‘Jazz has to continue’ K-State alumni and international jazz educator nominated for Kansas Music Hall of Fame

TOPEKA (KSNT) – Matt Betton, founder of the National Association of Jazz Educators (NAJE), was nominated to the Kansas Music Hall of Fame on August 2.

Born on the outskirts of Kansas City, Betton was attracted to music early in his life, leading him to Kansas State University. He gradated with a Bachelor of Music in 1938, after which he dedicated much of his life to jazz education.

“Learn to be a musician, when I started, was very difficult,” Betton said at his Berklee College Honoary Doctorate Induction in 1997. “Most of my training came in the clubs of Kansas City, sitting in with people Count Basie, and at that time something clicked and I said ‘Jazz has to continue.’ It was not easy when I was in college, the book I studied had an chapter about how to never let your students play jazz music.”

Betton is credited with building the IAJE from the ground up and established its reputation as the primary voice and leading authority for jazz education worldwide. His band, The Matt Betton Orchestra, was an institution in the Midwest from 1933 to 1973. They were voted #1 College Dance Band by Billboard magazine in 1941, and helped over 150 student musicians begin their careers.

Among his numerous awards and honors are an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music, Kansas State University Alumni Medallion Award, induction into the Hall of Fame for the International Association for Jazz Education, Kansas Music Educators Association and more. Betton also founded the American Federation of Musicians Local #169 for Manhattan, the K-State Summer Band Camp, co-founded the National Stage Band Camps, and was the musical director for NBC’s Joan Fairfax show.

Betton’s contributions to the field of jazz education are incalculable. He and his wife Betty were the rocks in IAJE’s foundation. Without their dedication and personal sacrifice, there would be no IAJE today.
IAJE President and Indiana University Distinguished Professor of Music, David Baker, per Betton’s Obituary

Betton was a composer, teacher, musician, band leader and so much more. To learn more about voting for Matt Betton, you can check out the Kansas Music Hall of Fame website.

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