Education News

2009 Hudson Summer Jazz Workshop

Source: All About Jazz
May 20, 2009

Third Annual 2009 HUDSON SUMMER JAZZ WORKSHOP Armen Donelian & Marc Mommaas, Faculty Special Guest, Dave Liebman Thursday, August 13 - Sunday, August 16 Hudson, NY Pianist Armen Donelian and saxophonist Marc Mommaas present the third annual Hudson Summer Jazz Workshop, an inspiring and intimate jazz intensive. This year's Special Guest is David Liebman, widely regarded as one of the most important saxophonists in contemporary music. Improvisation, composition, duo and ...

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Seattle Times: Seattle Schools Continue Decade of Dominance at Essentially Ellington

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene
May 19, 2009

Another year at Essentially Ellington, another triumph for Seattle bands. Garfield High School won here and Roosevelt placed second in the 2009 festival, the top high-school jazz-band contest in the country, which wrapped up here last Sunday. “We kind of chuckle that people are going to get tired of seeing Garfield and Roosevelt all the time,” said Scott Brown, the band director at Roosevelt High School, which is located within five miles of Garfield. It’s been quite a decade for ...

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New on JazzPianoOnline.com: Improvising over Passing Diminished Chords

Source: All About Jazz
May 18, 2009

Improvising Over Passing Diminished Chords

Improvising Passing Diminished Chords There is a lot of uncertainty that surrounds diminished chords. How do they work exactly? What chordscales do they take? How do you improvise over them?

Gain some insight into these questions through an examination of Red Garland's solo over the changes to the standard tune It Could Happen to You from the recording Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet from 1956.

This lesson will show you a couple of his ...

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Berklee to Hold Scholarship Auditions in Nairobi, Kenya

Source: All About Jazz
May 14, 2009

Berklee College of Music, the world's leading institution for the study of contemporary music, will be holding audition and interview (A&I) events in Kenya as part of its Africa Scholars Program, offering talented musicians the chance to be awarded scholarships to attend the college. The college inaugurated the Africa Scholars Program with A&I events in Accra Ghana, and Durban, South Africa in the summer of 2008. Those resulted in $1.4 million in scholarships being awarded to 26 musicians, including a ...

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Notes from the Net: More on Kind of Blue's 50th Anniversary; Quincy Jones Speaks out on Music Education; Plus News, Reviews, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
May 12, 2009

Here's this week's compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:* Starting, as we usually do, with news of the St. Louis area's most famous jazz musician, it seems that the Montreal Jazz Festival will honor Miles Davis with a series of concerts, including “Sketches of MD," featuring new ...

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Thousands of Kansas City Students Participate in Thelonious Monk Institute Programs May 18-22

Source: All About Jazz
May 12, 2009

Thousands of Kansas City Public School Students Participate in Peer-to-Peer Blues and Jazz Education Programs May 18- 22 Featuring Internationally Acclaimed Artists Bobby Watson and Lisa Henry Week-Long Series of Events Includes Concert Open to the Public At The Blue Room on May 21

Washington, D.C. – The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz will introduce its “Peer-to-Peer” blues and jazz education programs in Kansas City public schools May 18-22. Combining performance with information, these “informances” will be presented ...

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Seattle Times: 3 Seattle-Area Schools Intend to Prove Their Essentially Ellington Prowess This Weekend

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene
May 9, 2009

Essentially Ellington, the nation’s premier high-school jazz band competition, begins in New York City today, and once again, Seattle-area schools are there. The 2009 field includes Seattle’s Garfield and Roosevelt high schools, plus Bellevue’s Newport High School. Roosevelt won the 2008 contest, with Garfield finishing second, showing Seattle’s continued dominance of the competition. Seattle-area schools have been so successful at Essentially Ellington (EE), it’s easy to forget that when the jazz-band competition first convened in 1996, entrance was extended only ...

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Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Brings Peer-to-Peer Jazz Education Program to Pittsburgh Public Schools May 11-16

Source: All About Jazz
May 8, 2009

Featuring Internationally Acclaimed Artists Antonio Hart & Lisa Henry Weeklong Series of Events Concludes with Concerts Open to the Public at Little E’s Jazz Club May 15-16 Washington, D.C. – The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz will introduce its “Peer-to-Peer” jazz education program in the Pittsburgh public schools on May 11-16. Combining performance with information, these “informances” will be presented by five exceptionally gifted high school jazz students from Miami’s New World School of the Arts along with internationally ...

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