woodwind and brass department

at Seattle Jazz Academy

Seattle Jazz Academy offers a unique and enriching experience for individuals looking to explore the world of music through woodwind and brass instruments. Our expert instructors bring a wealth of experience and passion for jazz music, and they are dedicated to nurturing the talents of our students, you will not only develop a strong foundation in music theory and technique, but also become part of a vibrant and supportive musical community.

Jazz is all about improvisation and self-expression, our academy encourages students to explore their creativity while honing their skills. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced musician looking to expand your horizons, our diverse opportunities for woodwind and brass players will help you grow as a musician. Join Seattle Jazz Academy, and let the magic of jazz music come alive!

Hans Teuber

Saxophone Flute and Clarinet Instruction

Hans Teuber has been a top-call saxophonist and woodwind doubler, composer, arranger, and keyboardist in the Pacific Northwest for over thirty years, with extensive experience recording and touring alongside many influential artists. He has traveled North America, Europe, Japan, and Brazil, performing with jazz luminaries such as George Cables, Julient Priester, Bill Frisell, Chano Domingues, Michael White, and Wayne Horvitz. Hans also toured and performed with folk singer Ani DiFranco and recorded with notable Seattle rock bands Brad and Mudhoney.

For almost ten years Hans instructed and accompanied at Cornish College of the Arts, and he has released four albums as a band leader under Jackson Street and Origin Records. Hans has been actively involved in the cirque world having spent eighteen years with Seattle’s Teatro Zinzanni and is currently working with Montreal’s comedy duo “Monseigneures Tim et Joe.”

As an instructor, Hans’ hope first and foremost is to convey his practical experience in a cultural context as applied to musical problems and exercises. His approach to teaching includes an emphasis on the value of music in all areas of the human experience, keeping in mind how history and our current local communities may inform and relate to our musical interests and skills. Hans instructs and collaborates with his students in developing a strong proficiency in music, whether focusing on the mastery of an instrument, composition, and/or songwriting.

Beserat Tafesse

Trombone and Trumpet Instruction

Born to Ethiopian immigrants in the Pacific Northwest, Beserat Tafesse grew up with a wide array of musical and cultural influences. Traditional Ethio Jazz, the great Stevie Wonder, and his parents favorites were all mixed up and strewn together; each uniquely informing and penetrating his mind with a diverse soundscape from an early age. As he grew older, Beserat went to Central Washington University to pursue a degree in Classical Euphonium Performance, unintentionally cementing his love for jazz trombone instead. From there he attended the Manhattan School of Music, studying Jazz Trombone with some of the greats, and shedding nightly with many of New York’s living legends. You may have seen him playing with acts such as the Mambo Legends Jazz Orchestra, The Birdland Big Band, or blasting away with Slavic Soul Party. You may also have heard his work on the Grammy Nominated album Art of the Arrangement, by Doug Beavers, one of many projects he gladly lent his horn playing to. After playing for years around town with bands such as The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and traveling the globe with groups such as Kings Kaleidoscope, Beserat decided it was finally time to return home to Seattle, to spend time with his friends and family who helped raise him. Although he currently spends most of his time in Seattle, he still very much is a part of the national scene, traveling to and from his home as he sees fit. While in Seattle, Beserat continues to collaborate with world class musicians and teach at Cornish College of the Arts as well as work on his own debut solo project.

Audrey Strangland

Brass Instruction

Audrey is a top-call trombonist in the greater Seattle area. As daughter of two band directors, she was immersed in music from a very early age and played an array of different instruments before finding her voice through the trombone. She was heavily influenced by the duets of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, as well as Louis Prima and his band.

Audrey studied bass trombone at Central Washington University, and held positions in CWU Jazz 1 as both bass and lead trombonist. She is currently gigging, recording and teaching all around the Pacific Northwest. She teaches private lessons, gives clinics to local middle school and high school jazz bands, runs the Femme Ellington Big Band at Seattle JazzED as well as leading a music class for babies and toddlers.

Audrey is currently busy playing trombone with a variety of groups such as Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, Orquesta Nueva Era, The Pazific, the Alex Dugdale Big Band, Banda Vagos. She is also gaining attention as a wonderful singer as she leads her own jazz trio, and her R&B group “Audrey and the Stangs.”

Brian Bermudez

Woodwind instructor

Brian is a saxophone chameleon performing many different genres around the greater Seattle area for the better part of two decades but Jazz has been at the core of his study throughout.

A product of the high school jazz education in the Puget Sound region, Brian found his way to New York where he attended The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music later returning to Seattle to study at Cornish College of the Arts. He has been privileged to have many mentors, chief among them Dave Schnitter, Johannes Wallmann, Denney Goodhew, Hans Teuber, Julian Priester, Dawn Clement, Jovino Santos Neto, and Jim Knapp.

His time performing on the Seattle Music Scene has shaped his philosophy that quality music education is about personal connections with the players and the music and that a student's interests, supported by the technical elements needed to play their instrument, should be the guiding light.

Carrie Jennings

Trumpet Instruction

Carrie Jennings is a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist based in Seattle, WA. She has been performing and teaching music for over a decade, sharing her love of the arts with audiences and students across the West Coast.

Born and raised in Nevada, Carrie was involved in the performing arts from a young age as both a musician and a dancer. Her passion for performing took her to Colorado where she received a BM in Classical Performance from the University of Denver. While spending ten years immersed in the Denver music scene and touring the West Coast with indie-soul band Mama Magnolia and soul-R&B artist Wes Watkins, Carrie has been honored to open for acclaimed artists including The California Honeydrops, Snarky Puppy, and Booker T. Jones. She’s performed at notable venues including Mission Ballroom, Coors Field, Mishawaka Amphitheatre and at festivals including South by Southwest, Bumbershoot, and Sawtooth Valley Gathering. She also founded a North Indian classical dance school with her mentor Dr. Sarah Morelli and danced professionally with Leela Dance Collective. After moving to Seattle in 2022, Carrie launched her solo career as a singer-songwriter and released her debut EP “Good Tension” in October of 2023. Since then, she has been performing her own original music with her husband, Thomas Jennings, and her new band, Queen of Hearts, throughout the Pacific Northwest.

As both an artist and educator, Carrie believes that art is an essential component of our human experience, and that time devoted to any type of creative practice represents a deep investment in ourselves. She believes that this type of self-exploration cultivates awareness, joy, connection, and transformation. This fuels her desire to be a teacher. She is passionate about goal-oriented learning, leading by example, and mentorship, and is thrilled to be a part of the Seattle Jazz Academy community.

Brass/Woodwind Contact