PhD, University at Buffalo

John Bacon, percussionist and composer, has performed with Lester Bowie, Roswell Rudd, Bobby Previte, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Bobby Militello and as a leader in a variety of ensembles. He teaches percussion at UB and is head of Jazz at Villa Maria College in Buffalo, NY.  He holds a PhD in Music Composition from SUNY at Buffalo. His diverse skills as a percussionist, trap drummer and vibe player have been featured with a wide range of groups including the Slee Sinfonietta, Maelstrom Percussion Ensemble, and the Genkin Philharmonic. His music has been performed by an eclectic collection of musicians, including The Amherst Saxophone Quartet, Leroy Jenkins, the New Jazz Orchestra of Buffalo, the New York New Music Ensemble, Amanda Deboer and the Colorfield Ensemble, Duo Cuentista, Ensemble Laboratorium, Wooden Cities and the UB Percussion Ensemble. He has toured in England, Italy, Canada, and the US. He has recorded with Paul Bley, Roswell Rudd, Don Menza and George Caldwell. Recent CD releases featuring his music include “Pausa Live” with the New Buffalo Jazz Octet on Cadence Records and “Migration” by resAUnance with vocalist Esin Gunduz, cellist Jonathan Golove and pianist Michael McNeil, on FMR records. John is a 2013 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship Award recipient in Music/Sound and a New York State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Composer Commission with Christopher Jentsch 2015.  John was voted Jazz Musician, Jazz Educator and Jazz Drummer of the year 2015 and 2016 by JazzBuffalo. You can find more information about John, at johnbaconjr.com.