Saturday September 11
Janis Siegel Workshop 
The Jazzschool Vocal Department is very pleased to present Manhattan Transfer's 9-time Grammy Award winning vocalist Janis Siegel. With over ten recordings as a solo artist and over twenty recordings with the Transfer, Ms. Siegel is one of the most successful jazz singers of her generation. Her down-to-earth spirit and soaring, crystalline, easily recognizable voice has led to an
international performing career spanning three decades.
Noon - 3pm
$100/auditors $50
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Sunday September 12
Creating CDs for Success in Today’s Jazz Market
Thinking of making a CD? Many musicians record their own CDs, spending a fortune only to have their recordings end up taking up space in the garage! It is very important to know what you are getting into when you start this journey. Jazz singer Jackie Ryan’s last two CDs reached #1 on the national jazz radio charts and her last CD, Doozy, stayed in the #1 spot for 7 weeks — an amazing accomplishment for a release on an independent label. Jackie will share the steps and secrets behind making a successful album: choosing the right songs and album concept, finding musicians, arrangers and recording studio, and engineering, mixing, marketing, distributing and promoting the finished product. Jackie will perform several of the songs
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from her last two CDs to demonstrate her choices and will explain why she considered them to be important. The workshop will conclude with a Q & A session. Participants are encouraged to bring in one or two songs they are considering recording to be workshopped with Jackie’s pianist.
This workshop will help you focus in on what you want to accomplish with your CD project and will provide helpful hints on how to attain your very special and unique vision. Limit: 15 students.
JACKIE RYAN Noon – 3 pm $50
Monday September 13
Songs and Sounds
Grammy-nominated vocalist Theo Bleckmann and guitarist Ben Monder make a very special
appearance at the Jazzschool! Internationally recognized as two of the most innovative contemporary musicians on their respective instruments, this extraordinary genre-bending duo presents an intimate performance and leads a discussion on the creative process. Open to all instruments, all levels. Maximum enrollment: 20
THEO BLECKMANN & BEN MONDER 7 – 10 pm $50
Vocalist Theo Bleckmann has released a series of gorgeous and irreverent albums on Winter & Winter, including recordings of Las Vegas standards, of Berlin Kabarett, and of popular “bar songs” (all with pianist Fumio Yasuda); a recording of newly-arranged songs by Charles Ives (with jazz/rock collective
Kneebody), which was nominated for a Grammy; and his new acoustic Solos for
Voice “I dwell in possibility.”
Guitarist Ben Monder is a regular member of the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra and the Paul Motian Octet, and has performed with Jack McDuff, Marc Johnson, Lee Konitz, George Garzone, Tim Berne, and Kenny Wheeler. He has appeared on over 100
albums as a sideman and has recorded 4 albums under his own leadership.
Thursday September 16
San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music Grant Workshop
Established in 2008, the SFFCM Musical Grant Program serves the professional chamber music community in the 12 counties surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area, offering support to organizations and ensembles with annual budgets under $100,000. Applications are accepted both from presenters of chamber music and from small ensembles in many genres — including baroque, classical, contemporary, improvisation, and jazz. Each cycle is reviewed by a professional panel, and awards are made in a competitive process, taking into consideration the quality of the project, artistic excellence of the musicians, and supporting materials. The goal of the MGP is to offer timely support to musicians aspiring to impact their careers by attaining a new level of achievement both in performance and organizational terms. This workshop will guide potential applicants through each phase of the application process including selecting an appropriate project, budgeting, and choosing supporting materials. Panelists answer questions and give advice on preparing a succinct and viable application. Learn more about the Musical Grant Program here: http://www.sffcm.org/programs/musical-grant/
7 – 9 pm Free Admission
Sunday September 19
Stage Presence 101
Do you know what it takes or what to do when you get up on stage? Want to learn ways to overcome performance anxiety? In this workshop you will learn various methods and techniques that will help you relax and enhance your presence on stage to
effectively present yourself to your audience. This workshop is for vocalists and instrumentalists who want to feel more confident on stage. All students will participate and perform with a professional accompanist. Vocalists: bring one lead sheet in your key. Instrumentalists: bring your instruments and one lead sheet with the lyrics (if applicable) of the song you will play. Come ready to
try new things in a fun, supportive setting!
