Jazz Pedagogy-Brian Lilos

Jazz Pedagogy:
A Canadian Perspective
By
Lina Allemano, Colleen Allen, Darcy Argue, Carlos Aguilera, Russ Baird,
Tommy Banks, Shirantha Beddage, Greg Buium, Adam Caringi,
Terry Clarke, Michael Coghlan, Alex Dean, Kevin Dean, Paul DeLong,
Mike Downes, Brenda Earle, Barry Elmes, Sarah Falls, Esteban
Figueroa, Gordon Foote, Hugh Fraser, Steve Haines, Jim Howard, Will
Jarvis, Christine Jensen, Andrew Jones, Steve Jones, Pat LaBarbera,
Brian Lillos, Carmella Luvisotto, Neil MacIntosh, Steve Mancuso,
Alexis Marsh, Alan Matheson, Jim McGrath, Mark Miller, Catherine
Mitro, Dave Neill, Brian O’Kane, Christian Overton, Ted Quinlan, Bill
Prouten, Jodi Proznick, Paul Read, Bob Rebagliati, Dave Restivo,
Andrew Scott, Bryan Stovell, Don Thompson, Paul Tynan, David
Virelles, Sundar Viswanathan, Ted Warren, Neil Yorke-Slader
Creative Canadian Jazz Voice Publications

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Edited by Brian Lillos
Typography and formatting by Sanja Antic
Musical examples by Sylvain Bedard
Cover art by Heather Jean
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Copyright© 2006 Brian Lillos Inc.
58 Maidstone Crescent, Brampton, Ontario Canada L6S 2Z5
www.BrianLillos.com
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2nd Edition
Acknowledgements
I live in a very evolved artistic world which doesn’t see colour, gender, race, religion
or age. It is alive with creativity. I teach, I write, I study, and I perform jazz
music. I’ve done it long enough to see it come full circle several times. I live a very
privileged life and everyone should be so lucky. This book is dedicated to my
students, my teachers, my colleagues and my mentors past, present and future and
to the next generation of jazz messengers. This book is also dedicated to my wife
Pamela our family, Andrew, Colleen, David, Rebecca, Paige, Abbye, Hannah, and Erin.
Special thanks goes to Neala Puran (first edition) and Sanja Antic - Yugo Girl
Design (second edition) for typing and layout, Sylvain Bedard for the musical
examples and Heather Jean for the cover art. Extra special thanks needs to go to
the contributing authors of this text for their insight, passion for the art form,
and ability to make deadlines. Their work has allowed me to develop a text with
greater insight and broader scope then if I had “penned” it myself.
Forward
by Brian Lillos
I have written, edited, and compiled this text for my third and fourth year jazz
pedagogy students at Humber College in Toronto, Canada. They are the audience to
whom I am speaking. As an educator, musician, and pedagogue there are things at
which I am expert and things others do better. I have therefore asked several of
my esteemed Canadian colleagues for their assistance in developing this text and I
am excited about the scope and insight of our presentation. I hope the text proves
to be the building blocks for more dialogue in this area, especially in the areas of
improvisation and rhythm section.
I am not sure what is particularly Canadian about this text, however there are, and
have been for several generations, some magical things happening in jazz
performance, jazz composition, jazz education, and jazz scholarship in Canada. We
have benefited immensely from living next door to the birthplace of jazz. Whether
from the migration of great jazz musicians to Canada from the 50’s through the
70’s, or from our own jazz musicians returning from lengthy stays in the U.S.A. and
abroad, Canadians have been able to play jazz music and be taught by Americans
without having to endure what they did as Jazz Musicians and Jazz Educators.
Canadians are a People that thrive on thinking “outside the box”. They embrace
ethnicity, human rights, and their right to think for themselves. They resent
someone thinking or speaking for them and improvisation seems to a logical
extension of everything we do. We are not fanatical about winning, except in
hockey, and are very much about process. It is a creative place for young people in
their formative years and a great community in which to teach jazz. Canada is very
much about the individual. About realizing one’s potential. We leave only when we
need a larger audience to support our artistic endeavours.
As a jazz community, while we have our dysfunctional moments, it is supportive and

well networked and mentorship is provided to any who wish at an early age. The
Canadian part of the book is more about context and perspective. It is the same
music, different people.
Forward (2nd edition)
by Tommy Banks
Pedagogy: A Canadian Perspective is one of the most important Jazz Works ever to
come from Canada. In it, Brian Lillos has captured the essence of "The Community
for Learning" that is so precious to jazz musicians in Canada. The scope of the text,
both in content and authorship, is typical of Brian's exhaustive work, and
illustrative of his collaborative and synergistic approach to everything he does. He
is an unique musician; a first-rate player, world-class teacher, scholar,
administrator, jazz advocate, and respected visionary in his community. I don't
think there’s anybody else in Canada who could have pulled this off.
The contributions to this book are from some of the best minds in music education.
The collective experience and wisdom of these authors will, if taken and applied,
benefit every conscientious music educator, as they have over many years
benefited me.
Table of Contents
01 The Importance of Teaching the Oral Tradition – Brian Lillos ........... 1
02 Learner Styles – Brian Lillos ...................................................... 5
03 Mentorship/Job-Shadowing/Practica – Brian Lillos.......................... 8
04 Myths about Jazz Education – Brian Lillos.................................... 10
05 The Jazz Curriculum - Brian Lillos.............................................. 16

- Kevin Dean .............................................. 26
06 Course Outlines – Brian Lillos .................................................... 30
07 Lesson Plans – Brian Lillos ........................................................ 38
08 Instructional Objectives – Brian Lillos ......................................... 41
09 Supervision of Instruction – Brian Lillos ....................................... 51
10 Assessment and Evaluation – Brian Lillos ..................................... 54
11 Towards Teaching Jazz Improvisation – Brian Lillos....................... 56

The Teenage Improvizor – Colleen Allen............................... 59
Teaching Beginning Improvisation Using a Rhythmic Approach
- Alex Dean ................................................................... 66
Melodic Implications in a Harmonic World – Paul Tynan ........... 71
Developing an 8th Note Time Based Concept – Paul Tynan ......... 74
Getting the Most out of Transcriptions – Shirantha Beddage...... 81
Using Linear Material to Connect Melodic Ideas – Ted Quinlan... 92
Getting Hip – Accessing Altered Tensions – Brian Lillos ............ 97
Navigating the Be-Boppers Harmonic Galaxy – Brian Lillos .......100
Cu-Bop and Beyond – David Virelles Gonzalez .........................109
Advanced Techniques – Sundar Viswanathan ..........................120
Uses of Diminished – Pat LaBarbera .....................................145
12 The Contemporary Approach to Jazz Composition
- Christine Jensen....................................................................149
13 Towards Teaching Jazz History – Alan Matheson............................159
14 Jazz in Canada – Mark Miller .....................................................169
15 Women in Jazz – Alexis Marsh ....................................................176
16 Profile: Canadian Women in Jazz – Greg Buium .............................190
17 Rehearsal Techniques for the Jazz Orchestra -Gordon Foote

Fundamentals ..............................................................193
Warm-up......................................................................196
Time ...........................................................................198
Articulation ..................................................................201
Swing Harder ................................................................205
Psychology ...................................................................209
Rehearsal Time .............................................................214
Performance .................................................................218
Video and Audio Recording...............................................221
Clinicians .....................................................................222
Sectionals ....................................................................224
Conducting ...................................................................228
Conductor Evaluation .....................................................236
Festival Participation .....................................................237
Final Thoughts ..............................................................239
18 Choosing Repertoire for the Jazz Orchestra – Brian Lillos ................243
19 The Jazz Choir – Russ Baird.......................................................248

20 Rhythm Section Pedagogy:
The Junior High School Jazz Rhythm Section – Bob Rebagliati ....254
Basic Functions .....................................................256
Physical Set Up .....................................................258
Understanding the Arranger ....................................260
Trouble Shooting ...................................................284
An Introduction to Walking Bass Lines in the Jazz Rhythm
Section – Bryan Stovell .....................................................290
An Introduction to Drums in the Jazz Rhythm Section –
Bryan Stovell .................................................................301
Bass in the Jazz Rhythm Section – Mike Downes .....................312
Big Band Drumming Tips – Ted Warren .................................321
Playing Jazz Drums Melodically – Ted Warren........................322
More Jazz Drums – Terry Clarke .........................................323
Getting Beyond Your Drums Set – Barry Elmes........................327
Musical Leadership and the Jazz Rhythm Section –
Don Thompson................................................................331
21 Jazz Program Infrastructure – Brian Lillos .....................................334

Fund Raising .................................................................334
Budget.........................................................................334
Student Recruitment and Program Profile ...........................338
Equipment, Facility, and Time Table Needs ........................339
F.T.E.’s ......................................................................340
Administrative Support and Career Planning ........................341
Proposal Writing – Carmella Luvisotto..................................343
Networking the Jazz Education Industry Program .................351
Recruiting Faculty..........................................................351
Direction, Co-ordination, Administration.............................352
22 Graduate Degrees in Jazz Studies in Canada

McGill University – Kevin Dean ...........................................354
York University – Michael Coghlan......................................356
University of Toronto – Paul Read ......................................358
23 The Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music...........360
24 Creative Scholarship in Jazz Education – Andrew Scott .....................370
25 Adjudicating a Jazz Performance – Brian Lillos ...............................383
26 Presenting a Jazz Clinic – Brian Lillos ...........................................397

27 Music Fest Canada – Jim Howard .................................................399
28 I.A.J.E. – Alexis Marsh ...............................................................408
29 I.A.S.J. – Alexis Marsh ...............................................................414
30 Jamey Aebersold – Brian Lillos ....................................................417
31 Websites ...............................................................................419
32 Contemporary Jazz Composition:

An Introduction to Contemporary Jazz Composition – Christine
Jensen .........................................................................420
Personal Strategies – Esteban Figueroa ................................430
Finding Your Own Voice – Bill Prouten .................................435
Hands on Approach – Brenda Earle ......................................448
Creative Process in Jazz Composition – Paul Tynan.................458
Empowering Originality – Andrew Jones ...............................466
Creating Fifteen Seconds One Composer’s Approach – Christian
Overton........................................................................474
Contemporary Jazz Composition – Shirantha Bedagge..............481
Composition A Personal Perspective – Neil Yorke-Slader...........486
Composing by Ear – Lina Allemano ......................................491
Storyville – Darcy Argue...................................................498
Jazz Composition – Alan Matheson ......................................512
Introducing Jazz Composition – Christian Overton...................515
Towards Teaching Composition – Jim McGrath ......................522
Towards Teaching Composition – Hugh Fraser .......................526
Towards Teaching Composition – Don Thompson ....................529
Compositional Concepts –Christine Jensen .............................534
33 More Rhythm Section:

The Rhythm Section in Jazz – David Restivo ..........................542
Latin Jazz Concepts for the Bass – Will Jarvis .......................553
Multi Meter Excerpts for Drummers – Paul De Long .................566
Developing Ideas for Drum Solos – Neil MacIntosh ...................568
Dan Weiss and the Tabla – Carlos Aguilera............................578
Profound Rhythm Sections – Adam Caringi ............................591
Afro-Cuban Bata Rhythms Adapted to Drum-Set
– Steve Mancuso..............................................................600
The Adaptation on South Indian Concept – Steve Mancuso ........604
34 More Improvisation:
Learning the Language – Brian O’Kane .................................609
The Importance of Listening – Steve Haines...........................612
Repertoire Development in the Classroom – Dave Neill ............619
Repertoire Development for the Individual – Dave Neill ...........627
Navigating the Be-Boppers Harmonic Galaxy – Brian Lillos .......635
35 Jazz Advocacy and Some Philosophical Perspectives:

Musical Improvisation and Determinacy – Jodi Proznick ...........656
Toward Creative Musical Achievement – Jodi Proznick.............666
The marginalization of Art Education – Jodi Proznick ..............679
36 Community Music – Cathy Mitro ................................................687
37 More Instructional Methodology:

Rehearsal Techniques – Neil Yorke-Slader .............................692
Jazz Pedagogy Final Exam – Brian Lillos...............................698
Jazz Pedagogy Course Outline – Brian Lillos ..........................701
Supervision of Instruction – Brian Lillos................................721
38 More Infrastructure:
Running a Student Jazz Festival – Sarah Falls ........................723
39 Meet the Authors ..................................................................729

