This year, the nationally acclaimed UNCW Jazz Program will be joined by internationally known jazz musician and composer, Joe Chambers.

Chambers has already received a lot of buzz for being named the first Thomas S. Kenan Distinguished Professor of Jazz in the Department of Music at UNCW. The award was established in August 2007 through a grant from the C.D. Spangler Foundation of Charlotte. The foundation granted UNCW $667,000 to create a $1 million endowment, making it the first endowed professorship in the Department of Music.

Chambers will accompany Frank Borgiono, Gerald Shynet, Bob Russell and Steve Bailey, who, according to Chambers, are doing a terrific job with the program.

“Joe is the model of a distinguished professor where both performance and teaching are concerned,” chair of the Department of Music Frank Bongiorno said. “He brings a depth of experience in both areas that is unmatched for most university faculty.”

Chambers is originally from Philedelphia and has traveled around the globe to places such as Europe and Japan. He attended CUNY Lehman School in New York and studied a myriad of programs including music theory.

However, he really learned to play jazz in distinguished clubs with veteran musicians. “That’s how you learn jazz,” Chambers said. “You have to learn in an apprenticeship situation. You have to spend some time in the streets.”

Chambers heard about the UNCW Jazz Program from a student while he was selling his apartment in New York. After reviewing it, not only was he immediately interested, but he also had ideas to further the program.

“We want to build up the level of musicianship so that students will want to come here and study,” Chambers said.

He dubs his teaching philosophy “cosmopolitan,” which means that he wants the students to be well rounded “so that they are enabled to perform in any type of situation.” Whether it is performing in an orchestra, a club or on Broadway, Chambers wants his students to be prepared for any opportunity that may arise.

Chambers will also be doing a series of seminars and performances in the series, UNCW Jazz Speaks. The first presentation will premiere Oct. 15 with a faculty band and a large band made up of musicians from the Wilmington area. The event will not only feature Chambers, but will also feature stellar Latin percussionist Steve Berrios.