Jazz Colleges

[T~AndrewB~Bone]

Hi, my name is Andrew and I'm a junior in highschool. I am planning on attending SIU Edwardville in Illinois for Jazz Peformance on trombone. Does anyone out there have any comments about jazz colleges to put me in the right direction in case I decide i need to further my reaches outside of Illinois? Does anyone know where I can maybe find a list of the best jazz schools? These questions and anything in relation that you would like to answer or comment on, please do.

[Lois Gilbert]

You should really check out the IAJE (Int'l Assoc of Jazz Educators)

http://www.iaje.org

as well as email Robin Eubanks (robin@robineubanks.com) who teaches at Oberlin and Bob Brookmeyer (bob@bobbrookmeyer.com) who teaches at
New England Conservatory for advise.

Good luck and now is definitely the time to look

[graypencil]

Also:

you might check the online sites of:

Univ. of N. Texas

Univ of N. Fla

Univ of Miami

Northern Ill. Univ.

Manhattan School of Music

Univ So Calif.


( you'll note I have omitted the" B word" school ..)

[GoodSpeak]

Originally Posted by graypencil

Also:

( you'll note I have omitted the" B word" school ..)

Boston College?

U of Alabama-Birmingham?

Long Beach State?

Biola University?

Baylor University?

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev?

Bradley Academy for the Visual Arts?

Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus?





Bob's University and Grill?

[pollo loco]

Originally Posted by GoodSpeak

Boston College?
U of Alabama-Birmingham?
Long Beach State?
Biola University?
Baylor University?
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev?
Bradley Academy for the Visual Arts?
Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus?
Bob's University and Grill?

But you didn't name Berklee.
pl

[GoodSpeak]

Originally Posted by pollo loco

But you didn't name Berklee.
pl

Cal Berkley...?

Great school...lousy football team.

[pollo loco]

Oh, no, man. Berklee in Boston. Am I being played for a fool, or what?
pl

[chuckyd4]

I believe Goody is engaging in his particular brand of HumorSpeak right now.

Smug, but not entirely wrong,
Chuckyd

[pollo loco]

Originally Posted by chuckyd4

I believe Goody is engaging in his particular brand of HumorSpeak right now. Smug, but not entirely wrong, Chuckyd

Then I just give up!
pl

[Ron Thorne]

Sadly, Berklee has become almost as much of a lightening rod as has Wynton and Kenny G. in certain circles. I'm pretty confident that it's not the school I attended in the early 60's with Gary Burton, Fred Lipsius, Tony Williams, Dave Burrell, et al, but I'm also pretty certain that it's not a complete waste of time, either.

Do your homework, T~AndrewB~Bone, and go with your heart as well as recommendations. The advice of Lois and graypencil is well worth taking to heart.

[VIBEr]

I'll quickly add that the celebrity faculty listed in magazine ads for jazz programs are nearly all part-time faculty rather than full-time, so be careful not to let "names" sway your decision since those players may very well not be there when you show up for your first day of class. I recommend that a decision to attend a particular jazz program should be based on who is on the full-time faculty, who are probably not name players but are none-the-less educators of very high quality.

[GoodSpeak]

Originally Posted by pollo loco

Oh, no, man. Berklee in Boston. Am I being played for a fool, or what?
pl

Just messin' with ya, man

[GoodSpeak]

Originally Posted by chuckyd4

I believe Goody is engaging in his particular brand of HumorSpeak right now.

Smug, but not entirely wrong,
Chuckyd

HumorSpeak...I kinda like that.

[graypencil]

Originally Posted by VIBEr

I'll quickly add that the celebrity faculty listed in magazine ads for jazz programs are nearly all part-time faculty rather than full-time, so be careful not to let "names" sway your decision since those players may very well not be there when you show up for your first day of class. I recommend that a decision to attend a particular jazz program should be based on who is on the full-time faculty, who are probably not name players but are none-the-less educators of very high quality.

This is very good advice ..

to which I would add:

While you're researching the schools, try to form an impression of just what you plan to be doing with music in ten years ..after you graduate ..

There is employment to be had in the music business ..but you should carefully thik about what you need to know ( in addition to playing your horn at a professional level ) to fit into it.

Not to throw cold water on your dreams , but keep in mind, the actual number of PLAYING gigs are diminshing yearly for horn guys ..once you get past Maynard and the Glenn Miller Ghost band, I can't think of many other playing ssituations that exist as a full time gig ..

therefore: keep in mind all the other areas you can explore while in school : composition, electronics, song writing, media music ,( film, TV and ...Advertising ) and especially ..the BUSINESS part of music ..copyright, booking, contracts, promotion etc ..

versatility is your best insurance in the music business climate in the 21st Century ..

Good Luck!

Phil K

[jazzy mary]

T, Andrew, Lois' idea is excellent. The IAJE recently published a big magazine style book re: music schools. Gp's advice is priceless! Where do you live in Illinois? I'm originally from Illinois, from a small town not far from the Univ. of Illinois. Actually, I saw my very *first* jazz concert at Krannert Hall at the Univ. of Ill. Oliver Nelson was the guest. I was in H.S. It was my impression that the Univ. ofIll. had an excellent music school, but maybe not so much jazz? I dunno. I didn't know that about NIU. IU-Edwardsville would be cheap, but is it a very good school otherwise?

[jazzy mary]

Paul Anka's band will probably have some openings!

[Chris D]

One school not that far removed from you with a growing jazz reputation is the Unviersity of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The program is headed by Bob Baca, a top-flight trumpeter who actually teaches and leads the acclaimed Jazz Ensemble I, for which Geoff Keezer played piano as a high schooler.