Paul McKee received a BME from the University of Northern Iowa and an MM in composition from the University of Texas at Austin. In 1984 he joined Woody Herman鈥檚 Thundering Herd and appeared on several Grammy-nominated recordings. Over the years McKee has served on the jazz faculty at schools including DePaul University, Youngstown State University, Northern Illinois University, the University of Missouri at Kansas City and Florida State University.