Maximum enrollment: 10.
Prerequisites: None. Open to all levels.
CLAIRDEE Noon – 3 pm $50
Vocalist Clairdee has performed with Boz Scaggs, Cyrus Chestnut, Bucky Pizzarelli, Dave Frishberg, Red Holloway and many others.
Saturday September 25
Jazz Piano Workshop 
A 3-part workshop covering:
- Integrating the hands: Jazz pianists’ right and left hands are
often relegated to playing specific “roles.” Rosewoman details
a method of maximizing their full potential to achieve a fuller sound and unlock a wider range of technical possibilities.
- Voicings: Pianists learn to play fully-voiced melodies. Rosewoman introduces methods of developing fluency in voicing a wide
range of chords across the entire range of the instrument.
- Rhythmic depth and independence: Students deepen their
understanding of rhythm and the ability to apply rhythmic ideas to their playing and
are given specific exercises to refine their ability to develop rhythmic independence
between the left and right hands.
3:30 – 5:30 pm
MICHELE ROSEWOMAN $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Sunday September 26
Composition Workshop with Michele Rosewoman
Many musicians feel they don’t know how to compose. Where to begin? Experienced composers often feel ”stuck” — out of ideas or perspective on how to develop an idea they have. Visiting instructor Michele Rosewoman demonstrates that all you need is a starting point and just about any will do. With instructor’s guidance students begin new compositions during this 3-hour workshop and receive personal guidance towards realizing their unique personal preferences and how to apply them to the process of composing. Students learn practical approaches to developing their compositional ideas and how to further the conception of their individual pieces. Instructor utilizes recorded music to discuss and convey compositional goals and effects, and demonstrates methods for adjusting, elaborating upon and extending musical thought through melodic, harmonic and rhythmic possibilities and thematic development. Students are also invited to bring in compositions for feedback on the honing, polishing and developing of their ideas. Students should bring their instruments, music paper and a recording device. For all aspiring composers at all levels.
Noon – 3 pm
MICHELE ROSEWOMAN $45 Jazzschool students/$60 others
New York based pianist/composer Michele Rosewoman has performed with great musicians from both the jazz and Latin music worlds, including Rufus Reid, Reggie Workman, James Spaulding, Billy Hart, Gary Bartz, Jimmy Heath, Julian Priester, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake, Celia Cruz, Cuban master drummer/vocalist Orlando ‘Puntilla’ Rios, Andy Gonzalez and Pedrito Martinez.
Sunday October 3
How the Saxophone Works
Think you know how your woodwind instrument works? Think again! This workshop explores the physical aspects of how saxophones and other woodwinds create the sounds that they do, with practical applications for players. Topics include: modes of vibration; what makes octave/register keys work; the physics of overtones; false fingerings; how altissimo works; and the role of the airstream. Students may try various techniques such as growling, harmonics and glissando, and discuss them in light of
the physics of the instrument.
10:30 am – 1 pm
ANTON SCHWARTZ $35 Jazzschool students/$50 others
Jazz Saxophone: Making It Swing
 This workshop for woodwind players explores how to make your phrases swing from a technical standpoint. The instructor presents different flavors of swinging, from down and dirty to light and nimble, and considers the various tools available: rhythmic variation, accents, articulations and inflections. Participants listen to recorded examples and live demonstrations, and practice the ideas on their instruments. Also open to flutists and clarinetists.
2 – 4:30 pm
ANTON SCHWARTZ $35 Jazzschool students/$50 others
Music College Information Seminar
A seminar for serious high school music students (and/or their parents) in the initial stages of researching and applying to music colleges. This workshop addresses: the pros and Cons of school, financial issues, a survey of the different music schools in the U.S. and their respective audition requirements, tips on how to audition, what you can expect when you get there, what you will have when you leave, and more!
