Jazz Faculty at PLU| Director of Jazz Studies | University Jazz Ensemble/Combos Jazz Theory/Jazz History Advanced Jazz Improvisation/Jazz Arranging  Dr. David Deacon-Joyner is Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at Pacific Lutheran University. He is a native of Memphis, Tennessee, mentored by jazz piano great James Williams. He studied composition with Donald Freund and Jonathan Kramer, and ethnomusicology with David Evans. Dr. Deacon-Joyner came to western Washington from the University of North Texas in Denton, where he held the position of Associate Professor of Jazz Studies from 1986 to 2000. He received his Bachelors degree in composition and Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Memphis, and his Masters degree in composition from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Dr. Deacon-Joyner has served as a clinician and adjudicator at festivals and workshops in Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Ohio, Oregon, Nevada, California, New Mexico, Idaho, and Washington. He is the lead instructor for the Great Basin Jazz Camp, a summer jazz camp held at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls. A scholar in jazz and popular music, he has written numerous published articles and books, including a chapter for The Cambridge History of American Music and the third edition of his history text American Popular Music, published by McGraw-Hill. He has free-lanced for over thirty years in the Memphis, Cincinnati, and Dallas/Fort Worth areas. He has performed with jazz artists such as Bobby Shew, Marvin Stamm, Marc Johnson, Ed Soph, and others. Dr. Deacon-Joyner is a professional vocalist in both studio and live settings, and is a composer and arranger. He currently arranges big band charts for Jeff Coffin, saxophonist with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and the Jeff Coffin Mu'tet, published by UNC Press. Guitar |  Dr. Stephen Howland is a guitarist, composer, arranger, and songwriter. He currently teaches both jazz and classical guitar at Pacific Lutheran University. He is a native of Walla Walla, Washington. He has nearly thirty years of experience as a professional musician. He has played in nightclub bands-- jazz trios, combos, and big bands-- and a wide variety of classical and early music ensembles. He has been a featured guitarist-composer in new music festivals and a visiting concert artist and clinician at universities, colleges, and music societies throughout the West. He has been featured on recordings as a jazz soloist with big band, classical and early music chamber musician, solo guitarist in various styles, and writer and studio guitarist for independent pop artists and bands. He has arranged and performed a diverse range of music for solo guitar and mixed ensembles. Dr. Howland earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance from Arizona State University, Master of Music from ASU, and Bachelor of Music from the University of Idaho. He received the highest marks and many academic honors and awards, including a teaching assistantship at ASU, the Presser Award, and the Eleanor Mader Memorial String Award. Dr. Howland also teaches at Rosewood Guitar in Seattle. Piano |  Dan Kramlich returned to Seattle from Western Michigan University, where he received a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies. While in Michigan, he studied with Fred Hersch, Billy Hart, and Dr. Steve Zegree. Dan currently performs with many local groups, including the Javatown Swing Orchestra, the Jim Sisko Quartet, The New Four, and his own piano trio. He has performed with such jazz greats as Slide Hampton, Randy Brecker, David Sanchez, and Bob Mintzer, and has performed in master classes for Rufus Reid, Eric Reed, Jim McNeely, and Clare Fischer. In addition to his work at PLU, Dan is the jazz piano instructor at Seattle Pacific University, and at Creative Music Adventures in Seattle. Bass | 
Clipper Anderson is one of the Northwest's leading Bassists. Playing all styles on acoustic and electric bass, Clipper is a composer, studio musician, vocalist and educator. He was described in Seattle’s premier jazz magazine Earshot as being “...a player for the connoisseur to savor.” A native of Polson, Montana, Clipper began playing electric electric bass in 1973. Six months later he was selected by Rich Matteson as the All-Star bass player in Montana State University’s statewide high school jazz festival. Clipper was educated at the University of Montana, where he studied classical bass under Frank Diliberto and Jazz Workshop under Lance Boyd. It was there that he began to master the acoustic bass. The list of recordings on which Clipper appears is both long and impressive, including five with award winning Seattle jazz vocalist, Greta Matassa. He has recently performed with jazz artists, Micheal Brecker, Dave Samuels, Peter Erskine, Bruce Forman, Tamir Hendelman, Bob Mintzer, Lew Soloff, Bucky Pizzarelli, Benny Golson, Paquito D’Rivera, Phil Woods and Buddy DeFranco. Clipper appears in jazz festivals throughout the Northwest and Canada and has been a featured guest artist, annually, at the Buddy DeFranco/ U of M Jazz Festival and the Port Townsend Jazz Festival. He currently teaches jazz bass studies at Pacific Lutheran University. http://www.myspace.com/clipperanderson
http://seattlejazzscene.com/?p=775
| Drum set |  Maria Joyner is an active musician and jazz educator in Western Washington. As an educator, Maria has taught private drum lessons for twelve years, and participated in jazz combo and jazz vocal workshops in Oregon, Washington, and Texas. She is currently in demand as a clinician working with many college, junior high and high school jazz bands throughout western washington. Maria has over ten years experience performing jazz, big band, rock, and country in the Seattle, Portland, and Dallas areas. While earning a bachelor's degree in jazz studies from the University of North Texas, she performed with such local Dallas groups as the Dallas Jazz Orchestra, Pete Peterson and the Collection. She has also made appearances with Herb Ellis, Jack Peterson, and the Jimmy Dorsey Band. She is former director of the Seattle Women's Jazz Orchestra, and frequently performs with Seattle's Emerald City Jazz Orchestra and the Jay Thomas Big Band, and leads her own trio. Maria was chosen by international audition to be a member of the 2004 Sisters In Jazz, a collegiate all-women jazz combo sponsored by the International Association for Jazz Education and Black Entertainment Television. With the SIJ, Maria performed at the IAJE annual conference in New York City and at the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. She holds a masters degree from the University of Washington. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||