Claudia Rostey: Making a Splash in the Jazz World
The Sant Andreu Jazz Band has a history of presenting excellent young musicians and singers to grace the bandstand with their skills and personal charm. Since joining the band in the summer of 2019, singer/trombonist Claudia Rostey has been a favorite among SAJB fans, due to her musical talents but also for her sunny personality and poise. A conversation with her quickly brings out both her youthful enthusiasm and her mature, thoughtful way of experiencing the world and realizing her hopes for the future.
At the halfway point of 2025, the year has already been an eventful one for Claudia and the SAJB, while the rest promises to be greatly significant for her as well.
We had our video chat soon after the SAJB returned to Barcelona from a trip to play in Germany and Andorra (that tiny country nestled on the border of France and Spain).
“It was really good, they treated us really well,” she says of their hosts. “They were very welcoming, and it was so fun. We played in a theatre and we also played in a church. It was really nice and all of the people organizing the festival — it was a church congregation that organized it, and they were really nice people.”
Any SAJB musician is well-acquainted with the busy touring schedule a typical year brings to the band. After six years of that lifestyle, Claudia admits the logistics of preparing for the travel can sometimes be a bit wearing.
“I think it depends,” she says. “I was really excited the first times we went on trips, but with time, I’m more used to it, but the preparation each time I don’t really like much. But when I get there, I really love playing there and going on walks with Koldo and my other friends in the band, and discovering new places. For example, I had never been to Germany, it was my first time there and really fun. And of course, New York was an amazing experience, and when we went to Stockholm, that was really nice, but the preparations for the travel — with the trombone, to get to the flight, the controls for luggage…”
A moment of some anxiety for her came upon the band’s return to Barcelona. “When we came back from Germany, at the airport, they took me aside because my trombone set off the alarms. They were like, ‘Give me your passport, where are you going?’ (laughs). They took my trombone and said, ‘what is this? Why is it setting the alarm off?’ I didn’t have this problem before, but I recently changed my trombone case, and maybe it had something about it. But they saw in the scanner that it was a trombone, so…It wasn’t funny then, but it is now.”
But the most memorable trip of the year has been the SAJB’s visit to New York to compete in the famed Essentially Ellington festival, created twenty years ago by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center organization. A formal invitation did not necessarily guarantee that the band would be able to make the trip. “We talked about it a lot, with Koldo, Asier, Lola — did anyone think that we would go to New York? It seemed too expensive, we thought we couldn’t go…”
Once the trip was assured, however, the work became more intense.
“We worked a lot, everyone worked a lot,” she says. “We put a lot of energy into it, learning the songs by heart, going to all the rehearsals, practicing at home, practicing at the rehearsals…I was practicing my vocal performance since January with the piano, studying every part of it, how to interpret it, learning my parts on trombone. ‘Giddybug Gallop’ was a really difficult piece, so learning it all by heart — five pages — I was really focused. And, with university I went to classes, but I was in my own cloud.”
She and several of the senior SAJB musicians also had a group chat before leaving for New York to plan a day of sightseeing in Manhattan, one that would allow them to squeeze in as much of the city as possible before turning their concentration to the numbers they had prepared for the competing rounds.
“With Koldo we planned a whole day through New York — from the hotel to upper Central Park, to Chelsea and Chinatown. We did Manhattan from top to bottom, our feet were hurting a lot! We struggled a lot with jet lag. We were all sleeping in the same room, about ten people, and at 5:00 a.m. everyone was awake. Sleeping was bad. The first day, Tuesday, we got up at 6:00 went out at 7:00, and started walking! We were falling asleep by the afternoon. Koldo and I were surviving on coffee. I got to see a lot of things.”
It was not her first time in New York, however. “In 2019 I went there with my parents, and had a really good time, but this time was a little bit different because when I went with them I was 15, and my perspective of things has changed a little, and I really like New York, but it’s too busy for my liking right now — when I was a teenager, I really loved it ’cause it was very busy, real loud, so many people and a lot of things to do. Now that I’m older, it was just overwhelming for me. But I really loved walking by Central Park…it was really good. What I love the most is the culture — the musicals, the jazz clubs, everything that involves music and theatre — that’s super cool and Barcelona is starting to get a lot of musicals right now, but in New York it’s such a big thing.”
She also saw as much as possible with her family this time around, including taking in a musical [Smash]. “Because it’s so far from home, we don’t know when we can go back. So we did everything we could. A great experience, I loved it so much.”
Once the competition began, it was time to focus. Band director Joan Chamorro didn’t want to set expectations too high for the SAJB, considering that Essentially Ellington was created basically as a competition among American high school bands, and judging just may have leaned a bit in their favor. “When we were preparing to go, it was like, ‘we’re gonna to do the first round, we’re gonna hear the rest of the bands, it’s gonna be good, but it will only be the first round.”
