Mario Guarneri, Founder and Artistic Director
Mario Guarneri is a musician who has “done it all”, from playing Dixieland jazz with Louis Armstrong at the age of thirteen to fifteen seasons with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the batons of Zubin Mehta and Carlo Maria Giulini. He has toured Europe with the Los Angeles Brass Quintet and performed with the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, Radio City Music Hall and even the Barnum and Bailey Circus. Mr. Guarneri has recorded solo albums on the Crystal and Nonesuch labels, one of which was nominated for the Prix de Rome. For a decade, Mario was the principal trumpet with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and has played on hundreds of TV and motion picture soundtracks, including solo performances on Lonesome Dove and Godfather III. He has taught trumpet for over 35 years, and is currently a trumpet instructor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Guarneri also performs regularly with his jazz quartet in the San Francisco area, and has recorded four CDs. In 1986 he developed the Buzz Extension and Resistance Piece (B.E.R.P.) for all brass instruments, a dynamic advancement in brass pedagogy. Since then, he has lectured extensively on the BERP concept. In recent years, he has presented lectures at the International Trumpet Guild, the New York Brass Conference, and numerous state and regional music conventions across the country. Guarneri has taught master classes in Asia and Europe, and has established a worldwide reputation as a creative musician of the highest level.
omar aran, Associate Director and JitN JazzMobile Operator
Omar Aran has been a Jazz drummer and educator in the Bay Area for 20 years. He has had the opportunity to perform with many of the most notable local Jazz musicians and has taught a wide range of individuals and groups, from pre-school children to adults.
Omar was also the founder and executive director of the Bay Area Jazz Mobile, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. From 2020 to 2024 the Bay Area Jazz Mobile has presented more than 210 free, outdoor Jazz concerts all over the Bay Area, while guaranteeing a fair wage to over 330 local musicians.
Currently Omar is Jazz in the Neighborhood Associate Director and JitN JazzMobile Operator.
leela paymai, guaranteed fair wage coordinator and marketing
Leela Paymai is an Iranian-American bassist, trombonist, songwriter, and arranger based in San Francisco. She began freelance work shortly after moving to the Bay Area, including live sound, marketing, and MCing for multiple venues and events.
After graduating from San Jose State University in 2021, she began working as an event coordinator for JiTN. Over the years, her work has shifted to their Guaranteed Fair Wage program, as well as marketing, social media, and website management.
Leela is an active member of the Bay Area’s music scene, most notably with her own band “Miss Hits” and her solo project “ZHENIIA”.
Craig Giudici, Volunteer Coordinator
Coming to JITN with a background well outside of music and the arts, Craig brings the curiosity and interests of a lifelong, self-described music junkie. With music always playing in the background, Craig has worked in financial services, market research, dabbled in technology and more recently found his niche through volunteering or working directly with organizations such as SF/Marin Food Bank, Taproot.org, Friends of the Urban Forest, SF Animal Care & Control, SF Bike Kitchen, and now Jazz In The Neighborhood. For him, variety and that chance of first discovering the ‘new thing’ are what keep it all interesting. As with the organizations he’s worked with, so it is with the music he regularly seeks out and listens to – finding connection and maintaining a variety matter. Craig’s as likely to have Gil Evans or Kamasi Washington playing in the background as the Arctic Monkeys or Bryan Ferry. The unifying thread is the idea that artists and the worthy organizations supporting them matter and need community support. That community-artist connection needs to happen either through open-minded, enthusiastic audience support or through volunteers lending a hand in making things run smoothly. These days, you’ll find Craig happily pitching in on both sides of the house.