Jason Squinobal

Musician, Educator, and Scholar

About

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Jason Squinobal is a professional musician, educator, and scholar. He performs internationally with his group The Horizon Band. and as a freelance musician. Jason specializes in jazz, funk, and Afro-jazz fusion, and plays alto saxophone, bass clarinet and flute.

Squinobal resides in Northwest Connecticut and performs regularly in the New England area. He has been teaching saxophone, clarinet, and flute privately and in public school systems for over ten years. Squinobal has had the opportunity to attend some of the world’s finest performing arts schools including the Greater Hartford Academy of the Performing Arts, Interlochen Arts Academy, and Berklee College of Music. While attending Berklee, Squinobal study jazz improvisation with Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, Bill Pierce, Shannon LeCleare and Dino Govoni. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BM in Music Education. At the same time, he formed the Jason Squinobal Quartet (J.S.Q.) and performed in Boston, New York City and throughout New England. In addition to performing with his own groups, Squinobal is also a member of the

Northwest Quartet lead by Sean Sheridan, and with Dave Overthrow's Fusion Band

Upon graduation, Squinobal accepted a position with the Shelton Public School System where he directed the concert band and jazz ensembles for two years.  In addition, he developed and implemented a new curriculum for a music technology course for the Shelton Intermediate School.  For his efforts within the public school system, Squinobal was recognized with an Exemplary Educator Recognition Award.

In 2005 Squinobal received a teaching fellowship to attend the University of Pittsburgh graduate program in ethnomusicology. At Pitt, Squinobal acted as Dr. Nathan T. Davis’ Assistant aiding him in multiple aspects; from teaching undergraduate lectures and directing the Pittsburgh jazz ensemble and small combos, to arranging jazz compositions for the Annual University of Pittsburgh Jazz Seminar. Jason also managed both the William R. Robinson Digital Recording Studio and Sonny Rollins Jazz Archives.               

Squinobal earned his PhD in Ethnomusicology in April 2009. His dissertation entitled, “West African Music in the Music of Art Blakey, Yusef Lateef, and Randy Weston” explores the social and cultural influences that encouraged those three musicians to incorporate elements of West African music into their compositions and jazz performance.

Squinobal’s research projects focus on African American music, jazz, and music of the African diaspora.  He has presented his research internationally at the Guelph Jazz festival and Symposium at Guelph University, Guelph Canada; the Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut; and the New Jazz Histories Symposium, University of Salford, Manchester England.

 After earning a PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh, Jason Squinobal moved back to Northwestern Connecticut where he has assembled a group of talented musicians who make up the Horizon Band.  The Horizon Band is a high-energy music group that performs jazz infused with funky grooves and traditional West African music and rhythms. Their most recent performance was at the “Africa Meets North America Music Festival” in Los Angeles. Through his research as an ethnomusicologist Squinobal has become a specialist in fusing elements of West African music and Jazz. The Horizon Band focuses on performing his original compositions.  These compositions feature strong rhythmic grooves with layered ostinotos and polyrhythms. Many of the melodic lines are drawn from West African traditional music, yet they are also reminiscent of the hard driving jazz groups of the 1960s. The Band also performs original versions of well-known jazz standards and popular songs like Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” and Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.” .