JIM SALTZMAN

Educator

 

"A Complete Artist Musician!" He is a Performer, Pedagogue, Composer, Arranger and Clinician. In all these areas he excels! Jim is a leading figure in the development of Jazz, as we go into the 21st century. He has a vision; he is dedicated, committed, orderly, honest, trustworthy, stable, creative, emotional, energetic, thoughtful, concerned and "pays attention to detail!"

The Jazz Community finds him caring, understanding, inspirational, effective and knowledgeable. Jim blends into the Jazz Fabric as a "True American Griot!" He is a musical picture of study, research, culture, the oral, aural tradition and the total submersion of oneself into the Jazz Environment.

Jim sets a new standard for jazz performance, teaching, musical knowledge and understanding!"

Justin DiCioccio

Associate Dean/Chair Manhattan School of Music

Professor Emeritus 

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With over twenty years of college teaching experience, Jim possesses the unique skills needed to help students not only unlock their unique voices, but also thrive in the process. His teaching combines technical proficiency, ear training, and a deep study of the jazz tradition to aid the student in finding a personal sound. He is available for saxophone, jazz improvisation, and composition lessons in the greater NYC area. He is also available for online lessons and masterclasses.

 

Please click here to contact Jim for information about lessons or masterclasses.

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Jim is on faculty at Manhattan School of Music, in the Precollege, undergraduate, and graduate Jazz Arts program. Previously, he was on faculty at Drew University in Madison, NJ from 2002-2019.  He has taught at William Paterson University, and has been a guest lecturer at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and The City College of NY. He has given masterclasses at The University of the Arts, as well as numerous high schools in New Jersey.

 

As a clinician, he has conducted the NJAJE Region I High School and Junior High School Jazz Ensembles. His private saxophone studio students have been accepted into New Jersey Area, Region, and All-State ensembles in both classical and jazz. Jim’s saxophone students have  been accepted into the NAfME All-Eastern and All-National Jazz Ensembles, as well as the Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony, Vail Jazz Workshop, Grammy Jazz, and YoungArts. His students have won Down Beat Jazz Soloist awards, and his Manhattan School of Music Precollege Jazz Combo won the Small Jazz Combo Honors Ensemble Outstanding Performance award in 2015.

 

 Jim is a truly dedicated and masterful educator who gets to the root of any students' needs and can differentiate and disseminate information to students in a way that each individual can understand.

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Testimonials

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"Jim has always stood out as a teacher who understands the balance between shaping my musical path with his own expertise and giving me the space to discover on my own. He constantly flooded me with information, and I was able to find within that sea of information particular concepts or recordings that resonated with me and would help me develop my own sound and identity on the saxophone. His pedagogy is built on relentless, eternal discovery, which, to me, is the essence of jazz."

-  Alex Laurenzi

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"I studied with Jim for two years, and in that time he helped lay a foundation for my musicianship that shaped the way I perform and compose today.  His approach to teaching involved a great balance of fundamentals, technique, repertoire, and improvisation; each lesson provided me with valuable nuggets of information that improved me in all of those areas.  In addition to teaching me the vocabulary of jazz greats in the past, he would show me concepts he was developing himself through his own practice.  Jim is both a challenging and supportive teacher who set high goals and gave me a clear trajectory to get there!"

- Louis Danowsky

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“Jim helped me improve my doubling on flute and clarinet.  Our lessons were very thorough with a focus on technique and sound production.  I find myself practicing the same warm-up exercises to this day!  I felt very driven and determined to improve upon what we worked on in each lesson.  Jim is an excellent teacher and very enjoyable to work with as a student."

-Brian Cornish

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"Studying with Jim Saltzman prepared me for college and more importantly gave me the foundation necessary to become a professional musician and music educator. Jim’s dedication to teaching helped me to prepare for my college auditions and receive a full tuition scholarship to the University of the Arts. I still practice and refer to the things I learned while studying with Jim, and as an educator I find myself quoting him regularly and passing along the same lessons to my own students!"

-Sean Marks