[You can read an overview of the band’s experience at Essentially Ellington here: Celebrating the SAJB’s Journey to Essentially Ellington | by Garry Berman | May, 2025 | Medium]
As the SAJB saw some of the other bands perform, the reality of the event quickly took hold. For Claudia, the moments before the first round were especially traumatic for her.
“Before the first performance, I had a huge meltdown. I heard another girl sing and she was amazing. She sang really good and I was like, ‘I can’t do this, I can’t sing as well as her.’ I started to cry and had to leave the theatre. Joan was consoling me, and I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m gonna go out there.’ I was such a mess, calling my mom asking her to please bring me something, I don’t know what to do. The mothers of the Sant Andreu people were with me, and I was like, ‘I don’t know why I’m being so dramatic, but I just can’t do it.’ I was so frozen. When it got to the point when we rehearsed the last time before going to the stage twenty minutes before, Joan hugged me and said, ‘You can do this,’ and I said okay — freeze, go out, and do whatever you can. I was trembling all the way. I don’t know how I did it…I just had a really bad moment, but to be on the stage and hear everyone else, that was just amazing. All the bands were incredible, all the soloists, so to be there — and you always think you are the worst of them. The Impostor Syndrome. So the look between everyone in the band was like, ‘what are we doing here?’”
Her big, emotive vocal number, “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ but the Blues,” went over big with the audience, and the rest of the band was also in top form throughout the 20-minute set.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing the band perform at Essentially Ellington, here is their terrific complete set in Round 1 (“I Ain’t Got Nothing but the Blues” begins at the 6:00 mark).
“And when we kept on going, it was like, surreal,” she says. “When we got to the stage for the second time, then the third time, it was like, it can’t be happening…
“It’s just so huge for me that it’s so difficult not to feel it was a dream. The most excitement was when Wynton Marsalis announced the name of the band for the two rounds — I don’t think I ever reacted that way and had that feeling. It was something new and really incredible, to be part of that and to be with all the bands and have each other there, it was amazing.”
To the delight — even disbelief — of the band, Chamorro, and all of the supporters and parents present, the SAJB ultimately won 2nd Place in the overall competition, with several of the musicians receiving individual awards — including Claudia, who won the award for Outstanding Vocalist.
“I heard my name, and I got up instantly and went onstage — I didn’t even know what was happening, like ‘what am I supposed to do?’ I went up to Wynton Marsalis and said, ‘can I hug you?’ It was so surreal for me. I had to sit back for a second and say okay — because I didn’t have a ‘diploma’ or anything, it was just momentary.
“What I think of New York is like a little cloud in my mind, because it was so surreal that I have to remind myself that I really was there. It’s like a dream. But when people congratulate me I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, that was me!’ I have the participation diploma, but Joan said they’re sending us the diploma and the trophy. They gave Joan a trophy, but we didn’t leave New York with it, they’re going to send it. I think it’s coming soon. So someday I’m gonna have it.”
Before that moment, she tried not to think too much about winning, but human nature had her weighing her possibilities.
“In the back of my mind I thought I want to have the award, I think they’re gonna give it to me, but then also I thought maybe my English is not really good, or whatever. When I hear recordings of myself I always find little things I don’t really like…I was mostly surprised because I was the only one they called up, the only one awarded Outstanding Vocal Performance — like with the saxophone players, Lola was called, and Bernat…so when I only heard my name, I was like, there’s got to be someone else, so I was really surprised by that. The girl I heard before me was incredible, but they didn’t give her an award.”
She also praises the SAJB trombone section for their dedication. “Everyone gave 100% of themselves. I’m really proud of my trombone section because most of them joined the band only a year ago or less, and they worked hard.”
“They’re really fun, they study a lot they enjoy it, and we also have a lot of fun practicing and doing rehearsals, and I’m really happy about how the section is sounding, because they are putting a lot of work into it. I happy that we all get to learn from each other, so that’s what the band is about — when some people get in it’s super cool ‘cause we get to know each other, we learn from them, they learn from us, and it’s really nice.”
At this point in the famed history of the band, new members already know the band’s stellar reputation, so auditioning and being asked to join is a high honor for a young musician in the Barcelona area.
“When I got in, it was a big thing as well, that was six years ago,” Claudia says, “Now it’s just a much bigger thing, and they all get so excited and with being in New York, it was like, ‘well, this is not normal! This is not a thing you can find anywhere.’”
Even after experiencing the heady week in New York at Essentially Ellington, there is still more for Claudia to look forward to this year, one of which is the chance to play more gigs with her own quartet. It’s something she hasn’t been able to work on much this year, with so much else keeping her busy — including university, recording her ‘presenta’ CD, and, as always, rehearsing with the SAJB.
