From ‘Maple Leaf Rag’ to Master’s degrees at USC

The University of Southern California is home to one of the oldest, free-standing jazz departments in the country. But the idea of getting a formal jazz education is something relatively new that would’ve been quite foreign to the founders of the musical tradition.

Jelly Roll Morton is widely considered one of the essential early jazz musicians and made his living playing jazz in the roughest joints and clubs across the country. His experience was radically different from that of musicians today who are generally respected by a public that sees jazz as a legitimate art form. It’s safe to say that there weren’t any jazz performances being held in beautiful concert halls during the majority of Jelly Roll Morton’s life.

Improvisation is the foundational principle of jazz and many have questioned whether learning the music in a university environment is effective. “To really be able to do this, you don’t learn that in school,” contemporary trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah said in a performance for Paste Magazine.

Despite skepticism, the number of students headed to jazz school is on the rise. Today, a large majority of the best musicians that play at the best clubs have some form of professional jazz education. And many great contemporary musicians are employed by universities to teach students jazz music.

Jason Goldman, the chair of the jazz department at USC, is no exception. In addition to completing his undergraduate education at the Berklee College of Music, he also holds advanced degrees from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and USC.

For Goldman, going to jazz school is definitely not a must, but the merits of spending time working with faculty and other students are invaluable. In addition to learning a lot about music, he wants students to learn a lot about life and a lot about working with other people.