Performer Details
Performer Bio Synopsis
The jazz program within the band area at the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts has had a
storied legacy since its inception in 1984. Celebrating “America’s music” to its fullest extent,
two jazz ensembles serve as the primary performing groups. With a scope of study that
represents one hundred years of the evolution of jazz, repertoire includes the music of Fletcher
Henderson, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Stan Kenton through more recent big band
contemporaries like Maria Schneider, Dave Holland, Roy Hargrove, and Christian McBride.
Ensemble precision, stylistic integrity, and improvisational concepts are the focal points of
instruction.
The flagship of the Douglas Anderson jazz program is Jazz Ensemble 1. Long recognized as one
of the leading high school jazz bands in the country, JE 1 has had the honor of performing at
many esteemed festivals and events. These include the 1992 Midwest International Band and
Orchestra Conference in Chicago, prestigious jazz festivals in Europe, and Essentially Ellington
competitions in New York City where the band was named the winner in 2006. The band’s
Essentially Ellington win was chronicled in the award winning film documentary “CHOPS”,
which has served as an inspiration for many band programs across the nation.
In 2016, Don Zentz assumed the reigns of JE 1 from founding director Ace Martin. Under
Zentz’s direction, the band most recently performed at the 2017 Jazz Educators Network (JEN)
conference in New Orleans, won the 2017 national Swing Central jazz band competition in
Savannah, and has been recognized by DownBeat Magazine for Outstanding Performance
placement in their 2017 & 2018 Student Music Awards . Both DA jazz bands directed by Zentz
placed first and third at the 2018 Jacksonville University Jazz Festival. JE 1 has been honored
once again by being invited to perform at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic
in December/2018. Receiving superior ratings at music performance assessments continues to
be a mainstay for both Douglas Anderson jazz ensembles along with having students selected to
the Florida All-State Jazz Band.
The Douglas Anderson Band Program as a whole was named a National Band Association
divisional Program of Excellence in 2017, and then was honored at the 2017 Midwest Clinic in
being named the national Program of Excellence. In 2016, Douglas Anderson was recognized as
a Grammy Gold Signature School designating it as one of the top three high school music
programs in the country. The school has been recognized as the Grammy National Winner twice
and Gold winner two other times over the years. Douglas Anderson band graduates matriculate
at colleges and universities across the United States. The Class of 2017 received $4.3 million
dollars in instrumental music scholarship offers.
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Jazz Ensemble I
Conductor's Bio
DON ZENTZ is the Director of Jazz Studies at the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in
Jacksonville, FL. Presently in his thirty-third year as an award-winning music educator, Don’s
career has encompassed teaching at every level possible in education as a middle school and high
school band director, college music professor, and fine arts administrator. He is an honor
graduate and outstanding alumnus of Valdosta State University (B.M./M.M.E.).
Don received much acclaim and recognition during his nine-year tenure at the University of
North Florida. Originally hired by jazz program founder Rich Matteson, Don co-taught the
saxophone studio with Bunky Green. As the director of JE 1, the band won the National
Collegiate Jazz Festival and Notre Dame Jazz Festival, was named Best Collegiate Big Band by
DownBeat Magazine, was selected to perform at IAJE/Atlanta, produced two critically
acclaimed CD’s, and appeared on the international stage for the first time at the 1997 Montreux
Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Don was named an Outstanding Undergraduate Professor at UNF
in 1996 and went on to represent the school at the state level. In 1999, he received a TIP Award
for Excellence in Teaching from the Florida Board of Regents and was recognized nationally by
DownBeat Magazine as their Jazz Education Achievement Award recipient.
Don is much in demand as a clinician in both traditional and jazz idioms. He has directed the
All-State jazz bands of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Maine, and conducted the Delaware All-
State Symphonic Band. During the 1990’s, Don was selected to the music faculty of the Georgia
Governors Honors Program where he headed the jazz division and conducted the wind ensemble.
For over twenty years he was a per service saxophonist with the Jacksonville Symphony
Orchestra and still plays many of the off-Broadway shows that come into the southeast as a
woodwind artist. He adjudicates extensively each year for the Florida Bandmasters Association
and other independent music festivals like Festival Disney. Don served two terms as the Florida
Unit president of IAJE.
At the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Don directs both jazz ensembles, teaches jazz
history and music theory, and serves on the band faculty. In the last two years, his top jazz
ensemble performed at the 2017 JEN Conference in New Orleans, won the 2017 Swing Central
national jazz band competition in Savannah, was cited by DownBeat Magazine for Outstanding
Performance placement in the 2017 & 2018 student music awards, presented Spring Jazz Night
2018 with special guest artist Ernie Watts, and has been invited to perform at The Midwest
Clinic this December/2018 in Chicago. Additionally, the top DA jazz ensemble enjoys opening
for the Great American Jazz Series at the University of North Florida each October. DA JE 1 &
JE 2 placed first and third respectively at the 2018 Jacksonville University Jazz Festival. Both
jazz ensembles will be performing at the 2018 Jacksonville Jazz Festival.
Don has been a Keilwerth Saxophones artist and endorser since 1995. His career reveals a deep
passion for both the teaching and performing of music. He credits his career success to his
mentors – Bob Greenhaw, Rich Matteson, and Joe David – and to his wife, Laurie, who has been
his soulmate now for over thirty-three years.
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