Education News

Musical Improvising -- Is It All in Your Brain?

Source: Michael Ricci
April 2, 2010

Is there a biological basis to a great sax solo?

Jonah Lehrer, a Wired editor and author of several populist-psychology books, recently recapped an intriguing new study by psychologists Darya Zabelina and Michael Robinson of North Dakota State University. The authors asked distinct groups of college students to imagine a day off from school or work, with one groups day set in the present, and the other's set from the perspective of a 7-year-old, and then gave each some creative ...

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NYJA Manhattan Jazz Big Band Announces Open Auditions in April

Source: New York Jazz Academy Publicity
March 30, 2010

New York Jazz Academy, the fastest growing music school in New York City, announces open auditions for the NYJA Manattan Jazz Big Band. The Manhattan Jazz Big Band is open to adult intermediate-advanced level instrumentalists who are looking to play and learn in a big band setting. This is a weekly workshop that will meet for two hours in each session. Stop by St. Peter's Church (East 54th St. at Lexington Ave., New York, NY) for an audition (and free ...

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Wayne Escoffery NYC Jazz Workshops Now Registering All Instruments

Source: New York Jazz Academy Publicity
March 30, 2010

New York Jazz Academy, the fastest growing music school in New York City, is pleased to announce a new workshop offering for all instruments. Line Building with Wayne Escoffery is open to intermediate-advanced level instrumentalists who are looking to improve their skills related to playing jazz lines. This is a weekly workshop that will meet for one hour in each session. Classes begin Thursday, April 8, 7pm. Topics covered in the workshop include: Methods for playing through chord changes

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Jazz Hopefuls Get Their Chance to Learn & Play with the Stars

Source: Michael Ricci
March 30, 2010

An initiative launched by PureSolo.com in association with Jazz FM will provide undiscovered jazz musicians with the break they've been looking for, in a series of online talent competitions.

London -- For most budding jazz musicians, the thought of performing with some of the genre's biggest stars is a pleasant daydream--but one that is seemingly unattainable. PureSolo and Jazz FM have teamed up to make that dream a reality for a chosen few, in a unique series of ...

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Mike Lee to Present Free Master Class Sunday, March 28 at Saxquest

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
March 25, 2010

This just in: Saxophonist Mike Lee (pictured), whose credits include work with the Village Vanguard Orchestra, Woody Herman's Thundering Herd, Joe Lovano, Bobby Watson, the Maria Schneider Orchestra and many others, will be in St. Louis to present a free saxophone clinic at 2:00 p.m. this Sunday at Saxquest, 2114 Cherokee St.Lee and his quartet New Tricks also will perform that evening at 7:00 p.m. at the Highway 61 Roadhouse in Webster Groves. In addition to Lee, New ...

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A Free Bass Lesson from John Clayton

Source: Michael Ricci
March 24, 2010

ArtistShare pays tribute to John Clayton, a stellar bassist and a valued part of the ArtistShare family. We invite you to experience his musical world by accessing an exclusive free online bass lesson at artistshare.com. John, along with his brother Jeff, are working on a new ArtistShare fan-funded project, entitled The New Song and Dance. Watch as The Clayton Brothers write, perform and record compositions and arrangements inspired by dance.

About John Clayton The sheer wizardry of his ...

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Governor Deval Patrick Donates His Father's Jazz Archives to Boston's Berklee College of Music

Source: MassJazz: Jazz in Massachusetts
March 21, 2010

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is honoring his late father's musical and cultural legacy by donating the vast collection of jazz musician, composer, and arranger Laurdine Kenneth “Pat" Patrick to Berklee College of Music's Africana Studies archive. The historical Pat Patrick Collection comprises hundreds of scores, photographs, personal materials, and recordings. Best known for his 40-year association with the avant-garde artist Sun Ra, Patrick also played with jazz greats John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington and many others, according to The ...

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McGill Graduate Music Symposium

Source: Lubricity
March 19, 2010

Im finally recovering from my whirlwind weekend in Montreal, where I attended the McGill Graduate Music Symposium, a three-day graduate student musicology conference put on by the McGill Music Graduate Students Society. It was the first time in my brief academic career that I attended a conference like this, and I had such a blast that I came a step closer to embracing my inner nerd.

It just so happened that on the same weekend, McGill was hosting a conference ...

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