Ed Sarath, Ph.D., is professor of music and also director of the University of Michigan program in creativity and consciousness studies. He divides his time between teaching, scholarship, performing, composing, recording, speaking, and spearheading leadership initiatives. He founded and serves as president of the International Society for Improvised Music (isimprov.org). His most recent book, Black Music Matters (Rowman and Littlefield 2018), applies principles of a consciousness-based worldview called Integral Theory to music, following in the footsteps of his prior book, Improvisation, Creativity, and Consciousness: Jazz as Integral Template for Music, Education, and Society (SUNY/Albany, 2013). An earlier book, Music Theory Through Improvisation: A New Approach to Musicianship Training (Routledge, 2010), is based in his design of an innovative approach to core curriculum musicianship training that he has taught for twenty years.
Sarath is co-editor of several volumes on contemplative education, including a two-volume series on SUNY/Albany dealing with theoretical and case studies related to intersubjective contemplative education. His writings also appear in a wide range of journals and collected volumes across fields. His compositional work spans diverse musical horizons and ensemble types. His large ensemble jazz compositions are featured on his recording New Beginnings, played by the London Jazz Orchestra playing his large ensemble compositions and his solo flugelhorn work. His music has been performed across the United States, Europe, and South America. Prior recordings include Timescape, Last Day in May (Konnex, Berlin) and Voice of the Wind (Owl, Paris) and feature a host of internationally renowned artists as side personnel.
