Career interview with Professor Sean Dobbins

In March on 2018, I had the pleasure of reuniting with a great mentor and friend, Professor Sean Dobbins. Professor Dobbins is a joyful, passionate musician with many valuable lessons for the many young musicians under his mentorship. Sean and I reconnected and talked about his history as a young musician and educator, why he loves being a Detroit musician, branding yourself, and much more. I will share some of the interesting responses he provided along with some wise words from a very experienced drummer. I hope you all enjoy!

We began our discussion with Sean’s background as a drummer in the jazz scenes in Ann Arbor and greater Detroit area. Sean grew up in Ann Arbor began drumming at the young age of 6. His first music teacher was Louis Smith, a trumpet player in Ann Arbor, who continued to teach Sean into his high school years. In high school, Sean also began playing in Morris Lawrence’s big band, and eventually made it into the house band for a club in Toledo, OH called Murphy’s. The house band included Detroit pianist, Claude Black, and Toledo bassist, Clifford Murphy. Both Black and Murphy were seasoned veterans and imparted timeless musical wisdom onto young Sean Dobbins. Sean told stories of accompanying the many singers who toured through Toledo, and the experience he got preparing their music. Sean is a true example of someone who learned “on the bandstand.” He also talked about his mentors as a young teacher, Fred Smith and Sandy Mcconnachie. They taught Sean about preparation, establishing good rapport with students, and creating lesson plans. These great mentors helped to shape young Sean Dobbins into the stellar musician and educator that he is today. One of Sean’s long-term goals was to impart that mentorship and wisdom upon the next generation of musicians after him. Sean is an adjunct professor at many of the music schools in the surrounding Detroit area and is also involved in the Detroit Civic Jazz Program along with an active career as a performer. This led me to my next topic, which was: How does he manage all of this?

Sean’s greatest pieces of advice in this next topic was, “If something is important enough to you, you’ll find a way to make it work,” and “When you invest an hour into yourself, it will stay with you for the rest of your life. If you waste an hour, you will never see it again.” Sean takes his career as a performer and educator very seriously. I always have remembered Professor Dobbins as a very prepared and passionate teacher. However, he always knew that his life purpose would be fulfilled through more than that. Sean is a husband and father of three children, and very rooted in his family in the Ann Arbor area. Sean places his family in high priority and makes sure to create time fostering those relationships and being an active part of his children’s lives. Overall, his point here was to decide what is important to you in your life and create a lifestyle around those things.

Finally, we discussed the idea of “branding.” I asked him, “what do you want people to think of when they think of Sean Dobbins?” Initially, he said, “Excellence.” (he later elaborated this to-demand excellence to yourself and the people around you) He then began to describe how the image you portray on the bandstand is a window into your lifestyle, and that your lifestyle should reflect what you want to be known for. As a sideman, it is most important to make the bandleader feel comfortable. You do this by learning their music well, showing up early for their gigs ready to go, being flexible on the bandstand, and being a reliable musician.

Professor Sean Dobbins and I shared some great laughs and stories and we discussed music entrepreneurship and adulthood. I hope to one day be able to impact young musicians the way he has impacted me. Sean was one of my first role models as a jazz musician and seeing him perform is one of the things that got me hooked on jazz music. Sean’s infectious laughter and joy are truly one of a kind, and his music certainly represents this happiness. If you all haven’t heard of Sean Dobbins, I highly recommend checking out his music (available on Spotify, iTunes, or through Mack Avenue Records).