Saxophonist Javier Vergara to perform at Troesh

The performance will be held Wed., May 24 at 7 p.m. at La Sierra’s Troesh Conference Center in the Zapara School of Business. Pierce Street Jazz musicians Henry Franklin, bass, Theo Saunders, piano, and Ramon Banda, drums will perform with Vergara.

Vergara, a native of Mexico City, moved to Southern California as a teenager where he became a mainstay of the Los Angeles jazz industry. A multi-instrumentalist, he plays tenor and alto saxophone and flute. He has performed around the world in concerts, festivals and on tours from Turkey to Taiwan, and throughout the United States.

Vergara has appeared with some of the top jazz acts including the Pancho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band, Hugh Masekela, Les McCann, Carl Burnett and others. In 2011, he joined the Jazztec Collective of bebop, classical and avante garde music celebrating the rhythms of Mexico. He has appeared at the Hollywood Bowl, New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, and other notable venues.

Franklin has organized the Pierce Street Jazz concerts at La Sierra University since their inception as a summer jazz series in 2009. His broad experience includes recordings on more than 150 albums and compact discs including gold releases, many of which he produced.

Saunders, one of the busiest pianists in the music business, has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals and concert halls with distinguished artists including Freddie Hubbard, Carla Bley, David “Fathead” Newman, Barbara Morrison, Gladys Knight, and many others. He has directed music for opera productions and international musical theatre. As a composer, Saunders has numerous compositions to his credit as well as original scores for theatre, radio and multimedia production.

Banda performed 24 years with the Grammy award-winning Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band. He is a current band member with famed jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco. Banda grew up in Norwalk, Calif., part of a large musical family. Over the past two decades, Ramon has performed on more than 22 recordings and recorded and played with such music greats as Dizzie Gillespie, Tito Puente, Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea, Arturo Sandoval, Diana Reeves and others.

Pierce Street Jazz admission is free. For further information, call 951-785- 2148. La Sierra University is located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside. A campus map is available at https://lasierra.edu/campus-map/.