Don Bailey is an Associate Professor of Music and the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith. He joined the teaching staff in 1985. He recently helped to develop the curriculum for a Jazz Studies concentration associated with the Bachelor of Arts in Music degree. Don teaches all of the core jazz courses as well as music theory. Under his direction, the Jazz Band and award winning Jazz Catz (vocal jazz ensemble) continue to perform for sell-out crowds of more than 1,000 people.

Don is active as a clinician and adjudicator throughout Arkansas and Oklahoma. He also developed the first comprehensive summer jazz band camp in the state, and he developed a jazz improv camp for orchestral strings—one of only a handful in the country. Both camps have grown under his direction, which now attract students from Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

A native of New Jersey, Don received his formative music education performing as a freelance musician in New York and his home state. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Iowa Wesleyan College and his Master of Arts in Music degree from the University of Northern Iowa, where he was a teaching assistant in jazz studies under Dr. Bob Washut.

In 1987, Don was honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award at Westark College. In 1989, he received the National Teaching Excellence Award in a study conducted by the University of Texas at Austin. He received the “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers” Award in 1998, 2002, 2004, and again in 2005. In 2007, Don was the recipient of the Mayor’s Honors for the Visual and Performing Arts Award, and he received the honor of being included in the “Who’s Who in America” 2008 edition. Most recently, Don will be included in the "Who's Who in the World" 2009 edition.

Don served two terms as president of the Arkansas Unit of the International Association for Jazz Education and has represented the state at regional and national jazz events. He has performed gigs with the Temptations, the Four Tops, both the Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey Orchestras, Dizzy Gillespie, Steven Allen, Lucie Arnaz, the New York Voices, Tommy Newsom, Marvin Hamlisch, Phil Driscoll, and many more nationally acclaimed artists. He has also “opened” for Clay Cross and Randy Travis.

Don is the president and co-founder of New Song Music Company, and is on the teaching staff of the International Worship Institute in Dallas. As a composer, Don’s works have been performed throughout the nation. His musical tribute “Carry On” has been performed worldwide. His most recent work, “Jazz Suite: A Retrospective”, which was commissioned by the Fort Smith Symphony, premiered on May 3rd, 2008. The suite is a 55 minute musical journey through the history of jazz.