With the recent appointment of trumpeter Sean Jones as Richard and Elizabeth Case Chair in Jazz Studies, the Peabody Conservatory continues to reinvigorate its Jazz program, inspired by the great tradition of jazz in Baltimore and consistent with the Conservatory’s innovative approach to 21st-century training in the arts. Bassist Kristopher Funn, saxophonist Tim Green, and vibraphone specialist Warren Wolf are the latest additions to the Jazz Studies faculty, and will teach private lessons, coach ensembles, and teach jazz department courses at Peabody beginning in the Fall 2018 semester.
Baltimore native and jazz bassist Kristopher Funn won the “unsung hero” award at the Fish Middleton jazz competition at the East Coast Jazz festival in the first year he was learning to play the bass. Since then, he has traveled to every major jazz festival in the world, touching six continents and performing with artists including Kenny Garrett, Christian Scott, Nicholas Payton, Benny Golson, Bruce Williams, Warren Wolf, Sean Jones, Pharoah Sanders, Jeff Lorber, Kamasi Washington, and Joey Alexander. He has appeared on several recordings including the Christian Scott albums Yesterday You Said Tomorrow and Stretch Music. An honors graduate of Howard University where he performed with the Howard University Jazz Ensemble, Funn recently released his debut album, Cornerstore, and continues to perform professionally in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. metropolitan area when not touring internationally.
Internationally acclaimed saxophonist, educator, composer, and arranger Tim Green, a graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts, received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music and his master’s degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern California’s Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. During his time at USC he came up under the guiding lights of legends like Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Terence Blanchard. His diverse performance career includes playing with some of the most recognized names in jazz, gospel, R&B, hip-hop, and pop music, including Christian McBride, Eric Reed, Mulgrew Miller, Jon Faddis, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Queen Latifah, Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, and Yolanda Adams. He has played in venues including Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Disney Hall, the White House, and the Village Vanguard. Green has worked as a faculty member, guest artist-in-residence, and clinician at programs including Morgan State University, Temple University, the Baltimore School for the Arts, Seiko Jazz Camp, Brevard Jazz Camp, UNC Asheville, Jazz Reach, the University of Tennessee Knoxville, and the Stanford Jazz Workshop.
An alumnus of the Peabody Preparatory and the Baltimore School for the Arts, Warren Wolf has since a very young age been a multi-instrumentalist, playing the vibraphone/marimba, drumset/percussion, and the piano/keyboards, among other instruments. As a student at the Berklee College of Music, he studied with Caribbean Jazz Project vibist Dave Samuels and began to experiment with musical styles outside of jazz and classical, such as hip-hop, R&B, drum-n-bass, funk, rock, gospel, world music, and Latin. He has played and recorded with some of the world’s best musicians, including Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Christian McBride & Inside Straight, Nicholas Payton, David Sanborn, Aaron Diehl, Tia Fuller, and many others. He is a member of the all-star SFJazz Collective, leader of the group Warren Wolf & WOLFPACK, and has recorded seven records as a leader. Currently an adjunct professor at Temple University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Wolf has also taught at Berklee and is the former chair of jazz studies at the Baltimore School for the Arts.
Funn, Green, and Wolf join Jones and a roster of renowned performers and esteemed teachers on the faculty at the Peabody Conservatory. Under the Conservatory’s new Breakthrough Curriculum – designed to help students develop skills in performance excellence, career development, and citizen artistry to meet the demands of today’s ever-changing musical landscape – Jazz Studies is becoming increasingly integrated with other programs across the Conservatory, and expanding its connections to communities across the region.
