School of Arts & Sciences Faculty
Sabina, Leslie
TITLES/RESPONSIBILITIES
Professor of Music
Chair, Department of Visual and Performing Arts
ACADEMIC SCHOOL
School of Arts & Sciences
ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT
Visual and Performing Arts
CONTACT INFORMATION
Office phone: (716) 375-2320
Send an Email
FAX: (716) 375-7667
OFFICE LOCATION
Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, 205
COURSES TAUGHT
- Jazz Studies
- MU 431. MIDI and Audio Production
- MU 121. Music Theory I
- MU 122. Music Theory II
ACADEMIC DEGREES
- Ph.D., Music Composition, Michigan State University, 1992
- M.M., Studio Jazz Writing, University of Miami, 1984
- B.Ed., Instrumental Music, University of Windsor, 1986
- B.Mus., Performance, University of Toronto, 1981
OTHER EDUCATION
- Banff Centre of the Arts
- Eastman School of Music
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
Editor of the International Association for Jazz Education’s Jazz Education Journal from 2003 to 2008.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Jazz performances and recordings in Detroit, Toronto and Buffalo with J.C. Heard Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Williams, Billy Eckstine, Della Reese, Milt Hinton, Buddy Tate, Roger Kellaway, and many others.
- Concert and nightclub performances with Temptations, Drifters, Manhattan Transfer, Al Martino, Jerry Vale, Anita Bryant, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and many others.
- Over 60 big band and saxophone quartet compositions and arrangements published and internationally distributed by Kendor Music, Inc., and Alfred Music (Van Nuys, CA), the world's largest educational music publisher.
- Fourteen "Editor's Choice" awards from J.W. Pepper, one of the world's largest sheet music distributers.
- Recipient of ASCAP's MusicPlus award every year since 1995.
- Author of Jazz Arranging and Orchestration: A Concise Introduction, published by Schirmer/Wadsworth (now Cengage).
- More than 40 transcriptions and analyses of jazz work by L. Armstrong, M. Davis, C. Parker, L. Young, etc., published by JazzUK journal:
- Click here to see Steve Grossman's tenor saxophone solo on "Zulu Stomp."
- Click here to see David Liebman's soprano saxophone solo on "Pablo's Story."
- Numerous scholarly papers on jazz published in journals and/or presented at international music conferences.
- Click here to read "Clifford Brown's Approach To The Blues."
- Click here to read "Beyond Bop: Substance in the Fusion Offerings of Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, and Art Farmer."
- Click here to read "Body and Soul: The Acid Test for Tenor Saxophone Ballad Performance."
- Click here to read "Writing for the Young Jazz Band: Balancing Creativity with Accessibility."
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS/PROJECTS
- Playing saxophone with many WNY jazz combos; playing saxophone with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the BPO Big Band; playing electric bass with the LTM Trio
- Ongoing recording of saxophone quartets, contemporary jazz, and electronica in the St. Bonaventure MIDI/Audio Production Studio
- Composing and arranging music for big band and various jazz groups
PERSONAL INTERESTS/COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
WEB & DOCUMENT LINKS