The PhD Concentration in Jazz Studies at the University of Pittsburgh produces Jazz scholars and academic leaders through rigorous training in Jazz research, composition, and performance. The curriculum is both demanding and yet flexible enough to accommodate individual skills and interests, and prepares degree recipients to enter the academic marketplace with the best available preparation for researching, publishing, teaching, and leading programs in Jazz Studies. Jazz Studies combines elements of ethnomusicology, musicology, performance, composition, and theory of various styles of Jazz music.
The University of Pittsburgh is recognized as one of the premier Jazz programs in the country. Each year Pitt hosts the annual Jazz Seminar and Concert, which showcases the world's foremost jazz performers in a week-long series of free educational seminars culminating in an all-star concert. Davis retired from Pitt in 2013.
Pitt is also home to the University of Pittsburgh-Sonny Rollins International Jazz Archives, which houses important original manuscripts, recordings and related memorabilia. The Jazz Archives also include The International Academy of Jazz Hall of Fame, which each year inducts a new Jazz great into the Academy. Fine out more about Pitt's Jazz Collection.
The William R. Robinson Recording Studio is a state-of-the-art multi-track digital recording facility is both studio and classroom, offering students hands on experience in the latest recording techniques and technology.
Find out more about Jazz Studies at Pitt.
Jazz Studies Faculty
Aaron J. Johnson, Chair of the Department of Music, is a historical musicologist and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Pittsburgh. He is an accomplished Jazz musician who has performed and recorded on the trombone, bass trombone, tuba, and bass clarinet with such outstanding musicians as Reggie Workman, Charles Tolliver, Steve Turre, Frank Foster, Oliver Lake, Howard Johnson, Muhal Richard Abrams, Jimmy Heath, Wallace Roney, and Wynton Marsalis, as well as Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, and Jay-Z. Dr. Johnson's research interests include music and communications media, the structure of the music business, music and technology, film music, funk, and music information retrieval (MIR). His book, Jazz and Radio in the United States, was recently published by the University of Illinois Press.
Yoko Suzuki is a Teaching Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Her long-term research explores the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality in Jazz performance through the lenses of feminist theories. Other projects include popular music and DJ culture in Japan, performance practices of the Black church, and the music of Geri Allen. She aspires in her research to illuminate underrecognized musicians and their work, addressing the issues of race, gender, and sexuality to eradicate social injustice. In addition to teaching and research, Dr. Suzuki maintains an active performance career in the Pittsburgh Jazz scene.
Chad E. Taylor is Artistic Director of Jazz Studies and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Pittsburgh. He is a prolific Jazz musician and composer who has performed in more than 2,500 international concerts. He has shared the stage and recorded with artists such as Pharaoh Sanders, Marc Ribot, Eric Revis, James Brandon Lewis, J.D. Allen, Dave Burrell, Jaimie Branch, Mary Halvorson, Kris Davis, Jeff Parker, Nicole Mitchell, Matana Roberts, Darius Jones, Marty Ehrlich, Craig Taborn, Rob Mazurek, Fred Anderson, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Roscoe Mitchell, Marshall Allen, Lou Donaldson, Angelica Sanchez, Joe Chambers, David Liebman, Tony Malaby, William Parker, Aruan Ortiz, Tomeka Reid, Henry Grimes, Ken Vandermark, Steve Swell, amongst others. In addition, he leads the Chad Taylor Trio, Circle Down Trio, and the Chad Taylor Quintet. His research interests include analysis of autonomous musical systems for improvisation, the influence of African ideology on Jazz music during the 1970s, and the history of idiophones in Jazz performance.