Noon – 2 pm
MICHAEL ZISMAN $30 per family
Michael Zisman has played with innumerable jazz legends (including Cecil Payne, Junior Cook, George Coleman and Herb Geller, to name but a very few). From 2000 – 2006, he was Artistic Director, Education Director and Programs Manager of the Stanford Jazz
Workshop and Festival.
The Art of Singing Fado
 Ramana Vieira returns for her second workshop at the Jazzschool! This workshop covers the history, origin and story of Fado. An overview of traditional and contemporary Fadistas is presented. Ms. Vieira shows video and demonstrates the stories and songs with her band. She also covers the various emotive, interpretative and dynamic techniques used in this style. Students learn a Fado song and have the opportunity to sing with the band. Maximum enrollment: 15
RAMANA VIEIRA Noon – 3 pm $50
Sunday October 10
VOCAL IMPROV — For the Beginning Improviser
British jazz vocalist and BBC jazz award winner Anita Wardell makes her first Jazzschool appearance!
Learn basic melodic and rhythmic ideas for scatting over the blues, develop a vocabulary of syllables and phrases, work on time and groove and learn to use the voice as an instrument.This workshop introduces basic harmony and ways to create solos using jazz vocabulary. Open to all levels. Maximum enrollment: 12
Noon – 3 pm
ANITA WARDELL
$50
Cuban Music Workshop: The Tres and Minor Percussion
 Come meet the Cuban Tres and get a taste of the minor percussion instruments associated with Afro-Cuban rhythms. The Cuban Tres is a guitar-like instrument with three double strings (six in all). It plays a key role in the Cuban “son,” the heartbeat of salsa. The minor percussion instruments include the maracas, guiro (gourd scraper) and clave sticks. Learn how these instruments weave together to create the rich polyrhythms of Afro-Cuban music. This workshop includes an explanation and hands-on demonstration of the Cuban Tres, and a demonstration of the techniques used in playing clave rhythms, maracas and guiro. Time permitting: a descarga (jam session) with all of the instruments. This workshop is open to all musicians.
2 – 4 pm
TITO GONZALEZ $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Heriberto “Tito” Gonzalez, “El Trecero mayor,” arrived in the San Francisco Bay area in the summer of 2000. His music is primarily “el son,” the music you know from the Buena Vista Social Club. He has played with such famous Cuban groups as Conjunto Estrellas de Chocolate, Aribu Quartet and Chapotin y sus estrellas, all from Havana, Cuba.
Saxophone Workshop: Tone Production and Breathing
Saxophonist Scott Petersen works with students on developing tone through effective breathing techniques. Maintaining a long and successful professional career while having cystic fibrosis, Petersen has made a deep study of the art of effective breathing.
2 – 4 pm
SCOTT PETERSEN $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Scott Petersen maintains a busy freelance schedule and has performed with a wide range of musicians from Dizzy Gillespie to Aretha Franklin.
Sunday October 17
How to Voice Standards for Piano: The Menu
Grammy-nominated pianist/educator Mark Levine shows pianists how to create a beautiful piano arrangement using 4th chords, upper structures, the ‘So What’ chord, the ‘Kenny Barron’ and ‘Herbie Hancock’ chords, as well as rootless left-hand voicings. Mark has created a “voicing menu” that allows the pianist to match the melody note at any given point with the best possible voicing. Students will use “Alice in Wonderland” as a workshop song.
11:30 am – 1:30 pm
MARK LEVINE $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
What Makes a Great Jazz Arrangement?
How does one create a great arrangement, whether for trio or big band? The element of surprise is the major factor. Pianist/educator Mark Levine deconstructs and explains why arrangements like Miles Davis’ “Someday My Prince Will Come,” Ahmad Jamal’s “The Boy Next Door,” and Mulgrew Miller’s “Carrousel” rise to classic status. For all instruments.
