Please click here for a list of Jazzschool ensemble audition requirements.
Jazz & Blues Ensembles
Beginning Jazz Ensemble
An intro-level ensemble focused on learning jazz standards and developing improvisation skills.
Thursdays 6:30 – 8 pm
ROB EWING (10 weeks) $365
Jazz Standards for Gigs
This ensemble focuses on developing the skills and repertoire needed for typical jazz gigs. Repertoire, intros, endings, interludes and tags are covered. Various jazz feels including swing, bossa, jazz waltz and ballads are studied and played. Class time is dedicated to the study of jazz harmony, as applied to selected standard repertoire. Instructor also provides tips for soloing.
Section I Thursdays 6:30 – 8 pm
SECTION II Saturdays 11:45 am – 1:15 pm
SECTION III Saturdays 1:30 – 3 pm
GLENN RICHMAN (10 weeks) $365
Music of the Masters
An intermediate-level ensemble focusing on compositions by jazz masters including Coltrane, Monk, Shorter and others. Emphasis is placed on understanding and internalizing a variety of essential grooves. Class time is dedicated to the study of jazz harmony, as applied to selected jazz repertoire. Instructor also provides tips for soloing.
SECTION I Thursdays 8:15 – 9:45 pm
GLENN RICHMAN (10 weeks) $365
Blues and Groove Workshop
A performance workshop for all instrumentalists focusing on the blues and blues- related styles. Emphasis on “the groove” as demonstrated through recordings of Charlie Christian, (Aaron) T-Bone Walker, Albert Collins, Jack McDuff, Louis Jordan and other “jump” blues and New Orleans masters.
Prerequisite: knowledge of basic 12-bar blues.
Saturdays 1:30 – 3 pm
DANNY CARON (10 weeks) $365
Note: first class meeting is
Saturday July 24.
Modal, Fusion, and Other Post Bebop Jazz Styles
This intermediate to advanced level ensemble focuses on contemporary post-bebop styles of jazz, dating from the 1960s to the present. Repertoire is drawn from artists including Joe Henderson, Chick Corea, Charles Lloyd, Cedar Walton, Wayne Shorter, John Scofield and others. Strong emphasis placed on group communication and interaction.
Wednesdays 6:30 – 8 pm
STEVE ERQUIAGA (10 weeks) $365
Note: first class meeting is
Wednesday July 21
Miles Davis/Wayne Shorter Ensemble
An intermediate to advanced level ensemble focusing on the music of Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter from 1968 through the 1980s. Repertoire is drawn from such albums as Miles Smiles, ESP, Files de Kilimanjaro, Speak no Evil, Bitches Brew, In a Silent Way, Native Dancer and Jack Johnson. Strong emphasis placed on group communication and interaction.
Wednesdays 8:15 – 9:45 pm
STEVE ERQUIAGA (10 weeks) $365
Note: first class meeting is
Wednesday July 21
R&B Horn Section
Do you love a crisp, tight R&B horn section? Would you like to unlock the secrets of reading R&B rhythms, phrasing with a section and honing intonation skills? This class explores a variety of horn section repertoire, focusing on the rhythmic interpretation and standard phrasing responsible for the signature R&B sound. Playing a cappella and with CDs, students improve their familiarity with typical R&B horn charts. Horn players are frequently required to come up with their own lines. Using the blues as a basis, students compose and voice horn lines, increasing their knowledge of the tune structure while having a great time playing. This class also explores methods of finding the right notes for any impromptu solo in the R&B genre. Open to all saxes, clarinet, trumpet & trombone.
Wednesdays 6:30 – 8 pm
JEAN FINEBERG (10 weeks) $365
The Piano Trio
This hands-on performance class for intermediate to advanced pianists, focuses on how to play most effectively in the traditional jazz piano trio format. Maximum class size: four pianists. Accompaniment by a professional bassist and drummer. Please note: class available on a first come, first served basis.
Prerequisite: ability to play and improvise over a jazz tune in time.
SECTION I Mondays 5:00 – 6:30 pm
SECTION II Mondays 6:45 – 8:15 pm
SECTION III Mondays 8:30 – 10 pm
PETER HORVATH (10 weeks) $270
From Baroque to Bebop — Saxophone Ensemble
A saxophone ensemble led by San Francisco Saxophone Quartet alto saxophonist Bill Aron. Repertoire includes original pieces, transcriptions and arrangements from the baroque to the bebop periods. Prerequisites: facility on a saxophone and basic reading skills.
Day and time: TBA
BILL ARON (10 weeks) $365
New Clas!
Charlie Parker Ensemble
A performance ensemble focused on the music of Charlie Parker. Students develop knowledge of bebop vocabulary and repertoire. Class time is spent playing and discussing Parker’s harmonic language and how to incorporate it into your own soloing. Strong emphasis placed on playing Charlie Parker’s melodies in various keys. Prerequisites: ability to improvise on chord
changes.
Mondays 6:30 – 8 pm
KASEY KNUDSEN (10 weeks) $365
New Clas!
Women’s Jazz & Blues Band
An intermediate ensemble offering a unique teaching approach emphasizing teamwork, and providing a comfortable, supportive setting for all players. If you’ve ever been the “only one” in a band, felt left out or just plain “different,” or have never had a professional woman player as your bandleader or instructor, this is the band for you! Focusing on bop and post-bop styles of jazz, as
well as blues from jazz to funk to fusion, instructor provides plenty of playing room for everyone.
Thursdays 6:30 – 8 pm
ELLEN SEELING (10 weeks) $365
Ellen Seeling is a 35-year veteran of the NYC and Bay Area music scenes. The first woman to earn a degree in Jazz Studies from Indiana University, she is also the first woman trumpeter to record 3 triple-platinum albums, first woman to found and record (with Jean Fineberg) a fusion band, DEUCE, and the first woman to teach jazz and trumpet at IU and UC Berkeley. Ellen conceived of and co-directs the first summer jazz camp for girls in the US, the Jazzschool Girls’ Jazz & Blues Camp. She is the founder and Director of the Montclair Women’s Big Band.
