Glenn's Bio

Glenn Appell is a professional musician and educator who has been teaching at the college level for twenty five years. Residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, He currently coordinates popular music studies at Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill, CA , where he currently teaches Rock and R&B History, and has taught Jazz History, American Popular Music History, Jazz Theory and Improvisation, Jazz Ensembles and Jazz Combos including Latin Jazz . He is the former director of the jazz program at Contra Costa College in addition to teaching at Solano College and Ohlone College. He received his B.S. in Music Performance and Education from the City University of New York (CUNY) in 1980 and received his interdisciplinary MA in Multicultural Music Education from San Francisco State University in 1998. Glenn has published on jazz education and music advocacy in urban schools.

In addition Glenn is the co-author of the recently published textbook American Popular Music: A Multicultural History. Co-authored by David Hemphill, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in Education at San Francisco State University, the text was published by Thomson Schirmer (2006) and includes a 2 CD set of listening examples. The interdisciplinary text provides a sweeping survey that tells the story of American popular music from African American, European American, Latino, Asian and Native American perspectives. Of particular interest is an extensive chapter on the history of Mexican American/Chicano music, an area that rarely receives the academic attention it deserves. The text has received rave reviews from a number of popular music scholars and historians including George Lipsitz, Daniel Sheehy, and Chris Strachwitz.
For more information on the textbook visitwww.thomsonedu.com/music/appell

Glenn has also maintained an active freelance career for over twenty five years performing on trumpet, flugelhorn, harmonica, and Native American flute. He has toured and recorded with a variety of artists and performing groups including The San Francisco Mime Troupe, The Johnny Nocturne Band, Pete and Sheila Escovedo, O.J. Ekemode, Charles Brown, David Bromberg, Dr. Loco's Rockin' Jalapeño Band, and songwriter Alex Call. In addition Glenn has also done extensive recording for documentary and feature films. He currently leads the Tutti Forza! Trumpet Quartet and the Just Say Jazz Sextet, whose primary focus is jazz education. This professional group has performed in over 150 schools, museums and community centers in Northern California over the last 14 years. Glenn also currently performs with the acclaimed ten piece brass ensemble Brazzissimo and Soul Power, one the the Bay Area's hottest Funk/R&B bands. 

Glenn is available for a variety of workshops and lectures including

• American Popular Music: a Multicultural Perspective
• A Multicultural Perspective on Jazz History
• Just Say Jazz: Developing Jazz Education programs for Children