Webster University director of Jazz Studies Paul DeMarinis was named Outstanding Jazz Instructor of the Year. DeMarinis received his award on January 30 during the Music Educators Association annual conference at the Lake of the Ozarks. This award is an annual honor given by the Missouri Association of Jazz Educators (MOAJE).
DeMarinis has been a faculty member of Webster University since 1980. He teaches saxophone, jazz improvisation, and jazz history. DeMarinis has been a long time saxophonist and has his own band.
Not only is DeMarinis a music professor and he plays live shows off campus. He is a member of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and a backing musician at other live events. Some of the jazz players he has performed with include jazz drummer Louie Bellson, classical and jazz musician Gary Foster, saxophonist Dave Liebman, and trumpeter Bobby Shew. DeMarinis has also performed with the symphony orchestra at the Carnegie Hall in New York.
DeMarinis grew up in St. Louis. His first musical training was a private study as a clarinetist with St. Louis Symphony members Carlos Camancho, Robert Coleman, and Leland Munger. DeMarinis attended Indiana University and studied jazz improvisation there. He played lead alto saxophone in the Indiana University big band.
After attending Indiana University, DeMarinis received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in jazz studies at Webster University. DeMarinis is the co-founder of the original music cooperative Brilliant Corners. DeMarinis has also released a CD of his original jazz compositions in 2009, “The Sun…The Stars.”
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