Jazz Studies, Jazz in American Culture, Jazz Ensemble
Educator and woodwind specialist Frederick (Keith) Fiddmont began his performance career as a saxophonist for legendary vibraphonist, Lionel Hampton. After moving to Los Angeles in 1991, he almost immediately began a two-year stint with singer Rickie Lee Jones. He has recorded or performed live with such legends as Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Luis Miguel, Diana Krall, Christian McBride, Marcus Miller, James Brown, The Temptations, Jennifer Holliday, Natalie Cole, Nancy Wilson, and B.B. King, as well as gifted artists like Wayne Brady, Billy Childs, Queen Latifah, Michael Bublé, and John Pizzarelli. As a freelancer, he has performed with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Bob Mintzer Big Band, the Ed Neumeister Big Band, Frank Capp’s Juggernaut, the Luckman Jazz Orchestra, and John Beasley’s Monkestra.
Keith has been a member of the award-winning Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra for the past twenty-four years. The group’s credits include nearly 20 albums, and live performances like “The Big Band Bash” with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Wynton Marsalis, and the Benny Golson 80th Birthday Celebration at the Kennedy Center. Keith joined the music faculty of Santa Monica College as an adjunct in 1996 and became a full-time faculty member in the Fall of 2010.
Keith has directed the Santa Monica College Jazz Ensemble since 1998. Notable guest artists have included Snooky Young, Oscar Brashear, Barbara Morrison, Ralph Moore, Bob Sheppard, John, Jeff, and Gerald Clayton. Additionally, the Santa Monica College jazz ensemble has presented coordinated concerts with the Santa Monica College Symphony Orchestra, including an arrangement for orchestra and jazz band of Gershwin’s “Concerto in F” arranged and performed by pianist, orchestrator, educator, Bill Cunliffe.