Mr. Lawrence Panella
Associate Professor
Bio
Larry Panella is a jazz saxophonist and educator serving at The University of Southern Mississippi as the Director of Jazz Studies. He has performed with numerous artists and entertainers including The Phil Collins Big Band, The Woody Herman Orchestra, and Natalie Cole. His recordings include his latest release entitled Larry Panella; The Gestures Project, and earlier release Larry Panella; Under The Influence, as well as releases with the Phil Collins Big Band, The Michael Waldrop Big Band, The Collection Jazz Orchestra, the Ashley Alexander Big Band, John Mahoney Big Band and Chris Cortez. He is the author of Improvisation: A Theme and Variations Based Approach – Book 1, the first in a three book series. (Available on Amazon) Panella is an artist endorser for Cannonball Music Instruments.
Prior to coming to Southern Miss he served on the faculty of Northern Illinois University and Wheaton College and was active as a freelance musician in the Chicago area.
- Classical and Jazz performance and pedagogy. (MM) - Northern Illinois University (1987)
- Jazz Studies - Performance - Saxophone (BM) - University of North Texas (1984)
- Jazz Improvisation: A Theme and Variations Based Approach – Book 1 , 2018
- The Gestures Project - The Larry Panella Jazz Quartet
The Gestures Project performance was a performance of original works paying tribute to three greats of the tenor saxophone - Bob Berg, Michael Brecker, and Hank Mobley with a rhythm section from the host institution including my colleague Michael Kocour - piano and director of the Jazz Studies Program at ASU. The works were part of a CD recording paying tribute to players and mentors who were influential in my musical development.
- Jazz Education Network