Jazz musicians Miles Brown, bass; Paul Meyers, guitar; and John Thomas, saxophone will join the artist-faculty of the Peabody Conservatory beginning in the fall semester of the 2017-18 academic year.
Bassist, composer, performer, and teacher Miles Brown is a versatile musician who has directed big bands, coached jazz combos, led methods classes, and taught improvisation courses at Cornell University, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Rochester. He has a passion for new music and believes that learning about jazz must combine knowledge about past traditions with a drive to push music in new directions. As a performer, he has led groups featured at the JVC Jazz Festival, the Syracuse Jazz Festival, the Rochester International Jazz Festival, and the Blue Note. He has played with jazz masters such as Sam Rivers, Joe Magnarelli, Ralph Alessi, Walt Weiskopf, Harold Danko, Joe Lovano, and Kenny Werner. Brown earned bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from the Eastman School of Music in jazz performance studies as well as a master’s degree from the Mannes College of Music in classical bass performance.
Jazz guitarist Paul Meyers has been active in the New York jazz scene for many years and has performed and recorded with an ever-growing list of jazz greats such as Geri Allen, Karrin Allyson, Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, Eliane Elias, Sonny Fortune, Marc Johnson, Wynton Marsalis, Rufus Reid, Annie Ross, Frank Wess, and Jack Wilkins. He toured for years with singers Jon Hendricks and Andy Bey. He was part of the trio that performed nightly at Windows on the World and was the featured solo guitarist at the Rainbow Room Bar for one summer. He has made a number of critically acclaimed CDs and performed internationally with the Salute to Duke Ellington Orchestra among others. Meyers holds a Master of Music in jazz guitar from the Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor of Music with honors from the New England Conservatory. He has taught jazz guitar and improvisation at William Patterson University and at New Jersey City University, and has given clinics, master classes, and workshops nationally and internationally.
Saxophonist John Thomas spans the chasm between the concert and jazz saxophone worlds. From his roots in jazz to performing as a concert artist, he has expanded his horizons as an artist-educator – a model of the 21st-century musician. He performs as a soloist throughout the U.S. and abroad. As a jazz musician, Thomas has appeared with Bob Mintzer, Kevin Mahogany, and Slide Hampton and regularly leads his own quartet. Pop music engagements include the Glen Miller Orchestra, Ben Vereen, and the Temptations. An experienced educator, he has held positions at East Carolina University, the University of Northern Colorado, and Casper College. He currently teaches jazz and saxophone at the Baltimore School for the Arts and Washington College in addition to Peabody. Thomas holds a double Master of Music in jazz studies and saxophone, and is completing a doctoral degree at Peabody.
