Jon Yeager
About Jon Yeager
Jon Yeager grew up in southern California within a household in which his parents stood behind whatever their children pursued. Although his father would have preferred Jon follow in his footsteps into the medical profession, he supported Jon in his decision to dedicate himself to music. Jon became very involved in his schools’ bands, playing in every band his school offered, and serving as drum majorfor the marching band during his junior and senior years.
Jon was fortunate enough during this time to cross paths with studio great and former bass trombonist for Frank Sinatra, George Roberts. Jon studied with George through high school and learned how to play the bass trombone as an expressive solo instrument. As Jon transitioned to college, George would invite Jon to “spell” him during his Sunday performances on Coronado Island. Jon tried very hard to emulate George’s sound and style, and he recalls what he considered to be the greatest compliment he received as a developing musician when an older musician confessed that he didn’t realize it was Jon, and not George, playing a tune until he happened to look up.
Jon went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Humboldt State University, where he played lead trombone in the first jazz band, bass trombone in the second jazz band, first trombone in the orchestra, and euphonium in the wind ensemble. He then decided to focus on the bass trombone as he earned Masters and Doctoral degrees in Performance from the University of North Texas. Jon is a National Board Certified Teacher and teaches middle school band locally. He enjoys the opportunity to play with several local Charleston groups, including the Charleston Jazz Orchestra, Forte Big Band, and Charlton Singleton's Beehive Orchestra.