Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Vandoren’s annual VandoJam at NAMM was a success. Once again held in the Hilton Avalon Room, the event enjoyed a fresh new format resulting in the event’s highest attendance in its 10-year history.
The night began featuring Jerry Vivino, Eric Marienthal, and New York City’s Roxy Coss along with a supporting LA rhythm section of Mitch Forman, Kevin Axt, and Clayton Cameron. Next up was a jam session featuring some of Los Angeles’ finest musicians. To cap the night off Vandoren brought in Gordon Goodwin’s Little Phat Band, which delivered a dynamic late night set to a sold-out crowd.
“It has been our goal from the the very first VandoJam to bring high quality jazz to the NAMM convention,” commented DANSR president Michael Skinner. “In our 10th year in California, I think we raised the bar to an extraordinarily high level. We could not be happier.”
Also new to this year’s VandoJam was an Internet live-streaming co-op with Woodwind and Brasswind. The live-stream covered the event start to finish while also featuring product videos, an in-depth interview with featured artist Roxy Coss, and more. Plans are already underway for another memorable VandoJam in 2018.