Home » Jazz News » Interview

29

Bass Trombonist/Jazz Educator Tom Everett Interviewed at All About Jazz!

Source:

Sign in to view read count
Tom Everett
It's no accident that forty years of jazz at Harvard coincides with forty years of Tom Everett at the esteemed university. Everett founded Harvard University's first student jazz band, taught its first jazz history course and welcomed the campus' first visiting jazz artist. He now leads two jazz bands at the prestigious university, continues to teach jazz history courses and welcomes a different visiting jazz artist each year, working with and commissioning works from Anthony Braxton, Dave Brubeck, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, J.J. Johnson, Steve Lacy and many others. In April 2011, Harvard celebrated “Forty Years of Jazz at Harvard" with an exhibition of manuscripts and memorabilia, a discussion about the history of jazz at Harvard, moderated by Everett and Quincy Jones Professor of African American Music Ingrid Monson, and a star-studded concert at Harvard's Sanders Theater.

Yet Everett's accomplishments at Harvard are just one part of a long career as a performer, educator and musical advocate. Everett has played with established big bands and premiered over thirty works for bass trombone in the world of classical music. Through it all, he's combined the resourcefulness and imagination of an improviser with the tireless devotion of a teacher.

Andrew J. Sammut spoke at lengthy with Everett, about the trials and tribulations of kick-starting a jazz program at a hallowed university where the first response to his suggestion was, “Harvard has not had a jazz band in its 345 years of existence. It does not need one now." The good news is Everett prevailed, and has plenty to speak about in his forty years associated with Harvard, not to mention his experiences as a performer in a variety of big bands.

Check out Tom Everett: Jazz at Harvard today, at AllAboutJazz.com!

For more information contact .

Comments

Tags

News

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.