<p>Are there any liberally-minded, noconformist schools with good jazz programs that come to mind? Two I know of are Oberlin College and Wesleyan University. Are there any others you would recommend checking out? </p>
<p>If anyone has info on Wesleyan’s jazz program, that would be great. The only thing I know is that Anthony Braxton teaches there.</p>
<p>The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music (a college under the New School university umbrella) fits the bill quite well. The New School is renowned in both jazz and liberal nonconformity, and it’s in New York City - a big plus for music career opportunities. Don’t worry about the name if you want your music studies to be strictly jazz - that’s definitely still an option.</p>
<p>I completely agree with 27dreams, I am a student at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. It is certainly nonconforming, and liberal. You must be self motivated if you want to do well, no one is going to push you or anything, but with this gives you a lot of freedom. You are encouraged to create your own ensemble, rehearse and hold sessions at school, and get gigs, as well as music goes, you can literally do what ever you want to do, and study whatever you want. Once you get out of the requirements, you can actually study with any teacher in New York City for any instrument, and you can join a huge list of ensemble classes taught by legends, like ACTUAL legends. When you are constantly surrounded by these guys like Reggie Workman (played and recorded with Coltrane) and many others, you really learn the jazz tradition in an un-traditional classroom setting. Yes maybe you think it doesn’t have a good name, or maybe it’s not the most popular sounding school, but if I were you, I would look it up and check it out, the faculty list is superb and endless, and it’s location is even better. I’m always catching shows during the week after class because the school is literally a few blocks from the village, and it’s usually to see my teachers playing at some of the greatest jazz venues in the world- The Vanguard, The Standard, Smalls, Fat Cat, The Garage, ect!</p>