Education News

George Duke to Give History of Soul Music Jan. 31 at Berklee College

Source: All About Jazz
January 2, 2008

Sovereign Bank Music Series at Berklee presents a history of soul music with multi Grammy-winner George Duke - pioneering synth player and producer for superstars from Miles and Michael to Dizzy and Zappa - January 31 Boston, December 19, 2007 - The Sovereign Bank Music Series at Berklee continues with a man who has made soulful contributions in almost every genre of music - five-time Grammy-winner and synth pioneer George Duke. Starting out in jazz with Jean-Luc Ponty and Cannonball ...

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This week on JazzPianoOnline.com

Source: All About Jazz
January 2, 2008

Improvising over Blue Bossa This Kenny Dorham tune from Joe Henderson's seminal 1963 Blue Note release Page One, is perhaps the classic latin jazz tune and certainly one of the first tunes that most jazz players learn to improvise over. This lesson, the first in the “Improvising over . . ." series on JazzPianoOnline.com takes you through a harmonic analysis, a review of the basic chordscale choices and shows you, step-by-step, how to improvise over the changes to ...

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This Week on JazzPianoOnline.com

Source: All About Jazz
December 27, 2007

Reharmonize Auld Lang Syne Instead of playing a vanilla I-IV-V version of this old Scottish melody on New Years this year try this lush one-chord-per-bar reharmonization. Watch the step-by-step transformation take place through the the use of three simple techniques: cycle extension, substitute dominants and tonic substitution. Make sure, however, that you are good and sober before trying to play these new changes- there are a lot of them!

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This Week on JazzPianoOnline.com

Source: All About Jazz
December 17, 2007

Rootless Voicings with Added Tension Beyond iiVIs Part 5 The final installment of this five-part series aims to synthesize the concepts of the previous four lessons into a unified method for voice-leading any progression with rootless voicings with added tension. Each chord quality (maj7, 7, 7b9b13, -7, -7b5) is considered independently of the ii-V-I progression so that novel progressions can be voice-led using either of the inversions of these voicings as appropriate. What is JazzPianoOnline.com? Watch ...

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Jazz Composers Symposium Issues Call for Scores/Papers

Source: All About Jazz
December 12, 2007

2ND INTERNATIONAL JAZZ COMPOSERS' SYMPOSIUM JUNE 12-14, 2008 PARK CITY, UTAH USA SPONSORED BY: THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA CENTER FOR JAZZ COMPOSITION & THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR JAZZ EDUCATION in partnership with BMI CALL FOR SCORES & PAPERS The second International Jazz Composers' Symposium, co-sponsored by the University of South Florida Center for Jazz Composition and the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) in partnership with BMI, ...

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This Week on JazzPianoOnline.com

Source: All About Jazz
December 10, 2007

Harmonizing Melodies with Upper Structure Triads Part 2 Adding harmony to a melody line (harmonization) can add depth and richness to a line. Harmonizing with upper structure triads dials this up a notch by underscoring the melody with a subtle polytonal undercurrent that transforms the line by obscuring the key. It is an entrancing effect that sounds sophisticated and hip. Watch part two of this two-part series to see how to harmonize chord tones over dominant chords with upper structure ...

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This Week on JazzPianoOnline.com

Source: All About Jazz
December 3, 2007

Silent Night

Like it or not, “The Season" is upon us. This of course means people want to hear Christmas music. A lot of players cringe at the thought of having to play this repertoire but this should not be the case. There are a lot of cool Christmas tunes- many as good as the best standards- and they present a perfect opportunity to be creative: to write new arrangements, reharmonize the tunes and generally have fun breathing new life ...

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Northwestern University's New Jazz Studies Director Generates Big Buzz

Source: All About Jazz
December 2, 2007

Last May, music students at Northwestern University took to the streets to protest the school's suspension of its jazz studies degree program. They organized on the Internet too, launching a feisty Web site to decry what they saw as the beginning of the end of jazz on the sprawling Evanston campus. Little did they know, however, that a seemingly moribund program -- which had educated no less than singer-pianist Patricia Barber, trumpeter Orbert Davis and guitarist John Moulder, among others ...

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