Swing University Winter 2016 Schedule
Jazz 101
with John Wriggle
8 Wednesday nights: January 13, 20, 27, February 3, 10, 17, 24, and March 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 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 Ben Young
8 Tuesday nights: January 12, 19, 26, February 2, 9, 16, 23, and March 1.
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)
$226.00
For students ready to take their knowledge of Jazz history up a notch, WKCR director Ben Young 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: January 13, 20, 27, February 3, 10, 17, and 24
(optional exam March 9)
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 exam; 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.
Licorice Stick Gumbo: The New Orleans Clarinet Masters
with Evan Christopher
7 nights: January 4, 5, 6, 11, 13, 19, and 20.
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)
$150.00
Based in a city whose lifeblood has always been music, clarinet master Evan Christopher returns to Swing University to discuss the rich legacy of the clarinet in New Orleans. Christopher will emphasize guided listening, analysis of early jazz and traditional New Orleans music, and a bit of history to provide a framework for recognizing and appreciating the unique, style-specific vocabulary of the New Orleans clarinet tradition and the great musicians who created it.
Read Evan Christopher’s biography
Conversations with Larry Ridley: Horace Silver
6 Monday nights: January 25; February 1, 8, 22, 29; March 7
6:30-8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)
$150.00
Master pianist and composer Horace Silver was one of the founding figures of Hard Bop, and his distinctive piano touch and his groundbreaking compositions have remained beloved mainstays of Jazz for more than 60 years. Bassist Larry Ridley discusses his time performing with Silver, looking at what made Silver such a unique and influential figure in this music.
Ragtime
With Terry Waldo
6 Tuesday nights: January 26; February 2, 9, 16, and 23; March 1
6:30-8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)
$150.00
Ragtime piano King and definitive Ragtime scholar Terry Waldo will explain to you, often by playing examples at the piano, why Ragtime is the center of the universe and Jazz is just a sizeable planet. Wynton Marsalis always relies on Terry, author of the classic book This Is Ragtime, for the real lowdown on Ragtime.
Art Tatum
With Felicity Howlett
4 Tuesday nights: January 26; February 2, 9, and 16
6:30-8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)
$115.00
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.
Third Stream
With Ben Young
4 Monday nights: February 22, 29; March 7 and 14
6:30-8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)
$115.00
Though its roots are even older than Jazz, Third Stream emerged as composers and artists began to blend Jazz with Western Classical music. Scholar Ben Young guides you on a journey from Ragtime, Gershwin and Ellington, to Hindemith, Stravinsky and Milhaud; from the Modern Jazz Quartet, Gunther Schuller, and Ornette Coleman, to the present day!