From the Village Vanguard to Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York is the world's jazz capital, attracting musicians who come to listen, play, and also to learn. New York Jazz Workshop (NYJW) is their school of music, a magnet for musicians of every level, from beginner to advanced. New classes are forming now.
NYJW provides:
1. A unique methodology for learning jazz through ear training; melodic, harmonic and rhythmic exercises; and a combination of individual and group performances.
2. Faculty members who combine excellent teaching skills with impressive jazz credentials, having played with Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Lee Konitz, George Coleman, Dave Liebman, Fela Kuti and others.
3. The jazz-rich, musically varied New York City location, with its lively performance and jam session scene.
“While our primary focus is jazz, our classes provide invaluable skills for any style of music, from pop and rock to contemporary," said Marco Chelo, Italian entrepreneur and musician who co-founded NYJW three years ago with world renown tenor saxophonist and composer, Marc Mommaas.
Mommaas added, “New York Jazz Workshop helps musicians acquire improved focus and tools that makes practice enjoyable and productive. At NYJW they'll also find like-minded musical collaborators."
NYJW students take classes and workshops in improvisation, theory, blues, composition and rhythm, and in guitar, vocals, drums, big band and African drumming. Some perform in NYJW's Bebop Ensemble, Blues Combo, or Saxophone Quartet. The school offers intensive four-day workshops as well as weekly two-hour classes.
“I was hesitant in joining this class because, as a professional musician, I was afraid to be already familiar with the material of the course. I was wrong," pianist Vittorio Mezza said of the NYJW composition class he traveled from Italy to take. “The information provided was definitely what I needed and inspired me to explore new musical dimensions."
With the New York Jazz Workshop's unique registration procedure, classes start as soon as at least four students register. Students can request NYJW to create specific courses as well. Also, NYJW will soon to be launching an online jazz marketplace featuring, educational resources, books and more.
Visit the New York Jazz Workshop for more information.
