Harper Jazz Ensemble, Director
Adjunct Faculty in Jazz Voice/Jazz Trumpet
jhedberg@harpercollege.edu
847.925.6568
Building P, Room P213
jeffhedbergjazz.com
Jeff Hedberg is a Chicago-based, jazz vocalist, flugelhorn/trumpet player, band leader
and educator. Jeff currently teaches at Harper College in Palatine, IL, working with
vocal jazz and trumpet students. As Grammy-winning Jazz Critic, Neil Tesser notes
- Hedberg sounds a great deal like Tormé. To which I can only ask, “What’s wrong with
that?” At his peak, Tormé was the most artistically accomplished male jazz singer
in history. Anyone who can reference that achievement, without wilting in the comparison,
gets my vote."
Jeff's musical training includes a Master of Music in Jazz Pedagogy from Northwestern
University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Elmhurst College. Through
his schooling, as well as his own pursuits, Jeff has studied with Doug Beach, Mark
Colby, Jackie Allen, Brenda Lualdi, Bob Rummage, Rob Parton, and Mike Kocour. Jeff
has performed with jazz luminaries such as Bobby Shew, Lanny Morgan, Mike Abene, Orbert
Davis, New York Voices, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Frank Mantooth, Kevin Mahogany, Maria
Schneider, and Clark Terry.
Jeff is also the leader and founder of JEFF HEDBERG & C11. This unique 12-piece, Chicago-based
jazz group, founded in April 2008, dedicated to preserving and performing the legendary
"dek-tette" arrangements of master arranger, Marty Paich. Grammy winning Jazz Critic,
Neil Tesser notes - "they re-create, with fidelity and precision, selections from
several albums that the jazz genius Mel Tormé recorded in the mid-50s...and lives
up to its inspiration, reeling off Paich’s writing with exuberance as well as care...Hedberg’s
C11 makes these charts sound nearly as fresh as they did six decades ago." Jeff and
C11 have released two recordings as part of their "Pages of Paich" project entitled
"Too Darn Hot" and "Nice Work...If You Can Get It."
