Justin Faulkner
Director & Conductor, Philadelphia Youth Jazz Orchestra
Philadelphia native, drummer, educator, and philanthropist Justin Faulkner has cultivated a sound that invites, entertains, informs, and heals.
Throughout his career, Faulkner has created art with luminaries like Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, John Faddis, The Marsalis Family, Roy Hargrove, Ravi Coltrane, Robert Glasper, Derrick Hodge, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Paul Shaffer of the CBS Orchestra, Bootsy Collins, Larry Graham, Victor Wooten, Bilal, Terence Howard, Christian McBride, Kenny Barron, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Peter Nero, Jimmy Heath, Ornette Coleman, Terell Stafford, Pharoah Saunders, Terence Blanchard, and Jacky Terrasson. His formal education included studying classical percussion with Susan Jones and jazz drums and percussion with Samuel Ruttenberg. The Jazz Ensemble, Chamber Ensemble, and Choral Ensemble education at the Kimmel Center created a new understanding of community and the creative ecosystem. The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and the Performing Arts provided freedom of expression for a young musician to find his way. Don Liuzzi, the Principal Timpanist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, cultivated the detail-oriented nature necessary to craft the full musical experiences Faulkner presents.
Justin entered the jazz scene at 13, playing his first professional gigs with bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma of Ornette Coleman’s band Primetime. In the coming years, his apprenticeships with Orrin Evans, J.D. Walter, members of The Philadelphia Jazz Scene, and Boris Kozlov with The Charles Mingus Big Band would shape the still teenager into a gentleman entering the scene elegantly and with a presence.
On March 19, 2009, his 18th birthday, Faulkner started his tenure with the Branford Marsalis Quartet. The last 15 years have included performances in the world’s greatest music halls such as The Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Jazz at Lincoln Center (New York City), The Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia), The Blue Note Jazz Club (Tokyo, Japan), Royal Opera House (Muscat, Oman), Vienna Konzerthaus (Vienna, Austria), and Concertgebouw (Amsterdam, Netherlands), to name a few.
Entrepreneurship and education have always been driving forces in Faulkner’s life. In addition, his passion for community building and revitalization is the framework of his ethos. In 2015, his business partners Carol Faulkner and Nazir Ebo joined forces to create The Community Unity Music Festival. This festival is a family philanthropic endeavor that creates music education opportunities for young people in the Philadelphia area. The mantra, “Put down the guns and pick up an instrument,” changed how his family viewed the current gun violence problem in Philadelphia. Directly affected by this terror, losing two cousins, the family decided to help make a change. “Free music lessons, free instruments, and free interactive concerts with the world’s elite musicians are just starting points to creating social change and hope in our community. These opportunities will provide an alternative, build character, create intellectual liberation, and inspire future generations”. The festival additionally offers job opportunities for the community.
In 2019 Faulkner joined the faculty of Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance, and in 2022, he returned to the PYO Music Institute to direct its first jazz program, Philadelphia Youth Jazz Orchestra. These appointments have provided an opportunity to create a strong bond with today’s youth and their understanding of jazz’s historical, sonic, and pedagogical foundation.
Faulkner is grateful for every opportunity he has to share his gift of music with the world. As a conscientious student of music, Justin asserts that prayer, spiritual reflection, and focused practice are the centers of his life’s progress. His approach aims to achieve selflessness as he recognizes it is not about him; it’s about the music. “God gives us gifts and talents. Nurturing and developing those talents are the accompanying responsibilities. But, then, the magic starts when it’s time to curate a collection of narratives that inform, inspire, and leave the listener wanting more.”