The Birth of Jazz Part 1 & Part 2
With Ben Hunter
No instrument needed

This powerhouse class will take you on a journey to the the birth of Jazz from Jelly Roll to the Hot 5s & 7s.

You’ll learn:

• About the ‘Kings & Queens’ who shaped this music in its early stages.

• How the culture and society of the time defined the early sound of Jazz.

• Close listening of early jazz tunes. There’s a LOT going on in these songs and we’ll discuss what we’re hearing.

The Link: Connecting Breath to Bones to Balance
With Shaina Shepherd

This class is taught from a vocal perspective but will be helpful for all musicians.

We will:

• Develop our relationship with intentional singing — using musical references, vowel projection, learning to design phrase for our own voices and more

• Identify ‘the links’ — understanding placement, point of resonance and breath in your body

• Performance design — how to plan for a successful vocal performance with tools for feeling good in your body.

Intro to Blues Improvisation
with Steve Treseler

You will learn the basic tools for soloing on a B-flat blues:

• Learn melodies, rhythms, and licks through call and response

• Create your own question and answer phrases

• Improvise variations on a theme

Cantaloupe Island by Herbie Hancock
with Ruby Dunphy

Bring a pencil and your instrument! In this class we’ll be doing some fun jazz work.

We will:

• Get warmed up by reading and playing back basic rhythms and patterns

• Learn melodies and bass lines of key jazz tunes like Cantaloupe Island

• Identify and write out the forms of the tunes

How to Build a Bass Line For ALL Musicians (not just bassists!)
with Kelsey Mines

Bass lines ground the listener. Whether you play the bass or not, learn how to build your own.

We will:

• Analyze a transcription of Ray Brown's bass line on Night Train and define the "rules" he follows to make a well constructed, clear bass line (i.e. the root on the downbeat, chord tones on beat 3, etc.)

• Discover when and how he breaks the "rules"

• Write your own! (if you send it to me, I will mark it up with edits)

Three Geniuses of Jazz
with Wayne Horvitz

A look at three of the most innovative and original voices in the history of jazz: Billie Holiday, Hank Mobley, and Bill Frisell . In this listening and discussion class you will:

• Listen critically to music

• Set goals for what you, a musician, can learn from artists throughout the history of Jazz- including transcription and approaches to style.

• Explore the historical and social connections between innovation in art and the times in which the artist lives

Developing Melodic Phrasing
with Kareem Kandi

Walk away from this class with 3 key melodic phrasing lessons:

• You’ll understand what a melodic phrase is

• You’ll learn how to build melodic phrases

• You’ll learn how to embellish melodic phrases

The Juicy Notes! How To Improvise Using Guide Tones
with Dmitri Matheny

Hone your foundational skills as a jazz musician. In this class we’ll cover:

• What guide tones are, and why they matter

• How to write your own guide tone lines

• How to use guide tones in your improvised solos

Learning to be a Better Jazz Musician through Charlie Parker
with Kathy Moore

Studying and imitating jazz legends is one of the best ways to improve your own musicianship.

In this class we’ll work on:

• Learning how to memorize Charlie Parker heads

• Applying the melody to soloing

• Improvising using chord tones

Three Revolutionaries of Jazz
with Wayne Horvitz

A look at three of the most innovative and original voices in the history of jazz:

1. Lee Konitiz/Warne Marsh/Lennie Tristano

2. The Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass

3. Miles Davis (The Electric Years 1969-1972)

In this listening and discussion class you will:

• Listen critically to music

• Set goals for what you, a musician, can learn from artists throughout the history of Jazz- including transcription and approaches to style.

• Explore the historical and social connections between innovation in art and the times in which the artist lives