FACULTY
KRIS TINER
Director of Jazz Studies, Applied Trumpet
Kris Tiner is a Professor of Music and the Director of Jazz Studies at Bakersfield College. He has also taught at California Institute of the Arts, Taft College, and CSU Bakersfield. An accomplished trumpet player and composer, his music has been performed on five continents, his 100+ recordings with Tin/Bag, the Empty Cage Quartet, Cathlene Pineda, Psychic Temple, The Industrial Jazz Group and others have been enthusiastically reviewed in the international jazz press, and he has performance credits on MTV, NBC, PBS and Comedy Central. He has received awards from ASCAP, the American Composers Forum, Chamber Music America, the Kern County Music Educators Association, and the Levan Center for the Humanities. In 2023 he was recognized as California’s jazz educator of the year by the California Music Educators Association. Tiner is a board member of the California Alliance for Jazz and the Bakersfield Jazz Workshop, and he is the founder of Epigraph Records, an independent label dedicated to new creative music recorded in Bakersfield. Kris Tiner is a Schilke Music artist.
Email: kris.tiner@bakersfieldcollege.edu
Phone: 661-395-4313
Office: FA-66D
Website: www.kristiner.com
TONY AGUILAR
Applied Jazz Trombone
Tony Aguilar is a freelance trombonist, composer, arranger and educator. He is an instrumental music instructor with the Bakersfield City Schools District and the applied jazz trombone instructor with Bakersfield College. He currently performs with Thee Majestics, a commercial band, and with Viento, a Latin jazz/salsa band.
KYLE BURNHAM
Applied Jazz Drum Set, Music Theory, Music Appreciation
Kyle Burnham is an active drummer and composer, and a member of the music faculty at Bakersfield College, CSU Bakersfield, and Taft College. He holds a MFA in jazz studies from UC Irvine and a BA in music composition from CSU Bakersfield. Kyle has performed with notable artists such as Randy Brecker, Bill Watrous, Bob Mintzer, Conte Candoli, Terence Blanchard, Dwight Trible, Ernie Watts, Blue Mother Tupelo, Kei Akagi, Darek Oles, Kyle Cook (Matchbox Twenty), Jon Coleman (Trace Adkins), Rebecca St. James, and Phil Hummer.
Email: kyle.burnham@bakersfieldcollege.edu
Website: www.kyleburnham.net
PAUL CIERLEY
Applied Guitar, Class Guitar
Paul Cierley is the guitar instructor at Bakersfield College. He studied jazz and classical guitar under Mary Osborne and studied with Doug Davis at CSUB. He has been involved in music performance since the 1980s, playing in various styles including rock, country and jazz, and has been teaching professionally for over 20 years.
JAKOB HEINEMANN
Applied Bass, Music Appreciation
Jakob Heinemann is a double bassist and composer based in Los Angeles. His practice draws on free improvisation, just intonation, and experimental sound, expressed through a broad array of mediums ranging from contemporary chamber ensembles to avant-jazz groups. Inspired by the possibility of creating complex soundscapes in collective frameworks, he’s interested in music as a communal experience, for both listeners and players. Deeply rooted in the creative music communities of Chicago, Wisconsin, and Los Angeles, his practice reflects a sustained engagement with place, listening, and timbre.
Email: jakob.heinemann@bakersfieldcollege.edu
Website: jakobheinemann.com
PAUL PEREZ
Applied Saxophone
Paul Perez is the saxophone instructor at Bakersfield College and CSU Bakersfield. As a saxophone soloist he has toured with Tower of Power, Smokey Robinson, and Donna Summer, and he has done studio work for the Showtime and Lifetime Networks. He appears on the soundtracks for the Quentin Tarantino film Curdled and for the Andy Garcia film Steal Little, Steal Big as well as a number of televised commercial spots.
TONY RINALDI
Applied Jazz Piano
Tony Rinaldi is pianist, composer, educator, and multi-instrumentalist based in Bakersfield, CA. He has composed numerous works for small and large jazz ensemble, and has extensive recording credits, including being featured alongside Jeff Parker, Steven Hodges, Steuart Liebig, and many others. Tony has been a performing musician in California for over a decade, and has been featured at the Bakersfield Jazz Festival.
ROBERT WOODS-LaDUE
Applied Percussion, Afro-Cuban Folkloric Ensemble, World Music
Robert Woods-LaDue is a musician and educator living in Bakersfield, CA, specializing in percussion/drums, guitars, composition, and music production. Robert received a BFA in percussion performance from the studio of Ney Rosauro at University of Miami and an MFA from the studio of David Rosenboom at California Institute of the Arts. Robert has also received a teaching certificate from Point Loma Nazarene University. Robert studied afro-cuban folkloric percussion extensively with Sandy Perez and Jesus Diaz from 2010 to 2022. He releases music under the pseudonym "ddb" (or “dennydennybreakfast”) in a variety of styles and contexts. Robert is the bandleader of the band Onkos that releases through the record label I, Voidhanger records.
Email: robert.woodsladue@bakersfieldcollege.edu
Website: www.robert.woodsladue.com