I want you to pick your favourite piece of music. The style doesn’t matter. Take some
time to think about it. Pick your favourite tune. You know, the one that puts a smile on
your face any time of the day or night. The tune that gives you goose bumps, or gets
your toe tapping, or provokes a tear in your eye. When you go home this evening, I want
you to listen to this tune several times. When you have heard it enough times that the
glow is starting to dissipate, I want you to describe in words, in your most scholarly
manner, the sound that is being made. Review your written work several times for
accuracy and thoroughness. Once complete, put the written material away for one
week. Store it in a safe place and one that you won’t forget (with your bills) and not in
a place where you will continue to refer to it (underwear drawer). In one week’s time
take the written material out and read it without listening to the tune. Then listen to
the tune and see if your words adequately describe the sound being made. Then give
your written description to a colleague and see if they can determine the song/artist
you are describing. I’m hoping that this has become a somewhat frustrating exercise
for you and that you’ve come to realize that words are inadequate to describe certain
aspects of music.
In music, there are some things you just cannot quantify. They are Oral and best left
that way. (If you need an academic term for Oral, it is called performance practise.)
Oral Tradition is an essential part of learning music and one that is neglected by many
jazz educators today. For example, when I was in my late teens I had the privilege of
working in a Big Band that backed up jazz acts on their way to Las Vegas. It was quite a
remarkable experience because we would have two weeks with Ella Fitzgerald, and two
weeks with Tony Bennett, and then two weeks with Frank Sinatra, and so on. At my
first rehearsal I had trouble with time placement – specifically, the “and” of the beat.
On the first entrance I came in early on the “and” of one and got to wear the “non-
jazzer dunce hat” for the rest of the rehearsal. I was very nervous about loosing the
“gig” and for the rest of the set I listened carefully to the lead trumpet entrances but
often it felt like swing subdivision was a lot of guesswork. During a break at the
rehearsal, my saxophone teacher (the late Fraser MacPhearson), who was playing lead
alto, told me to listen to the ride cymbal. “Listen to the skip and that will tell you were
they’re placing the ‘ands’”. It worked! He said, “You’ve got it.” I asked him to be more
specific and he said, “I can’t.” I persisted with the need for specifics. He said, “just
The Importance of Teaching the Oral Tradition by Brian Lillos

1
take everything from the ‘ride’.” I continued in my quest for more specificity and he
said somewhat emphatically, “you could really hurt yourself if you try and write some of
this stuff down! It is what it is! Listen and interact.” To this day, I still can’t believe
that it is that simple. I still think I should be quantifying something. Will listening to
the ride cymbal and copying it in your articulation help you pronounce the jazz language?
Is it that easy? “Yup”! To make his point, my saxophone teacher and I would regularly
play the saxophone parts from his Big Band Library. We’d play along with the Basie
Band, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, and Woody Herman, on vinyl recordings. None of the
bands swung exactly the same. Nobody’s “ride skip” was exactly the same yet the
notation looked remarkably similar. What a concept! “Take everything from the ride
cymbal.”
Another example of the importance of learning the oral tradition was in my classical
clarinet study. I started as a pre-schooler and had a magical teacher (Heinrich
Ohlemann). As I progressed through my Rose, Klose, and Polatschek studies I wanted
to play Mr. Ohlemann’s symphony parts. I used to beg him. I’d attend his rehearsals
and sometimes in lessons I’d try to peek in his music folder. However, he said quite
emphatically that “before I played the notes I had to learn the music.” I had no idea
what this meant but Mr. Ohlemann eventually had me listening to Deutsche
Grammaphone recordings of the Berlin Philharmonic, reading the scores, memorizing and
singing all the parts. I was not permitted to play the clarinet parts until I could sing all
the other parts in the orchestra. (This seems, to the uninitiated, a somewhat
overwhelming exercise, however Mr. Ohlemann made it a very positive learning
experience for me.) When it came time to play the clarinet parts they actually seemed
easy. The clarinet entrances arrived and I played. What I thought would be so hard
was actually easy because I knew where everything fit. The few technical problems
idiomatic to the clarinet were fixed quickly with a red pencil and slow and steady
repetition of the encircled area. I had no idea that, through this method, I would learn
to interpret the repertoire, or learn to hear the entire fabric of the orchestra, the
role of the clarinet, or from listening to so many Deutsche Grammaphone recordings of
the Berlin Philharmonic, learn what “good” sounded like in classical music. Much of what
Mr. Ohlemann taught me was oral tradition.
If this was my situation as a teen in the 1960’s, please help me understand, why I can
hear College Bands and High School Bands today that can’t swing. The one’s that do are
often the exception. Why has a College or High School Big Band never heard the brass
choir section of “Us” by the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Band? How do they know what
“good” sounds like? Why does a Big Band director, in today’s world of technology, hand
out a chart, not play a recorded example, “pound” the lead notes for an hour in
rehearsal, send the band members home, without a recorded example, to practise their

2
parts individually, and wonder why the results are so slow coming and comprehension is
rarely realised. (I dare you to find significant melodicism in the 4th Tenor part in “Hay
Burner” or in any “inside voice” from this style of writing.)
This may seem like a personal rant by an old professor. It could well be but, it is also,
an example of bad teaching. For musical comprehension, would it not make more sense
to send the student home with a C.D. of the tune so they could practise along with it?
Wouldn’t such a methodology facilitate the student determining how their part/voice
fits into the whole? Wouldn’t the student hear and imitate the articulation, note
weight differences, phrasing, dynamics, balance, etc.? Wouldn’t the Director then
have the time to be an “architect of sound” instead of a “note pounder”? Doesn’t it
make sense to include the oral tradition in your teaching?
The first assignment my jazz pedagogy students are given is to teach a jazz tune, by
ear, to their colleagues, in a combo setting. The student teacher is not allowed to use a
blackboard, an overhead projector, lead sheets, or any other type of written materials.
They must bring a historically significant recording of the jazz tune they are going to
teach to the class and be able to perform, on their instrument, what they plan to teach.
The student teacher is only allowed a stereo and their musical instrument. His/her
students are only allowed to bring their instruments. The entire teaching process is
meant to be “wordless” with the exception of introductions. It goes something like
this: play the recorded example several times; demonstrate the first pitch and have
everyone find it; demonstrate the first phrase or portion thereof and have everyone
imitate it exactly; continue with the same methodology and learn the entire tune,
exactly the way it sounds on the recorded example; play along with the recorded
example to ensure that exact imitation has taken place. Keep playing along with the
recorded example until they all have exact imitation. The objective is to replicate the
articulation, note weight, ghosting, dynamics, balance, etc. from the recorded example.
At first, this may seem like a simple “rote” exercise. However, what is really being
learned is the performance practise or oral tradition of the music. Musical elements of
the jazz genre are being learned that cannot be learned by reading a “lead sheet”. To
reiterate, there are aspects of music that are not quantifiable. They are oral. They
are language based and they are learned through imitation. I believe this is a huge
piece of teaching music. It is not instead of any of the other elements of music
literacy, it is as well.

3
How do you measure the amount of oral tradition being taught in a program? How is the
oral tradition valued from a curriculum standpoint? For some personal insight try and
answer some of these questions. How large is your school listening library? Does your
music library have multiple copies of all historically significant recordings? Does your
music library have full scores for the recorded big band/jazz orchestra materials?
Does the music library have any original “Tin Pan Alley” songbooks? Do you have
listening assignments that are more rigorous than an ear training lift? Are you required
to play transcriptions from memory along with the original recording? Are repertoire
courses taught with lead sheets or by ear or both? Do you have a
colleague/professor/teacher you can contact regarding the validity of the chords on a
lead sheet (can you call someone to give you the correct chord changes to Stella by
Starlight or are you at the mercy of the non-copyrighted “fake books”)? Does your
school curriculum contain elements of jazz history and performance practise or is it
more jazz appreciation or jazz sociology? Do your World Music/Ethnomusicology
courses contain a performance element or are they survey courses with a
sociological/anthropological focus? Does your curriculum contain advanced jazz theory
and performance practise (improvisational styles and analysis/performance)? Does your
curriculum contain courses in transcription/analysis/performance?
My pedagogy students are constantly asked: “Do you know what good sounds like?” Do
you have a recorded example? Can you reproduce it on your instrument? Do you have a
passion to share what you know? Have you developed strategies/methodologies to
share the oral aspects of the language that you know? Show me five great combo tunes
that are accessible for entry level improvisation students and where they can get
recorded examples.
Why does Mr./Ms. Jazz Band sound so great and Mr./Ms. Jazz Band sound so bad? Is
it just the socio-economics of the school? Is it the water they’re drinking? How can
someone, seemingly in the “middle of nowhere”, have one of the best bands in the
world? Is it because there is very little else for the students to do other than music
or is it because the teacher knows what good sounds like, can demonstrate it on their
instrument, and can teach their students to imitate them? Students can and will
imitate. They will imitate you! Think for a moment about your mockery, as an
adolescent, of the “close talker”, the “anal retentive carpenter”, “GUMBY”, Mr. Rogers,
the “Refrigerator Repairman”. SNL or Jazz Nuance! It’s your call. They will imitate
you!
Brian Lillos can be reached at

BrianLillos.com
4
Have you ever found yourself in a teaching situation where you are speaking slower and
slower to your student? Have you ever, after speaking slower and slower, had to raise
your voice to get your point across? Have you ever found yourself in a learning situation
that, no matter how often the material was explained by a certain teacher, you just
didn’t understand?
Have you ever as a student, in a 30 minute private lesson, wondered how you’re going to
get through the next 28 minutes of the lesson, because you can’t understand what is
being taught and you couldn’t the week before either? Have you ever, as a teacher,
looked out the window in the middle of a lesson, and seeing your vehicle, wondered if
you made a run for it, would you actually get away? Have you ever thought to yourself,
“you just can’t fix stupid”? Have you ever done a “Sam Kynaston” on your ensemble?
Have you ever had your supervisor state that some of the students had expressed
concerns because you were moving too fast or too slow for them? While this may
sound like a warm-up to a Jeff Foxworthy or Dave Chappell routine, the stress of
situations like this can be overwhelming. We all have coping mechanisms and there are a
plethora of stress management seminars available. The reality is however, that some
people learn differently than you. If you can discover their learner type and adapt to
it you are headed for success. If you cannot, or are unwilling, you are in for a lot of
pain and frustration.
There are four basic learner types:
The Reflective Observer tends to be tentative and impartial to learning. They rely
heavily on careful observation in making judgements, and prefer learning situations such
as lectures that allow them to take the role of impartial objective observers.
Reflective Observers tend to be introverts. (David A.Kolb, 1976)
The Abstract Conceptualist is analytical and relies heavily on logical thinking and
rational evaluation. They tend to be more oriented towards things and symbols and less
towards other people. They learn best in authority-directed, impersonal learning
situations that emphasize theory and systematic analysis. They are frustrated by and
Learner Styles by Brian Lillos 5

benefit little from unstructured “discovery” learning approaches like exercises and
simulations. (David A. Kolb, 1976)
The Active Experimenter is a learner that relies heavily on “doing” and experimentation.
They tend to learn best when they can engage in such things as projects, homework, or
small group discussions. They dislike passive learning situations such as lectures.
These individuals tend to be extroverts. (David A. Kolb, 1976)
The Concrete Experiential learner relies heavily on feeling-based judgements. They

tend to be empathetic and “people oriented”. They generally find theoretical
approaches to be unhelpful and prefer to treat each situation as a unique case. They
learn best from specific examples in which they can become involved. Individuals who
emphasize Concrete Experience tend to be oriented more towards peers and less
towards authority in their approach to learning, and benefit most from feedback and
discussion with fellow learners. (David A. Kolb, 1976)
While the above is an oversimplification of learner styles, it tries to make the point
that students learn differently. Examine the following scenario: you are teaching a
class in improvisation; you are an Abstract Conceptualist; your most talented student is
Concrete Experiential; you cannot find a common “wavelength” and learner success is
minimal. Do you encourage the student to pursue a career in welding? Do you advise
the student to learn “your way” or else? Do you mock your student’s inability to learn
from you? Do you try and discover the differences in your learning styles and develop a
strategy for communication? If you chose door number one, two, or three, you should
go welding! While no learner will ever fit perfectly into one learner style, one style
does tend to be dominant. The successful teacher understands this concept and
recognises the importance of being able to adapt to different learner styles.
The first assignment my jazz pedagogy students are given is teaching a tune, by ear, to
their colleagues. While its main purpose is to learn the importance of teaching the oral
tradition, its secondary value is to discover learner styles. Because the students and
the teacher are only allowed their instruments and a recorded example of the tune
they are teaching, eye contact is essential. The eyes become the window to the learner
style. The constant repetition of a note or partial phrase, to realise the exact
replication of the recorded example, in a wordless delivery, brings out learner
strengths, weaknesses, styles and abilities very quickly. (The teaching sessions are
peer reviewed immediately and video taped for future reference and growth.)

Why am I so hung up about learner styles? Because when you come to teach
improvisation, you are really teaching creativity. You need to be sensitive to the
individual and their learner style. If you are not, you can do some serious and often
irreparable damage.

