San Jose Jazz awards grants to local musicians

Five San Jose residents are among 20 Bay Area musicians to receive a $1,000 grant from San Jose Jazz.

Based in San Jose as an audio QA engineer, Dave Dolengewicz founded the Bay Area Jazz Inventors Collective and plays tenor saxophone with Ultra Combo, a video game music jazz fusion band.

Jason Lewis earned his bachelor’s degree in classical percussion at San Jose State University, where he’s a lecturer in SJSU’s Jazz Studies Department. He has toured and recorded with Boz Scaggs, Michael Brook and Taylor Eigsti and appeared on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

The Budhrani Brothers— Manav on guitar and Pritish on clarinet—balance technical precision with melodic warmth, creating performances that honor traditional jazz while developing a contemporary, clean and energetic sound.

Born and raised in San Jose’s Alum Rock neighborhood, saxophonist Oscar Pangilinan has led or co-led numerous groups, including The Bad Ones. In 2018-19, he toured Asia with the SJZ Collective, performing at the Hong Kong International Jazz Festival and the Blue Note in Taipei. He currently serves as director of San Jose Jazz’s Summer Jazz Camp and High-School All Stars.

Drummer Sylvia Cuenca has been a semifinalist in the Thelonious Monk International Drum Competition and is a two-time NEA Grant recipient. Faculty positions include Stanford Jazz Workshop and Jazz Camp West. She previously received the San Jose Jazz New Works Grant in 2022.

SJZ’s Jazz Aid Fund is intended to stimulate the creation of new work; from Feb. 20–March 14, 2026, six of the 20 new grantees will premiere their commissions in a series of shows at the SJZ Break Room in downtown San Jose, part of a Winter Series at the venue. Those names are set to be announced in mid-December.