Dr. Arthur White, an ANDREAS EASTMAN Jazz and Saxophone Artist, is a nationally recognized composer, arranger, educator, and is enjoying a renaissance as a touring saxophonist. All About Jazz calls White’s ensembles “solidly impressive”, while referring to his “virile tenor solos”, “scorching alto broadsides”, and his ability to “vacate(s) the podium to fashion ‘splendid’ tenor solos…”.

White performs throughout the US, though he keeps his home, and roots firmly planted, in the Midwest with his wife Megan, his son Sam, and his dog Lily. He performs as a full-time member with Kansas City’s iconic Boulevard Big Band, St. Louis’s Dave Dickey Big Band, and MERGE, his jazz quintet with guitarist William Flynn and pianist Alyssa Murray, featuring bassists Andrew Stinson and Sam Copeland, and drummers Marty Morrison and John Kizilarmut. His debut album, recorded with MERGE in August 2017, will be released this fall on the Artists Recording Collective label.

For seven years, White was the director of jazz studies at the University of Missouri. White produced six critically acclaimed recordings by the MU Concert Jazz Band. MU jazz ensembles under Dr. White’s direction were selected to perform at the 2016 conference for the International Society for Music Education, 2012 and 2014 international conferences for the Jazz Education Network, 2011 and 2012 conferences for the International Society for Improvised Music, and the 2012 Missouri Music Educators Association conference. Dr. White also contributed an article as a research author for Teaching Music through Performance in Jazz, Vol. 2, which was published by GIA Publications in December 2015.

Prior to his appointment at MU, Dr. White was the director of jazz studies at Northeastern State University (OK). During his tenure at NSU, Dr. White produced five critically acclaimed CDs with the NSU Jazz Ensemble; one was named as a Blue Chip Award winner by Jazz Education Journal, signifying the recording Appointment In Milano as among the 10 best in college jazz recordings in 2007. NSU named Dr. White as a Centurion, naming him as one of the 100 most influential people in the university’s history. He was also named the 2007 Oklahoma Jazz Educator of the Year by the Oklahoma Jazz Educators Alliance.

Ensembles under White’s direction have recorded with a veritable Who’s Who in modern jazz: Randy Brecker, Bobby Watson, Russell Malone, Henry Johnson, Scott Wendholt, Robin Eubanks, Mike Mainieri, Mike Metheny, Byron Stripling, Bob Sheppard, Sean Jones, and Jimmy Greene. White has also been fortunate to record CDs with legendary trombonist Fred Wesley, Chris Murrell (vocalist with Count Basie), and jazz legend Dewey Redman. In all, White has produced 11 critically acclaimed albums for his university large ensembles.

White is also in demand as an arranger; he has written music for jazz luminaries Christian McBride, Meshell Ndegeocello, James Carter, John Clayton, Mike Mainieri, Peter Erskine, Eric Person, Mulgrew Miller, Kevin Mahogany, Henry Johnson, Dewey Redman, Scott Wendholt, Bobby Watson, Bob Mintzer, Robin Eubanks, Kathy Kosins, Paul Hanson, Russell Malone, Bob Sheppard, Andy Narell, the Swiss Jazz Orchestra, and Randy Brecker. UNC Jazz Press, Second Floor Music, and ejazzlines.com publish Dr. White’s music.

Dr. White has been an invited performer at conferences for the North American Saxophone Alliance, International Society for Improvised Music, Oklahoma and Missouri Music Educators Association, and Jazz Education Network. Dr. White has performed with numerous nationally acclaimed jazz and pop artists. High school and college jazz ensembles throughout the country have performed his arrangements and original compositions. White is also active as a clinician with high school and college bands, and as an adjudicator at jazz festivals, throughout the United States.

Dr. White will be in residence at several universities this year, including Marshall University, West Virginia Wesleyan College, University of South Dakota, and Emporia State University, in addition to numerous high schools. Originally from Kansas, Dr. White received the Bachelor of Arts in Music from Emporia State University, the Master of Music in Jazz Pedagogy from West Virginia University, and the Doctor of Musical Arts in Saxophone Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Contact Information:

Dr. Arthur White
School of Music, University of Missouri
121 Loeb Hall
Columbia, MO 65211
[email protected]
(573) 882-3430 
2216 Martinshire Dr.
Columbia, MO 65203