Jesse Montijo
Jesse Catalino Montijo began earning the respect of his colleagues and mentors at an early age when he received the prestigious Clark Terry Scholarship at 14 years old. Jesse has performed with several Grammy Award winning artists, including iconic blues legend, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, jazz trumpet virtuoso, Roy Hargrove, and Ibanez guitar artist and producer, Larry Mitchell. Additionally, Jesse’s also performed with trombonist, Fred Wesley, renowned musical director for James Brown’s famous backing unit “the J.B.’s”, and Sam Mayfield; musical director for Grammy Award winning iconic soul legend, Solomon Burke. Jesse is also one of a small handful of saxophonists in the world that perform Flamenco music. For 2 years he toured and performed with the American Flamenco Repertory Company, and was a performer at the 20th Anniversary of the ‘International Festival Flamenco’ in 2006, which also hosted Manuela Carrasco, Israel Galvan, Antonio Canales, Pastora Galvan, El Torombo, and many others.
Jesse studied extensively with saxophone legend Eddie Harris, jazz pianist Joe Bonner, and master drummer/percussionist Jimmy Hopps. These iconic musicians are renowned for their recordings and performances with music legends Jimi Hendrix, Pharoah Sanders, Bo Diddly, Freddie Hubbard, Richard Davis, Elvin Jones, Stanley Clarke, Ron Carter, Stanley Turrentine, Les McCann, Woody Shaw, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, to name a few. Additionally, Jesse was mentored by Pulitzer Prize Winner Phyllis Laursen; Lyricist for multi Grammy winners, Sting, Bobby McFerrin, and Wynton Marsalis. With varying styles of music ranging from Blues, Soul, Flamenco, and Jazz, Jesse has a vast music vocabulary that spans over 25 years of performance experience. His playing has deep roots, fueled with passion and executed with precision.