan, as well as many other renowned Chicago musicians.

In the fall of 2021, he enrolled in the Jazz Studies and music business programs at the prestigious University of Miami Frost School of Music with a Stamps Scholarship. In addition to his musical pursuits, Devin is an avid reader, history-lover, and photographer. Devin’s future goals after college are to attend law school, practice as an attorney and then start his own record label.

Major: Studio Music and Jazz

Instrument: drums

Profile:

Jacob W. A. Smith, drums, is a Studio Music and Jazz Studies Major at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. Jacob is a new and proud member of the Stamps Jazz Quintet, directed by Chuck Bergeron. He studies privately with Steve Rucker and John Yarling.

For the majority of his life, Jacob lived in Gill Massachusetts. He picked up drumming essentially the day after he was born. By age 2, Jacob’s parents had to buy a drum set. It wasn’t too much of an issue, due to the fact that Jacob’s parents are music teachers. Through middle school and High School, Jacob participated in The Massachusetts Music Educators Association Junior and Senior Western District Jazz Ensemble for 6 years. He has also won many awards at high school jazz festivals including 2 Berklee College of Music High School Jazz Festival Judge’s Choice Awards in 2017 and 2018, and the 2019 Outstanding Soloist Award; followed by 5 Outstanding Soloist awards from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst High School Jazz Festival from 2017-2021.

In 2018, Jacob played at the Newport Jazz Festival as a member of the Berklee College Global Jazz Institute. Additionally, Jacob was accepted into the Jazz at Lincoln Center Summer Jazz Workshop in June of 2019. He was later accepted into the Music For All’s Honors Orchestra of America in March, and the Vail Jazz Workshop in August of 2020. He was also a 2x Honorable Mention National Youngarts Winner in 2019 and 2020. Recently, Jacob won a Superior Musician Award from the National Jazz Festival 2021. Before graduating from Northfield Mount Hermon School, he received the David Michael Walker Prize in Music for his contributions to the school's music program.

Major: Studio Music and Jazz

Instrument: saxophone

Profile:

Adam is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. He started playing the saxophone at age 14, having studied both piano and clarinet. He is a graduate of Dreyfoos School of the Arts, in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he was a member of their premier Jazz Ensemble, JE1.

Adam has been recognized musically both in the state of Florida and nationally. He is a former FMEA All-State clarinetist and an alumnus of the 2020 Music For All Jazz Band of America. He also participated in the Charles Mingus Festival and Essentially Ellington, the latter of which he received an award for Outstanding Saxophonist. In addition, Adam is also a two-time YoungArts winner and a four-time DownBeat Student Music Award winner.

Major: Studio Music and Jazz

Instrument: Bass

Profile: 

Aidan is an acoustic and electric bass player, hailing from Oakland, California. Aidan initially started playing music on the guitar at 9 years old, then transitioned to bass at 13 years old. Aidan has been a member of numerous prestigious award-winning ensembles, such as the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Big Band, the California Jazz School’s Advanced High School Workshop I, and Studio Band, among numerous other groups. Additionally, in both 2020 and 2021, Aidan was a member of Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra Jazz Band under the direction of Sean Jones and Reggie Thomas. Aidan participated in the 2020 Vail Jazz Workshop, where he began studying with bassist, composer, and arranger John Clayton, who he continued to study with privately for his senior year of high school. Prior to that, Aidan studied with bassist Glenn Richman from 2016 through 2020.

Aidan has toured internationally as a bassist, playing with the California Jazz School’s Studio Band in Europe in 2019 at jazz festivals such as the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Umbria Jazz Festival. He’s performed at the Charles Mingus Jazz Festival, the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival, the El Cerrito Jazz Festival, and the Santa Cruz Jazz Festival. Aidan performs locally throughout the Bay Area, at venues such as Yoshi’s Jazz Club, Paramount Theater, The Sound Room, SFJAZZ Miner Auditorium, and countless more.