Passion profile: Nathan Schneider and jazz

All photos by Silas Taylor

“The thing about jazz is- every single performance is different. I think that’s what inspires me so much." - Nathan Schneider

Nathan Schneider is an 11th grader at ERHS who strives to play music with as many people as possible. He’s part of the symphonic band, marching band, but if you couldn’t tell, his passion is jazz. He's a part of Combo Band, Big Band, and Latin Jazz Band.

Nathan’s musical journey started in 4th grade when he was given a school clarinet. He dabbled in drums and piano, but he found his calling with the saxophone. Today, he mainly plays alto sax, but he also knows how to play soprano and tenor sax.

Si: “What got you interested in jazz at all? I mean, it’s 2025, and jazz isn’t exactly cool or ‘in’ with popular culture.”

Nathan: “Well, it started with my love for the sound of early big band swing from back in the 40s, after discovering it. I really found the sound pleasant. On the other hand, my parents have a good connection to music, and that kind of gave me a boost.”

However, the event that really got Nathan to start playing jazz, rather than just appreciating it, was the time in freshman year when he decided to show up to our

school’s most selective jazz combo without being invited. He says it was “the best mistake he ever made,” and it inspired him to start taking music seriously. He started practicing his saxophone at least an hour a day, and he started to ingrain jazz music into all parts of his life.

The origins of jazz are what make it such an interesting genre of music, because jazz music used to be what everybody listened to in America. Artists like Benny Goodman in the 1930’s and 40’s were like the Sabrina Carpenter of today. Young people met each other and developed a culture through live jazz and dancing.

Nathan: “I mean, it would be cool to experience music in the pre WW2 Swing Era, when the culture was booming, and obviously those times are incredibly important for jazz history. But I also want to mention that, for me, the evolution of Jazz is what makes it such a beautiful art form. It’s just influenced [so much] of American culture.”

Si: “How does it feel to play jazz? What is your favorite part about it?”

Nathan: “Yeah, it’s mainly the soloing. jazz is a pretty broad category of music, but for me, I think improvisation and the creation of music in real time is what makes it so fulfilling.”

In jazz, soloists don’t memorize what they’re going to play. Sure, there are written melodies that make songs recognizable, but when you see a musician step up to the bandstand to take a solo, everything is going to be coming from the heart. In this way, there is no “right” or “wrong” in jazz, it is the musician expressing themselves in real time.

Nathan: “[I feel] very free when I improvise. I’m very lucky to be such good friends with the people that I play music with, because we get to communicate when playing. For example, if I play a phrase that my drummer or pianist recognizes, they can play it back to me, like a call-and-response. And even for the people I don’t know, like when I’m playing with the LAUSD All-City Jazz Band, a good listener is so beautiful to play with. We can communicate and connect with each other without actually saying a word.”

Nathan wants to pursue music, specifically jazz, as a career. Whether it be traveling the world playing gigs, becoming a jazz educator, or professionally recording jazz, he clearly loves the process of playing music and the opportunities that come from it. Finally, Nathan has some advice for people who want to start playing jazz.

“Love the music. Do your own thing, and never give up, because all advice can be good advice. Practice as much as you can, listen to your favorite musicians, take ideas from famous recordings as well as musicians you know.” - Nathan Schneider

TL;DR: Listen to jazz music. Here are some of Nathan’s favorite albums:

Ugetsu - Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Earfood - Roy Hargrove

Speak Like a Child - Herbie Hancock

Hopefully, you can catch Nathan performing with our jazz combo at the annual winter band concert on Friday, December 12th. We’d love to see you there.