Editors: The CU Jazz Ensemble will perform Friday, April 19, in Grusin Hall at the Imig Music Building, 18th Street and Euclid Ave., on the Boulder campus.
During a military tour of duty in the hills of South Korea, the last thing that John Davis, now CU-Boulder's director of jazz studies, thought he would learn was a love of education and teaching.
But that's exactly what happened to Davis, who today leads one of Colorado's fastest growing collegiate jazz programs.Ìý
Davis, 42, was named Colorado jazz educator of the year in 1996, and a number of his students and performing groups have been honored by Downbeat magazine. His expertise on trumpet has landed him gigs in touring Broadway show orchestras, ballet orchestras and appearances with Liza Minelli, Bob Hope and Conjunto Colores.ÌýÌý
Before he began racking up musical and educational achievements, Davis spent a year in South Korea in the mid-1980s with a high-speed infantry unit making all-night treks through monsoon rains to surprise enemies and spy on targets.
"It might have been rough at times, but I learned so much and, as a result, I'm a very different person today than I was before," Davis said.
Davis had cultivated a promising career as a professional trumpeter prior to his two-year Army duty, but he didn't enjoy school and had no interest in teaching.
"The students who think, 'Well, I just want to get out into the real world. I can't stand school, these classes don't make any sense, and when am I ever going to use this stuff?' That's exactly what I was saying 20 years ago," he said.
After earning a music degree from Metropolitan State College in Denver, Davis found a graduate-assistant position at the University of Denver and went on to earn a master's degree. He also began playing professionally, and in 1984 enjoyed a stint in the house band at Denver's old Fairmont Hotel. There he backed up legends like Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, George Shearing and the Platters.Ìý
But after the Fairmont gig ended and his master's program was complete, Davis was confronted with the risks of life as a freelance musician - no steady work and an uncertain future. At age 27, he looked for a new direction.
"I'd see a movie like 'Apocalypse Now' and say, 'Man, that looks really cool.' My dad had served, and my grandfather was enlisted his entire life," he said.
He joined the Army, and though he could have played in the Army band or served in other departments, he chose the infantry. It was among the rank and file soldiers, he said, that he began to really appreciate what education is all about. "I came to understand the value of being a teacher, and I wanted to become one."
He returned from service and began a doctorate program at the University of Northern Colorado. His studies were interrupted during the Persian Gulf War when his reserve unit was sent to Germany for four months of anti-terrorist and security duty. Davis said his goal became clear when he returned to school again.
"While I was at UNC, great teachers inspired me to learn as much as I could and become the best jazz educator I could. I worked hard, hoping that someday I'd have my own jazz program," he said.
After serving as UNC's assistant jazz director for six years, Davis saw his wish come true in the fall of 1999 when he was chosen to lead CU-Boulder's department. He believes that because he's been a part of the state's other major jazz programs as a student or teacher, he's in a terrific position to lead in Boulder.
"I had always admired CU-Boulder's potential for a great jazz program, as well as the setting," Davis said. "After I came here, I found people to be supportive and pleasant to work with, and an administration that is totally behind us."
At clinics and jazz festivals across North America, Davis spreads the word about CU-Boulder's program to students and the jazz community. "When I talk to my colleagues from other universities who are doing similar things, I come away realizing that what we have at CU is wonderful."