CCM Welcomes Accomplished Saxophonist and Composer Craig Bailey to Jazz Faculty

After serving as Ray Charles’ lead alto saxophonist for nearly 20 years, Bailey returns to his native Cincinnati as an assistant professor of jazz studies at CCM. Photo by Charlene Diehl.

Peter Landgren, Dean of CCM, has announced the appointment of saxophonist and composer Craig Bailey to the faculty of CCM’s Department of Jazz Studies.

Bailey joins CCM as Assistant Professor of Music in Jazz Saxophone beginning in August of 2014. Alongside his teaching responsibilities, Bailey will serve as music director and conductor of CCM’s acclaimed Jazz Lab Band.

Bailey’s interest in music began at the age of 8 when he learned how to play the recorder with a small group of classmates. Following that, he became a part of the All City Boys Choir in his hometown of Cincinnati. He enrolled in the beginning band program in junior high and took up the clarinet, saxophone and flute, perfecting his skills in playing all three instruments in high school and college.

Bailey earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Miami, then headed to New York City in 1985. As a young artist in New York, he worked with drummer Charli Persip’s Superband. During this time, Bailey made many musical contacts and heard some of the jazz world’s finest veterans and young lions.