Jazz guitarist Randy Napoleon’s latest release, Waking Dream: The Music of Gregg Hill and Randy Napoleon (OA2 Records), is more than an album—it’s a testament to mentorship, collaboration, and the vibrant jazz community cultivated at MSU.
The recording features five guitarists, Napoleon and four alumni who studied with him in the MSU Jazz Studies program. The ensemble includes Jocelyn Gould, Ben Turner, Luke Sittard, and Chris Minami—each bringing their own voice to a unified sound.
“This is a highly ensemble-focused record, so I wanted people that would allow all of us to breathe as one,” said Napoleon. “My challenge on this record was narrowing down the four students I would invite to record, but I knew that the five of us could really blend our sounds in a way that would sound organic and unified.”