Kal Ferretti

Kal Ferretti is a 21 year old jazz trumpet player based in New York City and is in her fourth year studying jazz trumpet performance at The New School for Jazz on a full scholarship. At school, Kal studies privately under Tatum Greenblatt and Alex Norris. In addition, she has been fortunate to receive mentorship and instruction from Dave Glasser, NEA Jazz Master Reggie Workman, Nicole Glover, Bruce Harris, Dave Douglas, Matt Wilson, and countless others. Kal has represented The New School at the Keep an Eye Jazz Award in Amsterdam with a final performance at the Bimhuis, was one of three students representing the school for the 32rd annual International Schools of Jazz Conference (IASJ) when it was hosted in New York in 2022, and attended the Hudson Jazz Workshop on a full scholarship under the direction of Marc Mommas and Armen Donelian.

Kal maintains a busy schedule through gigging and teaching while also being a full time student. She is a member of the Grace Fox Big Band and can be heard on the band’s debut record “Eleven O’ Seven.” Kal has performed with artists such as Abraham Burton, Helen Sung, Bruce Harris, Frank Lacy, Charlie Porter, Jason Marshall, Dezron Douglas, and many others. She has also had the opportunity to sit in with master musicians such as Nicolas Payton, NEA Jazz Master George Coleman, Russell Malone, and on numerous occasions, the Grammy Award winning Mingus Big Band. Recent performance highlights include being selected as a member of the 2023 Sisters in Jazz Collegiate Combo and performing at the 2023 JEN Conference in Orlando this past January. In April, she performed as a member of the Mingus Dynasty at the NEA Jazz Masters Award Ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Kal was also selected by Wayne Escoffery to sub in the Yale Jazz Ensemble  for a performance featuring NEA Jazz Master George Coleman. In May, Kal performed for a whole week with her quartet at the Bern Jazz Festival in Bern, Switzerland, with Randy Brecker performing as the main act of the week. Kal is also a consistent bandleader for the Union Square “Summer in the Square” concert series.

Originally from New York, she grew up playing trumpet in band classes and after school programs, but later found her love for jazz music while attending the prestigious LaGuardia High School for the performing arts on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. During high school, Kal also had the privilege of being mentored in programs such as the Jazz at Lincoln Center Youth Orchestra (directed by Ted Nash and Tatum Greenblatt) and the All-City High School Jazz Band, which led to opportunities to compete in the Charles Mingus High School Competition and Essentially Ellington Regional Festivals and at EE won outstanding soloist awards numerous times. Kal has been privileged to have performed in venues such as Birdland, Smalls Jazz Club,  Dizzy’s Club, the Bimhuis, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall, and others.