2 – 4 pm
MARK LEVINE $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Music Transcription Techniques
Transcribing music from recordings is an essential practice with many benefits for aspiring musicians. In this workshop, students are introduced to traditional transcription techniques and also the various notation and playback computer programs now available. Instructor demonstrates techniques using Sibelius notation software and Transcribe!, an inexpensive software program which allows you to loop and adjust the speed and EQ of selected recordings for transcription purposes.
11:45 am – 1:45 pm
BOB KARTY $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Pianist Bob Karty is a member of Tanaóra and Orquesta La Moderna Tradición as well as an active freelancer on the Bay Area salsa and jazz scenes, having performed with Ray Obiedo, Pete Escovedo, and many others.
Take the Stage!
Concert Performance and Concert Presentation for ALL Musicians
You’ve got the date, you’ve got the band... now how will you make your performance memorable and engaging for an audience? In this workshop, students work on practical skills for live performance, including: how to develop a personal artistic identity, how to choose appropriate material, how to pace a set, how to showcase all members of the group, how to command attention and stand out from the crowd. Participants identify personal goals and learn ways to achieve them. For all singers and instrumentalists interested in developing better audience rapport.
MAYE CAVALLARO Noon – 3 pm $50
Music and the Internet
This workshop provides an overview of the various ways music is distributed and sold today on the Internet. Attorney Todd Gascon addresses key terms and points to negotiate in digital download, ring tone and podcast agreements. Participants are provided with resources for placing music into the various digital music services alone or with the assistance of an
aggregator and are given an overview of SoundExchange and how to register recordings with this non-profit organization.
2 – 4 pm
TODD GASCON
$30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
As an attorney at Zent Law Group, Mr. Gascon’s practice is focused on the drafting and negotiation of a wide variety of commercial transactions (including various services, sales and procurement matters) and technology and intellectual property licensing agreements for Fortune 100 and 500 companies (including, but not limited to, master services agreements, consulting
agreements, outsourcing agreements, software license agreements, maintenance and support agreements and vendor services agreements). In addition, Mr. Gascon drafts and negotiates a wide variety of media licensing and related contractual matters.
Sunday October 24
Solo Jazz Piano
 In this hands-on workshop, instructor Debbie Poryes presents techniques for maintaining various jazz time feels as a solo pianist. Participants examine several tunes as vehicles to practice modern stride, walking bass lines, slow ballad quarter note, double time
and double time feel, jazz waltz and medium swing. For all intermediate and advanced pianists. Maximum 8 students.
11 am – 1 pm
DEBBIE PORYES $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
12-Bar Blues in Jazz
In the first hour of this workshop, Debbie presents a range of tunes based on the 12-bar blues illustrating various feels, keys and harmonizations including “Interplay,” “Sippin’ at Bells,” “All Blues,” and “Bluesette.” Students discuss approaches to melodic improvisation as applicable to these pieces. In the second hour, Debbie accompanies with bass lines and chords, giving everyone a chance to solo using some of the melodic ideas presented in the first hour. Bring your instruments. For all intermediate to advanced instrumentalists and singers. Maximum 8 students
1:30 – 3:30 pm
DEBBIE PORYES $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Developing Bebop Language
for Jazz Improvisation — Suzanne Pittson
After you’ve learned the scales, chords, modes, and the natural and altered extensions, how do you turn all of that into an improvised melodic line with chromaticism and contour? This workshop provides exercises designed to help vocalists better understand the jazz language and its components (e.g., neighbor groups and chromatic approach notes), helping vocalists build solos that move smoothly through chord changes.
Noon – 3 pm
SUZANNE PITTSON $50
Releasing Your Own Album
This workshop provides a business and legal guide to releasing your own album. Topics include business formation, trademarks, album artwork agreements, sidemen releases and more. In addition, students learn how to secure mechanical licenses for outside songs as well as permissions to compose arrangements for outside songs. Students also learn how to register their album artwork and master recordings with the Library of Congress.
