In 2000, Whitaker, who is now a fully-tenured professor, became director of jazz studies in the College of Music.

His desire to connect musically with his students served as the impetus for the MSU Professors of Jazz’s formation eight years ago.

“I’ve always had a scholarly aspect to the way I learned (music) and taught other folks how to play,” he said.

“It’s primarily because of my background, learning in Detroit. By the time I came to teach full time, I had played on a hundred recordings and film scores, and also started teaching master’s classes and workshops.”

With support from the MSU provost’s office and the dean of the College of Music, Whitaker and some of his colleagues pushed for an undergraduate degree program for jazz studies.

Deciding the best way to recruit students and create awareness about the major was to utilize professors as performers, the blueprint for the MSU Professors of Jazz was drafted.

“It’s a great way of providing unity for your faculty,” Whitaker said.

“If you have cats who like playing together, that environment is beautiful. It’s been great for our program.”

A demanding selection process for the professors was implemented to ensure they were good performers who could provide students the best learning experience possible.

“You’ve gotta be able to play,” Whitaker said. “Often times, you have people who teach jazz who’ve never had a career. Certainly, if I were a young person, I wouldn’t want to study with someone that’s never had a career in what I’m trying to do.”

In addition to having a solid rsum, a genuine love for the music is also required to be a member of the band, Whitaker said.

“The main thing is finding people who are excellent performers, but also have a passion for teaching,” he said.

Thanks to the group’s genesis, the jazz studies program has been able to extend its reach beyond East Lansing. Since the group has formed, it has performed regularly across the state, created musical camps both at MSU and in Detroit, and partnered with the provost’s office to provide Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations benefiting endowed scholarships in King’s name.

“We’re willing to try things,” Whitaker said. “Not everything we try is successful, but the fact we try many things is why we have so many successes. We also use the failures as a way to figure out which direction to go.”

“Hard Bop” All-Stars

“No one in the world swings harder than the MSU Professors of Jazz,” vocalist Sunny Wilkinson said. “We don’t swing, we swang.”

Wilkinson noted each band member’s vast level of experience as one reason for this.

Each member has recorded at least one album and some have toured internationally.

“The seasoning is what allows us to come together and really swing,” trumpet player Derrick Gardner said.

“Everybody’s an expert of their instrument,” added saxophonist Diego Rivera.

“They really understand the lineage of their instrument. We collectively put that all together to produce a sound that’s reminiscent of our genre. We know what it’s supposed to sound like.”

The hard-bop style of jazz typically attributed to the group incorporates many influences from other genres of African American musical expression, including R&B, gospel and blues. Despite having that sound, the group doesn’t limit itself to one comfort zone.

“We play so many styles of jazz,” said Whitaker.

“You could hear us playing real progressive stuff to New Orleans-Dixie style of jazz. We play the whole canon of music from the early 1900s to current stuff now.”

Despite each band member’s individual success and busy schedule, Whitaker said the band doesn’t have trouble performing together.

“We just love playing together,” he said. “If there’s a great opportunity, we won’t keep someone from pursuing that, we encourage that.”

Playing in front of concert-goers from the MSU area at the East Lansing jazz festival had special meaning for the group.

“Every concert is special because I love playing,” Whitaker said.

“But this one is particularly special because it’s right here in the community. I think this festival has a powerful significance because it brings so many people together.”

The group, along with Milman, 25, as the special guest lead, elicited a positive response from the crowd.

“To work with these guys is a thrill — it’s an honor,” Milman said.

“To be invited to do such a thing with jazz legends, it’s just amazing.”

Milman felt right at home with the professors for the duration of the swing jazz set.

“People who are true legends, they are comfortable with themselves and they want to help you and support you,” she said.

“Their role is to give us (younger performers) a ladder and push us up, and that’s what I felt.”

Whitaker hopes the band’s legacy continues to have a positive effect on the MSU community.

“I understand there’s a cultural responsibility,” he said. “This music called jazz has diversified this campus.

“(Jazz) has changed the whole world, and never fired one shot,” Whitaker said.