Wednesday, January 29, 2026
Recently, the Bakersfield College Renegade Jazz Combo traveled to New Orleans to perform
at the JENerations Jazz Festival at the 17th Annual Jazz Education Network (JEN) Conference.
The group performed a set of original songs to a panel that consisted of professional
artists and educators and received critique and feedback. During the four-day conference,
the students also participated in various clinics, concerts, jam sessions, networking
opportunities, and more.
Kris Tiner, Music Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at BC, was instrumental in
coordinating the trip and getting the musicians ready to perform. “The Renegade Jazz
Combo is the top jazz group at BC,” said Tiner, “and each year we try to take the
group to a festival. The (JEN Conference) is a four-day conference and they perform
a set of their original music, and they get a clinic following the performance from
two professional jazz artists.” The conference represented a large part of their trip,
but the students also got to experience other aspects of New Orleans. “We got to visit
the French Quarter to hear some local music a few times,” said Tiner, “I wanted to
take the students to Preservation Hall, because that is where the local musicians
present their music. We started off at the gumbo shop to eat some local food and then
we visited Preservation Hall – it was amazing.”
Alejandro Andrade, guitarist for the Renegade Jazz Combo, was excited to share details
about the trip. “It’s cool to see people come together from around the country and
hear them perform,” said Andrade, “there are some really good players out there –
and to seem play live was amazing.” Andrade is also the composer of two of the songs
that the group played for the panel. When asked about that experience, he said “It
was kind of scary,” he said “it’s really personal, you know, and presenting those
completed works to judges was nerve-racking. But, it was fun, and they gave a lot
of good pointers – I am really happy we played them.”
Carlos Cardenas, drummer for the Renegade Jazz Combo, talked about some of the highlights
of the trip. “One of the highlights was getting to see professional groups that did
the Latin styles very well,” said Cardenas, “It was so cool to hear that music played
proper by real professionals. Another highlight was going to see gigs in town – that
was really special to me.” When asked about their performance for the panelists, he
said, “It was a little nerve-racking. It was different than playing in front of a
typical audience – you’re playing for people that are meant to critique you. It’s
a little scary but cool.”
We are so excited that BC’s Renegade Jazz Combo had this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
to travel to New Orleans and perform in the birthplace of jazz. We hope that this
trip inspires you in the musicianship and future endeavors. Thank you to everyone
who played a role in making this trip possible for our students.