2 – 4 pm
TODD GASCON $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Sunday October 31
Playing the Heck Out of In a Sentimental Mood
This workshop delves deeply into one of the most widely played of all the jazz ballads, a classic by Duke Ellington. We examine the song’s harmony in ways that will directly help us improvise over it, discussing the chord progression on both a micro level (how each chord leads to the next) and a big-picture level (how they all work together to form a coherent song). Suggestions are given for ways to mentally simplify the song’s structure, as well as a variety of neat harmonic tricks to embellish the chord changes. Students optionally improvise over the song and are critiqued, with recommendations given for a direct path to improvement. Prerequisites: facility on a melodic instrument or vocals. Knowledge of basic harmony, including major, minor and mixolydian scales. Suggested: some familiarity with altered and half-diminished chords. Bring your instrument (optional).
10:30 am – 1:30 pm
ANTON SCHWARTZ $45 Jazzschool Students/$60 others
Playing the Heck Out of Caravan
Juan Tizol, raises the question: How do you improvise over a song whose harmony consists mostly of a dominant chord that lasts twelve measures before resolving each time it appears? We discuss and demonstrate ways to sound great over the enigmatic A section, as well as the straight-ahead bridge. Students optionally improvise over the song and are critiqued, with recommendations given for a direct path to improvement. Prerequisites: facility on a melodic instrument or vocals. Knowledge of basic harmony, including major, minor and mixolydian scales. Suggested: familiarity with altered and diminished scales. Bring your instrument (optional).
2 – 4 pm
ANTON SCHWARTZ $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
VOCAL IMPROV — In and OuT— Jay clayton
Vocal innovator Jay Clayton makes a rare West Coast appearance, sharing her practice techniques and approach to free improvisation as well as fresh ideas for improvising over chord changes. Jay is one of the pioneering teachers of improvised vocal music, and has served as the director of the vocal department at Cornish College of the Arts for many years.This workshop includes group exercises as well as opportunities to perform individually. Come ready to sing! Maximum enrollment: 20 students
Noon – 3 pm
JAY CLAYTON $50
Saturday November 6
Who’s Minding The Store? A performance and discussion on the responsibilities of the jazz rhythm section with the Rufus Reid Trio!
3:30 – 5:30 pm
$30 Jazzschool students/ $45 others
Rufus Reid
Bassist, educator, composer, 2008 Guggenheim Fellow, author of the widely used bass text/DVD “The Evolving Bassist,”
performances with Gene Ammons, Kenny Dorham, Eddie Harris, Sonny Stitt, Don Byas, Philly Joe Jones, Thad Jones, Mel
Lewis, Dexter Gordon, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, and Art Farmer, Lee Konitz, and many, many more.
Steve Allee
Pianist Steve Allee has worked with a veritable “who’s who” of major jazz artists across the United States and abroad including recent performances with the Randy Brecker Quartet, David “Fathead” Newman, and John Clayton.
Duduka Da Fonseca
Brazilian drummer Duduka Da Fonseca is a founding member and co-leader of Trio da Paz, nominated as the best New Latin Jazz Group of 1993 and winner of the Jazz Journalist Association awards for the best Brazilian Jazz album of 2002 (Partido Out). Duduka has recorded on over 200 albums and performed with a wide range of artists including Antonio Carlos Jobim, John Scofield, Lee Konitz, and Joe Henderson. He is also the author of the best-selling instructional book and CD “Brazilian Rhythms for Drumset,” published by Manhattan Music/Warner Bros. Publications.
Sunday November 7
Just for Jazz Pianists: Playing Blues and Rhythm Changes
 Blues and rhythm changes continue to be the most commonly played chord progressions in jazz, largely because they are both highly pliable forms open to reinterpretation. In this workshop, Grammy-nominated pianist/educator Mark Levine guides students through basic, intermediate and advanced concepts of the various chord changes that are played, voicings great pianists use, solo ideas, blues waltzes, blues with different changes, alternate rhythm changes and much more.
11:30 am – 1:30 pm
MARK LEVINE $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Upper Structures
Upper structure voicings are the spice added to the meat and potatoes of jazz piano voicings. From Bill Evans to Mulgrew Miller, they have become a staple in the jazz pianist’s bag. Students will use Chick Corea’s “Mirror, Mirror” as a workshop tune for applying various upper structure voicings.
