Articles by Joan Gaylord
Gary Bartz: Students Are Learning But They Are Learning Backwards!
by Joan Gaylord
"This is folk music. It is good that we have it in the schools, but we need to get it back more into the street--that's where it came from." When saxophonist Gary Bartz is not headlining his own band or touring with McCoy Tyner, he is a professor in the Jazz Studies department of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. His students are among the most talented and best prepared musicians of their generation. However, Bartz is convinced ...
read moreSteve Wilson: Music Education Is In Crisis
by Joan Gaylord
"I think jazz education, frankly, is in crisis." Saxophonist Steve Wilson voiced this strong opinion in response to a recent article about the effects that budget cuts have had on many American school music programs. Sitting in a practice room at Juilliard, he shared his concerns about the current state of music education and how he has watched things change over the last 20 years. An accomplished musician, Wilson is also an educator who has served ...
read moreWill Budget Cuts Hurt Jazz Education's Swing in the USA?
by Joan Gaylord
Though economic indicators suggest we are slowly emerging from the Great Recession here in the United States, repercussions could echo through the jazz world for a generation. The past five or so years of extreme cuts to public school budgets--especially the arts programs-- could mean a dearth of well-trained, young musicians.“I am seeing students arrive proficient only in the basic instruments," said trombonist Chris Washburne, director of the jazz performance program at Columbia University. “Finding a well-trained trombone ...
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