Swing University

With weekly courses for every knowledge level, Swing University offers adults of all ages a chance to learn about jazz from musicians and scholars. Jazz at Lincoln Center Curator and WKCR personality Phil Schaap and friends share insights, expertise and stories as they lead classes through jazz’s storied past and vibrant present, focusing not only on jazz history, but also on how to be an effective listener. Classes range from four to eight weeks long, with three terms per season. Faculty has included drummer Lewis Nash, trumpeter Joe Wilder, JLCO trombonist Vincent Gardner, and pianists Bill Charlap and Connie Crothers.

Registration

We accept registrations for our full year of courses. While individual tickets are available the night of any class for $35, our eight-week, six-week, and four-week courses are all priced to provide you with a discount for enrolling in the full term. Additionally, we provide special offer registrations.

A variety of packages are available, including a discounted registration fee for enrolling in Jazz 101, Jazz 201, and Jazz 301. Click on the Packages and Special Offers tab to see our specially selected course packages for 2013 - 2014.

Makeup Classes

We offer make-up classes for Jazz 101, Jazz 201, and Jazz 301 only. Enrolled students who miss a class during the term may sit in on that respective class during the following term at no additional cost.

Refunds

Tuition fee is fully refundable up to one week prior to the start of the class. A 50% refund is available for registrations cancelled within the first two weeks of a class.No refunds will be issued after the first two weeks of class.

Location

Classes are held at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center at 60th and Broadway. Take the silver elevators next to the box office up to the 5th floor, and then turn left to enter the Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC).

For more questions, call 212-258-9922 or email swingu@jalc.org.

Jazz 101

with Ben Young

Register Online Now
$226.00

8 Wednesday Nights: Sept 18, 25, Oct 2, 9, 16, 30, Nov 6 & 13
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

One of today’s best introductory courses to our nation’s greatest art form, Jazz 101 teaches you through engaging lectures by WKCR director Ben Young, paired with recordings by the legends who created the music. This course will provide you with an understanding of the foundations of Jazz and the ability to learn more at your own speed.

Jazz 201

with Phil Schaap

Register Online Now
$226.00

8 Monday Nights: Sept 16, 23, 30, Oct 7, 21, 28, Nov 4 & 18
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

For students ready to take their knowledge of Jazz history up a notch, Jazz at Lincoln Center Curator Phil Schaap offers Jazz 201. Following the same storyline as Jazz 101, this course offers deeper listening, more listening instructions, and discusses a greater breadth of Jazz musicians.

Jazz 301

with Phil Schaap

Register Online Now
$226.00

7 Tuesday Nights: Sept 17, 24, Oct 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 (optional exam Nov 12)
6:30–9:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

Taught by Jazz at Lincoln Center Curator Phil Schaap, Jazz 301 is the most advanced Jazz survey course in the world and provides students with detailed and nuanced insights into all aspects of the music’s history. Students in 301 may choose to take an optional final; those who pass are presented with a certificate signed by Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis and Schaap acknowledging the recipient’s exceptional scholarship. Many have used this document for academic credit and career advancement.

BeBop

with Vincent Gardner

Register Online Now
$150.00

6 Tuesday Nights: Oct 29, Nov 5, 12, 19, Dec 3 & Dec 10
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

BeBop, a renegade style in the Jazz world of 1945, nearly dominated it by 1950. It is a rare, and perhaps the most recent, instance of triumph in the avant-garde, as BeBop succeeded in becoming “garde”! Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra trombonist Vincent Gardner is your guide.

John Coltrane

with Larry Ridley

Register Online Now
$115.00

4 Monday Nights: Sept 16, 23, 30, & Oct 7
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

Nearly 50 years after his passing, John Coltrane remains one of Jazz’s most towering and influential figures. Professor Larry Ridley, who played with Coltrane, will lead you through this extraordinary artist’s life, music, and legacy.

James P. Johnson

with Terry Waldo

Register Online Now
$115.00

4 Tuesday Nights: Oct 15, 22, 29, & Nov 5
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

The legendary James P. Johnson was the father of Harlem Stride Piano, a King of Black Broadway, and an early Third Stream composer. The great pianist and early Jazz scholar Terry Waldo will guide you through Johnson’s career, complete with musical examples provided directly from the piano.

