Slippery Rock University
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (provisional saxophone) Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra (tenor saxophone) Bridges Saxophone Quartet (soprano saxophone) Three Rivers New Music Consortium (artistic director)
Dr. Jason Kush is an active saxophonist, educator, and scholar. Kush has performed as a soloist and ensemble member in wide variety of genres in the United States and Europe. Kush has extensive experience as an orchestral musician, performing with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (over 130 services that include a 2013 European tour), the Russian National Orchestra, and New World Symphony (including a 2008 European Tour). In addition to his membership in the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra and the East Central Jazz Educators All-Star Big Band, Kush has worked as a free-lance jazz/commercial saxophonist with the Woody Herman Orchestra, the MCG Big Band, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the South Florida Jazz Orchestra, Paquito D’Rivera, Arturo Sandoval, Eddie Daniels, Christian McBride, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Benny Golson, Sean Jones, Freddy Cole, Kevin Mahogany, Wayne Bergeron, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Patti Austin, Dave Koz, Andrea Bocelli, Barry Manilow, Common, Megan Hilty, Patti LuPone, Jane Lynch, Michael Feinstein, Johnny Mathis, Freddy Cole, Michael Bolton, the Temptations, the Supremes, the O’Jays, and the Four Tops, among many others. Kush’s Carnegie Hall debut occurred in 1998 with a performance by the All-Eastern U.S. High School Honors Band, with a return visit in 2008 to premier Christopher Rouse’s “Wolf Rounds” for wind ensemble. In addition to live performances, Kush recorded with the South Florida Jazz Orchestra (3 records), the East Central Jazz Educators All-Star Big Band, reggatone Hector el Father, the South 9 Ensemble, the Nathan Douds Ensemble, as well as Eddie Daniels, Tom Scott, and the Henri Mancini Institute Big Band, a project that received a two Grammy Nominations in 2006. In January 2014, the Jason Kush/Billy Test duo released Intersecting Lines on New Focus/Naxos.
Kush’s scholarly work includes a dissertation on the life and innovations of Belgian inventor François Louis, as well as feature articles and interviews in various magazines and journals pertaining to saxophone performance and pedagogy, including in Saxophone Journal, Polyphonic.org, The Instrumentalist, and The International Musician.
In 2013, Kush established the Three Rivers New Music Consortium, an internationally reaching non-profit organization whose goal is to unite musicians, arts enthusiasts, and musical composers in a common quest for newly composed music. The first commission by this organization premiered in 2014 – Out of this World – a trio for alto saxophone, cello, and piano by David Maslanka.
Kush earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Saxophone Performance from the University of Miami after obtaining his Master of Music degree in Jazz Pedagogy from the University of Miami and his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education, magna cum laude, from Slippery Rock University. In addition to extensive performance and scholarly activity, Kush held positions at Barry University and the New World School of the Arts, in Miami, Florida. Currently, Kush is an Associate Professor at Slippery Rock University and an Artist Lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University.
Kush proudly endorses the Selmer (France) and Conn-Selmer (USA) instrument companies, as well as the fine mouthpieces, reeds, and ligatures of Belgian craftsman François Louis.
South Florida Jazz Orchestra – the Music of Rick Margitza, 2017
(recorded May 2017, awaiting release on Summit Records)
East Central Jazz Educators All-Star Big Band, 2018
MADD FOR TADD, Tighten Up Records
South Florida Jazz Orchestra, 2018
Music of Gary Lindsay: Are We Still Dreaming, Summit Records
Balcony Big Band, 2016
Chapter Two
SRU Jazz Ensemble, 2016
Identity (featuring Troy Roberts)
Director and producer
Jason Kush and Billy Test, 2014
Intersecting Lines, New Focus Recordings/Naxos
Nathan Douds Ensemble, 2011
Nathan Douds Ensemble, New Focus Recordings/Naxos
SRU Wind Ensemble, Directed by Dr. Stephen Hawk, 2011
Give Us This Day
Soloist on the Claude T. Smith Fantasia
University of Miami Wind Ensemble, conducted by Gary Green, 2010
Wolf Rounds, Naxos
SRU Jazz Ensemble, Directed by Dr. Stephen Hawk, 2010
Marking Our Territory
Guest soloist on Bob Mintzer’s Eye of the Hurricane
Lansing McLoskey, Frost Saxophone Quartet, Miami, FL, 2008
Sixth Species, Albany Records
Received critical acclaim in: March/April 2009 issue of the Saxophone Journal, 2008 Saxophone Symposium Journal
Greg Byers, Miami, FL, 2009
Some Dark, Beautiful Morning, independent label
Rock Band – videogame recording, Miami, FL, 2008
Backyard Buildyard by Steve Pardo
Steve Pardo with Lindley Camerson, Coral Gables, FL, 2008
Fairytale Thankyou, independent label
Miami Saxophone Quartet, Miami, FL, 2008
Production credit for the album Fortified
Cleveland Jones, Miami, FL, 2008
South Florida Jazz Orchestra, Directed by Chuck Bergeron, Miami, FL, August 2007
South Florida Jazz Orchestra, independent label
University of Miami Wind Ensemble, Conducted by Gary Green, 2007
Reflections, Naxos
Hector Bambino “El Father”, Miami, FL, November 2006,
The Bad Boy, Machete Records, soloist on “Fria”
Henri Mancini Institute Jazz Band, Los Angeles, CA, August 2006,
Elevation, Concord Records
Recorded at the Capitol Records
Eddie Daniels and Tom Scott, soloists
2006 double Grammy Nominated Album
South 9 Ensemble, Miami, FL, 2009
Doing it Augie Style, Playtime Music
South 9 Ensemble, Miami, FL, 2007
The Llama, Playtime Music
Concert Jazz Band, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 2005-2006,
John Hollenbeck and Kevin Mahogany, soloists
All-American College Band, Los Angeles, CA, July 2004, Capitol Records Studio
www.threeriversnewmusicconsortium.org
www.francois-louis.com