Garrett Jacobson is currently the faculty jazz piano instructor at the University of Central Oklahoma. Known as a dynamic blues guitarist/vocalist and jazz pianist/organist, Garrett Jacobson has been captivating audiences for since 1996. The depth and expressive delivery of the blues began tugging at Jacobson’s musical sensibilities when he was eight years old. While taking classical piano lessons as a child, he began learning to play the blues on piano by listening to records from Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Charles Brown, and others. It was at an elementary school summer arts workshop that Jacobson met Oklahoma blues legend, D.C. Minner, who became a musical mentor to him during his early formative years. Although he started as a pianist, Garrett was captivated by the electric guitar when at age ten he saw B.B. King perform in Oklahoma City. Jacobson’s professional debut at age twelve with Minner’s band at the Dusk ‘til Dawn Blues Festival in Rentiesville, OK came just two years after he acquired his first guitar. Having a large stature at a young age, Minner gave him the nickname "Big G".

After performing at numerous festivals and schools across the state with Minner over the next two years, Garrett formed his own blues band in 1998, recorded his first album, and began performing at clubs and blues festivals throughout Oklahoma and the surrounding region. The Garrett “Big G” Jacobson Band has performed at notable venues across the country such as Buddy Guy's Legends, The Chicago Blues Festival, The Grand Emporium, and B.B. King's Blues Club. Jacobson has also performed with blues greats Jimmy Johnson, Carl Weathersby, and Smokey Wilson. Having released six records to date, his recordings have received critical praise in national and regional publications such as Living Blues, Blues Revue, Blues Blast, and Southwest Blues.

On his latest jazz recording, Without Notice, Jacobson’s piano, organ, and arranging skills are on display with a memorable set of original material.
His interest in jazz developed as a teen while playing piano with the University of Central Oklahoma’s jazz ensembles during his high school years. While attending college at the same university, where he later graduated with a Master’s degree in music, Jacobson became hooked on the Hammond B-3 organ’s unique sound and began learning jazz organ. This eventually led to a deeper interest in the piano, composition, and arranging, and Garrett began playing jazz dates on both piano and organ while simultaneously maintaining a busy schedule as a blues guitarist.

With more than two decades of experience as a blues and jazz performer, Jacobson became involved in music education in 2018 as a piano instructor. In addition to teaching the mechanics of the music, he emphasizes the importance of critical listening, playing with feeling, and harnessing one’s creativity to develop their own musical voice.