Russ Mullen and the Jazz Associates perform during City of Santa Monica's 3rd Annual Jazz on the Lawn on Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008, at City Hall. Mullen has not only excelled as a musician, but also as a teacher and inspiration to youth in Santa Monica. He teaches full-time at John Adams Middle School and directs the John Adams Middle School Jazz Band and Jazz Workshop in Santa Monica – work for which he has been honored by the California State Legislature and the City of Santa Monica. A natural talent, Mullen started playing the piano when he was four years old, the trumpet in junior high and he taught himself the other brass instruments shortly thereafter. By the time he was in high school he was playing professionally.