Stan Bock

Stan Bock, son of a School Band Director, came to music early. By age 15, he was performing with his Dad’s Dixieland band and was a trombone soloist. He earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Fort Hays State in Kansas and then a Master of Music in Solo Performance from the University of Northern Iowa.

Stan entered the U.S. Air Force Band program in 1975 where he served as trombone soloist and lead player with various groups for over 19 years before retiring in 1994. During his Air Force career, Stan performed on radio, television, and on recordings throughout the United States and Europe. Frequently during these years, Stan appeared as a guest artist, clinician, or adjudicator for High School and College festivals, mainly in the United States. He was also quite active as a freelance trombonist, appearing with a variety of musical groups.
 Stan arrived on the Portland, Oregon scene in the mid '90's and has become one of the “top call” jazz trombonists in the area. He is an active freelance trombonist performing with a full spectrum of musical groups throughout the Pacific Northwest. While Stan has appeared on dozens of recordings, he has recorded three CD’s entitled Of Fathers and Sons, Night Grooves, and Your Check’s in the Mail. The more recent pair of CDs are released on OA2 Records, one of Seattle-based Origin Arts’ family of independent jazz labels. Both CDs have received much critical acclaim. In 2004, Night Grooves was submitted for Grammy consideration and, again in 2008, Your Check’s in the Mail was nominated for a Grammy.

Stan has been on Faculty at Willamette University since 1995 and in 2005 he joined the Jazz Faculty at Mt. Hood Community College where he directs Jazz Combos and Jazz Band 2. He is also on the faculty for the Mel Brown Jazz Workshop. He brings a long career of playing trombone with various jazz artists to his teaching gig. He continues to appear as a guest artist, clinician, and adjudicator for various music festivals, concerts, and events throughout the United States.