Hello music families! This is my second post on this forum. We have a jazz piano high school student - a junior currently. We think that he will be competitive in a decent number of high caliber music colleges and conservatories when he applies as a jazz piano performance major next year.
I have been lurking around this forum for a while, and read about a number of important factors to consider when selecting a good jazz studies school. One thing most important factor for our student would be finding an amazing mentor an amazing mentor in jazz piano.
Who are current well-regarded jazz musicians who are currently teaching in college/conservatory and are known as great mentors for an aspiring jazz piano major? What schools? Anywhere in the US works.
Tagging @GoForth@jazzpianodad . Really if not specific jazz piano mentorship advice, a good general jazz performance mentorship help and recommendations if anyone is up for sharing. Mentorship aspect in college is a key criteria for our junior high school jazz pianist for now. Thanks and any jazz parent or alum advice is appreciated
I saw the tag and stopped by to offer a few thoughts.
1. Most decent jazz programs will have one or more good jazz pianists on the faculty. Certainly good enough to provide useful teaching and mentorship for an undergrad student. Beyond that, the relationship between teacher and student is really a matter of individual connection, so it’s very hard to give generic advice or make generic recommendations. The best bet is to get exposure to a range of jazz faculty through summer programs and/or sample lessons.
2. There may be a benefit to having more than one teacher. My son was in the Columbia-Juilliard program and studied concurrently with Frank Kimbrough at Juilliard and Bruce Barth at Columbia. The two have very different styles and my son felt that he got a lot from each of them. Frank was a particularly warm and caring mentor, who continued to mentor my son after graduation, but tragically passed away a few years ago. My son also has a good relationship with Bruce and continues to be in touch periodically. (Bruce is on the adjunct faculty at Temple and at William Paterson.)
3. My son would also say that the quality of the program and the student body is as important as the teacher. Jazz is a collaborative genre and the students you play with on a regular basis are just as important to your learning and to inspiring you musically.
4. With the caveats of 1, 2 and 3, here are some names that are worth checking out (in addition to my son’s former teacher, Bruce Barth) – though this is massively underinclusive and I’m confident there are many others who should also be considered as you explore more programs: Ted Rosenthal and Elio Villafranca are excellent pianists who are on the faculty both at MSM and at Juilliard, and Villafranca also teaches at Temple. Jason Moran at NEC is a brilliant pianist (don’t know how he is as a teacher). Same for Gonzalo Rubalcaba at Miami Frost. And Luis Perdomo at Oberlin. And Bill Charlap at William Paterson (Charlap is also the director of Jazz Studies there). SUNY Purchase has several well established jazz pianists on their roster – Adam Birnbaum (who is also chair of the department), David Hazeltine, Pete Malinverni. Dave Meder at UNT was in the grad program at Juilliard when my son was there and is an excellent jazz pianist. New School has an interesting roster of established jazz pianists who serve as adjunct faculty and take on students as part of the New School program, such as Fabian Almazan, Aaron Goldberg and Peter Zak, and if there’s someone else on the New York scene you want to study with through the New School program, they can usually arrange it.
I’m also tagging @taggingalong, whose son is a wonderful jazz pianist (I’ve heard him in person) and recent grad (this year), and who probably has much more current thoughts about jazz piano education than I have.
This is amazing advice @jazzpianodad . Exactly what I was seeking. Thank you so very much for sharing your more general points about being able to benefit from different styles of mentors at high quality schools and for a list of names too!
Second Pete and Adam at Purchase. Pete is one of the most beautiful human beings I’ve ever met, and Adam plays every Monday in the Village Vanguard orchestra. My son, who just started at Berklee, studied with Pete and Adam in jazz combos they headed up while my son participated in the Purchase jazz program as a guest student. 100% legitimate program stuffed with NYC musicians who love being educators.
Also, if Juilliard is on the list, Donald Vega is a wonderful pianist and educator, I’ve seen him play locally and in NYC a number of times and had great conversations with him about jazz education. Great man.
I will second jazzpianodad. My son is jazz guitar but did go to UNT for a certain professor that is only reserved for upperclassmen. He tested high for upper level lessons and got him BUT due to conflicts and such has sampled others there and really liked experiencing teachers with different styles. This was unexpected for him as he thought #1 was the end all be all!. I also agree with the third point. The quality of ALL studios are important. He thrives playing with top tier musicians. Lastly, Dave Meder is awesome. Give UNT a looksee. My son has been regularly challenged and the opportunity for work is tremendous. He gigs at a minimum twice, but usually 3x a week in Dallas (jazz).
One more thought….sample some summer camps? If he hasn’t already that’s how my son really narrowed down his top choices. And if not that, definitely try to tack on some quick meetings/sample lessons with piano faculty. At least for my son, it was 100% how he clicked with and the style of the professor at certain schools. He turned down a pretty good offer from another top school because he just didn’t “click” with the guitar professor. Coincidentally he is now checking out “who is where” to narrow down his grad school list.