Dr. Jeff Erickson began teaching at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2015, where he taught saxophone students for two years before becoming Director of Jazz Studies. While music had always been important to him, he wasn’t professionally involved in the scene at first. He originally went to UW-Madison to get his business degree before going back to pursue a music degree.
“Looking back on it, it was probably actually a good decision for me, because I think music is very demanding,” said Erickson. “People sometimes say, ‘Oh, it’s so nice you get to do something you love,’ which is true, but I think people don’t always appreciate just the work that goes into preparing and learning your craft,” said Erickson.
After graduating from UW-Madison with his business degree, Erickson worked at an accounting firm in Minneapolis while occasionally taking saxophone lessons to keep up with his passion for music. Although he enjoyed some aspects of accounting, he felt he connected more with musicians and the creative process behind music.
“Music has always been important to me and just expressing myself,” said Erickson. “For me, a way of learning about the world is through the arts and music.”
Erickson explained ever since he graduated from UW-Madison, he has almost always been performing with one group or another. In his experience, he’s found that the musical network is broad. Once he was able to play in some jam sessions and big bands, he performed in Madison, Chicago, or Gainesville, Florida.
“The world that I live in is smaller than you’d think,” said Erickson. “Even though we’re in an area of 50-100,000 people, the number of people who really, really get into this music and play at that level is kind of small.”
Erickson has played with numerous ensembles and artists over the years, including national touring acts such as “The Temptations” and Frankie Valli. While some of his favorite types of performances are more intimate ones, like playing in a quartet at the Starlite Lounge in downtown La Crosse, one of his favorite memories from his playing career happened with a large group.
Erickson was playing as a member of the 911 Mambo Orchestra, a 21-piece Latin band, at the Chicago Jazz Festival as an opener for Tom Jones. For him, it was something he had never quite done before, and it’s an experience that stands out in his long history of playing.
“It’s really kind of neat, just playing in a really big venue like that and…literally playing for thousands of people,” said Erickson.
Something that has continued to draw Erickson to jazz over the years is the art of improvisation. For him, part of what makes jazz special is playing something a certain way one time, and only the people present know what that note, solo or song sounded like on that particular night.
Erickson also enjoys how jazz is constantly evolving and how his playing evolves along with it. Over the past ten years especially, Erickson feels his playing has matured and his music feels more personal.
“I feel like I’m playing more of me, and less of other people,” said Erickson. “Sometimes…I find I have to be flexible with my approach to keep moving forward and learning and mastering things.”
As Director of Jazz Studies, Erickson is heavily involved in all aspects of UWL’s jazz program, including developing the curriculum, directing the Jazz Orchestra and two other jazz combos, teaching improvisation classes and teaching saxophone students.
He enjoys helping students learn how to play well within an ensemble while also being able to express more of themselves through music.
“It’s fun working with these students…and helping them get to that point,” said Erickson. “Every solo’s going to be different, every day’s going to be different, playing with different musicians is going to be different.”
Before he started teaching for his career, Erickson had some people he did private lessons with when he lived in Florida before getting the chance to teach a few classes. While he said it took him a little while to fully figure out what teaching was going to be like for him, it’s been worthwhile.
“I’m best at teaching something that I’m passionate about, and I’m definitely passionate about jazz, and I’m definitely passionate about improvisation,” said Erickson. “It’s been really rewarding working with students who share that passion here.”
Erickson will be retiring after the conclusion of the spring semester. He listed traveling with his wife, writing his own compositions and playing in more groups and ensembles as things he plans to do once he retires. Erickson said that while his time at UWL has been rewarding, he’s looking forward to focusing his energy on what he hasn’t had as much time for recently.
Erickson encourages all students to pursue music in college and throughout their lives, even if they aren’t music students. Some of Erickson’s favorite classes and moments involve students who weren’t music majors; he likes seeing all kinds of people come together to be creative.
“I think if somebody has a passion for something and they exercise that…they do positive things in the world,” said Erickson. “People who create don’t destroy.”