BrianLillos.com

Mentorship and job-shadowing are the oral tradition components of teaching.
Mentorship is role modelling. It is the equivalent of parenting in jazz education and it
is an essential experience for the developing teacher. I cannot emphasize this enough.
We tend to teach the way we’ve been taught. We tend to teach the way we’ve been
shown to teach. A great deal of what you do in your teaching career will come from the
impact your mentor has on you. (We are privileged at Humber College to have 55 “world
class” mentors and multiple sections of a very broad jazz studies curriculum for
students to access. Some of the best teaching in the world takes place in our jazz
studies program. Hence, the possibility for great mentorship is likely. We are indeed
privileged.)
It is very important for you to think seriously about your mentorship. You should seek
a mentor whose subject expertise is of specific interest to you, with whom you
communicate effectively, whose teaching you respect, whose ethics you admire, and
potentially, who you see yourself being. You are looking for a role model and this
person will have a significant influence on the way you teach throughout your career.
You will be entering into a team- teaching partnership with them for the year. Think
about this process carefully. It is as important as picking the right roommate or the
right rhythm section for your band.
Job shadowing is the equivalent to going on the road with the Basie Band for 2 years,
playing 4th tenor, and learning from those around you. The theme here is that you
cannot learn to teach from a book only. You learn to teach by teaching, by modelling a
mentor, by watching others teach, and by interacting (“hangin’”) with teachers. You get
better at teaching with the right type of personal guidance. Teacher growth is a
balance between learner theory, subject competence, and practice teaching. .
Practica is the practise teaching component of the course. It involves self-

assessment, as well as evaluation from your mentor and myself. It requires that you
observe, tutor, team-teach, and teach, for two semesters. The teaching must be in one
designated course and must be for at least 2 hours per week. You are required to keep
a weekly journal of your practise teaching. The journal entries should be reflective and
done 2 or more hours after your practise teaching session. You should find areas of
Mentorship/Job-Shadowing/Practica by Brian Lillos

8
expertise and areas that need improvement. Address the areas in your teaching that
need improvement, one at a time. Make your growth in these areas part of your journal
entries. You will need to hand in your practise teaching journal to me at the end of
each semester. There are forms for self-assessment and the supervision of instruction
in the chapters ahead. You will need to fill in the forms on self-assessment. Your
mentor and I will fill in the forms entitled supervision of instruction. (It is helpful to
video some sessions.)
Protocol:
Prior to your practicum, you and I will meet privately to discuss your subject
competency, your strengths, the scope of what you hope to accomplish and with whom.
I will then approach the mentor and see if they are prepared to take you. Be sure to
really think this one through -- the mentor and the subject material. “Fit” is everything.
Make sure you have done your homework on this one. A “refit” is difficult for everyone.
Please realise that sponsoring a student teacher is a tremendous amount of work for a
professor. You need to understand that you are a guest in their classroom and need to
compliment their function. You need to ensure that there is confidentiality, that you
establish guidelines for professionalism, and that you demonstrate respect at all times.
(Failure to do so will result in practicum expulsion.) At the same time, however you
need to form a working partnership with them. There can be no passivity. Do what
they want but make it a team situation. Once you have it working I will visit your class
and evaluate you – twice per term, once on video and once live. Treat it like a job you’re
auditioning for, don’t treat it like a course you’re taking or a “McJob”!

BrianLillos.com
Mentorship/Job-Shadowing/Practica by Brian Lillos

9
One of the most common myths concerning jazz is that “you can’t teach it. Jazz is
something you have or you don’t.” Where did such nonsense come from? The exact
origin of mythology is not known, but it is reported that many jazz myths are the
product of jazz musicians, publicists, and agents. By giving the impression that
everything in jazz is the result of Divine Intervention, the jazz musician, like
composers of another era, cultivate a myth and a manageable demographic (audience).
Some academics use the same myth to justify their bad teaching of jazz improvisation.
(Baker, 1979)
Another myth concerns analysis and creativity. “All of that analysis destroys the
creativity in jazz”. This statement implies that jazz is an either or type of music. It is
either a creative type of music or an intellectual type of music. Why can’t it be both,
like any other type of music? Analysis is an essential way to gain mastery of a language.
And at the highest level of artistic creativity, it is impossible to be emotionally
coherent without language mastery. Any time the performance practise of the giants
of a particular kind of music can be analysed, rules can be formulated based on those
practises, enabling others to profit. (Baker, 1979)
Another myth that perpetuates the theme of Divine Intervention as well as a perceived
force behind one’s creativity goes like this: “man, you can’t learn to play jazz by
practising scales, arpeggios, voice leading formulae, turnbacks, or tanscribing jazz
solos. You gotta play from your heart”. (Baker, 1979) This is the same “level one”
critical thinking that tried to make jazz a one or the other kind of art form. Jazz is
both. It involves emotion and it also involves language mastery. To suggest otherwise
would be to suggest that I can fly to Kenya and, the moment the plane lands, begin
communicating in a language new to both parties. Will the Kenyans understand me
completely because they understand my emotionality? (Demonstration for class.)
“Nope”!! The only thing the Kenyans will do is put me back on the plane and recommend
a recalibration of my “meds”.
Myths about Jazz Education by Brian Lillos

10
A similar myth is “that knowledge inhibits creativity”. Trying to create without the
necessary requisite skills is like trying to write a novel in a foreign language without
understanding the grammatical and syntactical structure of that language. The results
would be words strung together in random fashion, without any order, direction or
meaning. Occasionally a sentence quite accidentally might make sense, but to what avail
if it is completely surrounded by gibberish! Yet, many jazz players are content to
operate out of such conditions (Baker, 1979). The Monty Python troupe has had great
success in this regard by making incorrect German to English phrase books for German
tourists. I’m reminded here of the skit at the “tobacconists.” Your assignment is to
watch the “tobacconist” skit and consider: “what if the audience thought this about
your improvised jazz solo?”
“Jazz stopped with Charlie Parker”. This one is troublesome for me and I don’t know if
you can fix “stupid”. Suffice it to say that there are many people who resist change
and are frightened by it. The only place they feel safe is when they play their “bag”
and try to force this mind set on their students whose creativity is typically stifled.
Shame on them! Jazz, like any art form, moves forward. Its moves forward in a
progressive, eclectic, non-judgemental manner seeking innovative ways of expression.
It draws from the past and builds the future. It is constantly trying to “expand the
envelope” of musical expression. It is, by its nature, a process of change that needs to
be embraced, especially by jazz educators.
Another myth generated by jazz players is that if you teach jazz, you’ll create an
entire generation of robots all sounding like their teachers, and tending to sameness.
Nothing could be further from the truth in Canada. (We aren’t organized enough to
make them all sound the same!) We guide them, mentor them, and try to send them off
to learn more as soon as they’re ready. We work very hard to present them with
options and make them aware of the choices that exist. We try not to impose our own
tastes and preferences. Our goal is to expand their perspective and empower them to
make the choice. We are far from perfect, however our philosophy is one of nurturing
the creative voice and encouraging artistic empowerment.
Two myths, when combined, that have drastically affected some post-secondary jazz
studies programs are Divine Intervention and Self-Entitlement. When combined, these
two myths assume that great players are great teachers and therefore are entitled to
teaching positions at Universities. Following this logic, they must also be great
scholars. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jazz musicians need to learn to
teach and to frame their scholarship (have it refereed). Some become outstanding
teachers. A few become outstanding scholars. Many do not. Students need to be able

11
to differentiate the “show business” rules of Divine Intervention and Self-Entitlement
from good teaching and/or good scholarship.
As a graduate and post-graduate student the myth that bothered me the most was the
constant “jazz has no place in the academic community”. It is the same mind-set that
referred to first nations visual art as “primitive”, the same mind-set that typically
dismisses oral tradition, and the same one that perceives all music as inferior to
Western European Art Music. It is a racist and culturally myopic mind-set. Its real
name is Eurocentricism.
The very last place I ever expected to find such a closed- minded stance on
scholarship, or the “power and control mentality” of the military, was at University.
Early in my career and in my studies, I believed that The University was the “think
tank” for society and as such, was the last bastion of free speech, creativity and “pure”
research. How could I be so naïve? Many of the daily doings of The University
undermine the Constitution of Canada. And, if The University is capable of
undermining the Constitution of the Country in which we live, it seems logical, it could
discriminate against jazz education and jazz scholarship.
Did he just say that? O.K., that’s enough! That’s it!! He’s speaking from that alien
planet again. You know that place he often visits. I think it’s the planet “Paranoia” this
time. Last week it was the planet “Delusional” or was it “Conspiracy Theory”. Someone
call his Doctor. He’s gone way “outside the box” this time. Get him back on his
medication, please!
Answer me this then, why do so few University teacher training programs require or
offer jazz pedagogy courses? How can you teach jazz in the schools if it isn’t taught in
teacher training? How many classical music programs require a jazz performance
course? Why do so few jazz studies programs have a full curriculum of jazz history,
jazz theory, jazz improvisation and repertoire, jazz composition and arranging, jazz
pedagogy, and jazz ensembles (large and small)? Why are most jazz studies programs
adjuncts to well-established programs in Western European Art Music? Under these
circumstances, why are the jazz studies programs the last to receive budgetary,
staffing, timetable, and facility consideration. Why are they the first to receive
budget cuts? Why are peripheral areas of music study (music technology, cultural arts
management, music production, popular music studies, music business, copyright and
intellectual property law) receiving new faculty positions at the expense of jazz studies
programs? In high school music programs, why are most jazz courses co-curricular?
Why does only one Province in Canada recognize jazz combo for high school
matriculation? Why must a University jazz major be thoroughly aware, in most

12
instances, of the music of the European “masters” before taking even a basic course in
jazz improvisation? Why can a University saxophone teacher say, with a straight face,
that a jazz major must play some classical music on their jazz recital but can see no
necessity for his classical students to understand even the basic rudiments of jazz?
Why can, in most universities and conservatories, a music student complete
undergraduate matriculation without taking a single course in jazz?
Here are two lengthy statements from David Baker on this subject:
“Because jazz had its origins in a tradition outside the parameters of Western Art
Music, its lack of acceptance was virtually assured. At the time of its birth, around the
turn of the century, America was still genuflecting at the European Cultural Shrine.
Any American Music which deviated from European models was viewed condescendingly.
When this attitude was coupled with the hostility that existed toward black culture,
the outlook was bleak.” (Baker, 1979)
“In the past, whenever jazz had been thought respectable it had been diluted and
eviscerated and attributed to the white imitators of black originators (Paul Whiteman –
King of Jazz, Benny Goodman – King of Swing, The Original Dixieland Jazz Band –
Inventors of Jazz.) The history of this hostility to black music and musicians by the
musical establishment and educational institutions can be traced back virtually to the
beginning of the USA.” (Baker, 1979)
We still live in a Eurocentric world. It’s a world that refuses to accept the cultural
contributions of black people. As educators and scholars we often subscribe to the
myth that jazz is good in proportion to how closely it resembles Western European Art
Music. We are more comfortable discussing ways in which jazz approximates Western
European Art Music or discussing it from an anthropological and sociological point of
view then we are recognizing the people that invented the music and learning the music
from them. This is Eurocentricism.
From an educational standpoint, the myth that Western European Art Music is superior
to all other music reminds the jazz student that jazz does not now have, nor has it ever
had, parity with Western Art Music. As future educators, think about this concept for
a moment. The psychic damage done to an aspiring jazz musician, particularly if he/she
is black, telling him that his culture (chosen or otherwise) has no validity, is staggering.
(Baker, 1979) This is abuse. It devalues the subject before the learning starts.

13
Despite the cultural myopea, and the racism, all flourishing under the guise of the
“scientific method,” we live in an exciting time. More creative music has been made in
the past 60 years then in the preceeding 200 years. The majority of this creative
music has its roots in jazz. Jazz performance, jazz composition, jazz pedagogy and
jazz scholarship exist everywhere and are manifest in many different shapes and sizes.
It is a time when a performer can also be a composer and also be a pedagogue and also
be a scholar. Like the art form itself, this new jazz scholarship will not stay “inside the
box.” Look around you, there are a great many of this new breed of “scholar” amongst
us. It is a very unique time. It is a very rich and artistically active time. I can teach a
jazz pedagogy class in the morning, play a concert with Barry Harris in the afternoon,
and present a colloquia to graduate students, on “Navigating the Beboppers Galaxy,”
that evening. The next morning I can have Barry Harris co-teach a be-bop materials
course with me. In the afternoon I can have Rob McConnell discuss orchestration
techniques with my composition students, and perform a Big Band concert with him and
my colleagues in the evening. The following morning will see me giving an interview to a
graduate student writing a dissertation on my music as I try and complete an external
assessment report for a Ministry of Education on a jazz studies degree proposal. Rob
McConnell will be interviewed by Downbeat Magazine and Barry Harris will be organizing
a seminar for the I.A.J.E. while on the run to the airport for a masterclass
presentation in Italy. The scope of today’s jazz artist is something to behold.
Educators, Composers, Performers, and Scholars -- all in the same person. The
“academic mold” has been broken. The scope of the research and scholarship done by
jazz artists today is like the music -- “outside the box”. And, it is pushing the envelope
of expression and its definition at every moment. Magically, the best is yet to come.
Jerry Coker, David Baker, and Jamey Aebersold planted some great seeds. There are
generations coming!
My daily schedule and scholarship pales in comparison to many of my colleagues. I don’t

think we have ever known a time like this when scholarship existed in so many shapes
and sizes and on so many levels. There are so many great jazz musicians, from so many
generations, performing, teaching, studying, collaborating, composing jazz. It is a
unique time in our history. In the past 60 years there have been at least 3000 “world
class” jazz artists “on the scene.” It would be impossible to pick a “top ten”. It would
be almost as fruitless trying to pick a “top 100”. No other art form has contributed so
much creativity to the 20th century.
It is my sincerest wish that academia wake up to what is around them. While there are
exceptions, jazz scholarship in the 20th Century has been little more than Eurocentric
ethnographies of jazz styles. Jazz scholarship has seldom involved performance
practise and, rarely does the academic community reach out to jazz performers,

14
composers, and pedagogues with suggested ways to “frame” their scholarship. For
academia to have credibility in the artistic community it needs to provide leadership in
the area of jazz scholarship. It needs to become liberated enough to realize that a
jazz performer, a jazz pedagogue, and a jazz composer can also be a jazz scholar. I
hold out hope for academia, there are some very bright minds behind its walls.
The final myth for this chapter is the one that is universally endorsed and believed by
all jazz musicians, and for good reason. “If you want to make a million dollars in jazz,
invest four million”.

