New Mexico State University (NMSU) recently revealed that its regents professor of music, Jim Shearer, has launched a project titled "Cloud Bowling with Claude Bolling" in collaboration with Summit Records. The occasion is set to be commemorated through live concert performances by Shearer.
Shearer is scheduled to host live concert performances on February 2 at NMSU's Atkinson Recital Hall and on February 7 at the Fox Fine Arts Recital Hall at the University of Texas at El Paso. According to a press release by NMSU, Shearer, who has over three decades of teaching experience, has imparted knowledge about the history, influence, and beauty of jazz to his students.
"This is a huge milestone," said Shearer according to the same press release. "In fact, I really think of this as the end of the second act of my life. I will never make another record like this. I've done five now, and I produced one for my wife. A good amount of what I’ve recorded is brand new music. With this disc, it’s kind of a vanity exercise. It’s me showing off and saying, ‘Hey, look what the tuba can do! It can do this, too!’"
Shearer further added: "As someone who plays, we constructed it so that it's a great performing piece. It's a fantastic piece of music that stands alone great, but as someone who teaches in a studio, it's also built to be a teaching piece. It's intentionally built for the tuba player. The parts are written so that if you don't play any improvised jazz, you can still make this piece work if you have a good jazz trio. If you have a good mix of piano, bass and drums, this piece will still work."
According to information provided on its About webpage by NMSU itself—a research-focused land-grant university—emphasizes teaching, research, and public service. It is recognized as a NASA Space-Grant College and is home to New Mexico's first Honors College.
