Nabaté Isles By Jessica Kaufman Assistant Director, Public Relations, Eastman School of Music Nabaté Isles’ varied career has taken him from the halls of the Eastman School of Music to the sports arena and back. As a trumpet soloist with Christian McBride, Nabaté is coming off a recent Grammy win – the band’s second win.…
By Nicole Peter Trio East is a trio of Eastman faculty members who have been performing and composing together for 18 years. The trio features faculty members Rich Thompson, Associate Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media, Clay Jenkins, Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media, and Jeff Campbell, Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary…
By Dan Gross Trumpet player and composer Nathan Kay hails from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin and is a senior jazz performance major at Eastman. During his time at Eastman, he founded his own bands, such as the Nathan Kay group. Kay won First Place in the 2018 National Trumpet Competition (jazz division) and has performed at various…
Marian McPartland at Eastman in 2006 By Dan Gross An accomplished jazz pianist, Marian McPartland (1918-2013) was a much-beloved presence on National Public Radio as host of Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz for more than three decades. Piano Jazz offered listeners an intimate, insider’s perspective on the elusive world of jazz improvisation. On her weekly broadcast,…
By Chase Ellison Late in August, the members of the Eastman Jazz Sextet (Christian Crawford, trumpet; C.J. Ziarniak, saxophone; Luke Norris, saxophone; Sterling Cozza, piano; Ryder Eaton, bass; and Chase Ellison, drums) left for Japan with Eastman professor Jeff Campbell, for a series of university workshops and performances culminating in concerts on September 1 and…
By Dan Gross The Eastman Jazz Sextet left today (Thursday, August 24) at 2 p.m. to go around the world. Current students and recent graduates — Christian Crawford, trumpet; C.J. Ziarniak, saxophone; Luke Norris, saxophone; Sterling Cozza, piano; Ryder Eaton, bass; and Chase Ellison, drums — have gathered under the watchful eye of Professor Jeff…
By Dan Gross Pianist-composer Bill Dobbins has been an esteemed member of Eastman’s jazz faculty twice: from 1973 to 1994, and again from 2002 to the present. (He spent the intervening years as music director of the West German Radio [WDR] Big Band.) He is now Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media, as well…
By Dan Gross Pianist-composer Bill Dobbins has been an esteemed member of Eastman’s jazz faculty twice: from 1973 to 1994, and again from 2002 to the present. He is now Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media, as well as conductor of the Eastman Jazz Ensemble and Eastman Studio Orchestra. His Eastman career has spanned…
By Dan Gross Rochester-born David Finck grew up in Philadelphia, but returned in the 1970s to study at Eastman, where he graduated in 1980. Since then he’s become one of the jazz world’s premiere free-lance bassists, making recordings with musicians from André Previn to George Michael. In the most recent, Low Standards on the SoundStream…
Fred Sturm By Dan Gross Two area high school band directors plan a tribute concert celebrating renowned jazz composer, arranger and teacher Fred Sturm, who died in August of 2014 following a long battle with cancer, and who directed the Eastman School of Music Department of Jazz and Contemporary Media from 1991 to 2002. Maestro:…