Jazz Studies at CalStateLA offers students a highly stimulating, challenging, and inspiring creative environment that prepares them to become successful jazz performers, educators, composers and arrangers and recording artists. Many alumni of the program are recognized professionals who have developed outstanding careers as performers, composers and arrangers, and educators.
Our Jazz Studies faculty encourages each student to bring his or her own unique musical, cultural, and ethnic identity to the study of jazz. We recognize that for jazz to remain a vital art form, it needs each individual to make a unique contribution and help shape the future of this great American music genre. Students immerse themselves in deep study of the jazz tradition at CalStateLA. Musical interactions with faculty and fellow students allow each person to find a natural creative flow as one develops a personal musical voiceOur goal is to allow each student to prepare for the professional career in music and develop as the jazz artist that he or she envisions.
Jazz Studies is ideally positioned as a rich learning environment to prepare jazz and studio musicians of the future. The intimate size of the music department allows each student ample personal attention with our jazz faculty, all of whom are working musicians in the active Southern California professional music scene. Jazz Studies students with interests in commercial music, film scoring, music technology or Afro-Latin music have opportunities to incorporate courses and ensemble experiences in those areas of study as part of their jazz studies degree program. In addition, students have abundant opportunities to engage with the wider jazz community in the Los Angeles area.
Degree Programs in Jazz
Students may engage in jazz study through a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree program of through the more rigorous Bachelor of Music: option in jazz studies. The choice of undergraduate degree program should be made in consultation with the jazz studies faculty.
Graduate students may also emphasize jazz studies courses as part of the Master of Arts in Music degree.
The Jazz Faculty
The jazz studies faculty are active music professionals with a passionate commitment to providing the knowledge, skill, and performing experience necessary for students to successfully enter the world of professional jazz opportunities. In addition to the regular jazz faculty in the program, students have opportunities for master classes with jazz professionals such as Benny Maupin and Jeff Hamilton.
Jazz Ensembles at CalStateLA
- Jazz Orchestra
- Jazz Combos
- Vocal Jazz