To wrap up our 40 Years of Jazz celebration, WEMU is inviting area musicians and jazz fans to come in the studio and be a Guest DJ. Today’s guest was drummer Sean Dobbins. Sean remembers years ago when his main musical mentor, trumpeter, and teacher Louis Smith told Sean to listen to WEMU to hear more of the music he wanted to play. WEMU has been a big part of Sean’s life and Sean has been a big player in our sound and programming for years.
Today Sean plays a big role in jazz education, following the example of his mentors in The Ann Arbor Public Schools, The Bird Of Paradise Jazz Club and Murphy’s Place in Toledo. Sean teaches at four area universities and two youth programs. When he is not teaching, Sean leads groups at Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor and at The Dirty Dog Jazz Café and Cliff Bell’s in Detroit or works with Ramona Collins, Tad Weed and Kurt Krahnke. Of note is Sean’s next concert in his Rising Star Series at Kerrytown Concert House on December 17th to showcase young talent who deserve recognition. Sean knows how it feels to be a struggling young musician and he makes it his mission to support and nurture them.
Sean Dobbins defines the concept of giving back. He is always busy, but he found time to talk about his life in music and create a one-of-a-kind hard bop playlist featuring Louis Smith, Art Blakey and Max Roach. If you are not familiar with Ann Arbor, Detroit and Toledo jazz lore, this conversation is a great introduction. If you are a long-time fan, this talk will awaken fond memories, but you might be surprised what Sean reveals this time. We are so glad that Sean Dobbins swung the sounds with WEMU today!
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