Resume
Born 1946 in St. Louis MO, Paul Combs moved with his family to Philadelphia, PA in 1953. His earliest musical training included singing in his church choir, where the choir director took the time to teach singing and develop good ensemble sense. Paul also played trombone in the band at his elementary school . Later he attended Central H.S., studying theory and counterpoint there and at the Settlement Music School. His first saxophone studies were with Buddy Savitt. He began playing professionally in 1963, playing saxophone in a small band that played mostly functions. He also began doubling on flute at this time.
He earned a Bachelor of Music degree, in Composition, from the Philadelphia Musical Academy (now the University of the Arts) in 1968. He stayed in Philadelphia until 1971, playing in various bands, writing music for theater, producing concerts and producing music programs for WUHY-FM.
Around 1970 Paul Combs began a musical exploration of his Appalachian ancestry. His father, a college English professor, was from Kentucky but had chosen to turn his back on that part of his background. This exploration led Combs to set aside the saxophone for a few years. From 1971 to 1974 he concentrated on guitar and bass, both acoustic and electric. He toured as a solo singer/guitarist and backed up several folk singers and songwriters in concerts and on recordings. These singers included, among others, Paul Gerimia, Mary McCaslin, U. Utah Phillips, Jim Ringer, Paul Seibel and Rosalie Sorrels. He was also involved in the co-operative management movement as a charter member of both the Wildflowers and Buck 'n' Wing co-operatives.
In 1974 Paul Combs returned to the saxophone. He worked with and founded various bands, some of them in collaboration with his friends in the folk music community. He studied flute with Al McDonald and Sharon Zuckerman around this time. Paul also assisted songwriter Bob Franke in producing his first recording, Love Can't Be Bitter All The Time. His attention increasingly turned to jazz, which had been at the heart of his musical inspiration since his childhood, and led one of the first bands booked into the fondly remembered 1369 Club, in 1976. Paul also produced his first film score in 1976, for Len and Georgia Morris' David Swann, an adaptation of a Nathaniel Hawthorn story.
In 1977 Combs attended the Creative Music Studio where he studied with Karl Burger, Jimmy Giuffre, Lee Konitz, Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, and the late Don Cherry, among others. Later he moved to New York where he performed mostly in lofts such as The Brook and Environ, as well as some clubs. He also performed in The Masai, a music, dance and poetry work by fellow CMS alumnus, Kim Kimber.
Unfortunately, complications in his personal life prevented him from taking full advantage of being in NYC and, in 1979, he returned to New England, where played in various rock bands and led his own jazz quartet. He also recorded with blues legends Robert Jr. Lockwood & Johnny Shines, whom he had met and performed with in the early seventies at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., as well as with rockabilly star Sleepy LaBeef.
From 1983 to 1987 he operated SeaNote Productions, a commercial production facility, with internationally recognized composer Joel Biddle, an old friend from the Philadelphia Musical Academy. Together they wrote and produced sound tracks for several award winning short films. Paul also continued to perform with his own quartet and with various function bands in the Boston and southern New Hampshire areas.
In 1987 Paul and Joel Biddle decided to disband SeaNote in order to concentrate on other projects, and he began graduate studies at University of Massachusetts, Lowell, leading to a Master of Music degree in performance in 1995. During this time Combs began teaching music in elementary schools. From 1991 to 1999 he was on the music faculty of the Revere Public Schools. During the 1990s he also joined and became very active in the Massachusetts Music Educators Association, helping to found the state chapter of the Society for General Music. He also served as the Chair of SGM and on the Conference Committee of the All State In-Service Conference of MMEA. He has been a frequent presenter of professional development sessions at the Conference, both for SGM and the state unit of the International Association of Jazz Educators.
Mr. Combs has been a private teacher of saxophone and other wind instruments since 1970 and he currently teaches at the Minor Chord Teaching Studio, in Acton, MA, where he has been on the staff since 1986; and Guitar Stop (formerly Central Sales Music) of Cambridge, MA, were he has taught since 1991.
In 1994, Paul Combs started to concentrate more and more on his jazz performance activities, organizing a flexible approach based on a core of musical associates. He performs regularly in ensembles of two, three or four musicians, and for awhile led a quintet. These ensembles are documented on four CDs, Hawk's Delight (1985), The Things You All Are (1998), Moon & Sand (2000) and BeBop Christmas Card (2000). In 2001 he formed the nine-piece Pocket Big Band, which has released the CD Live At Chit Chat on the Sea Breeze Jazz label (SB-3073). He is also at work on a book about composer and arranger Tadd Dameron, which will be published by University of Michigan Press. The book, titled "Dameronia," is projected to be released in 2008.
Paul Combs
Resume
Biography
(The following resume is available in PDF format by clicking on its link in ths sentence.)
e-mail: pcomb@comcast.net
Web Page:
www.paulcombs.com
RESUME
*Danvers Public Schools, Music Specialist, grades 3-9, elementary and middle school bands.
Teaching Experience (clinic, lecture and workshop) -
*Revere Public Schools, Music Specialist, classroom and instrumental, grades K-6.
*Philadelphia Public Schools, enrichment courses in music.
*Middlesex School, Concord, MA, director of jazz ensemble.
*Music-on-the-Move, Music Specialist assigned to Catholic parochial schools in suburban Boston.
*Hill House Academy, Boston, MA , saxophone, flute and clarinet.
*Minor Chord Teaching Studio, Acton, MA, saxophone, clarinet and brasswinds.
