University of North Texas
Denton, Texas
Bailey Ehrgott is a versatile guitarist, composer, and educator specializing in jazz and contemporary popular music. Her performance credits include headlining as a featured jazz artist at the 2025 North Bend Jazz Walk and the Dallas Launch Festival, as well as appearances at the Jazz Point Ibiza Festival, the New Orleans Jazz Museum, the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum, Jimmy Glass Jazz Bar in Spain, and The Low Down Jazz Club. In 2023, Bailey was selected as a Diversity Fellow with the U.S. Air Force Band, performing with the Airmen of Note. The following year, she performed as the guitarist for the prestigious Jazz Aspen Snowmass Academy’s Afro-Caribbean Big Band session under the direction of Etienne Charles. Bailey is also a Paul Reed Smith (PRS) Guitars Pulse Artist, recognized internationally as a rising figure within the PRS artist community.
Originally from Washington State, Bailey is a Doctoral Teaching Fellow at the University of North Texas (UNT), where she studies with Dr. Davy Mooney and directs the L-5, UNT’s premier jazz guitar ensemble. Under her leadership, the L-5 won first place in the Jazz/Pop division at the 2024 and 2025 International Collegiate Guitar Ensemble Festival and was selected to perform at the 2025 Texas Music Educators Association Conference. The ensemble was also chosen to perform at the 2026 Jazz Education Network Conference, one of the most competitive and respected platforms in jazz education. At UNT, Bailey has taught courses including Introduction to Digital Audio Workstations and Understanding and Appreciating Jazz History. In August 2025, she joined the guitar faculty at Berklee College of Music for the annual summer Guitar Sessions Week.
Bailey’s academic work and artistic research have garnered international recognition. She was recently invited to present at the Siena Jazz Symposium in Italy.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in Professional Music from Berklee College of Music and completed her master’s degree in Contemporary Performance & Production at Berklee’s Valencia, Spain campus. Her teachers and mentors include world-renowned artists and educators such as Sheryl Bailey, Gary Willis, Tim Miller, Dave Stryker, Richie Hart, and Polo Orti, all of whom have shaped her stylistic depth and pedagogical approach.
Bailey is a member of the Jazz Education Network (JEN) and has served on faculty for the UNT Jazz Combo Workshop and the Libby Jazz Workshop. She has appeared as a guest artist for events including the Louisiana State University Women in Jazz Celebration and the Puget Sound Jazz Combo Festival. Her private students have gone on to study at Folsom Lake College, Seattle University, the University of Northern Colorado, Brigham Young University, Berklee College of Music, and the Next Generation Women in Jazz Combo. She is currently co-developing a book of compositions by female jazz composers designed to broaden accessible repertoire for young improvisers.
After completing her doctorate, Bailey plans to continue performing, recording, touring, collaborating with artists around the world, and teaching in higher education.
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Plugged In and Left Out: Why Guitar Ensembles Deserve a Place in Jazz Education
Thursday, January 8, 2026
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM CST
Friday, January 9, 2026
1:00 PM - 1:50 PM CST
