Interview with Jim Shearer: The music I make brings people joy: Video, new CD cover
Interview with Jazz tuba player Jim Shearer. An interview by email in writing.
JazzBluesNews.com: – First, let’s start out with where you grew up, and what got you interested in music. How exactly did your adventure take off?When did you realize that this was a passion you could make a living out of?
Jim Shearer: – I grew up in Water Valley, Mississippi, in a family newspaper business. My father was a fantastic jazz musician on the side, and it also stuck with me. In many ways, I’m getting to live out the career dream he never got to do. I can’t remember a life without music; it’s all I’ve ever done. I went through the typical middle school, high school, and college music programs, and from there, I went right into college teaching. There’s never been a time when I wasn’t performing, but I’ve also never made my full living strictly as a performing professional musician. Classroom and studio teaching have always been a big part of my life and still are today.