2– 4 pm
MARK LEVINE $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Grammy-nominated pianist/educator Mark Levine is the author of several best-selling jazz method books, including The Jazz Piano Book and The Jazz Theory Book, both published by Sher Music.
Developing Bebop Lines with the Family of Four
The Family of Four is a presentation of a group of four connected chords related to the dominant 7th bebop scale.Students develop an understanding of which elements of harmony are connected, and begin to use the Family of Four to create long, flowing melodic phrases for virtually all harmonic functions. The concept is also a wonderful tool for expanding and modernizing chord voicings.
11:45 am – 1:45 pm
SHERYL BAILEY $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Since 1995, when she placed third in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Guitar Competition, Sheryl Bailey has performed with jazz masters such as George Garzone, Dwayne Burno, Dennis Chambers, Dena DeRose, Sam Yahel, and Gary Grainger.
Personal Financial Planning for Musicians
Over the past decade, personal financial planning has become more complex than ever. Many people rely on their company-sponsored 401(k) plans as their main source of savings. Self-employed musicians often do not have this option. In this session, Adam Messinger, Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch, presents the core ideas behind sound financial planning and discusses some of the options available to self-employed professionals including: setting personal goals, the basics of asset allocation and diversification, and the use of SEP/IRA plans for retirement savings. A thirty-minute question and answer period follows the presentation.
2 – 4 pm
ADAM MESSINGER $20
Saturday November 13
South Indian Rhythm Workshop
Join two of South India’s leading percussionists, T.H. Subash Chandran — ghatam (clay pot) and konnokol (vocal percussion)
and Ganesh Kumar — kanjira (S. Indian tambourine), for an exciting workshop on the intricacies of South Indian rhythms. These classical percussionists have years of experience playing Indo-Jazz fusion, making them especially adept at sharing their knowledge with Western musicians. Concepts are presented through the medium of vocal percussion. No instrument or experience necessary. The workshop is hosted by Jazzschool instructor and percussionist Jim Santi Owen. Learn more about these artists at:
www.subashchandranmusic.com and www.ganeshkanjira.com.
This workshop is co-produced by the San Francisco World Music Festival which runs November 19 – 21. www.sfworldmusicfestival.org
3:30 – 5:30 pm
T.H. SUBASH CHANDRAN & GANESH KUMAR
$30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Sunday November 14
Non-Linear Improvising with Pentatonics
A theoretical and practical look at pentatonic (five-note) scales and their role in jazz, paying particular attention to the many ways we can use them to great effect in our solos. We lay out the theory behind them from the ground up, show how they may be used in myriad harmonic contexts, and discuss exactly how it is that such a simple harmonic tool, the basis of some of the simplest folk melodies around the world, can be used so powerfully in modern music to create so many colors and degrees of tension and dissonance. Prerequisites: A basic understanding of chords and seven-note scales is required. Some familiarity with advanced harmony (altered, lydian, etc.) is recommended.
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
ANTON SCHWARTZ $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Non-Linear Improvising with Triad Pairs
A particular sound can be achieved by constructing musical phrases using a six-note scale and grouping the six notes into two triads. It’s a sound most closely associated with John Coltrane, and first discussed extensively by Walt Weiskopf. In this workshop we discuss this technique of triad pairs and how it departs from the pre-1960 jazz vocabulary. We explore its harmonic foundations and various uses, and learn techniques for integrating it into our improvisations. Prerequisites: A basic understanding of chords and seven-note scales is required. Some familiarity with advanced harmony (altered, lydian, etc.) is recommended.
1 – 3 pm
ANTON SCHWARTZ $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
The Audition Process Master Class
Are you ready for your audition? Learn the fundamentals of sight-reading, performance skills, warm-up exercises and tips to beat your nerves for the big day. Preparation is the key to represent yourself with conviction, swing, groove and rhythm.
