WIND INSTRUCTORS

David Diaz

Clarinet, woodWinds, musicianship

David Díaz is a Cuban-American freelance clarinetist, arranger and music educator in the Southern California area. He was educated at Hamilton Academy of Music and at the University of California, Los Angeles where he studied clarinet performance and chamber music with the acclaimed studio musician and Centaur recording artist Gary Gray and composition/arranging with film composer Paul Chihara (Crossing Delancey & China Beach). His musical mentor, friend, and influential teacher was the late Kalman Bloch, the legendary retired principal clarinetist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

To his credit, David Díaz has performed in the major concert halls in the US such as: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Carnegie Hall, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Royce Hall (Los Angeles), Hollywood Bowl, and many others. As an orchestral musician, he was part of the world premiere of Ian Krouse's opera: Lorca, Child of the Moon. As both a member of the Air Force Band of the Southwest and the Premier Air Force Academy Band, he has collaborated with opera star Renee Fleming, the Boston Brass, Sammy Nestico and Bill Watrous. David also played with Eddie Palmieri, Paris Escovedo, and Sheila E. As a jazz musician, he was in the orchestra that premiered Kenny Burrell's Ralph Bunche Suite along with Jazz flutist Hubert Laws (for the official review please visit: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=32272#.UiFaCz_GVek). True to his Cuban lineage, he also has appeared as a guest artist with Cuban Grammy nominated group La Charanga Cubana.

Jim Youngstrom

woodwinds

Jim Youngstrom graduated from California State University Northridge in 1984 with a Bachelor's degree in Music. He studied clarinet with David Howard of the L.A. Philharmonic and Charles Bay. He also studied saxophone, flute and improvisation. 

After graduating, Jim performed on sax, flute and clarinet on many cruise ships culminating with a World Cruise in 1996 on the Holland America line. He also toured the U.S. and Canada with several types of acts including 2 tours with comedian Jerry Lewis.

In 1998, Jim joined the Brian Setzer Orchestra. He has been a member ever since and has performed on over 30 tours with the band, including 8 tours of Japan and 2 tours of Europe. Jim has performed on 8 albums  with the band and has appeared on the late night television shows of Conan O'Brien  and  Jay Leno as well as many others. In 2006, Jim performed with the band at the White House for then-president George W. Bush. 
Jim has taught in the South Bay for 15 years and has taught students on sax, flute, clarinet, oboe, trumpet, baritone horn and trombone. He always tailors the lessons focusing on a students needs, and always keeps their interests in mind. Students of all ages have benefited from his approach. 

Jim has been teaching now for almost 40 years and has taught in several other studies all over the greater L.A. area.

Carly Stock

WOODWINDS

Carly Stock is a Los Angeles-born jazz saxophonist and woodwind artist known for her big tone and even bigger personality. Since she first started the saxophone, Carly fell in love with masters like Kenny Garrett and Antonio Hart, and as she honed her craft, began implementing their creativity, huge sounds, and grit into her own unique style. She found mentorship at the Colburn School of Performing Arts, where saxophonist Lee Secard took her under his wing at a young age. Hearing University of North Texas’s famed One O’Clock Lab Band live had inspired her to pursue music at a professional level. Carly went on to earn her Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies and acquired a minor in Commercial Music from the University of North Texas, where she studied with master saxophonist Brad Leali who played in the Grammy nominated One O’Clock Lab Band. After graduating from college and returning to Los Angeles, Carly was immediately recruited to tour with Phat Cat Swinger, "Hollywood's Hottest Little Big Band." Post tour, Phat Cat Swinger will resume its long-standing residency at Disneyland parks for the Festival of Holidays in the winter. When she's not on the road, Carly leads her own passion projects, such as the Carly Stock Big Band. Her band finds its niche not only in serving as a vehicle for brand-new, high-energy pieces, but was also the only female-led big band in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Carly is an advocate for women's equity in jazz music, and her presence continues to break boundaries in the field. Her debut single, “Finally,” a modern jazz ballad that represents solace after strife, is now streaming on all platforms. In addition to being a performer, Carly is a renowned woodwind teacher in schools and studios throughout the South Bay.