FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is pleased to announce the appointment of bassist Natalie Boeyink as associate professor of music in jazz studies, effective Aug. 1, 2023, pending approval of the IU Board of Trustees.
After completing a doctorate in music education at the Jacobs School of Music in 2015, Boeyink joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina, where she is currently jazz lecturer and coordinator, and string education coordinator at UNC Wilmington. She earned an M.M. in Jazz Performance from the University of Louisville and a B.M. in Jazz Studies from the Jacobs School.
Boeyink’s interest in the educational experiences and careers of jazzwomen has launched a series of research projects, conference presentations and publications, including her dissertation, “An Analysis and Description of Female Jazz Instrumentalists.” An advocate for jazzwomen, she served as chair of the Jazz Education Network’s Women in Jazz Committee and worked to reestablish the Sisters in Jazz Collegiate Combo Competition.
Her book chapter “Jazzwomen in Higher Education: Experiences, Attitudes, and Personality Traits” is featured in “The Routledge Companion to Jazz and Gender,” edited by James Reddan, Monika Herzig and Michael Kahr.
“We couldn’t be happier to welcome Natalie Boeyink back to her home at the Jacobs School of Music,” said Abra Bush, David Henry Jacobs Bicentennial Dean. “Her strong, eclectic background and expertise in both performing and teaching a broad range of musical styles are equaled only by her impressive accomplishments in research on and advocacy for women in jazz.”
Raised in a musical home in Bloomington, Boeyink was surrounded by recordings of the Modern Jazz Quartet and Miles Davis in addition to those of Arlo Guthrie and Johannes Brahms. Violin studies began at age five and were soon followed by piano lessons. In high school, she became enthralled with the rhythms of Latin jazz and bossa nova and knew she wanted to be a jazz bassist.
Batuquê Trio is Boeyink’s seasoned collaboration with drummer Andy Smith and pianist Jamaal Baptiste. Focusing on contemporary Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and Caribbean jazz, they frequently appear at jazz festivals as performers and clinicians. The trio’s first CD, “Transparency,” was released in 2015, and a second album is forthcoming in 2023.
Some of Boeyink’s notable performances include appearances with David Liebman, Tammy McCann and Leni Stern, among many others.
“I am very excited for Dr. Natalie Boeyink to join the Jazz Studies Department faculty,” said Tom Walsh, department chair. “She brings a wealth of experience performing and teaching a variety of genres, particularly Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and Caribbean, in addition to straight ahead jazz. She also brings experience in teaching jazz history, African American music and jazz pedagogy and improvisation, while her research on women in jazz is significant.”