Jason is both a broadly experienced player as well as an experienced teacher. He began playing drums at age 7 and was soon playing with friends and other musical groups in SLC. At age 13, he began teaching at home and at a store called Brighton Music, and he kept that up through high school. That store later became Musician's Pro Shop, where he taught lessons while attending the University of Utah. In 1992 he co-founded his own teaching studio called On Track Music; began performing assemblies for secondary schools called the Potential Through Music program; was on state Adjudication Boards for music festivals in Utah and Colorado; and was performing in rock and jazz groups 5 nights a week. At this time Jason was getting calls from players and shows in New York, from top professional recommendations, and after auditioning over the phone, he flew to New York to begin touring with the Big Apple Circus. From there he continued to play with bands and shows in NYC, even subbing on Broadway /off-Broadway shows, before pursuing a Masters Degree in Jazz Performance, where he studied with the top jazz artists in the world. He graduated with honors and taught one year at a small college before starting a 20-year career as a middle school Band Director. During that time Jason continued to perform and record with many jazz, rock, funk, Latin, reggae, country and techno bands, and eventually started his own 17-piece big band, the U r kul. Project, which he plans on reorganizing now that he's back in SLC. In addition to that, Jason and his wife Misa raised 6 children in New York, and now have 6 grandchildren. So, Jason brings a big world of experience to each student, and a unique ability to understand student's needs and aspirations, to create goals, and to tailor lessons to their individual learning styles. Jason loves to work with anyone willing to learn and dive into the incredible world of music and drumming! Students come to him specifically for his knowledge of musician life, musical styles and performance situations, (just his stories alone are worth it...), gaining advanced technique skills, and improvisation/soloing skills. Jason's enthusiasm for drumming, music and learning along with his students, is immediately felt with his infectious energy. This, together with his life's experience, and his simple philosophy that learning music is really learning about yourself and your "ginormous" potential, it's something too precious to miss.
