Mar 4, 2025 1:29 PM
Changing of the Guard at Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
On October 23, Ted Nash – having toured the world playing alto, soprano and tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass…
Students jam at The New School in New York.
(Photo: McKenna Lewis)The road we call jazz can take you anywhere — from your quiet hometown to the grandest stages of the world; from performing in bars on Saturdays to houses of worship on Sundays; from touring in a bus all night to jetting across the ocean to parts unknown.
But the road doesn’t stop there.
Learn to play the saxophone (or the trumpet, drums, piano …) and you might become an educator, an administrator, a festival director, a record producer, but don’t stop there — a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, an entrepreneur, even the President of the United States. (Remember, President Bill Clinton played saxophone and even read this magazine religiously while in high school.)
If you’re reading this, you are probably a student who wants to go to music school (or the concerned parent of that student). You found the road of jazz through a great teacher, either in school or through private lessons. And you’re ready for the next leg of your journey. DownBeat is here to help. On the pages of the attached electronic edition, you’ll find more than 190 schools ready to meet your jazz-study needs. There is something for everyone here, but with so many options, good luck sorting it out. We’ve tried to help. Do you want a big school, or is a smaller institution better suit your style? What can you afford? (We know that’s a huge question and a fair one.) What kind environment do you want? And who would you like to learn from? Each school entry has these answers and more, like information on scholarships and financial aid opportunities.
We’ve also provided some food for thought within these pages. First, there’s an article by Jay Sweet on selecting a school and preparing for the audition (see page 118). We’ve also included a piece about what life is like in those first few days and weeks of school and how to get ready for the transition as an incoming freshman (see page 100). Finally, we show you the lives of four professionals in the jazz world who went to school to learn to play music, but are applying their expertise in other areas of the industry (see page 76).
We hope you find the guide useful, and we can’t wait to see where the road of jazz takes you. Enjoy the journey! DB
As Ted Nash, left, departs the alto saxophone chair for LCJO, Alexa Tarantino steps in as the band’s first female full-time member.
Mar 4, 2025 1:29 PM
On October 23, Ted Nash – having toured the world playing alto, soprano and tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass…
Larry Appelbaum with Wayne Shorter in 2012.
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Larry Appelbaum, a distinguished audio engineer, jazz journalist, historian and broadcaster, died Feb. 21, 2025, in…
“This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.
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In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
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Willie Jones III remembers playing with Roy Hargrove for the first time in spring of 1997 at the old Catalina Bar and…
“You’ve got to trust that inner child, keep exploring, even though people think it’s wrong,” says Fortner.
Feb 25, 2025 11:20 AM
Every week at the Village Vanguard fosters its own sound. No one really knows how the music might evolve by Sunday, but…
