They call themselves “Fili-Trio” due to their Filipino background. The trio of James Day (Senior), Joshua Gutierrez (Senior) and Jacob Ferrufino (Junior) proved that you can do anything to which you set your mind.
Los Alamitos High School Jazz Combo A is a student-driven group led by James, a saxophone player. Fresh from winning the 2018 OC Register Artist of the Year in the Instrumental Music category, James chose Joshua and Jacob among others not only because they are his friends but because he believed in their musical abilities. They all trusted each other, which is very important if they want their group to excel. Joshua is a drum player/percussionist in Jazz 1 and Drumline. He only started playing jazz in his freshman year but he worked really hard from basically no jazz experience, to being in the top band in his senior year. Jacob is not only a great base player in Jazz 1, but a very talented photographer and videographer in the high school. Their accolades include First Place at the Irvine Jazz Festival in March 2018 and 2nd place at the Esperanza Jazz Festival that same month.
Winning 2nd place at the Esperanza Jazz Festival had challenged the “3 J’s” to experiment on articulation, dynamics, style, slurs, tempo, etc. to better prepare for the next competition. The Reno Jazz Festival was held from April 26 to 28, 2018 at the University of Nevada. It is an extremely prestigious and competitive competition internationally and in the Western United States. The Trio won first place in the AAAA (Heavy) High School Combo Division out of 23 schools, the first time Los Alamitos High School has won first place in this category. All 3 received an Outstanding Musicianship award for their rendition of 3 Jazz classics: Big Nick, Like Someone in Love, and Night and Day which won the hearts of the adjudicators. They finished their set to a standing ovation. One of the perks of winning the competition was a performance on the main stage in front of all the participants at the Awards Ceremony. James Day won the Reno Jazz Festival Overall Outstanding Saxophonist Award. Their Big Band under the direction of Justin Padilla placed 5th in their division out of 15 schools. Fili-Trio finished their festival season on May 12, with another First Place win at the Riverside City College Jazz Festival.
