Jim Schneider was from New York and he had studied two years at the Eastman School of Music, studying arranging and improvisation with Bill DJim Schneiderobbins and Rayburn Wright and playing in two of the award-winning jazz ensembles there. He went on to obtain a BachelorofArts Degree in Jazz Studies at San Jose State in California.
In the 80’s and 90’s he performed intermittently as a show pianist and bandleader on cruises to Tahiti, the Caribbean and in Europe and Scandinavia. In 2006, he led a jazz trio and conducted shows on a ship traveling around the east coast of Australia. When they finally docked in Auckland, New Zealand he left the ship to tour the north and south islands for 6 weeks. In Queenstown he met organizers of the international jazz festival and secured a spot in the yearly jazz festival there. He returned for 3 years each October to perform with his trio.