Name: Jazz Brunch with SoCal Jazz Collective
Start: 2025-02-02T10:00:00-08:00
End: 2025-02-02T13:00:00-08:00
Location: The Lighthouse Cafe

Enjoy jazz brunch with SoCal Jazz Collective at a legendary venue!
Featuring
Tom Cunningham, Trumpet
After spending his formative years in Florida, Tom has been based in Southern California since '88. He has had the good fortune to play with such luminaries as Allen Vizzutti, Bobby Shew, Don Menza and Ramsey Lewis. Always vowing to “Do no harm” with his horn, Tom’s favorite musicians are whomever he is playing with today, wherever we are.
Edmund Velasco, Tenor Saxophone
Edmund Velasco is a native Southern Californian that has been recognized as one of the top saxophonists in the area. Since the early age of 8, Edmund knew that playing saxophone was what he wanted to do. When he was finally old enough to play a saxophone at age 10, he knew that this would be his life's work. Edmund can be seen as a featured soloist with The Estrada Brothers Latin Jazz Ensemble and has recorded with the group. He is a member of the Chris Williams Quintet and has made many guest appearances with Dan Fanley, Joe LaBarbera, Tony Dumas and Ron Escheté, among others. Edmund has performed multiple times at the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl. Edmund also has performed at many important Southern California venues, including The Jazz Bakery in Culver City, Steamers Jazz Club and Cafe in Fullerton and Catalina Bar & Grill in Los Angeles. He has performed for arts and music festivals throughout California, including the Day of Music in Long Beach and the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest. He has traveled to Portugal to perform at the Manoshinos Festival and the Funchal Jazz Festival. Edmund has played professionally for over twenty years with such top names as Mel Tormé, Eddie Daniels and Ernie Andrews, to name a few. He was named the Top Tenor Sax Artist in Orange County in 1998 and 1999 by Orange County Weekly.
Mark Massey, Piano
Mark Massey has performed throughout the U.S., Europe, the former Soviet Union (in the 1980s), Russia (2001), the Far East and India. He has worked with Larry Carlton, David Benoit, Paul Horn, Poncho Sanchez, Hubert Laws, Louie Bellson, Phil Upchurch, L. Subramaniam, the Side Street Strutters, and the late Freddie Hubbard, Maynard Ferguson, Yehudi Menuhin, Stéphane Grappelli, and Tony Williams.
Karim Yengsep, Bass
After moving to California in 2018, Karim set out to realize his lifelong passion of creating a community jazz education program that addressed the needs of often overlooked groups in the music education process -- youth and adult learners -- at the street level. SoCal Jazz Academy was conceived in November 2018 and registered with the State of California the following January. Karim runs the Fridays Jazz Series featuring SoCal Jazz Collective in Irvine, where he has welcomed many established educators and performers from Southern California. Karim holds Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Music ('12) and did his undergraduate work in music at Western Oregon University ('05).
Dean Koba, Drums
Dean Koba has made his home in Southern California for almost 30 years, finding a variety of ways to add his energetic and spontaneous brand of jazz drumming to the scene there. He is most fond of the trio format and performs regularly with groups led by jazz luminaries and long-time cohorts Tamir Hendelman, Barry Zweig, and Greg Reitan. He has also enjoyed a 26-year (and counting) tenure at Disneyland as a member of many acts including The Jambalaya Jazz Band and The Royal Street Bachelors. Dean teaches jazz drumset at several area colleges and is an artist endorser for Gretsch drums, Bosphorus cymbals, Aquarian drumheads, Gibraltar Hardware, and Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets.