Swing University Spring 2014 Schedule

Jazz 101

with Vincent Gardner

8 Monday Nights: March 31, Apr 7, 21, 28, May 5, 12, 19, & June 2
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)
$226.00

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.
See video: Swing University w/ Vincent Gardner


Jazz 201

with Vincent Gardner

8 Tuesday Nights: Apr 1, 8, 22, 29, May 6, 13, 20 & 27
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)
$226.00

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

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)
$226.00

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.

See video: Phil Schaap – Jazz 301
Read Phil Schaap’s biography


The Chicagoans: The First Garage Band

with Phil Schaap

6 Tuesday Nights: Mar 18, 25, Apr 1, 8, 15 & 22
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)
$150.00

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.

See video: The Chicagoans: The First Garage Band with Phil Schaap

Read Phil Schaap’s biography


Thelonious Monk

with Larry Ridley

4 Monday Nights: Mar 17, 24, 31 & Apr 7
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)
$115.00

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

4 Tuesday Nights: May 6, May 13, 20 & 27
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)
$115.00

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 Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies, will guide you to discovering and finding out about the music you love.

See video: Discography with Ed Berger

Read Ed Berger’s biography


Cecil Taylor

with Ben Young

4 Wednesday Nights: May 14, 21, 28 & June 4
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)
$115.00

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.

See video: Cecil Taylor with Ben Young