BrianLillos.com

15
In a perfect world you’d meet and study with Jazz God. He/She would be the
embodiment of the teacher that knows everything, can play everything, can teach
everything to anyone and is there to nurture you all the time. Further, you would study
with Him/Her in small groups, large ensembles, privately, “gig” together, “hang”
together, and subsequently, learn the music holistically. It would not be
compartmentalized. You would never have to connect any informational/conceptual dots
by yourself. All materials would be relevant and follow in logical learner order,
customized, at all times, just for you. To further improve the situation, there would be
no issues of motivation – you’d be motivated all the time. There would be no tuition,
you’d actually be paid a liveable stipend to attend school. After all, you, as an artist,
will contribute significantly over your lifetime to the betterment of the society in
which you live. Simply put, you are worth society’s investment and for this reason, your
education can take as long as it needs – there are no deadlines, no timelines, no stresses
of completion. It is a process that is completely about you and your development. Ever
had this fantasy? I certainly have. The reality, however is that there simply are not
enough jazz gods to go around. Instead we are faced with teaching jazz to more than
one person at a time, and somehow we must do it in a cost recovery mode. This mindset,
or reality therapy, unfortunately involves breaking apart the “whole” of jazz music and
compartmentalizing it. This is where curriculum plays a major role.
Curriculum understands how to break apart the whole into complimentary parts and
when to introduce these parts to one another. It understands how much weighting to
give each part of the whole, how to ensure they interact, and how to measure their
interaction. In less metaphorical terms, curriculum is a suggested learner pathway that
scopes and sequences complimentary functions in such a way that subject mastery can
be attained.
The Jazz Curriculum by Brian Lillos

16
Curriculum Design:
Let us look at building a curriculum for jazz study. Firstly, we need to know what we
want our graduates to accomplish when they have finished our program. (These are
called learner outcomes.) And, we need to agree on a minimal program entry level skills.
For the sake of argument, let us say that students entering our program have mastery
in major, harmonic minor, dominant 7th, and dominant 7th flat 9 flat 13 scales and
arpeggios and are seeking a B.Mus. in jazz studies. Upon completion, our graduates will
be able to: improvise on a wide variety of jazz tunes (A Night in Tunisia, Airegin, All
Blues, Ray’s Idea, Blue Monk, Blue Seven, Blusette, Blue Train, Blue’n Green, Cantaloupe
Island, Confirmation, Donna Lee, Doxy, Footprints, Four, Tune Up, Whisper Not, Just
Friends, All the Things You Are, The Song is You, Another You, Stella by Starlight,
Time After Time, Lazybird, Blue Daniel, Very Early, Giant Steps, Groovin’High,
Impressions, If You Could See Me Now, In A Mellow Tone, Joy Spring, Killer Joe, Lady
Bird, Lullabye of Birdland, Lush Life, Loverman, ‘Round Midnight, Everything Happens to
Me, Come Rain or Come Shine, Maiden Voyage, Milestones (old), Milestones (new),
Moment’s Notice, Valse Hot, Body and Soul, Everything Happens to Me, Out of
Nowhere, Softly as in a Morning Sunrise, You and the Night and the Music, Alone
Together, What is this Thing Called Love, Cherokee, Have You Met Miss Jones, I’m Old
Fashioned, Naima, Nica’s Dream, Oleo, Now’s the Time, Peace, Recorda-Me, St. Thomas,
Scrapple from the Apple, Solar, Song for my Father, Soul Eyes, Stablemates,
Invitation, Stompin’ at the Savoy, Star Eyes, I’ll Remember April, Eternal Triangle,
Anthropology, Dear Old Stockholm); arrange for rhythm section and three horns as
well as big band; teach jazz at the community, public school, or college level; compose in
a variety of jazz , classical, and world music styles (Paul Hindemith, Kenny Wheeler, J.S.
Bach , Charlie Parker, Igor Stravinsky, Charles Mingus, Arnold Schoenberg, David
Liebman, Claude Debussy, Duke Ellington, Ravi Shankar, John Coltrane, etc.); complete
research essays that are publishable and pre-requisite for graduate studies in jazz;
and, satisfy entry level admission to teacher-training programs in jazz studies. In
other words, the graduates from our newly developed B.Mus. jazz studies curriculum
need to be able to play, write, and teach jazz at a very high level. These goals/learner
outcomes define the dimensions of the whole.
While the above step in curriculum design is somewhat time consuming, the next stage
can take weeks and even months for a team of professionals to develop. The task now at
hand, is discovering the parts of the whole, what is complimentary to them and in which
way. For example: Do we need to teach jazz history? How many years? How many
hours per week? Should it include classical music history? Should classical music
history be taught instead of jazz music history? Should jazz history be taught
historically through repertoire, harmonic development, performance practise of
17
compositions and improvisation, or should it be from a sociological perspective, or simply
as music appreciation of musical styles and biographies of famous jazz personalities?
What percentage of the curriculum should jazz history comprise? How do we ensure a
connection between all the other parts of the whole and jazz history? Should it be
through repertoire and performance? Should it be through theory and improvisation?
Should it be through composition and analysis? Should we teach ethnomusicology/world
music at the upper level? Should it be a survey of musical styles? Should it have
performance components? Should it focus musically on the eclectic nature of jazz and
the influences world music has had on the evolution of jazz harmony and improvisation?
Should the focus of World Music be restricted to an anthropological/sociological
perspective?
These and many more questions of this nature need to be asked before one proceeds to
actually developing the skeletal structure of a curriculum. Many brainstorming sessions
need to take place on subject content as well as the student demographic. As this
process takes place a skeletal structure of the parts of the whole begins to take shape
and the concept of scope and sequence starts to evolve. For this reason, curriculum
development is a lengthy task and is not, unfortunately, a five-minute exercise.
Curriculum Development:
Curriculum development is a process and is best developed by its shareholders – the

people that actually teach it. As shareholders we need to decide what the parts are --
Jazz Theory, Jazz Ear Training, Jazz Improvisation, Jazz Ensembles, Jazz
Composition, Jazz Arranging, Transcription and Analysis, Piano Fundamentals, Private
Lessons (how many per term and how many minutes per week), Secondary Instrument
Majors, Jazz Pedagogy, Jazz Repertoire Development, Master Classes, Jam Sessions,
Jazz Conferences, Jazz Festivals, Guest Artists, Artists in Residence, Career
Development Through Jazz Performance and Composition, Cultural Arts Management,
and Work Study – and how they fit as parts of the whole. We also need to determine,
how we teach these parts of the whole so they interact in a complimentary manner.
(This is where course outlines – learner outcomes that are scoped and sequenced over a
shorter time – become particularly effective.)
A secondary issue, but one as important as determining the parts of the whole, is the
demands institutions place on jazz studies programs for curriculum expansion. Courses
such as music technology, music business, music production, recording and sound
engineering, popular music, copyright and intellectual property law, seem to be the

18
“buzz words” in 2006 and are being added to the jazz curriculum at an alarming rate.
While these courses are often interesting and worthwhile, they take learner time away
from the initial purpose of the curriculum – jazz literacy.
With that in mind I would like to propose a curriculum for jazz study. However, before
we try and build a skeletal structure for a curriculum let’s examine several curricula
that are already in place. I want you to compare five jazz studies programs, their
curricula, and their jazz audition requirements. Here are the schools: Capilano College,
Malaspina College, University of Victoria, University of British Columbia, Douglas
College, Grant MacKewan College, University of Alberta, University of Regina,
University of Saskatchewan, Brandon University, University of Manitoba, Laurentian
University, University of Windsor, University of Guelph, McGill University, St. Francis
Xavier University, Brock University, Trent University, University of Western Ontario,
University of Toronto, MacMaster University, University of Waterloo, Laurier
University, York University, Humber College, Mohawk College, Queens University,
Concordia University, Universitae d’Quebec, Universitae d’Montreal, Laval University,
Acadia University, Memorial University, University of Massachusetts, University of
Lowell, New England Conservatory of Music, Toronto Conservatory of Music, Berklee
College, University of Hartford, William Patterson College, Jersey City State College,
Rowan College of New Jersey, Rutgers University, New York University, New School,
Mannes School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, City University of New York,
SUNY College at Fredonia, SUNY Sollege at Purchase, Long Island University, Five
Towns College, Skidmore College, SUNY – Binhamton, State University at Fredonia,
Eastman School of Music, Ithaca College, Duquesne University, California University of
Pennsylvania, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, East Stroudsburg University of the
Arts, Temple University, West Chester University, Howard University, Montgomery
College-Rockville, Towson State University, Catonsville Community College, Morgan
State University, University of Louisville, James Madison University, Virginia Union
University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Hampton University, Virginia Tech,
Radford University, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University of North
Carolina at Asheville, University of South Carolina, Georgia State University, University
of Georgia, University of North Florida, Florida State University, Seminole Community
College, University of Miami, University of South Florida, University of Alabama,
Auburn University, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Tennessee,
Memphis State University, University of Southern Mississippi, University of Kentucky,
Capital University, Ohio State University, Bowling Green State University, Oberlin
Conservatory of Music, University of Akron, Youngstown State University, University of
Cincinnati, Indiana University, University of Michigan, Wayne State University, Oakland
University, C.S. Mott Community College, Central Michigan University, Western
Michigan University, Grand Rapids Community College, Interlochen Arts Academy,

19
University of Northern Iowa, Southwestern Community College, Teikyo Westmar
University, University of Iowa, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin –
Stevens Point, University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, University of Wisconsin –
Indianhead Arts Center, University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, University of Minnesota-
Duluth, Northern Illinois University, Illinois Benedictine College, American
Conservatory of Music, Webster University, Central Missouri State, University of
Missouri – KC, University of Kansas, Emporia State University, Bethany College,
Northeast Community College4, Loyola University, University of New Orleans, McNeese
State University, Southern University, Stephen F. Austin State University, University
of Texas at Arlington, Weatherford Community College, Texas Christian University,
University of North Texas, Houston Community College, Lamar University, Bee County
College of Music, University of Texas at Austin, University of Denver, Naropa
Institute, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Northern Colorado,
Northwest College, Casper College, University of Idaho, University of Utah, Arizona
State University, University of Arizona, University of Nevada-Reno, Musicians
Institute (California), University of Southern California, California Institute of the
Arts, San Diego State University, Foothill College, Stanford University, California
State University at Hayward, University of California at Berkley, Sonoma State
University, De Anza College, San Jose State College, Harvard University, Yale
University, Princeton University, Mt. Hood Community College, Oregon State University,
University of Oregon, Cornish College of the Arts, Western Washington University,
Whitworth College, Banff Centre for the Arts, Red Deer College, Royal Adacemy of
Music, Swedish Jazz Academy, any European, Australasian, Korean, Japanese jazz
studies programs not listed.
Curriculum Comparison:
Did you find any differences in the curricula from the five schools you studied?
Curriculum Proposal:
Here is my ideal skeletal structure for a jazz studies curriculum:

20
University of My Dreams
Year 1
Jazz History 4 hours
Jazz Theory and Ear Training 4 hours
Private Lesson (major Instrument) 1 hour
Private Lesson (piano) .5 hours
Master Class (major Instrument) 2 hours
Jazz Improvisation and Repertoire 4 hours
Jazz Orchestra 4 hours
Jazz Combo 4 hours
Non credit jam session 2 times per week
Academic non-music elective 3 hours
Year 2
Jazz History 4 hours
Jazz Theory and Ear Training 4 hours
Private Lesson (major instrument) 1 hour
Private Lesson (Piano) .5 hours
Career Development Performance 2 hours
Jazz Combo 4 hours
Non-credit jam session 2 times per week
Year 3
Jazz Arranging and Composition 4 hours
Jazz Pedagogy 4 hours
World Music and Performance 4 hours
Career Development Performance 4 hours
Jazz Combo 4 hours
Non-credit jam session 2 times per week
Academic non – music elective 3 hours

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Year 4
Jazz Arranging and Composition 4 hours
Directed Study 4 hours
Jazz Combo 4 hours
Teaching Assistantship (pedagogy) 4 hours
Work Experience (performance/composition) 4 hours
Curriculum Assessment:
Now compare my curriculum to the five that you’ve studied. Articulate the differences.
What would you do differently and why? What did I miss? What did I overemphasize?
What did I underemphasize?
Summary:
The best developers of curriculum are its shareholders – the people that teach it.
They understand the student demographic and the culture within their institution.
Curriculum is a recommended learner pathway for your students. It is not, nor was it
ever intended to be, a set of rules that legislate creativity or a set of guidelines to
evaluate teaching style and delivery. Curriculum experts understand how to break up
the whole into interrelated parts. They also understand that what works with the
student demographic at the Paris Conservatoire will not work with the student
demographic at North Texas State University. They understand that one size does not
fit all. They understand that while it “looks great on paper” it has to become human
before it can be delivered effectively. Thus variables occur.
Curriculum experts understand they are not in the manufacturing industry and are not
making Styrofoam cups. They understand that no one can actually say on September
the 3rd what they will be teaching on October the 23rd (and that if someone is actually
teaching like this they should seek a career alternative, possibly the manufacture of
Styrofoam cups). The curriculum expert knows that what they create is a suggested
pathway for the learner to develop mastery however, they are completely cognizant of

