Alumnus Jeff Grubbs interviews for Jazz Alumni Spotlight program

May 27, 2021

Jeffs Grubbs (B.A., ’86) joined the YSU Jazz Alumni’s “Spotlight On…” program for a virtual interview on his musical journey Thursday, May 27.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Grubbs started playing the violin during elementary school and switched to double bass at age 18. He went on to receive musical training from Youngstown State University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the University of Southern California. In 1986, he won a Dee Bee Award from Downbeat Magazine after being named best collegiate bass soloist.

Grubbs was a recipient of the Music Assistance Fund (now the Sphinx Organization) Orchestral Fellowship, which allowed him to perform with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for two years. He also performed in the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra for five years before joining the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1996, where he has been since.

Grubbs has been a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University, Florida International University, and Slippery Rock University. He also served as an associate professor of jazz double bass at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.