Best university jazz programs

<p>I have a son who is a junior who is starting to look at jazz studies progams. Don't rule out Chicago as an option. DePaul has a good reputation with some of the kids he knows who are excellent high school jazz musicians, and Northwestern has a new director of jazz studies. Other recommendations we have heard match what has been said on this board.</p>

<p>Just checked the Northwestern website and they have hired Victor Goines from Juilliard as the new jazz studies director. That indicates to me serious committment on their part to reviving their jazz program and it's really good news.</p>

<p>This is a very exciting development for Northwestern. Unfortunately, I think it will take several years to get the program up and running, and for its reputation to be established. Nevertheless, it will be a great possibility perhaps, for kids who are still in 9th grade or younger.</p>

<p>That could be, Allmusic. I would not be at all surprised if they reveal an awesome list of faculty recruits as early as next fall, and since they are not exactly starting from scratch, I would expect the program to be up and running fairly quickly. But they do have to get the program on the market again, and that will take some time.</p>

<p>housatonic community college- they won the fairfield jazz festival!</p>

<p>Webster University in St. Louis has a great jazz program.</p>

<p>Oh, bummer. Northwestern would have been high on my son's list if they hadn't shaken things up this year! Great news for future students.</p>

<p>Actually this is an improvement. They had no director for the jazz program since Don Owens retired in 2005. We are glad it is back up and running.</p>

<p><a href="http://lpalotie.wordpress.com/2007/12/05/long-overdue-good-news-for-northwesterns-jazz-program/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://lpalotie.wordpress.com/2007/12/05/long-overdue-good-news-for-northwesterns-jazz-program/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Might also want to look into Michigan State University. They've made a major investment in their Jazz Studies Department with the Director Rodney Whitaker (former bassist with Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra), Warm Daddy Anderson (also former Julliard Jazz Faculty)and other strong faculty.
This is a straight-ahead jazz program. Effective last year, it is now formally the MSU School of Music, not a music department in another school. With this shift came funding and major building plans for both practice and performance spaces.</p>

<p>Son has auditioned at U. Mich, Rutgers and McGill. he also did summer jazz programs at UArts and Northwestern, but chose not to apply to those schools. As parents, we thought Michigan had the best program (a BFA in Jazz and Contemplative Studies). Rutgers (Mason Gross School of the Arts) has a small jazz contingent, but has outstanding faculty members and the school is highly regarded. Upon visiting McGill, son fell in love with both the school and city of Montreal. Envelopes will be arriving in about a month.</p>

<p>jasperr-
We have a son who is completing his music education undergrad at Mason Gross this December.<br>
He is considering McGill for grad (performance). He has visited McGill and says it's great.</p>

<p>You're on target wilderness, MSU's jazz studies have received a major boost in money and prestige. Rodney Whittaker and Wessell ("Warm Daddy") Anderson in fact played in Wynton Marsallis' Lincoln Center orchestra. I believe they persuaded brother Branford Marsallis to serve at MSU 2 years as jazz artist-in-residence at the school... Also, it's now the College of Music, upgraded from the School of Music.</p>

<p>There are a lot of different programs that are good, and I have found that what is right for a kid depends a lot on his or her own personality, goals and learning styles.
For fifteen years I have taught jazz and other things at a community music school in Chicago, and over the years I have helped students apply to and get into lots of different music programs. (Last year, two of my students got into Oberlin, one to Juilliard, one to DePaul, one to Sarah Lawrence). This year I have five students graduating, one has been accepted at UNT, two at IU, one at Rutgers (who will go to NYU if he gets in there) and one who's waiting to hear from Eastman. I myself went to Eastman, and while it was very, very good there are some students I wouldn't recommend to go there. It's very, very competitive, somewhat isolated and they don't hold your hand very much. My student who is applying there this year I think would be able to handle it, she's a tough cookie, but I don't think the trumpeter who got into Rutgers would be able to.
I had a visit last Saturday from an alum who is now a sophomore at NYU. He's a baritone sax player, and in his second year there he's already playing with Lennie Pickett's after hours band at the Blue Note every week, and has been invited to play with Kenny Werner at his weekly gig at Small's. I've met Brian Lynch who teaches there and it seems to be a terrific program. That's the advantage if you're interested in jazz to going to school in NY, opportunities abound. But that's not the only path. My kids who went to Oberlin just love it. And the ten or so students over the years who went through the program at Rutgers really enjoyed it too.
Just a note about Northwestern: the school there is really in turmoil over jazz, first they got rid of jazz entirely last year but the administration was forced to backpedal when a huge uproar ensued, they then hired Mr. Goines. There is an entrenched anti-jazz sentiment there, and I'd wait to see what happens.
Teaching is really fun for me and this time of year is gratifying, seeing kids go on to what will become their lives.</p>

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>this seemed like as good a place as any to give a mini trip report on our visits to NYC and Boston, and our impressions of a few music schools:</p>

<p>New England Conservatory - lovely building and space in the Back Bay area of Boston, adjacent to Northeastern University and a few blocks to Berklee. We did not have an information session, so were unable to learn much about jazz specifically. Then we had a first year tour guide who, while quite accomplished, wasn't especially knowledgeable when asked specific questions by the group. The most striking thing to our son was the seeming absence of technology--whether it be wireless access anywhere, especially the dorms--or recording/technology related rooms. It all seemed very backward, technologically-speaking, and much more focused on classical music for us. I guess they have a captive audience and aren't really needing to market themselves. Have to say though that their email contact was outstanding, both generally- and departmentally- speaking. Still don't know if Tufts music majors not in the 5 year joint program can take lessons/classes freely at NEC....</p>

