Ray Briggs is an Associate Professor of Music and Assistant Director of Jazz Studies at California State University, Long Beach, where he coordinates the jazz combo program and teaches courses in jazz history and ethnomusicology. Dr. Briggs holds a Ph.D. and a M.A. degree in Ethnomusicology from the University of California, Los Angeles, a M.M. in Music Performance (Woodwind Doubling) from the University of Redlands, and a B.M. in Music Education from the University of Memphis. He has performed with John Clayton, Jeff Clayton, Rufus Reid, and Benny Green and is currently completing a book-length manuscript on the history of jazz in Memphis, Tennessee (forthcoming via University of Michigan Press). With a passionate interest in the relationship between the triumvirate disciplines of jazz studies – performance, pedagogy, and research, Dr. Briggs seeks to utilize the synergy of a unique and combinative approach to understanding the music.