“Here in Barcelona it’s really hard to find places to play gigs,” she says. “The music culture is very different here than from New York. Everyone in New York was excited about going to concerts, talking about music. It’s so common for people there to go to Broadway shows and concerts, but not so much in Catalonia — not as many breaks for musicians.”
She says potential venues don’t offer much in the way of pay for groups like hers. “It’s a lot for the price,” she says. “That’s why I dropped it for a bit, but now that I’m leaving the SAJB and finishing my college degree, I have more time to search for gigs and talk to people, and find new places to go and rehearse with the quartet and with [SAJB guitarist] Asier — we’re excited to do gigs as a duo as well.”
“Yes,” Asier says, “we’re playing together in this new duo format, which I’m really looking forward to present. It’s so easy working with Claudia, and it’s a pleasure for me to be able to play with her!”
She acknowledges that it has become more common in recent years for SAJB musicians to form their own side groups for playing dates in and around Barcelona, as they take further steps to becoming professional musicians. “I think people in the band used to wait until they left before looking for gigs in small groups. Because we’re older, we’re starting to find our own way, to make money and to have fun with music because…I think when Andrea and Alba were in the SAJB, we did a lot more gigs as a band than we do now, so it was more full-time.”
As for the quartet’s repertoire, “We play mostly jazz, some standards and some from musicals but are arranged as jazz, but not as common as Cole Porter songs. Also, we’ve arranged some Catalan music to be more jazzy, but with the lyrics in Catalan to keep its essence… We also do two or three Brazilian songs that I love so much, such as ‘Flor de Lis’ — I’m going to sing that in Portuguese and in Spanish.”
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMNq0VrtM06/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Alas, the annual SAJB November concert at the Palau de Musica, this year dedicated to the music of Duke Ellington, will be her last concert as a regular member of the band.
“Joan and I have it all talked out — it will be my last concert. I try to keep that in mind and enjoy my last days with the SAJB, and live it all with more joy, because sometimes when you go every week and can get tired, and it’s a lot of work, you don’t appreciate as much. So now I’m trying to appreciate my last days and to look back at what we’ve done together and what I’ve learned, and what good things it brings to my life. I told Joan if he ever wants me to sing a song or to go to a gig with a band or a festival, if my schedule allows, I’ll do it. I’m really grateful for everything he’s done for me.”
As for the long-awaited CD Joan Chamorro presenta Claudia Rostey, eager fans will have to wait a little longer. “Right now I have ten of the tracks, I’ve selected the tapes that I want, but I have to get Joan’s approval. In October we will record four songs with my parents — surprise guests! — and I think Joan wants to release it by the end of this year, but I don’t know if we can, there’s too much work. So maybe in January.”
And for 2026 and beyond?
“Next year I finish my degree, I’ll only have to do my final project, not much else. I do spend a lot of time thinking about the future, what I want to do. I really would like to keep doing gigs with my band and with my duo, and keep learning and playing with my friends. I’d also like to do a Master’s degree in how to teach music and how to be a good professor. I’m working at a school with children and I really love being a teacher. I really want to teach lessons during the week, and on weekends I want to do gigs and explore my professional life. Combining the two things would be my perfect life in a year from now.”
An even tougher — and perhaps unfair — question: Has she ever thought what she would do if she had to choose between playing trombone and singing?
“Some people keep asking me, ‘which do you choose?’ Why do I have to choose, if I can do both? But I think it would be my voice, because my voice is a way to express myself — it’s something everyone has, and I’ve been singing my whole life, so if one day I woke up and couldn’t sing, I don’t know how to be if I couldn’t, because I sing all day. I can have my trombone all day, but my voice I carry with me, and it’s my first tool of expression. I also love playing trombone, but if I couldn’t play it, I’d be really sad because I love the instrument. But if I lose my voice, I just couldn’t be myself anymore.”
We hope Claudia realizes that she has won the affection of countless jazz fans not only with her talents, but especially by doing just that — being herself.
Until next time…
Visit Claudia’s web page: Clàudia Rostey Cristau -
And you can read any of my 125+ online articles, including over 30 related to the Sant Andreu Jazz Band, at the links below, and at the “Garry’s Blog” page on my website, www.GarryBerman.com. The site also includes synopses and reviews of my books, which you can order via the links to Amazon.com.