22
the fact that the learner is an individual, with his/her own learner style, and may move
faster or slower than the curriculum guide suggests. They understand that it is
another one of those “back and forth” processes. Its very much like the Thad
Jones/Mel Lewis Band. How can it be so precise and feel so loose at the same time?
Curriculum should be the same.
Because curriculum experts understand this “back and forth” process they endorse the
concept of teacher discretion and empowerment. For example, as a teacher of jazz
improvisation, I am trying to design a learner pathway for my students that is
sequential. The commonality is harmonic movement. If my class is having a hard time
negotiating the chord progression to Blue Bossa I am not going to skip the tune and go
to Stella by Starlight. And, even though it says that we should be studying Rhythm
Changes, on September 3rd, I’m going to work with comprehension and mastery on Blue
Bossa before I move on to Rhythm Changes. And, I will likely do some supplemental
bop-scale studies in preparation for Rhythm Changes. As a teacher, I have learning
targets, but I also have some discretion. For example, in my opinion, the students may
not be ready to improvise on Rhythm Changes, and even though my course outline says
we’re supposed to be “blowing” on Rhythm Changes, I’m going to put it off for a couple
of weeks until I’m sure the students have the pre-requisite skills for mastery and
success. Curriculum development in jazz studies is simply a process that attempts to
interrelate the parts of the whole. There is confidence in the knowledge that as
language mastery is developed, artistic empowerment will follow.
Curriculum Peripherals:
While I haven’t been specific about when and where transcription and analysis will be
taught in my jazz curriculum, I have been specific, by exclusion, on what I consider to
be peripheral courses. I have not included courses in cultural arts management, music
business, music technology, music production, sound engineering, or copyright and
intellectual property law. It has been my experience that when these peripheral
courses are offered in a non-modularized fashion and are coupled with academic non-
music courses that Universities require, learner time is compromised and mastery of
the whole becomes more difficult. Learner time is precious. Learning is a process that
takes time. An erosion of time affects comprehension and mastery.
As stated earlier, while interesting and worthwhile, I believe these peripheral courses
take valuable time away from the learner’s attempt to master the jazz language. (I
would make an effort to offer these peripheral courses in a modularized format as pre-

23
requisites for specific upper level courses. I see this delivery model as the least
intrusive to the mastery learning model. I would not however, include all peripherals.
Some would be electives and some would be left for later study.) For example, if
computer software applications such as Finale or Sibelius are required for jazz
arranging and composition, they should, in my opinion, be learned outside the curriculum
as pre-requisite skills for arranging/composition course. The jazz arranging and
composition course is supposed to be about jazz composition and arranging. However, I
often find students trying to learn to compose while they are trying to learn a
complicated computer program. I cannot find the curriculum complimentarity here.
Learning jazz composition and arranging is hard enough without trying to learn advanced
computer software programs simultaneously. When faced with this dilemna the
student’s compositions usually suffer.
Please allow me to digress on this concept further. My discourse may help you later
when deciding what can be inclusive and what can be intrusive to a learning environment.
Firstly, remember that we developed an undergraduate curriculum that focused on jazz
literacy. Our freshmen were all required to have a specific set of skills to gain program
admission, and our graduates, in order to matriculate, were required to master specifics
in jazz improvisation and repertoire, jazz composition and arranging, jazz research, and
jazz pedagogy. We believed that we had broken the whole into complimentary parts
and that our curriculum and its delivery would ensure the complimentarity or union of
the parts. What happens to this model if we decide to offer courses in music
production and music business in place of courses in jazz improvisation and repertoire
and jazz composition and arranging? Will jazz literacy be affected? Do these
peripheral courses represent the potential erosion of learner time and subject
mastery? How will these peripheral courses affect the student’s ability to matriculate?
Do we need to spread the program over 5 years instead of 4? Do we need to increase
the entry-level requirements for the program? Do we need to accept that jazz mastery
will not take place in our program? Can we accept this?
These are questions jazz educators face every day. There is constant pressure to add
peripheral courses to the jazz curriculum. Mostly it is from well-intentioned
individuals, but individuals who have no idea what the requirements for subject mastery
are in the area of jazz studies. When these well-intentioned individuals are combined
with the proponents of the Ethnocentric mind-set, the Divine Intervention theorists,
the “impatient learners,” and the “Canadian Idols”, a formidable foe to jazz literacy is
present. At this juncture, the curriculum serves as my best point of reference and
defense. It creates a level playing field that is about student success. It keeps the
learning pathway in perspective and makes everything in the learning environment
compliment the whole. It keeps the Walt Disney concept of “Edutainment” in “Walt’s

24
World” and, it serves as an advocate for the commitment required for subject mastery.
It keeps bringing back into focus the following questions: what do we want our
students to be able to do on completion of our program of study? what are the
necessary entry requirements for freshmen? how do we create a learning pathway that
is complimentary and ensures subject mastery?
More and Less Important Parts:
Another problematic area in curriculum development is that occasionally one of the

parts of the whole can become more important than the whole itself. Its human nature.
We’ve broken apart the whole and assigned its parts to different individuals. Some
individuals will take more ownership than others and consequently their part of the
whole will become stronger. This is more problematic than it may have been twenty
years ago because jazz has migrated from the “club scene” to the classroom and that
customary barometer of jazz, known as “street sense” is missing. Street sense is that
system of checks and balances that stop the music from becoming existential and
esoteric all the time. External assessment and curriculum review can be helpful in this
instance.

BrianLillos.com

25
I don’t pretend to be an expert on this subject although I have had some experience at
it. The first jazz curriculum I was involved in developing was in 1980 at Saint Francis
Xavier University in Nova Scotia, the year the program began. There were four jazz
faculty members at the time and we designed the curriculum by the seat of our pants,
essentially adding the new courses we needed for each new-year. I would not
recommend that approach but seemed to work for that situation at that time. Indeed
one of the difficult things about discussing curriculum design in general terms is that
despite the philosophy and desire of those doing the designing, the specific needs and
restrictions of the degree and the institution will greatly influence the outcome.
When I set about designing the original Bachelors Degree in Jazz Performance at
McGill I did some informal research on other universities in North America offering
that degree. Although there we far fewer degree programs in 1984, there were huge
variations in curricula. Some programs had practically no required jazz courses, only
jazz electives in their degree. Some had small ensemble participation as part of an
improvisation class and others had no small ensemble requirements at all. Some had a
strong emphasis on traditional big band and others practically none at all. Almost every
program had a jazz improvisation course and jazz history course of some sort but after
that it was an unpredictable combination of courses and requirements. For the most
part it seemed as if the jazz courses were squeezed in around a pre-existing traditional
western music core curriculum. That was indeed the situation I was confronted with at
McGill.
The feeling at the time was that every student graduating with a bachelours degree in
music performance should take the same required core courses. This was problematic
for the jazz student since the subject matter in all the core courses dealt with
exclusively traditional western classical music. The result being that jazz students
would take mostly classical music courses in their degree. On the other hand, the
classical students would not be required to take jazz courses. Their degree was
considered complete and existed long before jazz arrived in the university setting. It
was the “We were here first” defense. This is still the general line of thinking in most
undergraduate degrees in North America.
The Jazz Curriculum by Kevin Dean

26
I found that a large part of developing the curriculum I had in mind was convincing
classical theorists, historians and performers that “our” music had it’s own theory,
history and performance practice that was valid and developed enough to replace their
own. This is a battle that continues to be fought in university music programs daily. (I
spent many sleepless nights fantasizing about the shoe being on the other foot with
classical musicians coming to me defending the validity of their music and pleading for
classical courses and ensembles to be incorporated into the pre-existing jazz
curriculum so their students would have some experience studying the music they were
getting their degree in.) Thankfully the situation has changed dramatically at McGill
and our curriculum, which continues to evolve, is very strong indeed. As jazz has become
more entrenched in academia old biases are dying and better jazz curricula are being
written every day.
I will never forget hearing Roland Kirk at the Village Vanguard in New York in the late
1970s. At various times during the performance he would hit a large gong with all his
might while shouting repeatedly at the top of his lungs “FREEDOM! FREEDOM!
BLACKNESS! JAZZ! FREEDOM!” Every time he would reach for the gong mallet people
would wince and cover their ears. Many people walked out but he was tenacious.
They were going to hear the message whether they liked it or not. I thought of that
performance many times as I tried to keep in mind the overriding goals of a Jazz
program.
Jazz has different aesthetics than traditional western classical music. Improvisation,
the search for individuality, pushing boundaries, understanding the intricacies of swing
and the blues are part of the tradition of the Black American music we call Jazz.
Balancing the search for individuality and freedom with developing a respect for
history, basic instrumental technique and jazz language skills is one of the most
challenging aspects of learning and teaching jazz. Reflecting that balance in curriculum
and in practice is tricky. I often wonder how some of jazz’s greatest musicians would
fare in the average university jazz program. Thelonious Monk, Jackie McLean, Kenny
Dorham, Eric Dolphy, Sonny Rollins: would their unique approaches be encouraged? More
likely they would be pressured to change to fit into some sort of norm. It seems to me
that the tendency to beat the individuality out of people is one of the biggest problems
facing university jazz education in North America. (The conservatory programs of
Europe seem to be more open-minded in that regard.) I believe that done properly,
teaching the fundamentals of the jazz language and instrumental technique should
really be the stepping-stones to musical freedom and individuality.

27
My feeling is that generally speaking, lessons, ear training, history and improvisation
classes are the natural places to attend to and concentrate on fundamentals. It seems
to me that composition classes and small ensembles are places where students should
be given more freedom to experiment. At McGill students form their own small
ensembles (combos) and choose their own personnel as well as their faculty supervisor.
They choose their own repertoire and many groups play entirely original music. Students
also choose their own private teachers. This all helps in their search for individual
expression and students welcome the responsibility inherent in those choices.
I think we sometimes forget why people come to university to study jazz; that is to play
music! One of the most important things we can do in developing a jazz program is to
create a supportive and safe (physically and psychologically) environment where people
can play as much as they want. This probably means fighting for adequate practice and
rehearsal space, properly maintained equipment like drums, amps, stereos, PAs, decent
pianos, longer opening hours etc. It also means making sure that all ensemble
participation is for credit and part of the degree requirement and that there are
plenty of public performance opportunities. At McGill I incorporated a performance
requirement called Combo Seminar into combo participation. Combos perform every
Monday and Tuesday night at a local jazz club. For the last number of years it has been
the Upstairs Jazz Bar. Two groups perform per night and prepare an hour set each. We
usually have about twenty combos at McGill which means each group plays once every
five weeks. These are treated as professional gigs although the students are not paid.
Each performance is supervised and critiqued by different faculty members who meet
with the combos and give them feedback directly after their performance. Combo
Seminar gives students an opportunity to prepare new material every five weeks, to
perform for their peers and the public in a ‘real life’ night club setting and get
constructive criticism from a faculty member as well. It is a very important part of the
combo experience at McGill and is unique to our program.
Jazz ensemble (big band) is also an extremely important part of the jazz tradition and
in my opinion, should be a part of every jazz curriculum. This is a big subject and there
are as many ways to approach developing a big band and incorporating it into a
curriculum, as there are big band directors. As with all ensembles, adequate rehearsal
time and space, ensemble credit as a degree requirement and plenty of public
performance opportunities are key to its success. I also think the competency and
philosophy of the ensemble director is a more important factor than with combos and I
know of no successful university big bands that are student organized.

28
The goals of various degrees, new course possibilities and content, interconnectivity of
courses, evaluation procedures, credit loads, performance exam requirements, auditions
and audition requirements, hiring faculty, the roles of various ensembles, and any
number of additional topics are important in developing any jazz curriculum but beyond
the scope of this short overview. If one takes on the task of developing a jazz
curriculum, the only advice I feel qualified to give is to try to prioritize creating a
pleasant environment where people can play a lot of music and try to hire the best
professional jazz musicians available as teachers. Jazz is a language best learned from
those who speak it well.
Kevin Dean can be reached at

Kevin.Dean@McGill.Ca

29
Course outlines are smaller pieces of the overall curriculum – a curriculum within a
curriculum, if you will. They attempt to set some goals (learner outcomes) for the
teacher and the learner. The course outline should always come with pre-requisites and
co-requisites. This ensures that the parts of the whole are interrelated. Course
outlines provide a useful overview of what will be studied. This is useful for the
student and the uninitiated teacher. The following is an example of a course outline I
use for my jazz pedagogy course:
Course Outline
University of My Dreams
School of Jazz Studies
Academic Year 2004/2005
Faculty: Brian Lillos

Phone #:
Fax:
Email:
Office Hours:
It is the student’s responsibility to retain course outlines for possible future use in
support of applications for transfer credit to other educational institutions.
Program: B. Mus. Jazz Studies
Course Number & Name: JAZZ PEDAGOGY 7/8
Pre-Requisite: Jazz Composition/Arranging 3/4, Advanced Jazz

Repertoire 7/8, Jazz Repertoire Development 3/4/5/6,
Advanced Jazz History and Performance Practise 7/8,
Course Outlines by Brian Lillos 30

Solo Performance 5/6, Advanced Jazz Improvisation and
Performance Practise 7/8, Portfolio Submission &
Professor’s Permission
Co-Requisite: Advanced Jazz Repertoire 7/8, Advanced Jazz History

and Performance Practise 7/8, Advanced Jazz
Improvisation and Performance Practise 7/8
Pre-Requisite For: Graduation
Credit Value: 4
Course Description:
This is an extensive and thorough upper level academic music course which presents the
materials and methods for jazz instruction, requires research essays in career related
fields and the successful completion of a two semester teaching practicum. More
specifically, this course explores the philosophies and methods in jazz education and
the way in which they pertain to all levels of ability and age in the instrumental combo,
vocal combo, and jazz orchestra. Repertoire, resources, rehearsal techniques,
curriculum design, supervision and evaluation of instruction, lesson plans, instructional
objectives, assessment and evaluation, learner types and styles, the jazz education
industry, graduate studies in jazz education, teaching through the oral tradition,
adjudicating a jazz performance, infrastructure, administration and promotion of a jazz
program, creative scholarship in jazz, career planning, as well as National and
International student Jazz Festivals and educational associations are all topics that will
be covered in the course. Additionally, students will be required to format all
references in research essays with the APA format.
Learning Objectives:
Core Outcomes
Students are required to demonstrate the following knowledge and skills to successfully
complete this course:
1. Identify learner types and styles.

