Tom Zlabinger is a full-time lecturer of music at York College / CUNY and is the director of the York College Big Band and the York College Blue Notes & Summer Jazz Program. He is a professional bass player and an ethnomusicologist with a focus on jazz. He is finishing a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology at The Graduate Center / CUNY and his dissertation topic is on the contemporary jazz and improvised music scene in Vienna, Austria. Tom completed a B.A. in music at Grinnell College and an M.A. in jazz performance at Queens College / CUNY. His bass teachers have included Bob Anderson (Minnesota Orchestra), Dan Breeze, Terry Burns, Anthony Cox, Leon Lee Dorsey, Mark Dresser, Rich Mollin, Gary Raynor, and Jay Young.