Joseph Mazzaferro
New Faculty Appointment
Joseph Mazzaferro

We are excited to announce that Joseph Mazzaferro has accepted invitation to serve as Associate Professor of Practice in Jazz and Associate Director of Jazz Studies. His appointment is another step forward for Pacific's nationally regarded jazz program.

Prior to joining the Conservatory of Music, Mazzaferro served as the coordinator of Jazz Studies at California State University, Stanislaus, and held teaching positions at Sacramento State and San Joaquin-Delta College. His formal studies include BM in Music Education from University of the Pacific and MM in Jazz and Studio Music from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he served as a graduate teaching assistant for their jazz program.  

As a trumpeter, educator and composer, Mazzaferro is active on the Northern California jazz scene and in demand as a guest artist and clinician across the U.S. In November 2017, Mazzaferro released his debut album In Terms of ... (Joe Mazz Music) which features saxophonist Jeff Clayton along with special guests, drummer Carl Allen and pianist Donald Brown. The album peaked at #43 on the JazzWeek Charts and received high praise from jazz critics. The album has been described as “vintage hard bop with maturity” (George Harris, Jazz Weekly) as well “a little bebop, a little swing, and a lot of tenderness, heart, and passion come together on this intriguing debut” (Tom Henry, Toledo Blade). His forthcoming 2022 album Only Time Will Tell will feature vibraphonist Warren Wolf, drummer Carl Allen, bassist Rodney Whitaker and saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown. 

Mazzaferro has gained critical acclaim as a composer. He has arranged music for SF Jazz Collective's pianist Edward Simon, drummer Carl Allen, trumpeter Terell Stafford and vocalist Jazzmeia Horn. In 2019, Mazzaferro contributed arrangements to the Smoke Session Record's release Bird at 100, which commemorates the centennial birth of Charlie Parker and features alto saxophonists Vincent Herring, Bobby Watson and Gary Bartz. Mazzaferro's July 2020 big band release Talk About It! Live @ The CLARA features arrangements and compositions exclusively by Mazzaferro himself. 

As an active freelance performer and collaborator, Mazzaferro has had the opportunity to perform with many jazz greats including Dave Brubeck, Christian McBride, Stefon Harris, Eddie Gomez, Donny McCaslin, Donald Brown, Wycliffe Gordon, Jeff Clayton, Ingrid Jensen, Lewis Nash, Montez Coleman and Jim Snidero. At the 2013 Brubeck Festival at University of the Pacific, he has performed the Miles Davis masterpiece Birth of the Cool with Gunther Schuller. He was also a part of the series “Remembering James Williams & Mulgrew Miller” with pianist Donald Brown’s Quartet at the 58th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival. He performs regularly at Pacific's Take 5 Jazz Club in Stockton.

Mazzaferro is the musical director and co-founder of the Sacramento Jazz Orchestra and a member of the Capital Jazz Project.