A Jazz Quintet
Formed by dedicated students of the Bishop’s Honors Jazz Combo.
Bandmates and friends both on and offstage, the Knight’s Quintet is made up of passionate jazz students of the Bishop’s school. These talented musicians have shared several valuable performance experiences together, whether performing for their school’s open house, graduation ceremony, fundraising gala, the Conrad in La Jolla, and their own bi-annual concerts. Most recently, they travelled to Coronado, and, despite being one of the smallest bands present, placed 1st in the intermediate level of the Coronado Jazz Fest.
Furthermore, they share a passion for serving the community, as well as the realization that their musical skills can be used to achieve this. There is strength in numbers, and together, the Knight’s Quintet hopes to continue making incredible music while serving their community where needed.
See us on –
Steven Yin
Alto Sax
Steven is an alto saxophone player who began his musical career studying classical piano in China, when he was 6. He moved to the U.S. at 9 years old, and fell in love with the saxophone in fifth grade. He learned classical saxophone for two years before stumbling upon a Paul Desmond playlist, which he was thoroughly fond of, from “Take Five”, to “Bossa Antigua”, to Wave. For the next 5 years, he would dedicate himself to studying jazz saxophone under Vladimir Goltsman, taking part in the Bishop’s Honors Jazz Combo, as well as self-learning clarinet and flute as hobbies.
Being one of the founders of the Bishop’s Quintet, Steven would like to not only keep playing amazing jazz alongside incredible musicians he has met during his time in the Bishop’s Honors Jazz Combo, but at the same time, allow more in the community to love jazz and music as he does.
Giacomo Berti
Bass/Drums
Giacomo Berti is one of the co-founders of Knights Quintet. He was originally born in Milan, Italy but moved to Palo Alto in the Bay Area in 2012, and then San Diego in 2018. His primary instrument is the electric bass, which he has been studying for about 4 and a half years, but he has also been playing the drums for 8 years and has recently picked up the trumpet. He had little interest in jazz, focusing mostly on bass solo pieces, until the school jazz band played the tune “Jordu” by legendary trumpeter Clifford Brown. As soon as he heard it, Giacomo went and listened to several other Clifford Brown albums, and has for the past year and a half or so been completely hooked.
Music is incredibly important to him, since he plans to study jazz bass in college as a double major with chemistry, and bringing the joy of music to others via gigs is one of his favorite things in the world.
Sashi Chuckravanen
Keyboard/Vocals
Sashi Chuckravanen comes from a background of music. Her grandfather was a piano tuner, her aunt is a professional pianist. Naturally, Sashi herself began learning the piano at four years old. She went on to learn the violin and the double bass, but her favorite contributions to any ensemble are playing the piano or singing. Since joining the Bishops Jazz Band in 2021, Sashi has collected a few favorites, some of which are “How Insensitive”, “Some Skunk Funk”, and the famous “Spain” by Chick Corea.
As a member of this quintet, Sashi hopes to bring a love of music to those around her while she plays alongside talented musicians and friends in the community.
Aiden Afshar
Guitar
Aiden began playing music around 5 years old, on the piano, and quickly discovered an exciting aspect of life waiting to be explored. Eventually, he switched to playing Jazz guitar and singing, which he fell in love with, and continued until the present.
Playing gigs with his friends and on his own have become unforgettable experiences and a core part of his life, and he hopes to spread that joy to the rest of the world too!
Tyler Chang
Keyboard
Tyler has been playing the piano for about 11 years. For him, music is not only a hobby but also an outlet. It’s a way to express his emotions and escape his problems. Music can be happy or sad so it plays a massive role in his life regardless of how he feels.