TTh 12:40 - 2:00 by appointment
Andrew Speight is an internationally acclaimed saxophonist. Originally from Australia, he relocated to the United States in 1990 to perform and record with jazz luminaries. That year, he was also a prize winner in the Thelonious Monk Saxophone competition. In 1992, Andrew was appointed to the music faculty at Michigan State University, teaching saxophone and directing small Jazz ensembles. He was promoted to director of Jazz Studies in 1994 and founded the undergraduate jazz performance degree in 1999. Moving to San Francisco State University in 2000, Speight also launched the BM in Jazz studies in 2002.
Andrew has toured with the prestigious Lincoln center Jazz Orchestra, and the Nat Adderley Quintet. In 1999, he was awarded an ARIA for best jazz album (Australia’s most prestigious music award). A 2004 album produced by Branford Marsalis featuring Andrew along with Ellis and Jimmy Cobb won much critical praise.
Currently Andrew is the leader and artistic director of the Generations Jazz Band, considered one of the finest in jazz, and has also produced a full feature DVD and accompanying CD on essential concepts in Jazz education.
Andrew is also the artistic director of the Manly International jazz Festival, the largest jazz festival in the southern hemisphere, and educational consultant to the Stanford Summer Jazz Program. He can be heard playing in local jazz clubs and on KCSM radio every week.
Education
- M.M. New South Wales Conservatorium of Music
- B.M. New South Wales Conservatorium of Music
