The Jazz Studies Program at UCLA
Jazz had been playing in the background of UCLA’s academic program for decades
when it stepped up for a featured performance in 1996. The Jazz Studies Program
was born, with Kenny Burrell leading an ensemble of first-rate musicians as
well as scholars whose expertise provided historical and cultural context.In a program that combines combo classes, private lessons, and big band ensembles with lectures on jazz theory and other subjects, the idea from the start was to provide students with a strong academic foundation as well as an opportunity to develop their musical talents. Representatives of the sponsoring departments—Steve Loza from ethnomusicology and Gordon Henderson from music—helped Professor Burrell construct a curriculum.
Faculty were already offering some jazz-related academic courses, which now became part of Jazz Studies. Three-time Grammy nominee Gerald Wilson was teaching Development of Jazz, Jacqueline DjeDje offered courses in African and African American musical heritage, Robert Walser taught History of Jazz, and Professor Burrell taught Ellingtonia.
However, a faculty of musicians had to be assembled almost from scratch. “I got on the phone and because I have a name in this business and because I know so many great musicians, they answer my phone calls,” Professor Burrell says. “I know the ones who are articulate, and I called the ones who might be wanting to do some teaching.” Nearly everyone said yes.
In just a couple of months, a faculty was assembled that included Billy Childs on piano, Oscar Brassear on trumpet, Roberto Miranda on bass, Billy Higgins on drums, and Harold Land on saxophone. Michele Weir, Barbara Morrison, and Ruth Price “cover the whole spectrum of the vocal area,” Professor Burrell says.
Herbie Hancock, who spent two weeks on campus in February 1997 as a Regents’ Lecturer, has said it’s the best jazz faculty in the nation. That faculty has been a major draw for students, who have shown a strong interest in the Jazz Studies program.
However, students also like the idea of studying jazz at a university where other parts of their education will be of similar caliber. Like all UCLA undergraduates, those in Jazz Studies have the advantages that go with studying at a prestigious research university: a first-rate general education, access to a wide range of electives, and the opportunity to meet students and faculty of diverse backgrounds and interests.
Graduates receive a BA degree in ethnomusicology, with a Jazz Studies concentration. They can—and do—pursue careers in jazz performance, composition, arranging, research, and teaching.
Not surprisingly for a man who has made music his life’s work, music remains at the heart of the educational venture for Professor Burrell. He wants students who choose performing to be prepared to deal with the business side of that work, while others are ready to pursue research or teaching careers.
But most of all, he wants the students to feel the excitement of studying jazz. “I want the students to discover the joy that comes with playing, and especially playing their own stuff,” he says. “When the band’s cookin’, there’s nothing like it.”