About

Camille Kerani began playing saxophone when she was 9 years old. Through listening to her heroes, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, Camille taught herself how to play the instrument and quickly gained recognition in her community as a promising young player, wise beyond her years.

For sixth through ninth grade, she attended Oakland School for the Arts, where she began gigging at the age of 11 and continued to perfect her craft under pre-professional instruction. In 10th grade, she switched to the renound Berkeley High School to partake in their world-famous Jazz Ensemble and was simultaneously accepted into the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Big Band (2018-2021). During this time, she received recognition from Ambrose Akinmusire, Joshua Redman, Sean Jones, and Pete Escovedo, and won outstanding soloist awards at Folsom Jazz Festival and the Charles Mingus festival in New York City. 

During the pandemic of 2020, Camille took her career in a new direction by starting the Young Musicians Collective, a nonprofit with 501c3 status designed to uplift, connect, and inspire the next generation of great musicians. As the founder of YMC, Camille single handedly compiled a database of instructional videos, organized her community of high-school age musicians, and connected them with middle schoolers at Edna Brewer Middle School. Through the Young Musicians Collective, over 50 students were provided with free weekly lessons on zoom for the 2020-2021 school year. The Young Musicians Collective has continued to be active even after Camille has left for college, most recently with a masterclass led by Arturo O’Farrill for students of the Oakland Eastside All-Star Ensemble (OEASE) in April of 2022. 

Currently, Camille attends UCLA for Global Jazz Studies and is going into her sophomore year of college.