Jazz Studies

Chad Eby

Saxophonist and composer Chad Eby was born in Missouri in 1973. Soon after, his family moved to Iowa where he grew up and began his lifelong study of music. His musical education began on the clarinet at the age of 11, and he started to study the saxophone a year later. He went on to study music at Luther College, completing his degree in Jazz Studies at the University of North Texas. From 1995 to 1998 Eby was a featured soloist with the Dallas Jazz Orchestra and can be heard on their 1998 recording, Scrapbook. After graduating from North Texas, Eby and his wife moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he completed a Master's Degree in Saxophone Performance from Ohio State University. While in Ohio, Eby released his first album, Triptych, in 2000 which garnered critical acclaim from AllAboutJazz.com and fellow saxophonists such as Branford Marsalis and Wessel Anderson. He has shared the stage with a diverse range of artists: Regina Carter, Aretha Franklin, Branford Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton, John Pizzarelli, Dena De Rose, Evan Christopher, Lew Tabackin, Kenny Drew, Jr., and many others. Eby has toured the Far East and opened for Chick Corea and Origin on a 1999 tour of France. He is active as a composer and arranger and received the Ohio Arts Council award for jazz composition in 2003. His big band arrangements have been performed and recorded by the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, The Dallas Jazz Orchestra, and many other collegiate jazz ensembles. Eby has also been a featured guest artist and clinician with the Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra, Ashland University, Otterbein College, Luther College, Delta State University, and countless high schools. When not teaching or performing, Eby enjoys spending quality time with his wife Carmen and their children, Spenser and Mira. 336-334-3237 or email: ceeby@uncg.edu

Steve Haines

Steve Haines (double bass) directs the Miles Davis Program in Jazz Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has played or recorded with Jason Marsalis, Chad Eby, Wycliffe Gordon, Paul Bollenback, Jimmy Cobb, Joel Frahm, Ralph Bowen, Joe Chambers, Dick Oatts, Adam Nussbaum, Bob Berg, Joe Williams, and Jim Snidero.   His first album as a leader The Steve Haines Quintet: Beginner's Mind received international critical acclaim and was hailed by All About Jazz as "one of the best inside/outside records of the year." His newest album, The Steve Haines Quintet with Jimmy Cobb: Stickadiboom (Zoho records) is available at www.amazon.com , or iTunes. He also plays on a record released by Cellar Live with Chad Eby, Doug Wamble, Jason Marsalis, and Branford Marsalis. Haines holds a B.M. in Jazz Performance from St. Francis Xavier University in Canada and a M.M. in Music (Jazz Studies) from the University of North Texas, where he was a member of the UNT One O’clock Lab Band. Haines' music is published at the University of Northern Colorado Press. Steve orchestrated and arranged the musical Ella: The Life and Music of Ella Fitzgerald. This past year Steve performed in New Zealand, Czech Republic, New York City, Washington D.C., and Canada. 336-256-0105 or email: sjhaines@uncg.edu

John Salmon - click for web site

John Salmon on the UNCG piano faculty since 1989, has distinguished himself as both a classical and jazz artist. Critics have cited his “mastery and virtuosity” (La Suisse, Geneva, Switzerland), called him a “tremendous pianist” (El País, Madrid, Spain), and praised his ability to “set his audience on fire” (News & Courier, Charleston, South Carolina). He has appeared at the International Bartók Festival in Hungary, the Festival Internacional de Música del Mediterráneo in Spain, and at festivals across the U.S. His performances have been broadcast on the national radio stations of Australia, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the Ukraine; and on National Public Radio's “Performance Today,” WFMT in Chicago, and WNYC in New York. Prizes include the Premio Jaén, as well as awards from the Busoni and Maryland competitions. He holds the Solistendiplom from the Freiburg (Germany) Hochschule für Musik, the Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University of Texas. Salmon has championed piano pieces by many contemporary composers, especially Dave Brubeck who dedicated two pieces to Salmon. His two compact discs of Brubeck's piano music (Phoenix PHCD 130; and Naxos 8.559212) have received widespread critical acclaim. 336-334-5431 or email: jcsalmon@uncg.edu

Thomas Taylor

Thomas Taylor has been teaching at the University North Carolina at Greensboro as drum set professor since 2004. He is in great demand all over the Southeast for his performance as well as teaching abilities. Thomas is also one of the drum set instructors for the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz camps. He has performed with Ellis Marsalis, Kenny Garrett, Eric Alexander, Kevin Mahogany, Vanessa Rubin, David Baker, Bill Charlap, Cedar Walton, Mulgrew Miller and many others in concerts and clinics. Thomas has taught and performed at many festivals including The Northeastern State University Jazz Festival in Talequah, Oklahoma, The University of Louisville Jazz Week, The UNC Jazz Festival, IAJE conference in Toronto, The Ethno Jazz Festival in Moldova, The Odessa International Jazz Carnival in Ukraine, and served as an ambassador to the state of North Carolina by performing at the U.S. Embassy in Chisinau, Moldova. He has also been a performer and clinician in Japan , Alaska , Hawaii , and all over the continental United States . Thomas earned the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1991. Since that time he has taught at several Universities and Colleges, toured nationally and internationally, and recorded with local and national artist. 336-256-0106 or email: ThomasDrum@aol.com