Jason Winikoff is a drummer and percussionist whose academic work sits comfortably at the nexus of ethnomusicology and music theory. His research and teaching interests include timbre, orchestration, and meter as well as the musical cultures of Zambia, New Orleans, and Haiti. He is especially concerned with the cultural ramifications of timbre and critical, ethnographically informed approaches to music analysis. Winikoff holds a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. There he wrote his doctoral dissertation on the role of timbre within Zambian Luvale spirit manifestation. This work led to the production of “Makishi Music”, an album of traditional songs released by the International Library of African Music. Other research and reviews of his have been published in Music and Science, Analytical Approaches to World Music, and Ethnomusicology. Winikoff’s scholarship has been supported by the American Philosophical Society, the Public Scholars Initiative, and the ACTOR Project. 

Outside of academia, Prof. Winikoff is an active member of various music scenes. He frequently leads bands in the style of traditional jazz and the often-overlooked Silverbook repertoire of New Orleans. He also leads a Zambian-jazz fusion group, an annual 14-person Rocky Horror Picture Show concert, and a combo that plays jazz arrangements of Broadway showtunes. Winikoff is an in-demand sideman in brass-band, swing, singer-songwriter, funk, and other circles. In his free time, Winikoff loves walking in the forest, reading comics, and playing video games. If given the chance, he would love to become your dog’s second-best friend.