News

Leadership Through the Jazz Paradigm

by Dr. J.B. Dyas, Institute Vice President for Education and Curriculum Development This article originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of JazzEd Magazine. Jazz is being performed all over the world in every kind of venue imaginable – jazz clubs, concert halls, festivals, universities, high schools, coffee shops, shopping malls, hotel lobbies, restaurants, art museums, and more. But who would have thought that the U.S. […]

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Updates to International Jazz Day, April 30

COVID-19 pandemic necessitates changes to 9th annual worldwide celebration of jazz Call for artists and fans around the world to self-create video messages to be streamed worldwide on International Jazz Day WASHINGTON, D.C. – Due to ongoing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, the International Jazz Day 2020 Global Host Celebration in Cape Town […]

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Institute Education VP Presents Jazz Piano Clinic at Annual SCSBOA Conference

Dr. JB Dyas, the Institute’s Vice President for Education and Curriculum Development, presented a piano voicings workshop and participated in a best practices panel discussion at the 2020 Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA) Annual Conference. The three-day conference welcomed more than 500 band directors, music teachers, and honors students representing elementary, middle and […]

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National Performing Arts High Schools Students Perform at 2020 JEN Conference in New Orleans

Combos from three partner schools in the Institute’s National Performing Arts High Schools Jazz Program participated in the annual Jazz Education Network (JEN) Conference in New Orleans on January 8 and 9, 2020. The Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts) Jazz Quartet and a combo of top students from the Baltimore School for the […]

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Remembering Jimmy Heath

The Institute is heartbroken to learn of the passing of Institute trustee Jimmy Heath, a giant of jazz who left an indelible mark on the music he loved and helped shape. At the age of 93, Heath was a living legend who bore that mantle with characteristic good humor and humility. In more than 70 […]

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Getting the Band Back Together: National Peer-to-Peer Quintet performs at 2019 Competition

The 2019 edition of the Herbie Hancock Institute National Peer-to-Peer Jazz Quintet, comprising five of the most impressive high school jazz musicians in the country, recently reunited to perform at the Institute’s International Jazz Guitar Competition Finals & All-Star Gala at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC on December 3rd. On the same bill as such […]

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2019 Guitar Competition Finalists Share Stage with Terence Blanchard, Herbie Hancock & Others at All-Star Gala Concert

Washington, DC – The 2019 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Guitar Competition and All-Star Gala Concert came to a thrilling conclusion following the announcement of Evgeny Pobozhiy, 30, of Seversk, Russia, as first place winner of the Competition.  Pobozhiy then joined the evening’s honoree, Terence Blanchard, and a host of jazz guitar legends onstage for a […]

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Semifinalists Announced for 2019 Guitar Competition, December 2-3 in Washington, D.C.

Competition Festivities Include All-Star Gala Concert Honoring Renowned Trumpeter/Composer Terence Blanchard Washington, D.C. —Twelve outstanding young jazz guitarists from around the world have been selected to compete in the 2019 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Guitar Competition on December 2-3 in Washington, D.C. The semifinalists are: Cecil Alexander of Muskegon, Michigan; Joseph Bell of Princeton, New […]

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Newport Festivals Foundation supports Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA with donation of instruments

The Newport Festivals Foundation made a generous donation of musical instruments to the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, helping to ensure that current and future students in the program will have access to top-of-the-line tools for honing their craft. The Sakae drumset, Zildjian cymbals and Korg […]

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Dr. Dyas in DownBeat: Tour Etiquette for Young Musicians

The following is an excerpt from the article “Road Rules: Tour Etiquette for Young Musicians” by Institute Vice President, Education and Curriculum Development Dr. JB Dyas, which appears in the October 2019 issue of DownBeat Magazine. Touring can be an exhilarating and rewarding experience–if you are prepared for it. But if you’re not prepared, being on the road can be a drag for the entire band and […]

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