Mike Titlebaum
Saxophonist/composer/arranger Mike Titlebaum is Director of Jazz Studies at Ithaca College. He is co-editor of “Teaching School Jazz: Perspectives, Principles, and Strategies” published by Oxford University Press in 2019, and has published numerous compositions and arrangements through Advance Music, Lorenz, and GIA Publications. He has given workshops and performances at numerous conferences and played in many of NYC’s world-famous venues, including the Blue Note, Smalls, and CBGB's.
Biography
Saxophonist/composer/arranger Mike Titlebaum is Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at Ithaca College, where he directs the Ithaca College Jazz Ensemble, teaches jazz saxophone and several courses in jazz studies. Titlebaum is author of "Jazz Improvisation Using Simple Melodic Embellishment" published by Routledge in 2021, and co-editor of “Teaching School Jazz: Perspectives, Principles, and Strategies” published by Oxford University Press in 2019. He has published numerous musical compositions and arrangements through Advance Music, Lorenz (Heritage Jazz Works), and GIA Publications. Titlebaum has delivered workshops, lectures and performances at numerous state and national conferences, including the Jazz Education Network, the International Society for Improvised Music, the New York State School Music Association, the New York State Band Directors Association and the Texas Music Educators Association. He has performed in many of New York City's world-famous venues, including the Blue Note, Smalls, the former CBGB's as well as the pit orchestra of the Broadway musical "Cats" at the Winter Garden Theater. He has performed with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra, and with dozens of internationally recognized artists and groups. Titlebaum earned a B.M. in Saxophone Performance and the Performer's Certificate in Saxophone from University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music in 1991, where he also completed his M.M. in Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media with a Writing Skills emphasis in 1992.Education
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Eastman School of Music, BM in Saxophone Performance, 1991
Eastman School of Music, Performance Cert in Saxophone, 1991
Eastman School of Music, MM in Jazz Studies, 1992
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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Jazz improvisation, jazz arranging, jazz composing, jazz ensembles.
Websites
Books
Videos
Published: Feb 20, 2021
Leading up to the May 20th release of my book “Jazz Improvisation Using Simple Melodic Embellishment,” I am creating a series of first-look videos to preview how the book works. This is the first episode “Good Neighbors.” The video includes several exercises for you to practice, for both instrumentalists and singers, so have your instrument warmed and ready!
Published: Jun 10, 2021
Leading up to the May 20th release of my book “Jazz Improvisation Using Simple Melodic Embellishment,” I am creating a series of first-look videos to preview how the book works. This is the second episode “The Saints of the Rhythm.” The video includes several exercises for you to practice, for both instrumentalists and singers, so have your instrument warmed and ready!
Published: Jun 10, 2021
Leading up to the May 20th release of my book “Jazz Improvisation Using Simple Melodic Embellishment,” I am creating a series of first-look videos to preview how the book works. This is the third episode “Good Neighbors Make Good Improvisation.” The video includes several exercises for you to practice, for both instrumentalists and singers, so have your instrument warmed and ready!
Published: Jun 10, 2021
In this episode, I discuss improvisation using simple melodic embellishment and the influence of Lee Konitz with wonderful saxophonist/singer Grace Kelly.
Published: Jun 10, 2021
The entire interview with saxophonist Grace Kelly about the things she learned from master improviser Lee Konitz.
Published: Jul 26, 2019
Mike Titlebaum on a few choruses of the Jerome Kern chord progression in D major.
Published: Apr 13, 2020
The great Mike Titlebaum, director of jazz studies at Ithaca, joins me for a typically restrained arrangement of the Beatles's "When I'm Sixty-Four" in isolation, also featuring Mike's overzealous video editing which includes footage of both of us in college. (We were in a band together called the Eastman Chamber Rock Ensemble.)