Dizzy Gillespie

with Jon Faddis

Register Online Now
$115.00

4 Wednesday Nights: Nov 6, 13, 20, & Dec 4
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

We still live in the Age of the Jazz Prophets, and the trumpeter Jon Faddis will prove it as he takes us directly into Dizzy’s world and music. Enjoy this outstanding opportunity to learn about one of Jazz’s greatest legends in a course taught by one of today’s greatest trumpet masters.

Jazz 101

with John Wriggle

Register Online Now
$226.00

8 Tuesday Nights: Jan 14, 21, 28, Feb 4, 11, 18, 25 & Mar 4
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

One of today’s best introductory courses to our nation’s greatest art form, Jazz 101 teaches through engaging lectures by trombonist and educator John Wriggle, paired with recordings by the legends who created the music. This course will provide you with an understanding of the foundations of Jazz, and the ability to learn more at your own speed.

Jazz 201

with Phil Schaap

Register Online Now
$226.00

8 Wednesday Nights: Jan 15, 22, 29, Feb 5, 12, 19, 26 & Mar 5
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

For students ready to take their knowledge of Jazz history up a notch, Jazz at Lincoln Center Curator Phil Schaap offers Jazz 201. Following the same storyline as Jazz 101, this course offers deeper listening, more listening instructions, and discusses a greater breadth of Jazz musicians.

Jazz 301

with Phil Schaap

Register Online Now
$226.00

7 Monday Nights: Jan 13, 27, Feb 3, 10, 24, Mar 3 & 10 (optional exam Mar 24)
6:30–9:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

Taught by Jazz at Lincoln Center Curator Phil Schaap, Jazz 301 is the most advanced Jazz survey course in the world and provides students with detailed and nuanced insights into all aspects of the music’s history. Students in 301 may choose to take an optional final; those who pass are presented with a certificate signed by Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis and Schaap acknowledging the recipient’s exceptional scholarship. Many have used this document for academic credit and career advancement.

The Evolution & Development of Big Band Jazz

with John Wriggle

Register Online Now
$150.00

6 Wednesday Nights: Jan 15, 22, 29, Feb 5, 12 & 19
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

Vital keys in Jazz are the decisions made as to what instruments will play the music and how many shall there be. Ninety years ago Jazz Big Bands were 10 pieces with two distinct horn sections and by The Swing Era it was upwards of 17 pieces and at least three horn sections. Why? How does texture and repertoire get decided? What role does arranging play? Trombonist, author, and educator John Wriggle is your guide.

Albert Ayler

with Ben Young

Register Online Now
$115.00

4 Tuesday Nights: Jan 28, Feb 4, 11 & 18
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

Albert Ayler was a tenor saxophone master who directly linked gospel music to the Avant-garde. Learn more about this artist, who was Coltrane’s favorite in high-energy Free Jazz, in this engaging course taught by WKCR director Ben Young.

Jelly Roll Morton

with Terry Waldo

Register Online Now
$115.00

4 Monday Nights: Feb 24, Mar 3, 10 & 17
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

Jelly Roll Morton, a New Orleans Jazz pioneer, was the music’s first great composer. As a pianist, Morton was one of the new music’s greatest ad-libbers, and his efforts as a composer made Jazz a fully developed music. Pianist and early Jazz scholar Terry Waldo will explain it all for you, and will often demonstrate examples directly from the piano.

Art Tatum

with Felicity Howlett

Register Online Now
$115.00

4 Wednesday Nights: Feb 26, Mar 5, 12 & 19
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

A wizard pianist who is revered as the greatest virtuoso in Jazz History, Art Tatum will be the subject of a four-course series taught by Felicity Howlett, one of the world’s leading scholars on Tatum and his work.

Jazz 101

with Vincent Gardner

Register Online Now
$226.00

8 Monday Nights: May 31, Apr 7, 21, 28, May 5, 12, 19, & June 2
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

One of today’s best introductory courses to our nation’s greatest art form, Jazz 101 teaches through engaging lectures by educator and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra trombonist Vincent Gardner, paired with recordings by the legends who created the music. This course will provide you with an understanding of the foundations of Jazz, and the ability to learn more at your own speed.

