Pitt student wins BNY Mellon Jazz Scholarship

Calloused fingertips glided across the frets of a Fender Stratocaster. The jazz melody floated… Calloused fingertips glided across the frets of a Fender Stratocaster. The jazz melody floated around the tiny practice room.

“It is a stress reliever. Jazz is the most relaxing to play. I just feel it.”

The guitarist was Jacob Sacks, a Pitt freshman with a musical mind and huge ambition. Earlier this month, the engineering student won the BNY Mellon Jazz Scholarship, an annual $5,000 award that goes towards the price of either tuition or room and board at Pitt.

Established in 1986 by Nathan Davis, the director and founder of the Jazz Studies program at Pitt, the scholarship collaborates the expertise of several established musicians in order to choose the most deserving candidate.

The contest only receives about 15 applications each year, Davis said, but “with judges like Rufus Reid and David Baker, the award deserves prestigious recognition.”

Both of those musicians received various jazz awards of their own. Baker received an Emmy for his work on a PBS documentary “For Gold & Glory,” and Reid was awarded the 2005 Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award for his lifelong commitment to jazz by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

The jazz scholarship was an afterthought to Sacks, who said that he was extremely surprised to hear of his award.

“One of my music teachers told me about it, so I got some samples together and sent them in,” Sacks said. “I actually kinda forgot I had submitted anything. I am extremely surprised.”

Although he only picked up his first guitar about five years ago, Sacks has had more than a decade of experience with string instruments. He credited much of his ability to the extensive hours spent playing the violin for eight years before starting on the guitar.

In addition, his long-term jazz guitar instructor R.J. Zimmerman, a professor at Duquesne University, taught Sacks most of what he knows of the theory and fundamentals of jazz music.

“R.J. is one of my other idols. He is the one who taught me sight-reading and most of what I understand about music theory,” Sacks said.

According to Zimmerman, “I have been teaching jazz guitar for about 20 years now, and Jacob is definitely the most talented student I have ever taught.”

Sacks is continuing his formal education through Pitt’s music department. Because of the engineering major’s heavy course load, he is only able to take one elective class per semester, which includes music classes.

This semester, he is enrolled in Music Theory 1. His professor, Ivan Jimenez, quickly recognized Sacks’ talent.

“He is very knowledgeable of diverse styles of music including jazz, classical music and classical-contemporary music. He just has a great ear,” said Jimenez. “He contributes his own insight pertaining to the class material despite the slower pace that he is well beyond.”

Sacks holds an appreciation for musical composition, describing himself as a composer first, performer second. Sacks tries to combine various genres in order to produce an original piece.

“I would say my style is jazz with a rock sound and a classical structure,” Sacks said.

This interpretation stems from his love of all music types as well as the inspiration of his current guitar-playing idols. He alluded to the styles of Grammy-winning guitarist Steve Vai, who Sacks said “phrases things beautifully,” and jazz guitarist Pat Martino, who plays with a “spiritual yet intellectual” style.

Despite his love for music, Sacks prefers to pursue a multifaceted career including research in the engineering field.

“What I would really love to do is work in a lab by day and kick around the clubs by night,” said Sacks, “I want to be able to include both passions in my life.”

Sacks came to Pitt for the tuition benefits that come with having a parent working for the University, but also for the engineering program.

Sacks’ father, Michael Sacks, works at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine on campus, while his mother, Ruth, works as a music composer.

Besides his dedication to academics and music, Sacks finds the time to hang out and kick it at the honors dorms on Forbes Avenue.

“He is just a fun person to be around. A genuinely nice individual with an impressive dedication to his work,” said Sacks’ friend and fellow freshman Alex Sieman. “If he wants something, if it is a future in music, he will get it,”