The jazz guitar department at the University of North Texas consists of approximately 40 jazz guitar majors who study at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level.

In addition to Dr. Davy Mooney  who runs the program and teaches private students, improvisation, and the L-5 guitar ensemble, the department includes two adjunct professors, Noel Johnston and Paul Metzger , and two graduate teaching assistants. Together they teach the jazz guitar majors, the three guitar ensembles, and various other courses.

Guitarists participate in many ensembles at UNT, including the various lab bands—lead by the seven-time Grammy nominated One O’Clock Lab Band…

…four different Jazz Singers ensembles, the Zebras Popular Music ensemble, Latin Jazz, Jazz Strings, et cetera (for a complete list and more info visit http://jazz.unt.edu).

The jazz guitar program at UNT goes back many years. Jazz guitar legends Jack Peterson and Fred Hamilton were its previous heads.  Dr. Mooney took over in Fall of 2017 after Fred Hamilton’s retirement.

Located in Denton, TX, about 40 miles north of both Fort Worth and Dallas, UNT was the first university to offer a jazz degree in 1947 and since that time has grown into one of the top jazz schools in the world. Some notable players who attended UNT (the list is immense) include members of the band Snarky Puppy (founded in Denton in 2004), Norah Jones, Ari Hoenig, Lyle Mays, Arthur Barrow, Lou Marini, and many others. For recent UNT Grammy winners, visit this site: about.music.unt.edu.