Confirmed Faculty thus far. Check back for future additions.
Addison Jordan is a saxophonist, composer and educator from Dallas, TX. Through the lens of jazz, he strives to continue the extemporized tradition of black musical thought starting in the 20th c. seeping towards the contemporary conventions of the current age. "25", his debut project released in 2022, serves as a reflection of contemplation through lived experience within a young jazz man's psyche. The project features the dynamic workings of pianists Kwinton Gray and Rowan Barcham, bassist Max Gerl, drummer Jackie Whitmill and the vocal additions of Madison Russell.
The continual pursuit of jazz has led Addison through the esteemed musical programs of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (2011-15), University of North Texas (2015-19), and Northern Illinois University (2019-21), where he received his MM in jazz studies. He has played at renowned venues and festivals around the USA with artists like Souris-Jordan Jazz Orchestra, One O'clock Lab Band, Bobby Broom, Charenee Wade, Max Gerl, Red Young, Quincy Davis, Clark Sommers, Kenny Werner, Chris Watson, Blaque Dynamite, and Bobby Sparks.
Addison is currently on faculty at Earlham College and Indiana University East teaching various courses within the music curriculum.
Jason Danielson is a jazz pianist whose performance credits include Aretha Franklin, Bernadette Peters, Claudio Roditi, Dick Oatts, the Mingus Dynasty, Ryan Kisor, Paul McKee, Frank Perowsky, Corey Christianson, Jack Wilkins, Chris Merz, Terry Bradshaw, Rose Colella, Elaine Dame, the Jimmy Dorsey Big Band, the Des Moines Big Band, Orquesta Alto Maiz, Dave Rezek, Susie Miget, Wayne Page, Bryan Schumacker, Max Wellman, Gabriel Espinosa, Steve Charlson, John Kizilarmut, and two solo shows for Iowa Public Television. He has been in the orchestra pit for various national Broadway tours, including “Jersey Boys,” “West Side Story,” and “Wicked.” Jason is pianist and arranger for local cabaret singers Fred Gazzo, Gina Gedler, and Napoleon Douglas. He has been a performer and clinician for jazz festivals and a long-time faculty member of the Simpson College Jazz Camp. His recordings include “All the Way,” “The Good Life, and “Christmas Dreams” with Fred Gazzo, which he also arranged and directed; “Let’s Play One” and “Landmark” with the Des Moines Big Band; “Skywalk” with Scott Davis; “Abraham” with Madison Ray and the Finesse; and three albums with UNI’s Jazz Band One. In 2021 he was inducted into the Des Moines Community Jazz Center Hall of Fame, and in 2023 he arranged and performed a concert series at Noce showcasing a chronology of his favorite musician, Herbie Hancock. Jason is also a history teacher and has presented at state and national conferences on music of the civil rights movement and music as a primary source in the classroom.
Chris Van Leeuwen, a native Iowan, is a Dallas-based trumpet player, composer, and educator. He recently completed his DMA in Jazz Performance at the University of North Texas, where he taught trumpet lessons, jazz theory and improvisation, and directed both the 4 and 5 O’Clock lab bands. He completed an MM in Jazz Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Missouri – Columbia, an MM in Trumpet Performance from Indiana University, and a BA in Music from the University of Northern Iowa. Chris is a versatile musician and regularly performs in a wide variety of styles and contexts, particularly in the Dallas / Fort Worth area. He has toured with the Grammy Award-winning Maria Schneider Orchestra, as well as Seattle-based soul band The Dip. Chris enjoys teaching all levels of musicians, especially in fun environments like summer camps!
Originally from eastern Washington, Steven has spent the greater part of his life making music in a variety of genres and venues throughout the United States. His sound has been hailed as fearless and evocatve. He has performed with numerous artists, including Chris Potter, Bill Watrous, Hal Galper, Christian McBride, and Louis Bonilla and has been invited to perform in China, Colombia, and Europe. Steven has toured internationally with groups including In 6ix and Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. Equally comfortable as a leader or a sideman, Steven brings a spirit of collaboration and generosity to his artistic endeavors.
Steven has pursued studies at Eastern Washington University and the University of North Texas in performance, jazz studies, and music theory, culminating in a dissertation on the free improvisation of Dave Holland and Sam Rivers on the 1976 album Holland/Rivers Volume 1. This research focused on a sampling of ways Holland and Rivers interact in the domains of melody, harmony, form, and energy. His research interests also include using applications of schema theory for analysis of improvised music to generate pedagogical perspectives that respect the jazz tradition and incorporate a cognitive approach.
Steven serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Music and Director of the Jazz Ensemble at Simpson College. He has worked at Eastern Washington University, Marshall University, West Virginia Wesleyan College, University of Evansville, and the University of North Texas where he has taught subjects including applied bass, jazz theory/improvisation, jazz ensembles, and music theory/aural skills courses.
John Kizilarmut has performed with a wide range of artists and groups including Aretha Franklin, Doc Severinsen, Clark Terry, Matt Wilson, Jimmy Heath, Branford Marsalis, Adam Larson, Logan Richardson, New York Voices, Ana Gasteyer, Conspirare, Shirley Jones, DJ Starscream, and the Des Moines Symphony. He is also a frequent guest performer and clinician at percussion and jazz festivals throughout the midwest. Additionally, he was a featured performer at the PASIC convention in 2013.
Mr. Kizilarmut is also an active composer and arranger. His works have been featured by many award winning music programs, including the 2013 State Jazz champion Waukee High School Jazz Ensemble, Lake Central High School Band, several DCI Drum Corps, and the University of Texas percussion ensemble. John has served as a percussion teacher on the faculties of Drake University, Grinnell College, University of Missouri Kansas City, and Northwest Missouri State University. He currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri with his son, Evan.
Nate Sparks is a composer/arranger/performer who grew up in Runnells, Iowa. Nate began playing the piano at age 7, trumpet at 11, and pursued jazz throughout his middle school and high school years. His acceptance into several national high school honor bands and music festivals led him to a post-secondary study of jazz at the Juilliard School, where he also began his career as a writer.
Since then he has been commissioned to write music for Lucky Chops, the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, Bobby Sanabria, and the Multiverse Big Band, the MSM Afro-Cuban Orchestra, Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, among many others. In 2018 he made arranging contributions to a Grammy Nominated album, West Side Story Reimagined, by Bobby Sanabria and the Multiverse Big Band. While he regularly takes commissions for freelance work, his main outlet as a writer is with his own band, the Nate Sparks Big Band, a New York/Des Moines-based 18-piece jazz orchestra. Playing exclusively his own compositions, arrangements, and transcriptions, the Nate Sparks Big Band performed regularly at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola in New York City in 2016-2019, and now takes root in Des Moines, Iowa where he currently resides.
In 2020, he founded and continues to direct the Des Moines Youth Jazz Orchestra, an elite high school ensemble in Central Iowa. He has also been a guest clinician for the New York Youth Symphony Jazz Orchestra (New York, NY), The University of Scranton (Scranton, PA), Drake University (Des Moines, IA), Delaware Valley High School (Milford, PA), and Southeast Polk High School (Des Moines, IA). Nate also teaches private lessons in Jazz Piano, Piano Fundamentals, Theory, Jazz Improvisation, Composition and Arranging, and Trumpet.