<p>Berklee College of Music - WOW, great spaces, and a very dynamic tour guide, a 4th year who could answer any questions. Berklee has 4000 students, and is also located well. Unfortunately, they cannot guarantee housing even to first year students. Their gpa entry point is a "loose" 2.5, so the focus for entry really is on musicianship. What I didn't know, out of naivete, was that all the conservatories have a liberal arts requirement--typically about 1/3 of hours required. Was impressed with their music business major as well as the MP&E (music production and engineering) degree that are quite leading-edge. Many practice rooms, dorms big enough for large instruments, every student has a Mac loaded with the best software--and Berklees studios, media libraries etc. are amazing with up-to-date computers and equipment. Did hear (not from tour guide) that Berklee's liberal arts classes are hit and miss, with some interesting classes/teachers and others (english?) quite lacking. Met with a 2nd year friend there who said he likes Berklee a lot and has really improved, though he says he has friends who are not happy at all, because they don't like the liberal arts "school" requirements. It's a puzzle: with 500+ students playing the same instrument, how do you distinguish yourself. At entry, (Fall) students are placed based on auditions into combos at levels ranging from 1 (low) to 8 (high)--with opportunities to re-audition every semester. Son loved Berklee but his dilemma is desire for higher academics/ability to make connections and really making a go of performance. </p>

<p>The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music - NYC: Great honest info session, less dynamic tour. Much smaller (350) student body. Director of admissions was very forthright about the challenges of living in NYC and navigating a small school in a big city, sometimes having to go to NJ for lessons on a particular instrument. NY is not for the faint of heart, basically, or immature student. Housing is guaranteed for first years (and later?) but practice space is limited. Student visitors were divided up to sit in on combos, which were impressive apparently. Liberal arts classes are similar to those at Berklee; an MFA degree is offered, and students can take classes at Eugene Lang. A little harder to get into than Berklee because of numbers. Also had reasonable technology and media library, but was lacking in some performance and practice spaces. Lots of talk about upper class gigging in NYC. Son liked it better than Berklee, mostly because of staff, performance opportunities and access to the NYC jazz scene.</p>

<p>Manhattan School of Music - Wow, what a beautiful building! Formerly the site of Juilliard, this historic building houses not only beautiful performance spaces, classrooms and eating, it also houses dorm rooms and practice spaces (adjacent). Students don't even have to go outside to go from dorm to class which might contribute to some stir-crazy winter months. A very traditional conservatory, there is music coming from all directions in this vibrant building. Info session was in the lobby after an excellent tour into every nook and cranny, and session was inhibited by the loud lunchtime background noise--too bad. I loved it, son didn't get much of a jazz vibe, and jazz seemed like a lesser option to classical, music theatre, compostion etc. Though MSM is only a few blocks from Columbia, and students can use gym space at Columbia, their liberal arts affiliate is Barnard college, also down the road. </p>

<p>NYU - visited, not official tour. Big school, impressive materials, seemingly great jazz program, but probably too big for us. Loved the vibe on campus though, and friends who go there are very happy with the quality of education overall and in their majors. </p>

<p>Visiting Eastman this summer....anyone have any impressions of it from their visits/auditions?</p>

<p>Except for USC and UCLA, I don't see any mention about jazz schools on the West coast. Does anyone know about the programs at UC Irvine, O of Oregon, and U of Washington or any of the CSU schools?</p>

<p>Dear trpt2345-
I can't agree more with your post about the need to match students with the attitude of the music school. That is my biggest concern. My son is a piano player and both his classical and jazz teachers feel that he has great promise. However, from your description of Eastman, I can tell that he would not be happy in that environment. He loves to play with really good players, but has always done so in a collarborative setting with lots of support. He prefers small combos over big bands and improvising over everything else. He has also said that he wants to go to a regular university, not a conservatory. I think he is wary because several students from our high school who went to conservatories have come home because they weren't happy. I like the idea of a regular university because it gives him more options if he decides to changes majors. You comments about the different schools were very helpful. Do you know anything about the program at Peabody? Or do you have any information about schools on the West coast? We live in CA. Thanks!</p>

<p>West Coast Jazz</p>

<p>Great station KJAZZ at Cal State Long Beach</p>

<p>Actually, one of the University of Oregon's jazz ensembles won a Downbeat award this year. Additionally, Portland State University has a very good jazz program, and Portland has a very vibrant jazz scene, with several busy jazz clubs, and a wonderful Winter jazz festival that attracts big name jazz talent (PDXJazz).</p>

<p>A smaller school that graduates many talented jazz musicians is Cornish College of the Arts. If we had not been so far away, it would have been on our list.</p>

<p>This is my first post here. I've read quite a bit and appreciate everyone's advices and posts. My son is in the application process - a HS senior sax player looking to go jazz studies in a college/university setting. Currently heading away from very large universities. For some reason has not looked @ east coast (not sure why) and west coast is not a preference for us.</p>

<p>I'd appreciate comments on the following list:</p>

<ol>
<li>University of North Florida
(Bunky Green as sax prof. can't be beat)</li>
<li>University of Northern Colorado
(jazz studies & music in general seem to be a gem here)</li>
<li>Western Michigan University
(jazz studies & music in general seem to be a gem here.
seems to have "major party school" reputation though)</li>
<li>University of Denver - Lamont School of Music
(don't know much about it, but since UNCo is on the list, figured to check
this one out also)</li>
<li>University of Central Florida
(young program, enthusiastic director is a solid sax performer - Jeff Rupert)</li>
<li>University of Louisville - Jamie Aebersold School of Music
(does this school have substance or just the Aebersold name?)</li>
<li>Indiana University - Bloomington
(definitely a great music school. came across a bit "stuffy")</li>
</ol>