Some critics may say that jazz is becoming irrelevant.
Bill Sears knows better. Sears is the Director of Jazz Studies at Interlochen Arts Academy and has spent over 30 years as an educator and performer, playing alongside some of the biggest names in jazz. Raised on the big band music of his parents’ youth, Sears began playing jazz in 1968 and hasn’t stopped since.
Sears sat down with Studio A host Kate Botello to discuss the communal nature of jazz, its importance in American culture and his calling to share jazz with the next generation.