About the Instructor

• Dr. Mark C. Gridley is the author of America’s most widely read introductions to jazz: JAZZ STYLES and CONCISE GUIDE TO JAZZ. The books have undergone 11 editions and six translations. Gridley has conducted field research in Africa, South America, the Caribbean, and all the jazz centers in the United States. He has also written extensively for ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNIICA and GROVE DICTIONARIES OF MUSIC, leading to a listing in WHO’S WHO IN AMERICA. As professional jazz flutist-saxophonist he has appeared with Sammy Davis, Jr., Tony Bennett, The Jackson Five, Robert Goulet, The Temptations, The Fifth Dimension, The O Jays, and toured with Lou Rawls and Les Elgart. He has lectured at colleges across the nation and addressed musicology conferences on his research findings and his advances in jazz appreciation pedagogy.