Jazz 201

with Vincent Gardner

Register Online Now
$226.00

8 Tuesday Nights: Apr 1, 8, 22, 29, May 6, 13, 20 & 27
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

For students ready to take their knowledge of Jazz history up a notch, educator and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra trombonist Vincent Gardner offers Jazz 201. Following the same storyline as Jazz 101, this course offers deeper listening, more listening instructions, and discusses a greater breadth of Jazz musicians.

Jazz 301

with Phil Schaap

Register Online Now
$226.00

7 Wednesday Nights: Mar 19, 26, Apr 2, 9, 16, 23 & May 7 (optional exam May 21)
6:30–9:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

Taught by Jazz at Lincoln Center Curator Phil Schaap, Jazz 301 is the most advanced Jazz survey course in the world and provides students with detailed and nuanced insights into all aspects of the music’s history. Students in 301 may choose to take an optional final; those who pass are presented with a certificate signed by Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis and Schaap acknowledging the recipient’s exceptional scholarship. Many have used this document for academic credit and career advancement.

The Chicagoans: The First Garage Band

with Phil Schaap

Register Online Now
$150.00

6 Tuesday Nights: Mar 18, 25, Apr 1, 8, 15 & 22
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

After their first day of high school in September 1922, a crew of adolescents heard the early Jazz records of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, and they decided then and there to play Jazz. Their remarkable success proved that Jazz is a moveable feast. Learn more about Frank Teschemacher, Bud Freeman, Jimmy McPartland, and many more in this course taught by Phil Schaap.

Thelonious Monk

with Larry Ridley

Register Online Now
$115.00

4 Monday Nights: Mar 17, 24, 31 & Apr 7
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

One of Jazz’s most beloved and immediately recognizable pianists and composers, Thelonious Monk has left behind a remarkable recorded legacy and a series of compositions that have become some of Jazz’s most revered standards. Professor Larry Ridley, who was Monk’s bassist, takes you to the heart of this Jazz master.

Discography

with Ed Berger

Register Online Now
$200.00

4 Tuesday Nights: May 6, May 13, 20 & 27
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

Discography, the science of researching recordings, was invented by Charles Delaunay in 1936 because the recordings themselves didn’t give him enough information about the performances on them. Discography has been a crucial part of Jazz scholarship, and will continue to be in the digital age. Ed Berger, retired curator of the Institute of Jazz Studies, will guide you to discovering and finding out about the music you love.

Cecil Taylor

with Ben Young

Register Online Now
$115.00

4 Wednesday Nights: May 14, 21, 28 & June 4
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

Now 84 years old, the keyboard wizard Cecil Taylor has been a leader in Jazz’s Avant-garde for nearly 60 years. WKCR director Ben Young will tell you more in this survey of Taylor’s life and music.

Packages

Jazz 101-201-301: "Become a Jazz Expert in 3 Easy Steps"

Register Online Now
$425.04

The backbone of Swing University: Become an expert on the music you love through our Jazz 101, 201, and 301 courses in this year-long package!

Albert Ayler-Dizzy Gillespie-Art Tatum: "High-Energy Jazz from 3 Deities"

Register Online Now
$245.04

Three masters of the art form: Albert Ayler, Dizzy Gillespie, and Art Tatum. Each of these artists brought incomparable levels of creativity, virtuosity, and vigor to their playing, and each helped to fundamentally change how we think about Jazz. Find out more!

John Coltrane-James P. Johnson-Jelly Roll Morton: "70 Years of Jazz Genius"

Register Online Now
$245.04

The careers of John Coltrane, James P. Johnson, and Jelly Roll Morton span nearly 70 years of Jazz history. This package allows you to learn more about these three visionaries, and to find out how their contributions shaped Jazz as we know it today.

Bebop-Evolution & Development of Big Band Jazz-The Chicagoans: "3 Breakthroughs That Reshaped Jazz"

Register Online Now
$300.06

This package examines three pivotal innovations in Jazz history that redefined how we think about rhythm, orchestration, and improvisation. Learn more about the styles and about the masters who challenged us to hear Jazz differently.

Special Offers/Discounts

Subscribers 50%

Members 50%

Swing University Alumni 25%

Students with Valid ID 75%

If you fall into one of these categories, please call Education Customer Service at 212-258-9922 to register.