California Jazz Conservatory

History & Fun Facts

• •She first taught at then became the director of the Jazz Ensembles program at the University of California, Berkeley.
• •In 1989 she left the Cal music department for private teaching and professional performance, playing at various times with Sonny Rollins, Sheila E.
• •The California Jazz Conservatory enrolled about 130–150 students in its first quarter, taught by some 25 local jazz musicians and educators.
• •By 2001 the school enrolled 600 students each quarter.
• •The performance space was named Hardymon Hall to memorialize Berkeley High School's dynamic jazz educator Phil Hardymon who founded the Berkeley Jazz Project in 1975 for high school students.