Douglas Olsen

Veteran jazz educator, jazz trumpeter, and jazz clinician in New England for over 30 years. Has performed extensively with top National and Regional acts, instructed ensembles and improvisation classes at the collegiate and secondary level, and has established nationally recognized jazz program in Medfield Public Schools. In the last 5.5 and a half years, Doug has more than doubled the number of students involved in WPI Jazz Groups and greatly expanded the Jazz Departments digital outreach, including over 150 performance videos on the YouTube @wpijazz channel. In May 2023, Doug led the WPI Jazz Groups on a successful performance tour of New Orleans. Active guest artist and lecturer at colleges and secondary schools including UMASS Amherst, MIT, URI, Berklee School of Music, and Harvard. Skilled composer, arranger, improviser, recording artist, conductor, and band leader in jazz/latin/classical/world-music styles.

Performances at: The Today Show (Little Anthony), Montreal Jazz Festival, Boston Globe Jazz Festival, Boston Symphony Hall, Boston Esplanade, Jazz at Lincoln Center

Release of 2019 CD "Two Cents" - Original compositions published by BMI. #19 on NACC National Radio Charts. Active radio play of album in 2021

Solo performances with Wayne Bergeron, Scary Pockets, the Bad Plus, and the Jazz Educators Network Convention with Sean Jones, and performances (2019) at the Stowe, Cambridge, and Middlesex Jazz Festivals.

Finalist for Split Lead/Trumpet 2 in Danish Radio Big Band - Copenhagen, Denmark. October 2017.

Lead and/or Solo Trumpet with: Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra, Eddie Madden Jazz Orchestra,

Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol Jazz Orchestra, Berklee Faculty Jazz Orchestra, Smithsonian Masterworks Orchestra directed by David Baker, Tommy Dorsey Jazz Orchestra, Greg Hopkins Jazz Orchestra, John Almark Jazz Orchestra, Kenny Hadley Jazz Band, Brian Thomas/Alex-Lee Clark Big Band, Greg Hopkins Big Band, Big & Phat Big Band (Daniel Ian Smith), Igue Castillo Orchestra, Ken Schaphorst Big Band, Air Force Band of Liberty, Duke Belair Big Band, Louis Bauza Latin Orchestra, Jeff Holmes Big Band, Worcester Big Band, Hartford Jazz Orchestra, New World Jazz Composer's Octet, The Cape Cod Symphony, and many small ensembles.

Performances with Notables: Michael Mossman, Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Brookmeyer, Yusef Lateef, Archie Shepp, Rufus Reed, Ed Calle, Calixto Oviedo, Nick Brignola, Terrell Stafford, David Baker, Billy Taylor, Jason Palmer, Alex Sipiagin, Conrad Herwig, Donny McCaslin, Yaure Muniz, Mark Walker, Michael Abene, Gerald Wilson, Demetrio Muniz, Igue Castillo

Rock/Pop/Commercial performances with: Aretha Franklin, The O'Jays, Little Anthony and the Imperials, The Four Tops, The Platters, The Drifters, The Spinners, Frankie Valle, Forever Ray, Bellevue Cadillac, Jay Black and the Americans, and the Big Apple Circus.

Recordings with: Bellevue Cadillac (movie credits with The Sopranos, Shallow Hal), Redtenbacher's Funkestra, Michelle Mailhot, A Collective Directive, The Big & Phat Band (Daniel Ian Smith), Brian Thomas/Alex-Lee Clark Big Band, Tom Roli Big Band, Mike DiBari Swingtet, Nineteen, Who's Kiddin' Who, Ryles Jazz Orchestra, Chris Merz and the X-tet, Groupo Shekere, Felipe Salles Interconnections Ensemble, the Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra, The New World Composers Octet, and the Fernando Huergo Latin Jazz Big Band.

JEN member

NAMFE member

Clinician and Clinic Coordinator for MA Association of Jazz Educators (MAJE)

Directed District and All-State Jazz Ensembles in MA, NH, MA, RI (MENC)

Ayn Inserto - Professor of Composition - Berklee School of Music

ayninserto@gmail.com | 617-834-8154

Greg Hopkins - Professor of Trumpet - Berklee School of Music

ghopkins@berklee.edu | 781-820-6002 

Dino Govoni - Professor of Saxophone - Berklee School of Music

dgovoni@berklee.edu | 617 747-8315  

Jeffrey Holmes - Director of Jazz Studies - University of MA at Amherst 

jwholmes@music.umass.edu | 413-545-6046

Dr. Fred Harris - Director of Jazz and Wind Studies - MIT

fharris@mit.edu | 617-452-2283