Meet Alex Hahn | Artist, Composer, Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex Hahn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
“Success” is a relative term that means different things to different people. There are three factors that have helped me pursue a career as an artist, composer, and educator.

1a. My parents
I feel incredibly fortunate that I have two parents who show unwavering support in my artistry. Both are my parents are musicians and music educators. My dad plays saxophone/clarinet and taught middle school for over 30 years. My mom is a classically trained pianist and was a music therapist at an all special ed school for over 30 years. Both are retired now and spend so much of their time traveling and attending my performances.

1b. My Wife
My wife, Lauren, and I are high school sweethearts. We met in middle school band class and, after years of just being friends, we started dating my senior year. After high school, we dated long distance as I attended the University of North Texas and she attended UC Santa Barbara. After dating long distance for many years, we both ended up at UCLA in Los Angeles. I was a student at the Thelonious Monk Institute, now known as the Herbie Hancock Institute, and she was going to UCLA Law School. We both graduated in 2018 and got married in 2019 after 9 years of dating. Lauren is the best person I know. She’s incredibly thoughtful, caring, supportive, and is insanely driven and hard working. She inspires me everyday.

1c My friends
I have so many musician friends who are consistently inspiring me. My friends are touring the world, recording with major artists, releasing music, teaching at prestigious universities, and so much more. I am fortunate that I can rely on them for support, inspiration, and encouragement. I have learned so much over the years from playing and hanging with them.

2. My teachers
My dad was my first teacher. He taught me how to play major scales, the chord changes of the blues, and how to play “Happy Birthday” before the first day of 5th grade band. Jay Mason, my first private teacher, was also incredibly instrumental (pun intended) moment in my musically development. Once I attended college and grad school (University of North Texas, USC, Thelonious Monk Institute, now Herbie Hancock Institute), I continued to have amazing mentorship. Some of my teachers include Herbie Hancock, Bob Mintzer, Russell Ferrante, Dick Oatts, Peter Erskine, Brad Leali, Jason Goldman, Jimmy Heath, Jerry Bergonzi, Billy Childs, and so many more.

3. Work Ethic
I pride myself on the work ethic that I learned from my parents. Both my parents worked tirelessly to give our family everything we needed. I am a professor at the USC Thornton School of Music, Director of Jazz at the Los Angeles County HS for the Arts, just released my 5th studio album, have 11 tour shows in-conjunction with the album release, in addition to private lessons and other side-musician gigs. I do my best to work hard, stay organized, make to do lists everyday, practice to improve my craft everyday, and balance my time with friends & family. I truly believe “success” comes to people who work the hardest to achieve it

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Despite the variety of genres my original music explores, my original music always focuses on beautiful tone, strong sing-able melodies, great groove, and creative improvisation.

Website: https://www.alexhahnmusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realalexhahn/?hl=en

Image Credits
Ricky Chavez / Cam Covello