Discover the tools you need to be consistent in the audition process. Develop a checklist of how to approach any audition requirements. Bring your audition piece and participate in a mock audition to get instant feedback and an assessment for long-term improvement. For all instrumentalists and vocalists.
11:45 am – 1:45 pm
JAZ SAWYER $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Stage Performance Workshop
Vocalists and instrumentalists: How much time do you spend on your stage show? Probably a lot less time than you do learning the music. A common misconception among musicians is that ‘stage performance’ means acting in an unnatural way or that it isn’t as important as the music. The truth is, the way you and your band look and behave on stage plays a huge part in capturing the attention of the audience and how they experience your music. If you’ve been winging it on stage, this workshop will give you insights into how to develop a dazzling set to effectively present your songs, and how your image will enhance your music and set your stage shows apart from others. All students will participate and perform with a professional accompanist. Vocalists should bring two lead sheets in different tempos in their preferred keys. Instrumentalists should bring their instruments and two lead sheets for tunes at varied tempos. Maximum enrollment: 10
Prerequisites: Clairdee’s Stage Presence 101 or her previous Jazzschool workshops, “Tune Up Your Performance” and “In the Spotlight.”
CLAIRDEE Noon – 3 pm $50
Sunday November 21
Drop 2 — Piano Magic With Just Four Notes
Jazz pianists from Art Tatum through Mulgrew Miller have played “drop 2,” a technique that creates rich harmonies using a maximum of four notes. Mark Levine demonstrates, explains, and shows you how to get started with incorporating “drop 2” technique into your playing. Participants are also encouraged to purchase Mark Levine’s Jazz Piano Masterclass: The Drop 2 Book published by Sher Music and available at Jazzschool Books and Records.
11:30 am – 1:30 pm
MARK LEVINE $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Grammy-nominated pianist/educator Mark Levine is the author of several best-selling jazz method books, including The Jazz Piano Book and The Jazz Theory Book, both published by Sher Music.
Coltrane’s Harmony
Grammy-nominated pianist/educator Mark Levine introduces students to the harmonic formula employed by John Coltrane in the late 1950s and early 1960s, mastery of which is still considered an essential skill for aspiring jazz musicians. Most famously serving as the harmonic basis for his 1959 composition “Giant Steps,” Coltrane also used the formula as the basis for numerous other original compositions and also as a means of reharmonizing various jazz standards. In this workshop, Levine discusses compositional precursors (the music of Tadd Dameron and Richard Rodgers), and also tracks the influence and continued relevance of “Giant Steps” and other compositions based on John Coltrane’s harmonic formula. Numerous practical applications are discussed.
2 – 4 pm
MARK LEVINE $30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Monday November 22
A World of Music with Nguyên Lê
 As a Paris-born child of Vietnamese immigrants, Nguyên Lê grew up in a cross-cultural situation. Early on, he became fascinated by the various non-western cultures which are part of Paris life. These influences became essential elements in his own playing and writing. In this workshop, Mr. Lê demonstrates how he integrated the lessons of various non-Western cultures into his own playing and writing. Topics covered include modality, ornamentation, time, odd meters, and rhythm concepts from various ethnic sources, which are then applied to jazz improvisation and composition.
Suggested prerequisites: basic knowledge of jazz harmony and ability to improvise.
Paris-based guitarist Nguyên Lê has released 10 albums on the ACT label, and has worked with a wide range of world-renowned musicians in Europe and the United States, including Paul McCandless, Peter Erskine, Art Lande, and Terri Lyne Carrington.
“Nguyên Lê is a masterful, inventive player who has cultivated a wholly unique voice on the instrument, he ranks right up there with Frisell, John Scofield, Mike Stern & Allan Holdsworth in the post-Hendrix world of jazz guitar.” — Bill Milkowski, jazztimes
7 – 9 pm
$30 Jazzschool students/$45 others
Nguyên Lê’s workshop is presented in conjunction with Yoshi’s. Mr. Lê will perform at Yoshi’s Oakland on November 23rd and 24th. Visit yoshis.com for more information.
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