*Guitar Stop, Cambridge, MA, saxophone, flute, clarinet and brasswinds.
*MMEA All-State Conferences, clinics on creative teaching strategies for jazz ensemble.
Selected Performing Experience -
*MMEA All-State Conferences, clinics on general music teaching strategies.
*Indian Hill Center for the Arts, Bell Arts Center, Mill Pond Arts Center, Timberlane Regional H.S., Groton-Dunstable H.S., clinics and workshops for beginning improvisers.
*Boston Film & Video Foundation, workshop on editing music to film and video.
*Rutgers U., Newark, NJ, Institute of Jazz Studies, Conference on the Music of Mary Lou Williams.
*Skidmore College, Boston State College, lectures on topics in jazz and folk music.
*Bridgewater State College, lecture on strategies for teaching improvisation.
*The Center For The Arts in Natick, Amherst, Dover, Nashua and Rye, NH Public Libraries, lectures on Listening For Form, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker and Tadd Dameron.
*Worcester State College, Anna Maria College, organized day-long workshops in music education.
Performed with: Karl Berger, Paul Broadnax, Ellie Boswell, Bob Franke,
Recordings -
Ed Kelly, Teddy Kotick, Sleepy LaBeef, Robert 'Jr.' Lockwood,
Paul Seibel, Johnny Shines, Rosalie Sorrels, Frank Wilkins.
Venues: IAJE Conferences, Sandy's Jazz Revival, 1396 Jazz Club,
Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Mariposa Festival, Ryles,
The Center For the Arts In Natick, Philadelphia Folk Festival.
Ensembles: Metropolitan Wind Symphony, Pocket Big Band,
African-American Jazz Caucus Big Band, Special Edition Big Band.
Director: Chelmsford Community Band Jazz Ensemble.
Paul Combs is listed in the New England Foundation for the Arts Touring Roster.
Paul Combs:
Film & Video Scores -
*Pocket Big Band - Live At The Chit Chat, Sea Breeze Jazz 3073.
*BeBop Christmas Card, BoMuse Transcriptions BTCD 1004.
*Moon & Sand, BoMuse Transcriptions BTCD 1003.
*The Things You All Are, BoMuse Transcriptions BTCD 1002.
*Hawk's Delight, BoMuse Transcriptions BTCD 1001.
Bob Franke:
*Brief Histories, Flying Fish FF70495 (Boston Music Award nominee).
*Love Can't Be Bitter All The Time, Philo/Fretless 116.
Sleepy LaBeef:
*Electricity, Rounder 3070.
Robert Jr. Lockwood & Johnny Shines:
*Mr. Blues Is Back To Stay, Rounder 2026.
Mary McCaslin:
*Way Out West, Philo 1011.
John Michaels:
*Yesterdays Heroes, Raven 710032 (Boston Music Award winner).
Musicians of Greater Newburyport:
*The First Grog Album, Joppa Jump 1001.
Danny Tucker:
*True To The Root, Twigzee Dee 1029496.
*David Swan, Galen Films (winner of an award from the American Film Institute).
Publications -
*Bravo, What A Presentation, American Management Assn./Mystic River Productions (winner of a Golden Hugo Award).
*You Can Make The Difference, American Management Assn./Mystic River Productions (winner of a Golden Eagle Award).
*LP Gas: Emergency Handling And Response, National Fire Prevention Assn./Newbury Filmworks, (winner of a Golden Camera Award).
*Great Expectations, Digital Equipment Corp.
*TV spot announcements for the Phila. Museum of Art and the Mass. Council for the Aged.
*Dameronia - the Life and Music of Tadd Dameron, U. Mich. Press., to be published in 2008.
Education -
*Jazz Improv Magazine, regular contributor.
*School Band And Orchestra, article on wind instruments appropriate for children with small hands.
*Mary Lou Williams and Tadd Dameron - The significance of Dameron Manuscripts found among M. Williams' papers, in The Annual Review of Jazz Research, vol. 13, Scarecrow Press, to be annnounced.
*Vyu -Magazine of the Arts, column on jazz in New England.
*Mass. Music News, column on General Music Ed. topics.
*BoMuse Music/Otter Distributors, arrangements for large jazz ensembles.
*Philadelphia Musical Academy (University of the Arts) B.Mus. in Composition.
Professional Organizations -
*University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MM in Performance, Saxophone.
*Longy School of Music, Flute and Solfege.
*University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Orff-Shculwerk Certification.
Principal Teachers:
Lee Konitz, Buddy Savitt, Tom Ferrante - saxophone.
Sharon Zuckerman - flute.
Joseph Castaldo, Andrew Rudin - composition.
Willis Traphagen, Maurice Kaplow - conducting.
Master Classes:
Jimmy Giuffre, Don Cherry, Anthony Braxton, American Reed Trio.
*Boston Musicians Association, AFM Local 9-535.
Community Service -
*International Association for Jazz Education - State Unit Newsletter Editor.
*Massachusetts Music Educators Association / Music Educators National Conference - Society for General Music in Massachusetts, Chair, 1995-97, Conference Committee, 1996-97.
*The Recording Academy - Voting Member.
*New England Jazz Alliance - Board Member, Web-Committee Chair.
*Chelmsford Community Band - Board Member.
*Seacoast Jazz Society - President, 1999-2001, Lecture Committee Chair, 2001-02.
*Merrimack Valley Jazz Society, Treasurer 1999-2000.
Biography