2. Develop strategies to teach different learner types and styles.
3. Demonstrate oral tradition as it pertains to jazz instruction.
4. Teach a jazz ensemble demonstrating a working knowledge of the oral tradition.
5. Develop criteria for the supervision and evaluation of instruction.
6. Develop criteria for student assessment and evaluation.

7. Write and implement lesson plans.
8. Develop instructional objectives.
9. Develop, in consultation with the professor, a two-term practicum involving job
shadowing, teaching, and mentorship.
10. Successfully complete a two-term practicum.
11. Exhibit skills pertaining to research methodology as it applies to the field of
jazz.
12. Evaluate common misgivings in the area of jazz scholarship.
13. Demonstrate an understanding of primary, secondary, and related sources in
jazz performance, composition, arranging, history and pedagogy through
transcription, score analysis, bibliography, discography and interviews.
14. Demonstrate, in research papers, the APA method of citing references.
15. Write curriculum for jazz improvisation from beginner to advanced levels with a
repertoire base.
16. Demonstrate knowledge of the industry of jazz education, career pathways, and
potential sources for networking.
17. Adjudicate a jazz performance.
18. Present a jazz clinic.
19. Evaluate and grade jazz orchestra repertoire.
20. Evaluate and grade instrumental jazz combo repertoire.
21. Evaluate and grade vocal combo repertoire.
22. Describe the infrastructure needed for a successful jazz studies program.
23. Describe the administrative requirements of a successful jazz studies program.
24. Demonstrate recruiting and profile methods as they apply to program promotion.
25. Compile lists of recommended and graded repertoire for the instrumental jazz
combo.
26. Compile lists of recommended and graded repertoire for the jazz orchestra.
27. Compile lists of recommended and graded repertoire for the vocal jazz combo.
28. Demonstrate, through research essays, a thorough understanding of creative
scholarship in jazz education.
29. Demonstrate an understanding of the need for fund raising in a jazz studies
program.
30. Demonstrate arranging/composition skills for the jazz combo (three to four
voices and rhythm section).
31. Demonstrate editing skills for jazz orchestra arrangements/compositions
(specifically inside voices and rhythm section).
32. Demonstrate an understanding of general teaching philosophies and methods.
33. Promote a strong sense of the developmental process in jazz studies.
34. Increase the student’s awareness as it pertains to the sequential development
of skill sets related specifically to the jazz idiom.

35. Demonstrate an understanding of the stylistic characteristics, various trends,
and historical developments through jazz “eras” and be able to explain and teach
performance, improvisation, and composition/arranging in these “eras”
effectively.
36. Identify the major figures n the development and/or continuation of the
aforementioned styles.
37. Increase the awareness for jazz orchestra, instrumental and vocal combo
repertoire available to educators including: instrumental ranges, harmonic
complexity, density, technique, rhythmic complexity, improvisational difficulty,
general ensemble strengths and weaknesses, recorded examples and
commissions.
38. Increase knowledge of available internet sites as resources for the jazz
educator.
39. Increase awareness of the I.A.J.E.
40. Increase awareness of the I.A.S.J.
41. Demonstrate an understanding of the function of the horns within the large and
small jazz ensemble.
42. Demonstrate an ability to teach the rhythm section in the jazz ensemble.
43. Demonstrate the ability to read and analyze a jazz orchestra score.
44. Analyze and synthesize jazz orchestra rehearsal techniques and artistic
guidance.
45. Analyze and synthesize instrumental combo rehearsal techniques and artistic
guidance.
46. Analyze and synthesize vocal combo rehearsal techniques and artistic guidance.
47. Demonstrate an awareness of common musical problems encountered by
students in the improvisational setting.
48. Describe the need to develop a learning environment that encourages risk
taking, creativity, and the development of an artistic voice in jazz improvisation.
49. Demonstrate an understanding of the need to transcribe the works of the jazz
masters, to internalize their pronunciation of the language, and become
coherent with their grammar.
50. Explain how learning outcomes 44 and 45 are not in conflict with each other,
rather are complimentary.
51. Demonstrate respect towards themselves as educators, for the music and the
people who want to learn it.

Course Content:
Fall Semester
Week I Introduction Overview of Course. Career Goals. Practicum Needs.

Assigned material on Library Reserve. Assessment of Class &
Determination of Materials, Delivery, Jazz Resources. The Jazz
Education Industry. Assigned Texts. Assigned Readings.
Week II History of Jazz Education – Eurocentricity, Anal Retention, Oral

Tradition, Street Methodologies, Holistic Approaches. One hour
out-of-class advisement with professor on practicum placement.
Week III Practicum Begins. Supervision of Instruction. Lesson Plans.

Instructional Objectives. Student Assessment. Student
Evaluation. Self Evaluation. Teacher Journal. Professional
Development. Mentorship. Job Shadowing.
Week IV Assessment and Evaluation. Learner Types and Styles. Creative

Scholarship in Jazz Education. One hour advisement with
professor on Term Paper Prospectus, Bibliography and
Discography.
Week V Oral Tradition and Teaching Jazz Styles. Scope and Sequence –
Curriculum Design. The Jazz Curriculum. Developing a curriculum
for jazz improvisation.
Week VI, VII,

VIII, & IX One hour oral tradition teaching presentation, (small ensemble) –
each student will find the repertoire, recruit the ensemble, and
rehearse the ensemble for one full hour. The sessions will be
recorded and video taped. One hour out of class research essay
advisement with the professor.
Week X Repertoire and Curriculum for the Jazz Combo. Review,

Reflection, of materials and process to date.

Week XI, XII,
& XIII One hour teaching presentation on rehearsal techniques and
repertoire for the jazz combo. One hour out of class evaluation
of student teaching by professor. Presenting a Jazz Clinic.
Week XIV Term end exam. Research paper due. All written projects due. All
recorded projects due. All video projects due.
Week XV Pot luck dinner for sponsor teachers.
Winter Semester
Week I Scholarship in Jazz Education. Repertoire and Curriculum for

Jazz Improvisation. Career Planning, The Jazz Education
Industry.
Week II I.A.J.E. Conference (New York)
Week III Repertoire, Curriculum, and Rehearsal Techniques for the Jazz
Orchestra.
Week IV Field Trips to Regional Instrumental Jazz Festivals. Adjudicating

an Instrumental Jazz Performance.
Week V, VI, VII,

& VIII Presenting an Instrumental Jazz Clinic. One hour teaching
presentation on rehearsal techniques and repertoire for the Jazz
Orchestra.
Week IX Field Trip to Regional Vocal Jazz Festivals. Adjudicating a Vocal

Jazz Performance. Presenting a Vocal Jazz Clinic.
Week X, XI, XII,

& XIII One hour teaching presentation on rehearsal techniques and
repertoire for the vocal jazz choir.

Week XIV Infrastructure of a Jazz Program. Administration of a Jazz
Program. Recruiting and Profile.
Week XV Final Exam. Research paper due. All written projects due. All
recorded projects due. All video projects due. Email exchange.
Networking.
Assignments:
Term I - Evaluation
Practicum Video, Example of Teaching and Practicum Journal 30%
Term Paper 20%
Term Exam 20%
Teaching Oral Tradition 10%
Teaching Improvisation 10%
Curriculum for Jazz Improvisation 5%
Curricula Comparison (Schools of Study) 5%
100%
Term II - Evaluation
Practicum 30%
Curriculum for Jazz Instruction
Curriculum for Jazz Improvisation
Teaching Big Band
Teaching Rehearsal Techniques and Materials for Big Band
Teaching Rehearsal Techniques and Materials for Vocal Choir
Term Paper TBA
Term Exam
Graded Repertoire for Large Instrumental Jazz Ensemble
Graded Repertoire for Vocal Jazz Ensemble
Graded List of Big Band Repertoire with Discography
Graded List of Vocal Choir Repertoire with Discography
Adjudications of Big Band
Adjudications of Vocal Choir
100%

GRADED REPERTOIRE
Title Author Publisher Improvisation Rhythm Bass Range

Level Section Level
Course Outlines by Brian Lillos

Density/Line Recorded
BrianLillos.com
Independence of Example
Arrangement Title/Author/
Publisher/#
37
It is necessary to think about what you are going to teach in the same manner and for
the same reasons you need to think about what you are going to play in your improvised
solo. You should also have more material prepared then you need, but don’t be
disappointed if you only get through 30% of what you prepared.
Sample Lesson Plan Framework
Learning Objectives & Statement of Aims:
Topics:
Lesson Plans by Brian Lillos

38
Warm –up (review of last class):
Materials and Notes:
Lesson Body:

39
Summary:
Notes/Reflection:

BrianLillos.com

40
Think about the possibility of being sued for “Educational Malpractise”. While it is
rare, it does happen. Try and recall the scandals in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s when some
superb high school athletes graduated from high school, received College Scholarships,
and were found to be functionally illiterate. Some parents in Southern California sued
for Educational Malpractise and won the class action lawsuit. As a result, many Public
School Boards and more recently, many Universities and Colleges are insisting on the
use of Instructional Objectives as measuring sticks for teacher accountability. In the
wrong hands, instructional objectives can become draconian legislation – fear mongering,
if you will. In the arts, they can take away the “process” from teaching. They can take
away the intangibles. They attempt to quantify everything. They can take away your
discretion as a teacher. They can beat the creativity out of you!
Therefore, it is very important to know how instructional objectives are constructed

and to be able to write them in such a way that they will enable the learner to
accomplish the required learner outcomes, allow for individual learner styles, artistic
growth and expression, as well as teacher style and discretion. For example, you may
need to be able to articulate, to an external evaluator, certain measurable aspects of
the jazz improvisation “process”. A starting point might be to explain that in many ways
jazz improvisational study is similar to the study of linguistics. The language has a
vocabulary, a grammar (syntax), and a meaning (semantics). Scale/chord relationships
for improvisation can be tested as a component of jazz vocabulary. These are easy to
test and measure. Melodic transcription and performance can be compared to language
pronounciation. Jazz grammar (a voice leading study) is analogous to the study of
nouns and verbs. At the grammar or syntax level, the learner also discovers that there
is often more than one right answer and the external evaluator begins to realise that as
the syntactical possibilities develop, the skill set of the teacher has to be higher. At
the semantic level, jazz improvisation translates into “saying something” in your
improvised solo. Musical meaning is evaluated. It becomes clear to the external
evaluator that language comprehension has been attained. At this point they usually
realize that additional semantic coherency comes from practise, that is to say
“process”, and requires the guidance of a Master Teacher. If you are diligent in the
preparation and delivery of these objectives the external evaluator is usually
Instructional Objectives by Brian Lillos

41
supportive of your work. They will often use you as an instructional model and support
your program fully.
I’ve enclosed two examples of instructional objectives for your perusal. I find the first
example somewhat “Draconian” and I find the second example too “Legislative”. Your
assignment for this unit is to write a set of instructional objectives on a subject that
requires musical creativity.
Instructional Objectives
Guaranteed Instructional Services
Date Course Title
Department Course Length (semester/year)
Grade Level Texts Used
Course Description:

42
Major Concepts
The course will:
1. Enable a student to perform on his/her instrument and actively engage in the study
and performance of band literature – Technical Development.
2. Enable the student to unite and interact musically with other students to perform
band music – Ensemble Training.
3. Provide for a diversified program of music that will include representative examples
of music from a historical, ethnic, and functional organization – Diversified Program.
4. Provide a variety of performance activities before an audience to exercise and

experience the many practical uses and service of music and to express his/her
musical abilities and accomplishments – Variety of Performance Activities.
Major Concept #1:
The course will enable a student to perform on his/her instrument, and actively engage
in the study and performance of band literature – Technical Development.
Student Outcomes:
The student will:
1. Employ a musical quality tone on his/her instrument in the band.
2. Demonstrate the performance techniques necessary to perform the band music on

his/her instrument in the band.
3. Demonstrate ability to read music notation and translate it to musical expression on

his/her instrument in the band.

