DEASE
MICHAEL
Yamaha Trombone Artist
Whitworth University Jazz Orchestra
Dr. Jared Hall, director
An Evening with Guest Artist, trombonist Michael Dease Thursday, May 7, 7:30 p.m.
Bing Crosby Theater, Spokane, Wash.
PROGRAM
In a Mellow Tone Duke Ellington (1899-1974), arr. Oliver Nelson (1932-1975)
Sagebrush Annie Booth (b. 1982)
Loverman Jimmy Davis (1909-2000), Roger “Ram” Ramirez (1913-1994), Jimmy Sherman (1908 -1991), arr. Sammy Nestico (1924 -2021)
Ms. B.C. Pamela Baskin Watson (b. 1953), arr. Robert Watson (b. 1953)
Blue Bobby Shew (b.1941), arr. Gordon Brisker (1937-2004)
Transit Darcy James Argue (b.1975)
INTERMISSION
Is That So?
Duke Pearson (1932-1980) arr. Michael Dease (b. 1982)
Grand Seiko Michael Dease, arr. Mike Tomaro (b. 1966)
I’m Glad There Is You
Autumn Leaves
Jimmy Dorsey (1904-1957) Michael Dease
Johnny Mercer (1909-1976) arr. Michael Dease
Caravan Duke Ellington, arr. Dan Keberle (b. 1947)
About Michael Dease
2025 Guggenheim Fellow Michael Dease is one of the world's eminent trombonists, lending his versatile sound and signature improvisations to over 250 recordings and groups as diverse as Grammy winning artists David Sanborn, Christian McBride, Michel Camilo, and Alicia Keys. Born in Augusta, GA, he played the saxophone and trumpet before choosing the trombone at age 17. In 2001, Dease moved to New York City to become part of the historic first class of jazz students at The Juilliard School, earning both Bache lors and Masters degrees, and quickly established a reputation as a brilliant soloist, sideperson, and bandleader.
Flow (Posi-Tone, 2025), Dease ’s newest release, his twenty-first as a band leader and eleventh on Posi -Tone, gathers together an assemblage of exceptional musicians to help him interactively explore the essence of melody, rhythm, and feeling with his diverse crew of long-term collaborators and gifted newcomers. Pleasure -forward, Flow entices, refreshes, buoys and inspires.
Dease, a 5x winner of the DownBeat Magazine Poll for Trombonist of the Year and multi -Grammy award winner, is also a sought-after lead, section and bass trombonist with today ’s leading jazz orchestras. His experiences include bands led by Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton, Charles Tolliver, Rufus Reid, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Dizzy Gillespie All -Star Big Band. However, it is on the frontline of quintets and sextets led by master musicians like The Heath Brothers, Winard Harper, Renee Rosnes, Bill Charlap, Claudio Roditi, and Lewis Nash, where Dease has revitalized the trombone ’s image. Not content to simply improvise, Dease arranges and composes for many different bands, constantly adjusting his tone and timbre to add just the right flavor to the music.
Dease’s unique blend of curiosity, hard work and optimism has helped him earn worldwide recognition, including awards from ASCAP, The International Trombone Association, Yamaha, Eastern Trombone Workshop, New York Youth Symphony, Hot House Ma gazine, Michigan State University, among others. Dease was profiled in Cicily Janus ’ book, The New Face of Jazz: An Intimate Look at Today ’s Living Legends (Random House). His experience in the studio has led him to
produce several recording sessions for e merging artists, often composing and writing liner notes for the releases.
Dease’s singular talent has made him an effective and prolific teacher, resulting in invitations, master classes and residencies at University of North Texas, Scranton University, University of Iowa, Florida State College, Broward College, and many institutions abroad. He serves as the Red Cedard Distinguished Professor of Jazz Trombone at the renowned Michigan State University jazz program and has also been on faculty at Queens Co llege - CUNY, The New School and Northeastern University. Many of Dease’s current and former students are enjoying successful careers in the music world. For his teaching contributions, he has been recognized with the JEN Ellis Marsalis Jr. Jazz Educator of the Year, William J. Beal Oustanding Faculty Award, MSU Teacher Scholar Award and as the 2019 Michigan Association of State Universities Distinguished Professor of the Year.
