Jon Gudmundson, Director of Jazz Studies and Associate Professor of Saxophone at Utah State University, has also taught at Brevard College, the University of Northern Colorado and Indiana University. Dr. Gudmundson has performed with the Harry James Band, Lydia Pense and Cold Blood, Bobby Watson, Chuck Carter, Jerry Weldon, Donald Harrison, David Young, Aaron Neville, Roberta Flack, Connie Haines, and many others.
Jon has served as clinician, adjudicator, featured soloist, and lecturer at conferences and festivals across North America, including International Association for Jazz Education Conferences, World Saxophone Congresses, and the UNC/Greeley, Indiana State University, Bloomington (Indiana), Montrose, University of Minnesota, JazzBrevard, Holyoke (Massachusetts), Maine State, South Carolina All State, Florida Space Coast, Utah All State, Crescent, Peaks, Gene Harris, Jazz in the Canyon, JazzBrevard, BYU, and BYU–Idaho Jazz Festivals, among many others. Jon has performed in most of the fifty states in the U.S., and several countries on four continents. His favorite projects currently are the saxophone quartet FOUR, and a new project he is currently undertaking, studying the great jazz baritone saxophonists. Dr. Gudmundson has written a dissertation on baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan (The Gerry Mulligan Quartet of 1952-53: A Study of the Arranging Style Through Selected Transcriptions, University of Northern Colorado, 1999.) and a study of baritone saxophonist Harry Carney (Harry Carney: The Development of His Solo Style, 1927-1974, Research Proceedings of the IAJE, 1996), but the new project will take a much broader view, touching upon many of the great baritone saxophonists in jazz, from Harry Carney to Gary Smulyan and beyond. “As a devoted bari player, I must say I wish there had been a resource with basic information about all of the major jazz baritonists to refer to when I was coming up,” says Gudmundson. I finally decided that since nobody was writing one, I ought to do it.”
Dr. Gudmundson received his D.A. in Saxophone Performance/Pedagogy from the University of Northern Colorado, M.M. in Jazz Studies from Indiana University, B.M. in Jazz Studies and Saxophone Performance from Western Washington University, and A.F.A. in Music and C.F.A. in Jazz Studies from North Seattle Community College. His principal saxophone teachers include William Wicker, Julia Nolan, and Roger Greenberg. For jazz, Jon studied with Don Lanphere, Chuck Israels, David Baker, Jerry Coker and Gene Aitken. As a student, Gudmundson garnered three Downbeat Awards, including two for Outstanding Jazz Instrumental Performance. He has written liner notes for CDs by Ronnie Cuber and Bob Brookmeyer on Koch International, been published in The Saxophone Symposium, Teaching Music, and Research Proceedings of the IAJE, and appeared on numerous recordings, including With Friends Like These and On a Warm Summer’s Evenin’ (FOUR), Way Way East Bay (eponymous), Great Moments from the Salt Lake International Jazz Festival (Cold Blood), and Superelastic (Velo Deluxe). Jon is originally from Bellingham, Washington, USA, and currently resides in Logan, Utah, USA. Gudmundson endorses P. Mauriat saxophones. His horn is a P. Mauriat PMB-300.