John Davis is Dean of the College of Music since January 2021. Previously, he served as Senior Associate Dean of the college from 2012-2020. John joined the University of Colorado Boulder faculty in 1999 as Director of Jazz Studies and has taught courses in jazz history, jazz administration and pedagogy, big band, combo, vocal jazz, jazz techniques and management and leadership. Under his direction, the jazz program was awarded 14 DownBeat magazine Student Music Awards, and was recognized by the university chancellor as one of the university’s “core programs of excellence”. Prior to his appointment at CU Boulder, Davis served as Assistant Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Northern Colorado. John has served as guest conductor for honor and all-state vocal and instrumental jazz ensembles in Wyoming, Colorado, Toronto, Indiana, Oklahoma and Kansas, among others.
Professor Davis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education and Performance from Metropolitan State College; a Master of Arts degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of Denver; a Master of Science degree in Organizational Leadership from Colorado State University; and a Doctor of Arts degree in Trumpet Performance and Pedagogy with a secondary emphasis in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado. The second edition of the Jazz Volume for the Historical Dictionary for Literature and the Arts, written by Davis, was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2020.
