Hugh Ragin

Hugh Ragin - inspiring teacher, creative composer and trumpet virtuoso, has been named "a trumpeter with very few peers in terms of imagination or technical command" by jazz biographer Francis Davis in his notes for the "Live At The Knitting Factory" recording with Roscoe Mitchell. Ragin has also collaborated with musicians such as David Murray, Anthony Braxton, Dizzy Gillespie, Spencer Barefield, Fred Wesley, Leo Smith, Sun Ra, Maynard Ferguson, D.D. Jackson, Andrew Cyrille and poet Amiri Baraka, on both recorded and live jazz performances that range from bebop and freebop to the most "out" of avant-garde improvising.

His compositions have been recorded by David Murray, Roscoe Mitchell, D.D. Jackson and Fred Wesley, and yet despite his success as a performer and composer, Ragin insists on "being an educator first." His life has formed as a compassionate gesture "to share the knowledge, and bring more people into music." For all areas of his teaching, Ragin puts a strong emphasis on the fundamentals.

"I like to give enough material so that students can absorb what?s useful, disregard what is unnecessary, and add what is uniquely their own." says Ragin. It is like Charlie Parker said, "first you learn the scales, then you forget them."

Drawing from personal experience, Ragin also says, "technique includes the knowledge of the instrument a wall as knowledge of the language." He attributes his astounding control of the trumpet to studying the basics.

A strikingly gifted post-bop trumpeter, Ragin's work as performer and composer was held in high esteem by his fellow musicians throughout the 80s and 90s. It was only at the end of the 90s, however, that word began to spread to a wider audience. Before that emergence, he had played alongside and otherwise collaborated with an impressive range of bop, post-bop and free jazz artists, among them Anthony Braxton, Maynard Ferguson, Dizzy Gillespie, D.D. Jackson, Roscoe Mitchell, David Murray and Sun Ra. His compositions have been recorded by Jackson, Mitchell, Murray and Fred Wesley. Ragin himself appeared on record with some of these artists, notably Mitchell's 1987 Live At The Knitting Factory for Black Saint Records. To a great extent, Ragin's absence from centre stage has been a result of his commitment to working as a music educator, to sharing his gifts and helping attract more young people into music. His instrumental command is breathtaking in its virtuosity, although he urges his students to learn not just instrumental technique but also the language of music. He also urges his students to develop themselves, declaring, "I like to give enough material so that students can absorb what's useful, disregard what is unnecessary, and add what is uniquely their own." The release of two albums in 1999, one with a quartet playing what might be described as avant-bop, the other a selection of limpid duets with pianist Marc Sabatella, at last gave international audiences the chance to hear this remarkable musician about whom jazz writer Francis Davis observed, he is "a trumpeter with very few peers in terms of imagination or technical command."

Rex Matzke

Rex Matzke holds a B.M.E. and a M. M. from the University of Nebraska and has pursued a Doctor of Arts in Saxophone Performance and Pedagogy with a Secondary Emphasis in Jazz Pedagogy from the University of Northern Colorado. Before coming to Colorado, Rex was Director of Jazz Studies and Professor of Saxophone at the University of Missouri-St. Louis from 1976-1993 where his ensembles enjoyed a national reputation winning the Wichita Jazz Festival twice, named an Outstanding Big Band at the Mid -West Collegiate Jazz Festival three times and having been invited to perform in China, Rumania, and at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

Rex's Big Band Express performed on the Admiral Riverboat 5 nights a week and his combo Jazz Express enjoyed year long engagements at Hannigans, Sirabellas and Al Bakers in St. Louis. Among others Rex has performed with Clark Terry, Louis Bellson, Bobby Shew, David Baker, Dominic Spera, Rich Matteson, Buddy Baker, Ed Shaughnessy, Milt Hinton, Bill Watrous, Denis DiBlasio and has toured with Big Band USA, the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, and the University of Northern Colorado Lab 1.

Rex currently resides in Colorado Springs with his family where he is an adjunct faculty member at Pikes Peak Community College, the saxophone studio teacher at Colorado College, and teaches improvisation and directs a big band for the Colorado Jazz Workshop. He is the co-founder of the Almagre Saxophone Quartet, a quartet that performs in the French classical tradition. Rex is a member of Colorado Bandmasters Association Executive Board and oversees the Colorado All State Jazz Bands. He is also President-Elect of the Colorado chapter of the International Association for Jazz Education. Mr. Matzke regularly performs in Colorado Springs, Aspen and Denver. Mr. Matzke has been included in the 2006 edition of the biographical directory published by Marquis Who’s Who, the leading biographical reference publisher of the highest achievers and contributors from across the country and around the world.

Dr. Steven Christopher

Steve Christopher, who has been a music educator for thirty-nine years, is currently the Director of Jazz Studies at Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado and has previously served as the Coordinator of Instrumental Music for the Boulder Valley Schools. His Jazz Bands and Jazz Combos have consistently received superior ratings at contests and festivals. As a result of his efforts, Fairview's curriculum now includes four jazz bands and eight jazz combos.

Mr. Christopher was chosen as Colorado Jazz Educator of the Year in 1991. He is past president of the Colorado Unit of IAJE. In 1995, he directed the Colorado Small Schools All State Jazz Band and is currently a regular member of the judge's panel at the Winter Park Music Festival. Mr. Christopher has directed the Mile High Jazz Festival All- Star Band for the past six years and will once again preside as the director for the 2006 Mile High Jazz Festival All-Star Band.

As a trumpeter, Mr. Christopher has performed with well-known artists during his career. He currently performs with several groups in the Denver area. His newest teaching endeavors include the Colorado Jazz Workshop and The Rocky Mountain Center for Musical Arts. Each summer he conducts his camp for young musicians called "C's Jazz in the Summer".