Always an informed, but forward -thinking musician, Dease learned the craft from trombone legends Wycliffe Gordon and Joseph Alessi. His associations have run the entire spectrum of musical experience: Alicia Keys, Paul Simon, Paul Schaffer and the CBS Orchestra, Elton John, Neal Diamond, Illinois Jacquet, Slide Hampton & The World of Trombones, Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, WDR Big Band, George Gruntz, Billy Harper, and numerous others.
Dease enjoys spending every possible minute with his extraordinary wife and Professor of Percussion at MSU, Gwendolyn Dease, and their daughters, Brooklyn & Charly. Michael Dease is a Yamaha Performing Artist and uses Pickett Brass and Vandoren mouthpieces exclusively. Dease uses GARD bags for trumpets and trombones.
About the Whitworth University Jazz Orchestra & Jazz Program
The Whitworth Jazz Orchestra is one component of the jazz studies program at Whitworth University. Established in 1988 under the direction of Professor Dan Keberle, the group is one of the finest university-level jazz bands in the country. It been the winning university jazz band at numerous Lionel Hampton Jazz Festivals, was one of the top five university jazz bands to be honored at the 46 th and 50th annual Elmhurst (Chicago) collegiate Jazz Festivals and has been honored by being selected to perform at Washington All-St ate and AllNorthwest Music Educator Conventions. It has also been listed
in JazzTimes magazine one of the top jazz education programs in the U.S.
Touring annually each year both around the U.S. and internationally, the music ensembles at Whitworth Unive rsity value student’s cultural experiences and interactions with all people in our globalized world. The Whitworth Jazz Orchestra has experienced a dozen international performance tours to Italy, Brazil, Thailand, Germany, Australia, Cuba, with national tours to Hawaii, New York, New Orleans, and Chicago. The ensemble also performs regular concerts on campus, in public schools, at civic events, and jazz festivals.
The Whitworth Jazz Orchestra features yearly guest artist performances with renown jazz musicians such as Pat Metheny, Joshua Redman, Arturo Sandoval, Kenny Garrett, Bob Mintzer, Branford Marsalis, Maria Schneider, Ellis Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Tierney Sutton, Nicholas Payton, Steve Turre, Kenny Barron, Randy Brecker, Phil Woods, Chris Pott er, and many others. Masterclasses are held regularly with these phenomenal artists, as well as with touring world-class jazz musicians, to create unique opportunities for our students to learn about and experience this art form. The Whitworth music progra m offers numerous jazz scholarships of significant large amounts, which when combined with the university’s large academic scholarships, provide an opportunity to pay no more than they would at a state university.
In Fall 2022, Jared Hall became the new D irector of Jazz Studies and director of the Whitworth Jazz Orchestra. Since Hall’s arrival, the band has performed with vocalist Tierney Sutton , trumpeter Terrell Stafford, saxophonist Melissa Aldana, guitarist Russell Malone, and trumpeter Brian Lynch . They have traveled to perform at the Leavenworth Jazz Festival 2024 and the Jazz Education Network Conference 2025, in addition to performances at numerous local high schools.
About the Director
Blending post-bop tradition with modern harmonic storytelling, trumpeter and composer Jared Hall creates music defined by lyricism, rhythmic clarity, and expressive depth. A Spokane native and Whitworth University alum, Hall first picked up the trumpet in fifth grade, captivated by the sounds of Lee Morgan and Miles Davis a spark that continues to shape his voice today. A past winner of the National Trumpet Competition – Jazz Division (2013), Hall has been described by Earshot Jazz as “a fiercely expressive soloist, equally grounded in tradition and innovation.” He has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz and commercial legends, including Maria Schneider, Paquito D’Rivera, Terence Blanchard, Arturo Sandoval, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Peter Erskine, George Benson, Johnny Mathis, Gloria Estefan, Wycliffe Gordon, Vincent Herring, Troy Roberts, and many others. Known for his expressive tone and dynamic improvisation, Hall has performed on prominent stages and festivals including Carnegie Hall, Benaroya Hall, The Triple Door, the Bellevue Jazz Festival, Gene Harris Jazz Festival, and Leavenworth Jazz Festival. He has also been a featured soloist with the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, Symphony Tacoma, South Florida Jazz Orchestra, and Spokane Jazz Orchestra.
