Jason Hainsworth

(He/Him)
Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Special Advisor to the President
Jason Hainsworth Headshot

Contact

Bowes 201

Departments

Roots, Jazz, and American Music

Courses Taught

Baroque/Jazz Improvisation

Jazz Big Band

RJAM Music Theory

Education

MM, Jazz Performance, Florida State University

BM, Classical Performance, William Paterson University

Ensembles

Jason Hainsworth Quartet

Jason Hainsworth Big Band

Michael Dease Quintet

Ed Calle's Mamblue Orchestra

Awards and Distinctions

Downbeat Magazine's Editor's Pick, "Third Ward Stories"

Five-time Finalist for Endowed Teaching Chair Award, Broward College

...Jason Hainsworth continues the longstanding tradition of the Texas Tenors, an esteemed group of raw, hard-blowing saxophonists from the Lone Star State who pioneered a robust fusion of swing, bebop, r&b and blues.”

— Downbeat Magazine

Q&A

What is your hometown?

Houston, TX

What is your favorite recording?

Branford Marsalis’ Crazy People Music.

What are you passionate about outside of music?

Friends, family, and Xbox!

Who were your major teachers?

Dr. Robert (Doc) Morgan, Victor Goines, and Leon Anderson.

What is a favorite quote that you repeatedly tell students?

“Practice!” (That was easy.) Here's another: “All of your answers are found in the recordings.”

What question do you wish students would ask sooner rather than later?

“What's the difference between a great instrumentalist and a great musician?”

What was the defining moment when you decided to pursue music as a career?

I would say some point in high school when I realized that not only did I like music, I was obsessed with it.

If you weren't a musician or teacher, what do you think you would be doing now?

I'd be a really bad athlete.

What is your daily practice routine?

1) Long Tones
2) Overtones
3) Technical exercises (may or may not include scales)
4) Practice song(s)
5) Transcribing
6) Creating my own musical ideas
7) Playing (just for my own pleasure)
8) Place sax on stand and pick it up throughout the day to remind myself of what I've been working on
*Everything in all 12 keys!

If you could play only three composers for the rest of your life, who would they be?

Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn (I'm cheating already), John Coltrane, and Freddie Hubbard.

From a music history perspective, what year and city are most important to you?

1922 in Chicago (the year Louis Armstrong joins King Oliver's band up north and changes the jazz universe).

What are your most important collaborations?

Collaborating with the great trombonist Michael Dease, Johnathan Blake, Josh Evans, and Glenn Zaleski on my latest album and working with Linda Oh, Sharel Cassity, Tanya Darby, and Claudio Roditi on my first big band album, Kaleidoscope.

Who are three students you have had the privilege of teaching?

I have been privileged to work with Russell Hall, Patrick Bartley, and Markus Howell as members of my student big bands.

What recordings can we hear you on?

Jason Hainsworth, Third Ward Stories (Origin Records)
Michael Dease, All Hands (Posi-tone Records)
Jason Hainsworth, Kaleidoscope (DW Records)

What is your unrealized project?

A new big band album featuring my original compositions and arrangements.