2015 National Jazz Honors Project

Jeff Jarvis has distinguished himself as a trumpeter, composer, jazz educator, and music publisher. He serves as Director of Jazz Studies at the Bob Cole Conservatory at California State University Long Beach and is an owner of Kendor Music, Inc., the first educational music publisher to provide jazz charts written especially for student musicians. He frequently appears as an honors jazz band conductor, trumpet soloist, clinician and lecturer. Jeff is the President-Elect of the California Alliance for Jazz, has served as Vice-President of the International Association For Jazz Education and was Music Director of the Central New York Jazz Orchestra.

His solo recordings as a jazz trumpeter and composer have placed high on national air play charts and have won him critical acclaim. Jeff’s early career as a studio trumpeter encompasses over 100 recordings for such names as Lou Rawls, Michael Jackson, Melba Moore, The O’Jays and many more. Live performance credits include Dizzy Gillespie, Louie Bellson, Joe Williams, Benny Golson, Jon Hendricks, Jimmy Heath, Joe Lovano, Henry Mancini, Slide Hampton, Kevin Mahogany, Grady Tate, Eddie Daniels, Rob McConnell, and Doc Severinsen. Jeff is frequently commissioned to compose music for school, military and professional musical groups, along with serving as a contributing editor for The Instrumentalist, and writing for other music trade journals such as Flute Talk, Band & Orchestra Product News, and Jazz Educators Journal. Jarvis has co-authored The Jazz Educators Handbook with Doug Beach, a jazz piano book with Matt Harris entitled The Chord Voicing Handbook, and with Mike Carubia, Effective Etudes For Jazz, Volumes 1 & 2.

A Yamaha trumpet artist, Jeff has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and Indonesia. He has been a featured guest soloist with the USAF Airmen of Note, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Jazz Orchestra, US Army Jazz Ambassadors, Jazz Knights of the United States Military Academy Band at West Point, Riverside Jazz Orchestra, Oslo Big Band (Norway), US Army Blues, Frank Mantooth Jazz Orchestra, Denver Symphony Orchestra, USAF Shades of Blue, USAF Commanders Jazz Bands and more.