When seeing Joe Gloss perform for the first time one thing becomes strikingly clear, this man loves to play guitar. His love for the instrument has led him to become one of the busiest guitarists in the Midwest, both as a freelancer and with his band Organissimo, which has become a fan favorite on the regions jazz circuit.

In the Spring of 2008, Joe began his career as a music educator when he accepted a faculty position at the prestigious Michigan State University School of Music. Bringing many years of stage experience to his new position, Joe is now enjoying sharing this knowledge with the next generation of young guitarists.

Joe sat down with us this week to discuss his thoughts on his recent faculty appointment at MSU, as well as stories from his many years as a touring guitarist.

MW: How did you get your start as a guitar teacher?

JG: For many years, the only teaching I did was at home with the occasional student. I didn’t advertise. Someone would approach me at a gig, and we’d get together later on and go over a few things. That all changed a little over a year ago when Rodney Whitaker, who, in addition to being a truly great bassist, is the Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University, asked me to hire on as visiting professor of jazz guitar. I was eager to take on the challenge, as the thought of teaching there had actually been in the back of my mind for a few years. And it has been a challenge, but a very rewarding one. Right now we have five guitarists in the program, with possibly six more auditioning for the fall term.

MW: Did any of your teachers have an influence on your private teaching approach?

JG: Certainly; I would say that all of them have influenced how and what I teach one way or the other. Down through the years, my teachers have represented the entire spectrum of musicianship, from Mrs. Neumann, the lady who played folk-style guitar in our church when I was a kid, to truly world-class artists like Fareed Haque and W.A. Mathieu. I owe a great deal to Steve Frarey, my first jazz teacher, for a good grounding in the basics of dealing with the guitar in jazz, and more recently to Fareed, for sharing with me his scope and approach to university level music instruction.

But I can also think back on all the times when something clicked for me during a lesson, and then realize how much work led up to that moment. It teaches me patience; that the understanding of a certain portion of music will arrive at a different pace for different people. My tendency is to overload students, and I really need to watch that sometimes. As the saying goes, we are quick to learn, but slow to understand.

MW: As someone who draws from many influences in their playing how do you encourage students to explore different genres and styles of music?

JG: I’ve been thinking about this just recently, as a matter of fact. At MSU, I run a weekly studio class with all the guitar students together. I feel that this could be a good space for us to check out many different types of music, whether through listening to recordings, learning African, Cuban, or Brazilian rhythms, or ideally, inviting a musician who specializes in a particular type of music to come and share with us what it’s all about. The focus of the jazz studies program at MSU is bebop, blues, and swing, but I do feel it’s vital for a musician in this day and age to have as broad a scope as possible; to at least be aware of what’s out there, both historically and in the present. You never know what you might be called upon to perform, after all.