Trombone; Jazz Studies; Winds/Brass Chamber Music Coordinator
HCD Music
Hartt Community Divisionjojacobso@hartford.edu F 19
Jordan Jacobson is a versatile musician, excelling in many genres of music from chamber music, to orchestral, to jazz.
Jordan has performed with the Hartford Symphony, Springfield Symphony, New Haven Symphony, Utah Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Kentucky Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, and the Dayton Philharmonic, as well as the Queen City Brass Quintet and the Dayton Philharmonic Brass Quintet. He also was a member of the Orchestra at Temple Square, performing, recording, and touring regularly with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
He takes a particular interest in performing new music and is a co-founder of the Hartford-based 016 New Music Ensemble.
Originally from Utah, he was a member of the Salt Lake City area salsa band, Son del Callao, and has performed with the Salt Lake City Jazz Orchestra, the Salt Lake Alternative Jazz Orchestra, and with small jazz groups under his own direction. He appeared in the Boston area as a member of the Peter Cassino Quintet.
Jordan has toured throughout the US and internationally to Russia, Finland, England, and Belgium. He has performed at the Pori Jazz Festival in Finland and at the International Association of Jazz Educators convention in Long Beach, California.
He recently completed coursework for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati (CCM) where he was the Teaching Assistant to Professor Anderson at CCM. He is also a graduate of the Longy School of Music and Brigham Young University.
His teachers include Tim Anderson, Norman Bolter, Darren Acosta, Russell McKinney, Jim Nova, Daniel Bachelder, and Bryce Mecham.
Jordan Jacobson has been on the Community Division faculty since 2009.
I believe any type of trombone playing (jazz, classical, ska, salsa) should have a basis in the fundamentals. By fundamentals, I mean the basic skills needed to play the instrument: playing with a good sound, intonation, rhythm, clarity of articulation, etc. There are certainly other aspects of playing the trombone that students can and should focus on (phrasing, style, soloing, diminished scales, to name a few), but students should spend time every day focusing on the fundamentals. This means playing lip slurs, long tones, and scales, among other things. Having fundamentals in order gives students the tools they will need to be successful when they come to any new musical situation.
I spend time in every lesson focusing on some aspect of fundamentals, but I also believe in tailoring my teaching to the needs of the student. This includes recognizing their goals and aspirations, where they are in their progress as a trombone player, and the student’s learning style. A one-size-fits-all approach does not work for most students.