Brian Felix, D.M.A.

Bio

Brian Felix holds a B.A. in Music from Rutgers College, a M.M. in Jazz Performance from DePaul University and a D.M.A. in Jazz Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign. He was the co-leader, keyboardist, and primary composer in OM Trio, an acclaimed San Francisco-based jazz-rock group that toured internationally between 1999-2004. His most recent album, Brian Felix Organ Trio Level Up, was released in 2025 on Slimtrim Records. Felix’s research interests include jazz and improvised musics, the Grateful Dead and the Beatles. His work has been published in Jazz Perspectives, Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, Grateful Dead Studies, and he is the co-author (with Peter Carney) of Interactive Listening: A New Approach to Music. He teaches classes on jazz theory and improvisation, ensembles, jazz history, keyboard skills, music business, the Beatles, and the Grateful Dead. Dr. Felix was Chair of the Department of Music from 2019-2023.

Courses Taught

• MUSC 129 – Jazz Ensemble
• MUSC 178 – Creative Listening
• MUSC 295 – Harmony and Improvisation I
• MUSC 296 – Harmony and Improvisation II
• MUSC 345 – Defining the Beatles: Music, Image and Influence
• MUSC 346 – The Grateful Dead: Music, Counterculture and Society
• MUS 357 – Jazz History
• MUSC 382 – Music Business and Industry I
• MUSC 383 – Music Business and Industry II

Ensembles Directed

• Wayne Shorter Ensemble
• UNCA X-Tet
• Rhythm & Blues Ensemble
• Funk/Fusion Ensemble
• Antonio Carlos Jobim Ensemble
• Miles Davis Ensemble
• Beatles Ensemble
• Herbie Hancock Ensemble
• Standards Ensemble
• Duke Ellington Ensemble
• Frank Zappa Ensemble
• Steely Dan Ensemble
• Cole Porter Ensemble
• Nina Simone Ensemble
• Buena Vista Social Club Ensemble
• Beatles-Jazz Ensemble

Personal Website

www.brianfelix.com