EVESHAM Cherokee High School music teacher Earl Phillips has been recognized as the 2020 New Jersey Jazz Educator of the Year.
Phillips directs the Cherokee Jazz Ensemble, Music Theory, and Music Technology departments and is an adjunct faculty member of Rowan University. This prestigious award is given out each year to one deserving New Jersey jazz educator who has demonstrated the highest standards of teaching excellence and dedication to the jazz education community.
Phillips has been commissioned to write for and work as a clinician with many local high school and collegiate programs and has also been commissioned by the Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia, led by artistic director Terell Stafford. He is a composer, arranger, educator, and bass trombonist in the greater Philadelphia area. Phillips has led the Earl Phillips Big Band 17-piece big band since 2007 and joined the Jazz Orchestra staff in 2014. Most recently, Phillips was commissioned to write music for the Philadelphia