Dave Schumacher

Director of Jazz Workshops

David Schumacher, Director of NJYS Jazz Workshops, is a Chicago native who has been a touring musician, freelancer on the New York scene, and an educator for more than 40 years. At age 23, Schumacher began his career with legendary jazz master and vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. In 1990, he joined Harry Connick, Jr. as an original member of Connick’s orchestra, touring and recording with the band for the next 19 years. Schumacher has toured and/or recorded with many world-class jazz artists, including T.S. Monk On Monk, the Tom Harrell Octet and Big Band, the Art Blakey Big Band, the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie, and Mel Tormé, among many other jazz greats. He is a two-time recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) performance grant.

Schumacher has performed in over 460 cities across 41 countries on five continents, on the concert stage and on countless major television broadcasts. In 2013, he was hired as the first Director of Jazz Studies for the New Jersey Youth Symphony, where he spent five years building the organization’s jazz combos and workshop program and bringing jazz into the NJYS community. He currently serves as Director of NJYS Jazz Workshops and is a faculty member at the Wharton Performing Arts School, teaching saxophone, clarinet, and improvisation.

As a bandleader and composer, Schumacher leads Cubeye, his jazz septet blending Afro-Cuban jazz, Latin jazz, and a rumba-meets-swing sensibility, performing on baritone saxophone — his primary instrument throughout his career. Cubeye’s 2024 debut album, Smoke in the Sky, was released on Cellar Music. Cubeye released the follow-up, Agua Con Gas, earlier this year, with the title track reaching #1 on NewGenSalsa’s Latin Jazz playlist.

Schumacher holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Rutgers University and a Master of Music in Jazz Performance from New Jersey City University. He continues to perform and record as a freelance musician alongside his work with Cubeye and his teaching at NJYS and Wharton.