Jimmie E. Self is a native of East Tennessee. After
graduation from Church Hill High School, he attended Tennessee
Technological University before auditioning on euphonium for the
United States Air Force Band program. During his 26-year
career with the Air Force, he was often featured as euphonium
soloist, trombonist, and low brass clinician throughout the United
States, Canada, Europe and parts of the Middle East. While on
his last active duty assignment to the Pentagon, he served as the
manager of the entire Air Force Band Program where he managed 897
military musicians stationed around the world in twelve Air Force
bands. He retired from the United States Air Force in 1998
with the rank of Chief Master Sergeant.
Jimmie has played for four U.S. presidents and many foreign heads of state. Besides recording and performing in concert bands, jazz bands, brass groups, and other standard military groups, he has performed in almost every conceivable musical ensemble including Dixieland bands, circus and rodeo bands, local musical productions, etc. He also served as principal trombonist in several orchestras, including the Montgomery Symphony. Since his retirement from the USAF, Jimmie has been a featured soloist with such groups as the Symphony of the Mountains, Johnson City Symphony Orchestra, The Clinch River Brass, The ETSU Wind Ensemble, as well as numerous civic and high school bands in the region. In addition to his appearances as a soloist at many local and regional events, he was a guest artist at the 2006 International Tuba and Euphonium Association Conference in Denver, Colorado.
Jimmie has over eighteen professional albums to his credit, many of which are with Air Force Bands. His most recent recordings include “Kings of Brass” and “Euphoniums Unlimited”, both of which made the Grammy Entry List and are available through Mark Custom Records and Walking Frog Records. He has performed on stage or recorded with such noted musicians as Dizzy Gillespie, Clarke Terry, Phil Wilson, Crystal Gale, Gary Morris, and Charlie Daniels. Jimmie was also a featured performer for the national PBS documentary “TUBA U” which spotlighted him and other professional tuba and euphonium players in a performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Jimmie is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and also holds an Associate of Applied Science in Music from the Community College of the Air Force. His trombone instructors include Ronald Barron, Larry Hoepfinger and Steven Norsworthy. He studied euphonium with R. Winston Morris. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at East Tennessee State University where he teaches low brass, conducts the Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble, teaches Brass Methods, and performs with the ETSU Faculty Brass Ensemble. He also serves as principal trombonist with the Symphony of the Mountains in Kingsport, Tennessee, and freelances throughout the Southeast as a performer, clinician, and private instructor.