Division of Jazz Studies

I was a Jazz Studies major with an emphasis in arranging at UNT in the mid 90s. I was there three semesters. I studied under Head of the Piano Department, Jack Roberts, making my student-teacher lineage one that traces back to Franz Liszt.

Collaborations include Deon Estus, Tom Goss, Peter Bufano, Mark Nemer, Brian McRae, Pat McGrath, Steve Goodie, Jim Clark, Kevin Breuner, Wages Argott, fellow alum Cameron Morgan, and Nashville producer and award winning songwriter, Dave Tough, also a fellow UNT alum.

I've toured in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus band for twelve years playing keyboards and doing sound effects for live acrobatic and daredevil stunts. I have performed over 4000 shows for millions of circus fans in sold out arenas from LA’s Staples Center to Chicago's United Center and Houston's Reliant Stadium. Recordings of my playing have been heard on the Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, national parade broadcasts, DVDs, and commercials.

In 2010 while living on the circus train I produced the first album ever made on a train, Strange Town. It is a singer/songwriter tribute to New York City.

See more at www.ryanstates.com

Congratulations to UNT alumnus and current USC student Alex Hahn for winning Eastman Music Company's Perform With Mintzer contest and to Fall 2015 graduate Mark Hartsuch for being named a finalist!

Congratulations to Fall 2015 UNT graduate Mark Hartsuch for being named a semifinalist in the Julius Keilwerth Saxophone Idol Competition!

In May 2015, pianist David Morgenroth became the first student to complete the DMA in Performance with local concentration in Jazz Studies at UNT. David had previously earned the M.M. in Jazz Studies at UNT in 1991. During his doctoral work he served as a teaching fellow in piano and jazz small groups. His related field was in collaborative piano. His dissertation work includes three recitals and a dissertation in which he studied collaborations between jazz pianists and vocalists. Read more about David's work at www.davidmorgenroth.com.

This is the abstract of his dissertation, followed by a Q&A and an excerpt from the dissertation. His dissertation advances the scholarly conversation about collaborations between jazz pianists and vocalists and the study of expressive microtiming, and creates new possibilities for research by bringing the together the literature on collaboration in jazz and in Western art music.

Professor emeritus Dan Haerle has published The Essential Jazz Harmony Book, available at www.jazzbooks.com.

Anyone who browses this list of the top 25 US jazz guitar schools with UNT in mind is likely to notice two things: First, our program is listed at no. 7, which is a credit to Professor Fred Hamilton, veteran adjunct instructors Rich McLure and Noel Johnston, and generations of hard-working students. Second, our program is very affordable. For more information about the cost of attendance:

College of Music Admissions page
http://music.unt.edu/admissions/cost-of-attendance

Notice this PDF, which compares cost of attendance at various schools using publicly-available information:
http://music.unt.edu/sites/default/files/CostOfAttendanceFacts2014.pdf

UNT tuition costs and payment plans
https://studentaccounting.unt.edu/tuition-and-fees
As you study the pages that show tuition charges by credit hour, remember that undergraduate students typically take between 15 and 18 credit hours, and graduate students take 9 or 10.
Non-Texas resident students (including international students) who receive a competitive UNT scholarship of $1,000 or more, which can be music or academic, get to pay Texas resident tuition rates.

NARAS members, for your consideration, here’s an excerpt from “Neil” by Rich DeRosa, from Lab 2015, which has been nominated for a Grammy in the Best Instrumental Composition Category. Performed by the UNT One O’Clock Lab Band, directed by Jay Saunders. To listen to the complete track, visit theoneoclock.com.

Rich DeRosa's composition "Neil" from Lab 2015 has been nominated for a Grammy in the Best Instrumental Composition category.

Forged in the halls of UNT's music building, now New York/Denton based group AMP Trio releases their second album "m(y)our world" today. AMP Trio is pianist Addison Frei, drummer Matt Young and bassist Perrin Grace. Frei and Grace are recent alumni; Young is a current student. They're joined by UNT alumni Drew Zaremba (organ); Tahira Clayton (voice), Brad Kang (guitar) and current student Nicholas Rothouse (percussion).

View their premiere video "Sun Rays" directed by Andy LaViolette of Mr. Magic Carpet Ride Productions and composed by Perrin Grace, featuring organist Drew Zaremba, guitarist Brad Kang and percussionist Nicholas Rothouse.

You can purchase "m(y)our world" with these two links.
Physical copies on CDBaby http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/AmpTrio
Digital tracks on BandCamp https://amptrio.bandcamp.com/releases

Check out their social media pages
FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/amptriomusic
Twitter https://twitter.com/AMPTrio
Instagram https://instagram.com/amp_trio
www.amptrio.com http://www.amptrio.com/

Jazz Studies Senior Lecturer Rosana Eckert and Doctoral Teaching Fellow Justin Binek are two of the seven featured in-app collections on Michele Weir's new ScatAbility app for iOS. Available at the App Store, ScatAbility is the first scat singing practice app for iPhone. More information and audio samples are available at www.michmusic.com.

Michael sent this information:

Harmonics for the Bass Guitarist & Contemporary Composer demystifies the often misunderstood and overlooked extended technique for electric bass. It begins by introducing the student to the Harmonic Series and follows by mapping out and notating the all obtainable harmonics. The harmonics are then reduced into three main positions, with ample scales and chords presented in each position. The book concludes with 14 Etudes that put the theory into practice. Throughout the book, the bassist is confronted with material that he/she is already familiar with, thereby accelerating the learning process. The composer can use the book as a reference on what to avoid, what to approach with caution, and what to use without constraint.

Author, bassist, composer and educator Michael Kraft holds a Master's degree in Jazz Composition from the Swiss Jazz School, a Master's in Jazz Performance from the State University of Performing Arts in Stuttgart, Germany and a Bachelor of Science in Music Business from Middle Tennessee State University. Notable teachers included Gerry Hemingway, Django Bates, Frank Sikora, Klaus König, Heiri Känzig and Dr. Edward Rainbow.