Swing University Spring 2010 Open House
Come learn what Swing University has to offer at a FREE Open House on Wednesday, March 17, 6pm-7pm. This event will introduce you to Phil Schaap and some of the faculty of Swing University and give you an overview of the upcoming courses. Click here to register for the Spring Open House.
Swing University explains jazz, its development, and how to be an effective listener. Class members learn how to follow song form, understand the uses of ensemble and soloist in a jazz performance, and explore the significant events in the music's history. Taught with the help of special guest lecturers, Swing University offers a wide range of courses to suit all jazz lovers from novices to jazz cats.
To enroll in a class, complete and fax this form to 212-258-9900 or call 212-258-9786.
"I won't teach you trumpet or piano or drums, but I'll teach you the history, the context, the culture, while telling you some good stories."
— Phil Schaap, Jazz at Lincoln Center Curator
Spring 2010 Term
GERSHWIN & JAZZ with Bill Charlap
Monday Nights: 4/5; 4/12; 4/19; & 4/26/2010
Bill Charlap is a definitive communicator in Jazz Education: Charlap can explain things in words and by playing the piano. Charlap will use both abilities in bringing George Gershwin to you and explaining his importance in the context of Jazz.
EARLY JAZZ PIANO: Ragtime, Stride, New Orleans and More with Terry Waldo
Tuesday Nights: 4/6; 4/13; 4/20; 4/27; 5/4; 5/11; 5/18; & 5/25/2010
Terry and guests play and illustrate through films and recordings the styles that formed the foundation of our jazz piano heritage. The classes will include the music of ragtime pioneers Scott Joplin and Eubie Blake; New Orleans jazz master, Jelly Roll Morton; stride pianists, James P. Johnson and Fats Waller; and the Boogie Woogie legends, Pine Top Smith and Meade Lux Lewis.
DUKE ELLINGTON with Phil Schaap
Wednesday Nights: 4/7; 4/14; 4/21; 4/28; 5/5; 5/12; 5/19; & 5/26/2010
Duke Ellington played piano, but his orchestra was his instrument and Duke used that band to play his music, the most important compositions in Jazz. Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was born April 29, 1899 in Washington, D.C. Initially, Duke was indifferent to music but he became passionate about it during his adolescence. Soon, Ellington was leading a Jazz band. That unit, transplanted to New York City, became the vehicle that brought Duke Ellington to prominence. Pivotal to Duke's new status was the opening at The Cotton Club on 12/4/1927. The Duke Ellington Orchestra had numerous successes during the next few years. Duke made movies and did international touring. Ellington expanded the compositional boundaries of Jazz with extended works such as the memoriam for his mother, "Reminiscin' In Tempo". Greater glory came to Duke in The Swing Era with the addition to his orchestra of: Billy Strayhorn, who brought new music to The Maestro; Jimmie Blanton, an exceptional bassist whose genius created a soloing role for the instrument; and Ben Webster, who provided Ellington with a mastermind on the newly important tenor saxophone. After The Swing Era, Duke Ellington's Orchestra could be said to have triumphed simply by existing, as all the other Big Bands had folded due to economics. Even Duke had troubles, among them a criticism that "The Maestro" was a has-been. Ellington answered such jibes with a resolving triumph at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival. Thereafter, no one challenged The Maestro's supremacy. Duke Ellington performed until the end of his life. In his later years, Duke wrote Jazz music for religious services, known as Sacred Concerts. Duke Ellington died of cancer on May 24, 1974, age 75.
JAZZ 101 with Phil Schaap
Monday Nights: 3/22; 4/5; 4/12; 4/19; 4/26; 5/3; 5/10; 5/17; & 5/24/2010
Discover the A to Z of jazz. Learn about the Crescent City pioneers who taught musicians everywhere how to swing and the Big Band Era heartthrobs who brought jazz into prime time. Relive the bebop revolution and follow its descendents – cool, hard bop, modal and free jazz – into the modern era.
JAZZ 301 with Phil Schaap
Tuesday Nights: 4/6; 4/13; 4/20; 4/27; 5/4; 5/11/2010 with an optional final on 5/25/2010
NOTE: This is a three hour class and a six week course.
You may know of King Oliver, but what about Freddie Keppard? Can you distinguish John Coltrane from Sonny Rollins by ear? These intensive three-hour classes will help you answer these questions as we chart the same Jazz 101 and 201 trajectory but in greater depth. An optional final will be given two weeks after the last class and outstanding students will receive a certificate signed by Wynton Marsalis and Phil Schaap.