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SAJB-related articles:
“Koldo Munné Expands His Musical Universe” | by Garry Berman | Jun, 2025 | Medium
“Celebrating the SAJB’s Journey to Essentially Ellington” | by Garry Berman | May, 2025 | Medium
“Celebrating Five Years of FOSAJB”| by Garry Berman | Mar, 2025 | Medium
“Catching Up with Jazz Violin Virtuoso Èlia Bastida” | by Garry Berman | Medium
“Joe Magnarelli Returns to the SAJB” | by Garry Berman | Oct. 2024 | Medium
“Joan Chamorro and the SAJB in 2024” | by Garry Berman | Medium
“Lola Peñaranda’s Sax Does the Talking” | by Garry Berman | April, 2024 | Medium
“Catching up with Anastasia Ivanova” |April, 2024 | Medium
“The Jazz House Story”| by Garry Berman | March, 2024 | Medium
“Joana Casanova Finds Her New Musical Direction” | by Garry Berman | Jan. 2024 | Medium
“Andrea Motis: Europe’s Jazz Queen” | by Garry Berman | Jan. 2024 | Medium
“Bossa Nova Returns to Barcelona” | by Garry Berman | Medium| by Garry Berman | Medium
“Carla Motis: A Quiet Force on Jazz Guitar” | by Garry Berman | Sept, 2023 | Medium
“Memories of my Visit to Jazzing Fest, 2023” | by Garry Berman | Sept, 2023 | Medium
“Meet Asier Vázquez, The SAJB’s Eager New Guitarist” | by Garry Berman | Medium
“Koldo Munné’s Musical Journey” | by Garry Berman | June, 2023 | Medium
“Claudia Rostey’s Rising Star” | by Garry Berman | June, 2023 | Medium
“A Film About Kids and Music: Ten Years Later” https://medium.com/@garryberman/a-film-about-kids-and-music-ten-years-later-50d5bf96f53b
“Marching to a Different Bassist: The Music of Magali Datzira” | by Garry Berman | Medium
“Kindred Spirits: How Joan Chamorro and Isidore Rudnick Teach Jazz to Kids” https://medium.com/@garryberman/kindred-spirits-how-joan-chamorro-and-isidore-rudnick-teach-jazz-to-kids-2d0cb80bed77
“The Compelling Music of Elia Bastida and Carolina Alabau” https://medium.com/@garryberman/the-compelling-music-of-%C3%A8lia-bastida-and-carolina-alabau-65da74f07804
“The SAJB’s Koldo Munne Steps into the Jazz Spotlight” https://garryberman.medium.com/the-sajbs-koldo-munn%C3%A9-steps-into-the-jazz-spotlight-238b3231626f
“A Tale of Two Albas” https://garryberman.medium.com/a-tale-of-two-albas-904849a5e697
“How a Kids Band in Barcelona Rekindled My Love of Jazz” https://garryberman.medium.com/how-a-kids-band-in-barcelona-rekindled-my-love-of-jazz-a20ea8873670
“Jan Domenech’s New Chapter as a Jazz Musician” https://garryberman.medium.com/jan-domenechs-new-chapter-as-a-jazz-musician-e1f0da8b19b9
“Joan Chamorro and the SAJB: Past, Present, and Future” https://medium.com/@garryberman/joan-chamorro-and-the-sajb-past-present-and-future-573eedcbff76
“Josep Traver: Guitarist of All Trades” https://garryberman.medium.com/josep-traver-guitarist-of-all-trades-608296f9d00a
“When American Jazz Pros Meet Spanish Jazz Kids” https://garryberman.medium.com/when-american-jazz-pros-meet-spanish-jazz-kids-25c7f5023571
“Claudia Rostey: The Life of an 18-year-old Bacelona Jazz Trombonist” https://garryberman.medium.com/claudia-rostey-the-life-of-an-18-year-old-barcelona-jazz-trombonist-d13b82c770a3
“The Magic of the Voice: The Singers of the Sant Andreu Jazz Band” https://garryberman.medium.com/the-magic-of-the-voice-the-singers-of-the-sant-andreu-jazz-band-208dfb629221
“Jobim is Alive and Well in Barcelona” https://garryberman.medium.com/jobim-is-alive-and-well-in-barcelona-d384b40d8c2e
“Did Someone Say Anastasia Ivanova?” https://garryberman.medium.com/did-someone-say-anastasia-ivanova-dd6f67277c64
“Struck by (musical) Lightning” https://garryberman.medium.com/struck-by-musical-lightning-6583ecb0de13
The Sant Andreu Jazz Band is always grateful for donations large and small to help the project continue to record and release new albums, perform live concerts, and maintain a successful project, with all that it entails.
For Round 1, the SAJB performed the uptempo Cootie Williams piece “The Opener,” followed by “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ but the Blues,” popularized by Ella Fitzerand and led here by superb vocalist Claudia Rostey, and closed with Ellington’s “The Giddybug Gallop.” Each selection included a string of solos perfected by the musicians over endless hours of rehearsals and keeping a busy schedule of live gigs, including the Blues Festival Basel in Switzerland in April. Stand-out solos included those by saxophonists Lola Peñaranda, Koldo Munné, and Bernat Benavente, and trumpeters Marti Costalago and Gerard Peñaranda.
The people on my quartet are: Piano — Antoni Casellas Bass — Jordi Herrera Drums — Pau Masó (friends from college).
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