Jazz Concert: Tiger Okoshi and Truly True
Arts Wayland in association with
First Parish in Wayland presents
Tiger Okoshi and Truly True
Sunday, January 11th at 3 pm
at First Parish in Wayland
225 Boston Post Road, Wayland MA
Tickets for the concert are $20.
Free for students when accompanied by a paying adult.
Your ticket(s) will be sent to your email.
Print your ticket(s) or carry it/them on your mobile device to be scanned at the event.
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The esteemed Arts Wayland Berklee Faculty Jazz Series, under the Direction of Neil Olmstead, Berklee College Professor, continues with Tiger Okoshi and Truly True
Arts Wayland is thrilled to welcome you to the first concert in 2026 of our Berklee Faculty Jazz Series. On Sunday, January 11th at 3 pm at the First Parish in Wayland, Tiger Okoshi, internationally acclaimed trumpeter from Japan and Berklee professor, has a new, extraordinary and unique quintet. Tiger will be joined by violinist Louis Thélot, cellist Peter Sumner, bassist Ferran Rico Andres and Sam Cerra on vibraphone.
Tiger describes this innovative music as sound waves invoking verticality and horizontality, clarity, joy, love, and color, as if he is painting the air, one note at a time! Be prepared to experience jazz in a way that will surprise and refresh you!
Tiger Okoshi, Trumpet - Toru “Tiger” Okoshi was born outside of Osaka, Japan in 1950, the year of the Tiger.
As a child, he was devoted to painting. When he was 13 years old, a friend took him to see Louis Armstrong, who was touring in Japan. “He was painting the air with his trumpet,” recalls Okoshi.
He took up the trumpet and immersed himself in jazz. In 1972, after graduating from Kwansei Gakuin University, Okoshi married Akemi Usui and they took their honeymoon in the United States, riding a Greyhound bus across the country from Los Angeles to Boston.
The couple remained in Boston, where Okoshi studied at Berklee College of Music and practiced by the Charles River, hoping someone would hear him and ask him to join a band.
That in fact happened, and Okoshi graduated summa cum laude from Berklee in 1975. He is the founder and leader of the group Tiger’s Baku and a member of the George Russell Orchestra.
Okoshi has made numerous recordings as a performer and producer. He has performed with other jazz greats such as Tony Bennett, Buddy Rich, Gary Burton, Dave Grusin, Dave Liebman and Pat Metheny, as well as in numerous jazz festivals around the world. Okoshi's pop and rhythm and blues work includes performances with Teddy Pendergrass, The O‘Jays, The Four Tops, Frankie Avalon, ‘Til Tuesday, and Brad Delp of Boston.
He has performed the national anthem several times at Fenway Park, including playoff games in 2007 and 2008. Okoshi has received numerous awards for musicianship and contributions to international relations. He is currently a Professor of brass instruments at Berklee and operates two music camps worldwide devoted to teaching jazz to young musicians. Professor and Mrs. Okoshi have lived in Needham since 1982.
Tiger has received numerous awards including The Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Commendation from Japan for his distinguished contribution to better relations between the US. and Japan.
Sam Cerra on Vibraphone - Samuel Cerra is a versatile performer, instructor, composer, and percussionist specialized in mallet instruments. His training spans classical, jazz, and contemporary music; science, and sound technology.
Known for his eclectic and versatile style, Samuel draws inspiration from his personal research, deeply influenced by pianists, as well as by jazz and traditional music, combined with his classical training. His unique approach can be described as a pianistic way of playing the vibraphone, blending his technique with his expressive musicality.
Through his compositions and performances, he tells stories and shares emotions, incorporating harmonies that spark within the listener’s heart. For him, music is his language, craft, and the way he found to impact the world we live in. Samuel's collaborations with esteemed institutions such as AMA Calabria, Berklee, Longy, and MABOS, along with his special guest appearance with the AMA Little Big Band, reflect his ability to enchant and inspire through music. Honored as “Most Active Mallet Performer” at Berklee in 2019 and 2020, and thrice awarded "Named Scholar" distinction at Longy (2022, 2023,2025), his musical presence continues to captivate and elevate the world around him. He recently graduated from the renowned Berklee Global Jazz Master’s program, where he was awarded a full scholarship to perfect his craft with some of his idols, such as John Patitucci and Danilo Perez, among many others.
Louis Thelot-violin - Louis Thélot is a French violinist, composer and arranger who grew up in the city of Lyon (France). He entered the National Conservatory of Lyon (CNSMD) in 2019, where he studied classical music with the world-class violinist Marc Danel (first violin of the Danel Quartet). In the meantime, he studied jazz and other music with Rémi Crambes, an outstanding contemporary jazz violinist and composer.
He performed in France and other European countries in many different places, such as the 'Opéra de Lyon', the 'Philharmonie de Paris', or the 'Jazz à Vienne' or Lake Garda festivals, playing in symphonic orchestras, chamber orchestras, as a soloist, as well as a jazz/rock band leader and composer.
In 2022 he obtained a scholarship to enter the Berklee College of Music, where he studied jazz performance and composition until his graduation in Spring 2025.
He performed in the United States as a band leader in many different venues.
Peter Sumner-Cello - Hailing from Durham, North Carolina, Peter Sumner is an innovative and versatile cellist who shares a love for both improvising and classical music. With a passion for collaboration that bridges cultures, he draws inspiration from diverse sources, including film scores, modern jazz, hip hop, folk, blues, and the natural world. The diversity of his stylistic interests and proficiency have propelled him to share the stage with a wide cast of artists, such as Kenny Barron, Conan O'Brien, Becca Stevens, Nathaniel Rateliff, Mavis Staples, and many others. Peter is also a sought after session musician and has recorded on hundreds of projects ranging from jazz, classical, film score, singer-songwriter and more. Some notable appearances include work with acclaimed artists Terri Lyne Carrington, Kenny Werner, and Edmar Colón.
Ferran Rico Andres on electric bass - From Barcelona, Ferran Rico is a bass player, composer and arranger from Barcelona, formed under the mentorship of bass player and bandleader Michael League (Snarky Puppy); Ferran is a graduate from Berklee College of Music in Boston (bass performance, jazz composition, music production and engineering minor), based in New York City and a working musician across the USA and Europe.