MISSION
MISSION
About Southern University Jazz Ensemble
The Southern University and A&M College Jazz Ensemble is dedicated to preserving, promoting, and advancing the rich tradition of jazz as a vital art form. Through performance, education, and innovation, the ensemble seeks to cultivate musical excellence, foster creative expression, and honor the cultural legacy of African American music. Committed to artistry, scholarship, and community engagement, the ensemble serves as a dynamic ambassador of Southern University — uplifting audiences and inspiring the next generation of jazz musicians across the nation and around the world.
Alvin Batiste
Alvin Batiste was born on November 7, 1932, in New Orleans, LA. He was raised in a section of New Orleans called Holly Grove which is near Xavier University. His father was a railroad worker that played traditional jazz clarinet and a boyhood friend of the great clarinetist, Edmond Hall, who performed with Louis ‘Pops’ Armstrong for many years. Batiste received extensive musical training through the New Orleans Public School (NOPS) system graduating from Booker T. Washington (B.T.W.) High School located in the Uptown section of New Orleans. Laurice DeBauffet served as band director and B. T. W. and expected excellence from Batiste and other beginning band students. They were required to take basic instrumental music class with opportunities to audition for junior and senior band positions based on their level of proficiency. Batiste rose to first clarinet in his sophomore year at B.T.W. Students were allowed to attend open rehearsals of the New Orleans Philharmonic Symphony as they would rehearse in the school auditorium regularly. This interaction encouraged Batiste to practice Klose’ clarinet exercises and selections diligently. His efforts paid off as Batiste was selected to perform the Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A major with the New Orleans Symphony. He performed with pianist Ellis Marsalis, bassist Richard Payne, tenor saxophonist Nat Perrilliat, and trumpeter Melvin Lastie that same night after his debut with the symphony. He graduated from Booker T. Washington in 1943 and enlisted into the 33rd Army Band in Reserve, LA. as many of his musical colleagues were in that band such as composer Roger Dickerson, CEO of All For One (AFO) Records and alto saxophonist Harold Battiste, and Alvin Dejean, leader of the Olympia Brass Band. He remained in the Army band for twelve years. Batiste graduated from Southern University and A&M College in 1955 with bachelor’s degree in music education. In 1956, he helped start the American Jazz Quintet in New Orleans with drummer Ed Blackwell, pianist Ellis Marsalis, saxophonist Nat Perrilliat and bassist Peter ‘Chuck’ Badie.
He served as Assistant Director Of Bands under Dr. Ludwig Freeman at Southern University from 1966-69. Batiste later received a master’s degree in clarinet performance and composition from Louisiana State University. Batiste was increasingly influenced by bebop jazz pioneers Charlie Parker. In 1969, Batiste founded the jazz studies program at Southern University, the first of its kind at an historically black campus. He was a few months ahead of Donald Byrd who started the jazz program at Howard University. Two years later set the process in motion for the creation of the New Orleans center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) which led to a decade of commuting between the Southern University campus in Baton Rouge and NOCCA in New Orleans located at 6048 Perrier St. In 1972, he led the Southern University Jazz Ensemble in a U.S. Department of State sponsored tour of West Africa. Batiste veered from the clarinet’s customary identification with traditional jazz in New Orleans by performing and recording with the American Jazz Quintet. An ensemble of likeminded peers that performed modern jazz music. Between the two programs, an incredible array of talented artists benefited from Batiste’s instruction. Former student Randy Jackson (of American Idol) got Batiste a gig with Billy Cobham in 1977. Batiste recalls, “there were two electric guitars, electric keyboard, and Billy was even playing electric drums. But he gave them up when he heard me, and told me that my sound was too good to add electronics.” Many tribute concerts and accolades have been bestowed on Alvin Batiste for influencing scores of musicians that many are currently regarded as jazz masters following his death in 2007. Education remained the primary focus of his teaching philosophy for students to find their own, unique voice through the medium of jazz music.
Count Basie, Chicago, Duke Ellington, Jill Scott, Louis ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong, Diana Ross, Herbie Hancock. These names represent a wide range of musical genres that spans more than 75 years in American music. The Southern University Jazz Ensemble has embarked on an identical journey under the leadership of veteran educators Roderick Paulin and John Gray. They both are SU alumnus with active careers as professional musicians performing with local and national artists in a wide variety of musical configurations. Paulin and Gray are candidates at the LSU PhD Music Education Program. Students that participate in the SU Jazz Ensemble are introduced to historic music pedagogy that has been applied in virtually every style of music from the 1920’s up to 21st century musical trends and interests.
This approach positions the Southern University Jazz Ensemble on the cutting edge of recruitment and retention efforts of student musicians from around the globe. Jazz Ensemble students not only receive a quality academic experience, but the professional musical affiliations that Paulin and Gray bring to the classroom provides students with opportunities to be hired and compensated fairly by other professional artists. This component of outlining economic empowerment as a professional musician while being a student attending Southern University and A&M College will serve students well beyond the classroom.
