Jeff Wolfe – Director of Jazz Studies and Assistant Professor of Trumpet
Jeff Wolfe is the Director of Jazz Studies at Marshall University, where he teaches various courses across the jazz studies curriculum, as well as applied trumpet (jazz emphasis). He also conducts the MU Jazz Ensemble I, and founded the MU Soul Stampede, a pop/soul commercial music ensemble. Furthermore, Mr. Wolfe serves as the director and education coordinator for the Jazz-MU-Tazz summer jazz camp housed at Marshall University. Mr. Wolfe holds an M.M. in Jazz Studies from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studied jazz improvisation, pedagogy, history, and composition with world-famous jazz educator and composer David Baker. Jeff is an active performer, adjudicator, and clinician having appeared on NPR’s nationally syndicated program Mountain Stage and as a soloist with Grammy Award-winning jazz artist and vocalist Gregory Porter. He frequently performs with Columbia Records recording artist and former America’s Got Talent winner Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., and has performed in the orchestras of numerous national touring and regional musical theatre productions. Jeff is the co-founder and music director of the Jewel City Jazz Orchestra, a 17-piece big band established as a non-profit organization dedicated to jazz education and performance in underserved communities. He has also served as an adjudicator for the jazz division of the National Trumpet Competition, appeared as a clinician for the Jazz Education Network, and his most recent article, “Making the Changes,” was published in the September, 2023 issue of SBO+ Magazine. Most recently, Jeff served as the big band director for the 45th CIVEBRA Summer Music Festival at the Escola de Música in Brasília, Brazil. Mr. Wolfe is a charter member of the Jazz Education Network where he serves on the education committee.
Ed Bingham – Adjunct Professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies
Dr. Ed Bingham holds degrees from the University of Tennessee, The Juilliard School and The University of Kentucky. In addition to the large saxophone studio ant Marshall University, he directs the Jazz II Ensemble. He is a founding member of Marshall’s faculty jazz ensemble Bluetrane. Bingham is Fellow of the Drinko Honors Academy Marshall. His research into the creative process was featured at Marshall’s Drinko Symposium and at the International Association for Jazz Education International Conference in Long Beach, California. Dr. Bingham maintains an active performance schedule in addition to his teaching responsibilities at Marshall and at Blue Lake. He is a bassoonist and saxophonist with the Huntington Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the Lexington (KY) Philharmonic, the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the River Cities Symphony Orchestra and the Ohio Valley Symphony. Current projects include a presentation at the national conference of the College Music Society in Salt Lake City and the release of Bluetrane’s first CD.
Lars Swanson – Adjunct Professor of Jazz Studies (Bass)
Bassist, multi-instrumentalist and composer and the newest member of the MU Jazz Faculty. Since finishing his BFA in Jazz Studies at MU (‘18) and his MM in Jazz Pedagogy at WVU (‘20), Lars has become a load-bearing fixture in the regional music scene. He performs regularly with Chance McCoy (formerly of Old Crow Medicine Show), Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. (America’s Got Talent), and his old-time group, Long Point String Band. Lars has played gigs with Delfeayo Marsalis, Tamir Hendelman, Freda Payne, Rufus Reid, Bob Thompson, Craig Davis, Tim O’Brien, Shawn Camp, and countless other artists and organizations as a long time first-call substitute musician. Lars is an avid recording musician; you can hear a sample of his playing on Spotify playlist “Lars On The Track.” He is an active arranger, doing arrangements for Voices of Classic Soul, John Inghram, a new theater piece Down In The Holler, and productions of the WV Collective. Prof. Swanson works hard to engage his local community as music director for the arts organization WV Collective, based out of Beckley, WV. He also works with Pittsburgh, PA concert hall and jazz record label Manchester Craftsman’s Guild on their outreach component, spreading knowledge of jazz to thousands of students in Tucker, Randolph, and Lewis counties. As newly appointed Tour Manager of Long Point String Band, Lars has secured grant funding through Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation for community outreach initiatives and performances within the Mid-Atlantic region.
Nick Vassar – Adjunct Professor of Jazz Studies (Guitar)
Nick Vassar is a guitarist and educator from Huntington, West Virginia. He obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Jazz Studies from Marshall University in 2015, and a Master of Music in Performance degree from the University of Maryland in 2018. He has performed with musicians such as Gregory Porter, Sean Jones, Greg Fishman, Jim Snidero, and Chris Vadala. Vassar currently teaches jazz guitar lessons at Marshall University and has previously coached jazz combos and taught courses in jazz history, jazz improvisation, and pop music history.
Wes McDowell (Percussion) – Assistant Professor of Jazz
