LSU Alumni Geaux Getter: Alexander Jett

A Season to Remember

A key aspect to the LSU gameday experience is hearing the Golden Band from Tigerland march down the hill and into the stadium.

Alex Jett (B.M.E. 2021) was a member of the Tiger Band during the 2019 season.

“We had a little sports GroupMe in the band, and the first message to the schedule releasing was ‘Oh my God, we’re gonna go 6-6,’” Jett said.

Instead, the team went undefeated, 15-0, winning the national championship handily against the Trevor Lawrence-led Clemson Tigers. The team consisted of powerhouse players such as Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire on offense, and Patrick Queen, Kristian Fulton, and Derek Stingley Jr. on defense. Safe to say, the group chat was proven wrong.

Jett was a clarinet player and followed the team through all games, including the playoff games against the Jalen Hurts-led Oklahoma Sooners and the Georgia Bulldogs. 

“We just kept winning, and it was really interesting to watch how the team grew and how they came together,” Jett said.

The band, too, improved every game, making its halftime shows even more elaborate and musically challenging.

“2019 was a great year for the band as well,” Jett said. “And every show the band kept getting better, and I think a lot of travel that we did throughout that year brought us all really, really close together.”

Finding His Passion at LSU

Jett, from Dallas, originally wanted to go to Texas A&M but decided to attend LSU after seeing those beautiful stately oaks and broad magnolias. Jett enrolled as a political science major in his first semester. He pivoted to broadcast journalism and even joined student media for the second semester. After late-night editing with Tiger TV, he changed over to music education. 

“I just remember thinking ‘I really can’t see myself doing this for the rest of my life,’” Jett said. “And I had this significant passion for music, so I auditioned for the Music School and was accepted. That pivot, overall, was a really good decision.”

From Tiger Band to the Pride of the Southland

Jett graduated in 2021, completing the rigorous, historically elite music program at LSU. Then, he proceeded to pursue a graduate degree in music with a focus on wind conducting from the University of Tennessee. As an SEC school, their music program is also rigorous and challenging, especially for graduate students.

While at UT, Jett worked as a graduate teaching assistant from 2024-2026. He assisted in teaching certain undergraduate conducting classes, along with instructing the newer members of the Pride of the Southland Band in marching techniques. But most importantly, he developed his love of research.

“I really excelled in student advocacy and the teaching side, where you take a lot of complex ideas and simplify them piece by piece,” Jett said. “Really just the academic side of the master’s degree.”

From Music to Law

Instead of pursuing doctoral programs in music, Jett pivoted once again towards the field of law, currently a 2029 candidate for his Juris Doctorate at Southern Methodist University in his hometown. That doesn’t mean he’s going to stop playing music.

“I’m still able to participate in community bands over here,” Jett said. “I’ve also reached out to the SMU band director about possibly working together in my last couple years there, and that’ll be a great way to stay in touch with music.”

While to some, the transition from music to law seems like an 180-degree shift, it’s more like an acute angle. Jett said that a lot of the skills musicians and especially music educators have can be utilized in the law field, from advocacy for students to being able to spend hours practicing his instrument, the skills translate well together.

While Jett is unsure on what field of law he’d like to practice, he is considering looking into copyright law, advocating for musicians’ rights. He is also looking into educational law, advocating for the students who don’t have the means to receive a proper education or fighting for the rights of students with disabilities.

“Musicians tend to be really, really good lawyers,” Jett said.

The confidence instilled by LSU is what made him shift into law to provide for himself and his family. From playing his clarinet in the 2019 National Championship game to his Juris Doctorate candidacy at SMU, alumnus Alex Jett said LSU helped instill the drive and ambition to carry him through the many hurdles he had to overcome.