43
Suggested Teacher Activities/Strategies:
The teacher will:
1. Provide instruction, model and exercises that will result in the development of a
musical quality tone. Posture, breathing, embouchure, instrument holding and
instrument care will be considered.
2. Provide instructional materials, music examples and exercises, and opportunities for
practice and performance that will aid the student in acquiring the necessary
manipulative skills.
3. Provide instruction and opportunities to practice reading musical notation as it is

employed to express rhythm, pitch, melody, harmony, dynamics, style, and musical
interpretation.
Major Concept #2:
The course will enable the student to unite and interact musically with other students
to perform band music – Ensemble Training.
Student Outcomes:
The student will:
1. Demonstrate ability to play his/her instrument in tune with itself, his/her section,
and the entire band.
2. Demonstrate his/her awareness of, and ability, to unite with the other band
members in the synchronization of the elements of rhythm.
3. Listen critically and respond to the other students’ musical output in order to
effect an appropriate ensemble tonal blend and balance.
4. Perform band music with regard to the elements of interpretation and style.
5. Respond to the direction of the conductor.

44
The teacher will:
1. Provide instruction of in-tune playing, opportunities for practice through exercises,

and a constant reminder of intonation throughout the rehearsal and performance of
all band music. Critical listening will be a major focus.
2. Provide instruction and opportunities to practice exercises, studies, and music with
the focus on the components of rhythm, tempo, meter, and duration.
Understanding, hearing, feeling, and measuring the pulse of the music and the
length of notes will be an important achievement of the ensemble.
3. Provide instruction and opportunities to experience a proper blending of tone and

balance of dynamics necessary to meet the qualifications of the band music.
4. Instruct and provide opportunities for drill and practice regarding the musical
practices of phrasing, articulation, and style. A variety of musical styles will be
programmed for the band that will insure attention to this necessary musical
quality.
5. a.) Provide instruction and opportunities to practice the act of following the signals,
gestures, and directions of the conductor.
b.) Provide directions regarding tempo, meter, dynamics, and the elements of
interpretation as he conducts the band through studies and music.
Major Concept #3:
The course will provide for a diversified program of music that will include
representative examples of music from a historical, ethnic, and functional organization
– Diversified Program.

45
Student Outcomes:
The student will:
1. Perform and appreciate music as a representation of historical significance.
2. Perform and attempt to understand the musical expressions of many ethnic

backgrounds.
3. Perform and make distinctions between the various types, styles, and media of
musical expressions of today.
The teacher will:
1. a.) Provide information regarding composers of music of music that is studied and
their contribution to their time period.
b.) Provide music for listening and performance to represent and illustrate the
significant musical contributions of each historical time period.
2. Provide musical instruction, models for listening, and opportunities to play the music
of different ethnic groups. Uniqueness and similarities of style will be noted.
3. Provide knowledge, rehearsal, and performance of a variety of music forms of today

that will prepare students for vocational and/or avocational opportunities.
Major Concept #4:
The course will provide a variety of performance activities before an audience to

exercise and experience the many practical uses and service of music and to express
his/her musical abilities and accomplishments – Variety of Performance Activities.

46
Student Outcomes:
The student will perform as a member of the band in a variety of performance

activities.
1. The teacher will maintain a variety of performance activities for the band. These
will serve as opportunities for the students to display accomplishments, and to
serve his/her own musical needs.
Additional Instructional Goals Beyond Guaranteed Instructional

Services
These course goals add dimension and enrichment toward higher levels of educational
value. These goals are not always measurable or observable and, therefore, cannot be
guaranteed. No student outcomes or G.I.S. are expected for these goals. You are not
responsible for, or limited by, a specific number of goals.
The students will:
1. Value self-discipline as a necessary requirement for accomplishment.
2. Enhance self-esteem.
3. Develop the disciplines necessary to work successfully with others.
4. Value the concept and procedures of “team work” and “esprit de corps” as a means
of group accomplishment.
5. Aspire to a higher degree of musical proficiency and achievement.
6. Value music as a life-long enrichment activity, whether as a performer or listener.
7. Broaden the scope of his/her musical awareness and activity.

47
Course Evaluation Guide
Jazz Band Evaluation
These evaluations are based primarily on the standard of achievement and progress
made possible by a regular practice routine. It is strongly recommended that each
band member set aside, for practice purposes, a minimum of half an hour at least five
out of seven days. These minimums should be exceeded whenever possible. Rate of
progress and sense of accomplishment is directly related to the quality of individual
practice.
/8 A. Warm-up/Tune-up
/15 B. Listening Assignments
/25 C. Repertoire
/10 D. Sight Reading
/10 E. Jazz History
/12 F. Improvisation/Solos/Progress/Section Work
/20 G. Attitude/Punctuality/Preparation

48
/100 General Comments
Junior Stage Band Senior Stage Band

85 – 100 = A 90 – 100 = A
75 – 84 = B 80 – 89 = B
69 – 74 = C+ 70 – 79 = C+
60 – 68 = C 60 – 69 = C
50 – 59 = C- 50 – 59 = C-
Jazz Evaluation Criteria
1. Warm-up - refers to the quality and quantity of warm-up routine observed before
rehearsal and expected before individual practice sessions.
2. Listening Assignments - students are expected to listen to various recorded

examples of jazz styles. Aural analysis is expected and transcriptions are assigned
to senior players. Tapes and records are available from the instructor as well as
recommended lists of records and tapes for individual purchase.
3. Repertoire - students are tested on pieces of music from the performance folder.
Of particular consequence is the student’s jazz interpretation.
4. Sight Reading - indicates ability to play pieces of music from beginning to end,
without stopping, at first sight. Of particular consequence is the student’s jazz
interpretation.
5. Jazz Theory - fundamentals of jazz theory are tested periodically throughout each
term.
6. Improvisation/Solos/Section Work - These three concepts are dealt with on a

regular basis. Students are periodically assessed as to their progress with any or
all of these essential jazz elements.

49
7. Attitude - since the jazz ensembles are taken in addition to concert bands at
Robron, an additional effort is expected from jazz ensemble members. Assessment
is made on each band member’s co-operation and attempt to do one’s best during
rehearsals and performances.
8. Punctuality - arrival on or before prescribed times for rehearsals and

performances.
9. Preparation - indicates the consistency with which a band member comes to

rehearsal properly equipped with pencil, all required music, reeds, mutes, patch
cords, etc.

BrianLillos.com

50
Teaching should be evaluated. In an ideal world the evaluation would be by people with
subject competency – your peers. In an ideal world you would have the opportunity and
motivation for self-assessment and growth. In the real world, you are likely to be
evaluated by a “generic manager” with no competency in your subject area. These
evaluators will have a long list of forms/criteria they will work from.
The following is an example:
Teacher’s name: Date:
Brief description of classroom activity observed (Course Class Size )
Supervision of Instruction by Brian Lillos

51
Medium
High
Low
Item Notes
Teaching towards perceivable

objection – focus upon particular
learning target(s)
Objective(s) appropriate for the

learner – not already attained or too
difficult
Organization in handling both

materials and time – good planning
and preparation
Interesting and challenging learning

tasks - including variety and well
chosen support materials
Progress in developing acceptable

student work habits and study skills
– including self-discipline and
responsibility
Provision for differences in ability

among the students
Has the respect and confidence of

the students

52
Medium
High
Low
Item Notes
Effective evaluation of activities
Communication with parents
Classroom environment which is

conducive to learning

BrianLillos.com

53
There are rooms full of books written on these subjects so I will be try and be brief
and examine only the points that have, in my opinion, particularly affected my teaching
of jazz. Firstly, when we test our students, are we testing the learner or are we
testing the teacher and the learner? Are we testing the student’s ability to master a
subject and the teacher’s ability to teach mastery or just the student’s ability to
master? In my opinion, if I am only testing the student’s ability to master, it puts me
in that “Jazz God” role and I think we dispelled those rumours in a previous chapter.
I believe that student success and teacher ability are strongly linked. If your students
are all failing an exam then, in my opinion, you failed to teach the materials properly. If
the test is not measuring effectively what was taught and learned, who constructed the
test? It wasn’t the student?
Teaching and learning is a shared responsibility. It is a co-operative venture.

I can only teach what I know. I only know from where I’ve been. And the student, in
the initial stages, can only go where I guide them. It is very similar in the arts, to real
parenting. Success is a shared responsibility. So is failure. We, in jazz schools all over
the world, list our most successful alumnus. We try to take credit for developing a
pathway for them so it will help us with recruiting freshman and securing endowments.
Do we ever take credit for our failures? I had this dream several years ago when I
was the Director of Jazz Studies and in a recruiting competition with a very famous
American University. I dreamt that this famous University advertised its failures.
Hopefully, you can see that I am from the “mastery school of learning” and its context
is completely different from the “blame frame” school. And I know by now that, you
may be questioning my perfect world. You know the one. The one where our students
do their homework and when we test them we are testing their ability to learn and our
ability to teach?
Here is my rant. Did we develop an abusive instructional mindset over time or are we
just not smart enough to be teaching? We all, I hope understand the pattern of abuse.
It’s a learned activity and, to draw a parallel, we teach the way we were taught. For
example, how can we still advocate a grading system based on the Stanford – Binet I.Q.
test? How can we compound this by subscribing to a Bell Curve model of grade
distribution? I’ll give you a couple of examples. Since its invention over 60 years ago,
the Stanford-Binet test was considered culturally biased and racist. Test results were
Assessment and Evaluation by Brian Lillos
54
considered highly inaccurate of learner abilities and the education system was advised
not to use it as a means of measurement. Why then does every student P.R. card have
the I.Q. score in the top corner?
This bizarre battery of tests provided the ignition for another inaccurate educational
tool, the bell curve for grading? It recommends that 5% of the students in your class
should get an A and 5% an E, 10% a “B” and 10% a D, and the rest of the students
(70%) should receive letter grades between C- and C+. There are many institutions and
teachers in jazz studies that endorse this grading scheme. I believe that is an excuse
for bad teaching and anyone that endorses it is making a case for “educational
malpractise”. How is it possible, in a summer master class with Kenny Wheeler, that all
of the successful auditionees would fall into such a pattern? Nonsense! Where did
this bullshit come from? We introduced the concept of mastery learning decades ago
but some still embrace the bell curve methodology. Imagine nurturing an artist under
these circumstances. In my opinion its planning failure. You are the next generation.
You decide whether or not to follow on this abusive path.
If you give someone the grade of “A” in your course what does that mean to another
teacher or another institution? Is it not possible for the student to take their
transcript of marks, course outline and a portfolio of materials studied (essays, tests,
compositions, recordings, and assignments), as well as their program curriculum to
another institution and have it evaluated? An email or a phone call may be necessary
for clarification, however the institution doing the evaluation will quickly understand
what I mean when I give a student an “A” in my course.

BrianLillos.com
Assessment and Evaluation by Brian Lillos

55
There is no perfect way to teach jazz improvisation. There is not one magical
methodology that fits this subject. The art form, like most art forms, is multi-
dimensional and will not exist “inside the box”. Teaching jazz improvisation is as much
about teaching creativity as it is about teaching jazz vocabulary and jazz grammar.
Teaching creativity is an “outside the box” concept. It is a lifelong artistic journey.
Several challenges face the student and the teacher of jazz improvisation. Mastery of
scales, chords, harmony, voice leading, and repertoire are pre-requisite and few
teachers, if any, would disagree that they are essential. A concept often overlooked,
however, is creativity. Teaching creativity and learning to be creative with a language is
more about process than exact scientific measurement. The process requires the
uniqueness of the individual to be explored. It requires a nurturing and honest learning
environment to be in place. It needs to encourage risk taking and exploration, and at a
higher level, the development of the creative spirit and the artistic voice.
In other words, language acquisition and development are completely about process. The
teacher and the student need to understand learner styles and the “back and forth”,
multi-tasking nature of learning language. (This can very frustrating for the “anal
retentive” mind. It sees a great deal of ambiguity when learner “scope and sequence”
do not fit an exact schedule. ) Unfortunately, for the anal retentive jazz educator, one
can’t communicate in a language unless one learns to speak the language. But, one never
learns to speak the language if one waits until one is completely ready. Language
development is a “back and forth” type of thing, and from a scope and sequence point of
view, it is a process where ambiguities can co-exist. It is the equivalent to learning
English as a second language, only it is jazz. One has to babble, one has to fumble, one
has to mispronounce the language. It is part of learning. One has to get on the wrong
bus, say you’ll “knock someone up” (will call on them), try to purchase eggs at the dry
cleaners, or take your car to the anthropologist for repairs. One has to sometimes get
it wrong to eventually get it right. This process needs to be embraced by the teacher
and the student and they both need to be “shameless” about it.
Towards Teaching Jazz Improvisation by Brian Lillos

