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Smith Dobson V
A third-generation jazz musician, Dobson credits his parents with providing his initial musical inspiration. He and his younger sister, vocalist Sasha Dobson, were barely in grade school when they became gigging musicians with the family band, performing widely in classrooms in the Santa Cruz area and South Bay. By the time he was in junior high, Dobson was a regular busker on Santa Cruz’s Pacific Garden Mall in a duo with trombonist Scott Larson.
Like many young musicians, Dobson was something of a social misfit. When most of his peers were just starting to figure out their musical tastes, he was holding down the drum chair at a jam session led by the inventive pianist Graham Connah. He escaped from high school by passing the General Education Development exam, and continued his studies with the highly regarded educator Ray Brown at Cabrillo College in Aptos.
Bringing Jazz to Education
From the time I first started taking drum lessons, jazz has been what I love to play most. It’s been hard to get other kids to hook onto it though — until they actually started to play it, they didn’t get it. Part of that is because they’re tuned into the metal bands and other more mainstream “kid stuff”. When they actually start hearing it and playing it, they all seem to think it’s cool. It’s just not something enough people get exposed to.
AllAboutJazz has a great article talking about some of the different education programs out there (especially in New York) for kids.
…educators as well as people from all walks of the jazz lifestyle need to think outside of the box (the Bach’s?) in order to find fresh ears, new sources of inspiration and fuel for the creative fires. It’s time to improvise.
