About this episode

In this episode, Jeff Miers interviews drummer and composer John Bacon, Jr. about his contributions to jazz and music education.

Hello, music lovers! Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, musician and music journalist Jeff Miers. On today’s episode, I’m joined by drummer, composer and educator John Bacon, Jr. For several decades, John has been an artist operating at the center of the region’s jazz and new music scenes. Throughout that time, he has also been heavily involved in music academia, teaching percussion and jazz at Villa Maria College, the University at Buffalo, and SUNY Fredonia, and maintaining a roster of private drum students. John is a drummer of great focus, virtuosity and intent. He also can swing like nobody’s business! He’s performed with the likes of Lester Bowie, Bobby Previte, Roswell Rudd, Bobby Militello and George Caldwell. But it’s as a composer and bandleader that John has been perhaps most impactful. He’s been a consistently forward-looking creator, with a deep knowledge of jazz tradition, and a fearlessness that keeps him rooted in the present. For his latest venture, John and his Star People ensemble will be joining creative forces with the John Lehrer Dance Company for Legacy in…

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