Tom Catanzaro (Jazz)

Tom Catanzaro has been playing music professionally since age 13. At age 15, Tom won the 2000 Spotlight Award in the Jazz Instrumental category at the LA Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, which was televised on PBS. After graduating high school in 2002, Tom attended Manhattan School of Music in NYC on a full scholarship, where he studied with saxophonist and composer Bob Mintzer.

While living in NYC, Tom honed his craft by regularly jamming with and learning from local musicians such as trumpeter Roy Hargrove, pianist Eric Lewis (ELEW), trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, and pianist Robert Glasper.

Soon after returning to California, Tom toured with the Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, performing with Diana Krall, Al Jarreau, Michael Brecker, George Benson, Christian McBride, Dianne Reeves, Lewis Nash, and Liza Minelli, to name a few. He has performed at popular SoCal venues such as Catalina's Jazz Bar and Grill, The Mint, and Dizzy's, as well as playing on some of the most prestigious stages in the country, such as the Hollywood Bowl and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Tom has both produced and recorded on albums for artists such as guitarist Andy Waddell, pianist Josh Nelson, and trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, including one album with vocalist Karin Carson, which featured Christian McBride and Greg Hutchinson. He has taught music business seminars and coached college students at USC, UCLA, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton, and Fullerton Community College.

Today, Tom lives and performs in the San Francisco Bay Area while also serving as the director of The Muse Jazz Collective, a new East Bay collective of Jazz listeners, mentors, and advocates committed to awakening more beauty, love, and justice through Jazz.