Jimmy Biala is a music educator and performer, with a strong passion for the style of Brazilian music known as escola de samba. Jimmy teaches Brazilian percussion music programs to youth and adult students in the South Bay Area, is a faculty member of the California Brazil Camp and San Jose Jazz Summer Education Camp, and performs regularly with the James Robinson Ensemble and Sound and Social Justice Collective. In 1997, Jimmy received an award from DownBeat Magazine for excellence in jazz recording and performance; he was the recipient of a 2002 Artist in Communities Grant from the California Arts Council, and a Meet the Composer commission grant in 2004.
What did the Fellowship or Laureate mean to you at the time you received it?
What do you do now? Has your art evolved or changed?
What is one piece of advice you would give to an emerging artist?
Briefly, how would you describe the state of the arts locally, as well as national and beyond?