Although he was raised in the tropical paradise of Oahu, these days Kalae Miles-Davis is a denizen of cooler climes—literally and figuratively. Now living in the much chillier Santa Cruz, the man who once intended to parlay his love and knowledge of traditional island music into a teaching career, and for a spell went by the moniker The Jazzy Hawaiian, has ditched his ukulele to pursue his newfound passion for the chillier sounds of straight-up jazz. “Moving to the mainland has really opened up more of a jazz interest in me,” says Miles-Davis, who, despite his hyphenated last name, was only recently turned on to Miles Davis the jazz legend.

Santa Cruz artist Isabelle Jenniches is watching you

Isabelle Jenniches has traveled to many places in her life, but some of her best sightseeing has occurred from the kitchen table of her Santa Cruz Mountains cottage. Jenniches, who came here by way of Germany, Vienna, Amsterdam, and New York, has spent the past 10 years making dramatic, large-scale collage artwork out of photos she captures from Internet web cams.

When asked what type of artist she is, Jenniches’ first response is a good-natured laugh and a shrug. For her upcoming Rydell Visual Arts Fellows exhibit at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, she’s billed as a digital media artist—a title she’ll gladly take. But given the nature of her artistic process, “voyeur” or “pirate” might just as easily apply.

Editor’s note: Nicholas Murray was born in Liverpool and now lives in Wales and London. He has written three poetry collections and critically acclaimed biographies of Bruce Chatwin, Matthew Arnold, Andrew Marvell, Aldous Huxley, and Franz Kafka. He has also published two novels, “A Short Book About Love,” and “Remembering Carmen,” and books on Victorian travelers, Liverpool and Bloomsbury. He runs the poetry imprint Rack Press and is a Fellow of the Welsh Academy. Visit nicholasmurray.co.uk.