Hall’s latest album, Influences (Origin Records, 2024), follows Seen on the Scene (2021) and his debut, Hallways (2017). His music has been praised by All About Jazz, Jazz Weekly, and JazzTimes, which described his work as “fiery and fluid... steeped in tradition but pushing forward.” His extensive discography also includes Home at Last (2024), Inventions (2021), and Cheap Thrills: The Music of Rick Margitza (2020), North By Freaking Northwest (2019), and Jazz & The Philharmonic (2014), among others.
As a passionate educator, Hall has presented clinics at the Jazz Education Network Conference, NAfME Northwest Division Conference, and Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA). He has taught at institutions including the University of Miami, Indiana University, Northwest University, Pacific Lutheran University, and Jazz Night School. Since 2022, he has served as Director of Jazz Studies at Whitworth University, where he directs jazz ensembles, gives private lessons, and teaches music education courses. Hall’s students have gone on to win DownBeat Student Music
Awards, earn scholarships to prestigious graduate institutions such as Manhattan School of Music, Berklee College of Music, University of North Texas, and University of Northern Colorado, launching professional careers of their own as performers and educators.
Hall is Artistic Director of the Leavenworth Jazz Association, and coauthor of The Piano Grip System (2020), a widely used resource for non-pianists learning jazz harmony and theory. Hall remains an active performer throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond where his mentorship continues to shape the next generation of jazz artists and educators.
The Whitworth University Jazz Orchestra 2025-26
Saxophones
Alto 1 – Will Peterson ’26, Music Education
Tenor 1 – Christopher Rodriguez -Chen ’28, Music Education
Alto 2 – Jonathan Morris ’28, Jazz Performance
Tenor 2 – Nick Kar ’27, Math & Secondary Education
Baritone – Jesiah Le ’27, Computer Science
Trumpets
Julia Maher ’26, Music Education
Anthony Cao ’27, Music Education
Alex Rilkoff ’28, Engineering
Alexis Hochberg ’28, Music Education
Adonis Hartz -Upham ’29, Music Education
Trombones
Sawyer Peterson ’29, Engineering
Will Strauch ’28, Trombone Performance
Alan Gemberling (Guest)
Michael Perry ’27, Music Education
Rhythm
Guitar – William Farley ’28, Violin Performance
Piano – Silas Farley ’26, Business Management
Bass – Nate Moody ’26, Music Composition
Bass – London Meredith ’28, Business Administration
Drums – Max Bartron ’27, Jazz Performance
Drums – Ryland Gabriel ’26, Psychology
Whitworth University Jazz Faculty
Jared Hall – Whitworth Jazz Orchestra Director, Trumpet
Brent Edstrom – Piano, Theory, Composition , and Music Production
Chris Parkin – Saxophone
Brian Ploger – Studio Jazz Ensemble Director
Fabián Carrera – Guitar
Kim Plewniak – Upright Bass
Tom Shook – Piano
Rick Westrick – Drums and Percussion
Brendan McMurphy – Drums and Percussion
SPECIAL THANKS TO
The Sahlin Music Endowment
ASWU
WHITWORTH UNIVERSITY
Since 1890, Whitworth has held fast to its founding mission to provide “an education of mind and heart” through rigorous intellectual inquiry guided by dedicated Christian scholars. Recognized as one of the top regional colleges and universities in the West, Whitworth University h as an enrollment of about 2,500 students and offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Whitworth University’s 200-acre campus of red-brick buildings and tall pines offers a beautiful, inviting and secure learning environment. More than $135 million in campus improvements have been made in recent years, including an expanded music center, a renovated auditorium stage, an expanded dining hall, a rec center, a science hall, an athletics leadership center and a graduate health sciences bu ilding.
In all of its endeavors, Whitworth seeks to advance its founder ’s mission of equipping students to “honor God, follow Christ and serve humanity. ”
For application information: Office of Admissions
Whitworth University 300 W. Hawthorne Road Spokane, WA 99251
509.777.3212
admissions@whitworth.edu whitworth.edu/admissions
MUSIC AT WHITWORTH
The Whitworth University Music Department, accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, provides superb training in music as well as a thorough introduction to this essential element of the liberal arts. Whitworth music majors have gone on to prestigious graduate schools, fulfilling performance careers and successful teaching positions. Also, many non-music majors participate in the university’s renowned touring ensembles and enroll in private lessons through the music department. Whitworth University offers bachelor of arts degrees in composition, music production & songwriting, instrumental performance, jazz performance, string pedagogy, voice performance, and music education. Music scholarships are available to both music majors and non-majors.
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