56
I am very proud to be a part of the faculty at Humber College in Toronto, Canada
because we “get” this process. One of the genuine strengths at Humber College is its
improvisation program. We attempt to provide the learner with the essentials,
direction on how to acquire and use the language, opportunities to practise this in
practical situations (jam sessions), honest feedback, risk-taking, and a platform for
creative self-discovery and artistic development. The program has 5 levels of
improvisation (2 semesters each) from preparatory to very advanced with
th
complimentary repertoire courses as well as a 4 year directed studies course for
performance majors in the development of the artistic voice. Some courses meet 2
hours per week and some 4 hours. There are 14 different instructors, all with very
specific skills. The curriculum, at the upper levels, requires students to “connect some
of the dots” themselves. This however, allows teachers to work in their highest areas
of strength and creativity (bop, post-bop, trane, post-trane, etc.). As a result,
students are able to see different artists at work daily in their classroom and to look
into their teacher’s creative process. All courses are performance based. Jam sessions
are run by students 2 or more times per week and visiting artists usually present a
performance/seminar once per week The improvisation curriculum is tune-based and
we work from a tune list for each level. I invite you to visit our website where course
outlines can be seen on Jazz improvisation and Repertoire Development in the
Foundations, B.Mus. (jazz studies), B.A. Mus. (contemporary music) Programs.
There is an Anti-Christ to our approach. There are philosophies, teachers, and

programs that will tell you that there is only “one way” to improvise and that it is “their
way”. They prey on the misinformed. In jazz education, they provide a veritable
potpourri of how not to’s, judgements, and broken egos. They represent the “carnage”
of bad jazz education. They are allowed to exist for several reasons. Firstly, as
teachers and learners we’re influenced by misinformation. We equate speed of learning
with “depth of field” without realizing that no improvisor can say, in terms of artistic
expression, at 19 years of age what they will say when they are 40 years of age. Listen
to the development in John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, and Chris Potter over a 20 year
period. Secondly, as teachers and learners we often compare ourselves and our
students to others that have achieved more skill at an earlier age. In North America
we have an infatuation with the “Sports Model”. Artistic expression is not a
competition. It is not about composing a symphony as a pre-schooler. It is about self-
expression. The winning in artistic expression is the fact you are able to express your
thoughts. It’s a singular sport and no one is keeping score. In our culture, it is often a
hard model to follow. Thirdly, in our affluent and technological world, we have become
impatient for success. We want instant success because we are used to it in other

57
areas of study. Superficiality and artistic expression are at opposite ends of the
“depth” spectrum. Expect it to take a long time to express yourself artistically and
enjoy the journey. Fourthly, we live in a participatory culture – a culture of
“edutainment” – and we let that fantasy affect our artistic reality. We think that
“attending” is the same as “being there”. (We think that meeting Cecil Taylor in the
elevator is the same as having performed with him.) Lastly, we have an insatiable
appetite for inclusion and approval. Doing it becomes the same as doing it right. For
these reasons, and many others, we as students and teachers, play into the hands of
the “jazz pretenders”. We’re vulnerable and we should be provided with a “bullshit
detector” at the outset of our careers.
To recapitulate, there is no “one way” to teach jazz improvisation. Teaching/studying

jazz improvisation is very demanding. As a teacher you are mentoring and nurturing an
artistic voice. Your scope as a teacher, musician, and person has to be huge. There
are days when you would like to legislate creativity but you cannot. As a learner you
have to have the maturity and wherewithal to connect the dots. If the teacher speaks
in “tongues” you have to try and decipher it. You require patience in yourself and the
process of language development. There are days when you’d like to force the growth
but it fights back. It takes a lot of strength to learn that it is a “back and forth” thing
and that it will take a lifetime.
For this reason this chapter is specifically designed to let you see that one size doesn’t
fit all. There are different approaches. People have different strengths and different
points of view. Opposites can co-exist. People speak through their artistic voice when
they are sharing what they really know. Enjoy.

BrianLillos.com

58
There is no perfect way to teach jazz improvisation. There is not one magical
methodology that fits this subject. The art form, like most art forms, is multi-
dimensional and will not exist “inside the box”. Teaching jazz improvisation is as much
about teaching creativity as it is about teaching jazz vocabulary and jazz grammar.
Teaching creativity is an “outside the box” concept. It is a lifelong artistic journey.
Several challenges face the student and the teacher of jazz improvisation. Mastery of
scales, chords, harmony, voice leading, and repertoire are pre-requisite and few
teachers, if any, would disagree that they are essential. A concept often overlooked,
however, is creativity. Teaching creativity and learning to be creative with a language is
more about process than exact scientific measurement. The process requires the
uniqueness of the individual to be explored. It requires a nurturing and honest learning
environment to be in place. It needs to encourage risk taking and exploration, and at a
higher level, the development of the creative spirit and the artistic voice.
In other words, language acquisition and development are completely about process. The
teacher and the student need to understand learner styles and the “back and forth”,
multi-tasking nature of learning language. (This can very frustrating for the “anal
retentive” mind. It sees a great deal of ambiguity when learner “scope and sequence”
do not fit an exact schedule. ) Unfortunately, for the anal retentive jazz educator, one
can’t communicate in a language unless one learns to speak the language. But, one never
learns to speak the language if one waits until one is completely ready. Language
development is a “back and forth” type of thing, and from a scope and sequence point of
view, it is a process where ambiguities can co-exist. It is the equivalent to learning
English as a second language, only it is jazz. One has to babble, one has to fumble, one
has to mispronounce the language. It is part of learning. One has to get on the wrong
bus, say you’ll “knock someone up” (will call on them), try to purchase eggs at the dry
cleaners, or take your car to the anthropologist for repairs. One has to sometimes get
it wrong to eventually get it right. This process needs to be embraced by the teacher
and the student and they both need to be “shameless” about it.

56
I am very proud to be a part of the faculty at Humber College in Toronto, Canada
because we “get” this process. One of the genuine strengths at Humber College is its
improvisation program. We attempt to provide the learner with the essentials,
direction on how to acquire and use the language, opportunities to practise this in
practical situations (jam sessions), honest feedback, risk-taking, and a platform for
creative self-discovery and artistic development. The program has 5 levels of
improvisation (2 semesters each) from preparatory to very advanced with
th
complimentary repertoire courses as well as a 4 year directed studies course for
performance majors in the development of the artistic voice. Some courses meet 2
hours per week and some 4 hours. There are 14 different instructors, all with very
specific skills. The curriculum, at the upper levels, requires students to “connect some
of the dots” themselves. This however, allows teachers to work in their highest areas
of strength and creativity (bop, post-bop, trane, post-trane, etc.). As a result,
students are able to see different artists at work daily in their classroom and to look
into their teacher’s creative process. All courses are performance based. Jam sessions
are run by students 2 or more times per week and visiting artists usually present a
performance/seminar once per week The improvisation curriculum is tune-based and
we work from a tune list for each level. I invite you to visit our website where course
outlines can be seen on Jazz improvisation and Repertoire Development in the
Foundations, B.Mus. (jazz studies), B.A. Mus. (contemporary music) Programs.
There is an Anti-Christ to our approach. There are philosophies, teachers, and

programs that will tell you that there is only “one way” to improvise and that it is “their
way”. They prey on the misinformed. In jazz education, they provide a veritable
potpourri of how not to’s, judgements, and broken egos. They represent the “carnage”
of bad jazz education. They are allowed to exist for several reasons. Firstly, as
teachers and learners we’re influenced by misinformation. We equate speed of learning
with “depth of field” without realizing that no improvisor can say, in terms of artistic
expression, at 19 years of age what they will say when they are 40 years of age. Listen
to the development in John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, and Chris Potter over a 20 year
period. Secondly, as teachers and learners we often compare ourselves and our
students to others that have achieved more skill at an earlier age. In North America
we have an infatuation with the “Sports Model”. Artistic expression is not a
competition. It is not about composing a symphony as a pre-schooler. It is about self-
expression. The winning in artistic expression is the fact you are able to express your
thoughts. It’s a singular sport and no one is keeping score. In our culture, it is often a
hard model to follow. Thirdly, in our affluent and technological world, we have become
impatient for success. We want instant success because we are used to it in other

57
areas of study. Superficiality and artistic expression are at opposite ends of the
“depth” spectrum. Expect it to take a long time to express yourself artistically and
enjoy the journey. Fourthly, we live in a participatory culture – a culture of
“edutainment” – and we let that fantasy affect our artistic reality. We think that
“attending” is the same as “being there”. (We think that meeting Cecil Taylor in the
elevator is the same as having performed with him.) Lastly, we have an insatiable
appetite for inclusion and approval. Doing it becomes the same as doing it right. For
these reasons, and many others, we as students and teachers, play into the hands of
the “jazz pretenders”. We’re vulnerable and we should be provided with a “bullshit
detector” at the outset of our careers.
To recapitulate, there is no “one way” to teach jazz improvisation. Teaching/studying

jazz improvisation is very demanding. As a teacher you are mentoring and nurturing an
artistic voice. Your scope as a teacher, musician, and person has to be huge. There
are days when you would like to legislate creativity but you cannot. As a learner you
have to have the maturity and wherewithal to connect the dots. If the teacher speaks
in “tongues” you have to try and decipher it. You require patience in yourself and the
process of language development. There are days when you’d like to force the growth
but it fights back. It takes a lot of strength to learn that it is a “back and forth” thing
and that it will take a lifetime.
For this reason this chapter is specifically designed to let you see that one size doesn’t
fit all. There are different approaches. People have different strengths and different
points of view. Opposites can co-exist. People speak through their artistic voice when
they are sharing what they really know. Enjoy.

BrianLillos.com

58
In this article I will be discussing some concepts of teaching improvising to 12-14 year
olds.
These immerging teenagers are a fascinating and challenging group to teach. They are
at an age where peer relationship is as, if not more, important as their adult
relationships. They are building communities; a place where they belong.
The high school stage band, the jazz combo are their community. In order for this
community to function they need to feel:
1. Respect. (Respected by their peers as much as their teachers.)

2. Comfortable with their role. (Guitar player, soloist, comedian!)
3. Challenged. (Not overwhelmed)
Introducing this age group to jazz music, and improvisation in particular presents us
with an incredible learning opportunity. Through this art form we can show them
alternative ways to listen, communicate and express themselves.
While the idea of teaching teenagers to improvise is altruistic, it is more complicated in

practical terms.
In order to pass on the language of jazz to a young player, imitation is essential.
Call and response. Listening and repeating.
Another essential quality is the ability to be open or free enough to try to express
ideas on their instrument.
Children as Improvisers
Young children are natural imitators. They learn to speak, respond, move, walk, and
skate by watching, trying, and repeating until they’ve accomplished their goal. The goal
Towards Teaching Jazz Improvisation: The Teenage Improvisor by Colleen Allen
59
may be a young child’s unconscious desire to communicate or an older child’s urge to be
the best hockey player on the team. Whatever the goal is the process is the same.
Listen, watch, imitate, and repeat.
The process is similar when learning music. Imitation, repetition. Children learn nursery
rhymes and hand games as a means of communication and as play. Their ears are
already attenuated to hearing music as a second language. Music is a common
denominator to all of us. It is our collective second language.
Most young children are also unencumbered improvisers. Everything is new to them.
There have no barriers. They might pick up a ball and think “What happens if I throw
this over there?” or, “What is this thing? … I think I’ll eat it.” Every experience they
have is essentially new.
Teenagers as Improvisers
As children grow, they become more aware. As they become more aware they may
become more cautious. When they reach early adolescence the natural impulse of
improvising might be muted somewhat because they’ve become more self-aware and
perhaps more self conscious. They are keenly aware of how their friends perceive
them. They may be reluctant to expose themselves to improvising at first.
As I mentioned previously, being willing or open to try to express your ideas is essential
as an improviser. This is a big deal! It is essential that the channel from heart to
imagination to instrument be open. As you can imagine, it is difficult enough to try, as a
fledgling player, to get a decent sound, and read a part.
To ask them to play something that is not written down while they are still figuring out
the fingering for Eb is a challenge. They need to feel supported. Some students will
naturally be more outgoing. It would be wise to let the more extroverted players lead
the pack. I have found that playing to the strengths of the band encourages all players
to push themselves.
In the following section I will discuss four different bands. The ability of each group
varies from experienced players to complete neophytes. I hope that the diversity of
these groups will offer some ideas on how to approach working with this age group.

60
Group # 1: The A Team
Ensembles comprised of students who have been exposed to music at an early age have
certain advantages. The channel has been opened. Their ears have been developed;
they’ve begun to develop their second language. These students adapt well to
improvisation because the groundwork has been laid. They have been using hand games,
nursery rhymes, call and response, and imitation through Kodaly, Orff, or other
movement/music programs.
I would begin by teaching them as much as possible by ear. Modal tunes work very well
for young improvisers because a simple mode/scale can go a long way! (i.e.: dorian)
There are no avoid notes in the dorian mode (1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7), therefore any note
will sound great for soloing. The one drawback with playing modal tune is that the
“form” tends to be a little harder to hear. The chord changes happen less frequently,
making it easier to play over them, however, they tend to have a floating quality so it’s
easy to get lost.
Hearing 4, and 8 bar phrases may be a skill we take for granted. It can be very
challenging to play over a tune like So What. It consists of four 8 bar phrases where
the third phrase modulates up a semi-tone. It is very possible to make this work with a
group of players with developed ears. This group has more musical awareness;
consequently they are able to hear phrases more naturally.
I would teach them the dorian mode first by playing the C major scale. Then play the C
major scale starting on D. Next, teach them Eb dorian by learning the Db major scale.
Then play Db major starting on Eb. They now have the template for the tune.
Then teach the bass riff to everyone including the drummer. He/she can play the
rhythms on the drum kit. If the bass player is not able to play the line on they’re own it
can easily be doubled by the left hand on the piano. If the entire rhythm section is
weak then pass it on to the horns. The arrangement will be totally unique to each
group’s instrumentation and strengths.
The students can start to solo over the 8 bar phrases once the piano/guitar players
have worked out some simple D minor and Eb minor voicings. I would suggest letting the
soloist just “go for it” without too much input at first. This group tends to be less
intimidated than kids with less experience. I would add some background riffs (simple
rhythms from the head) for the remaining players to play every eight bars.

61
This will help them concentrate and will encourage them to hear very typical 8 bar
patterns. It will also help the soloist know where they are in the form.
As the soloist becomes more secure, some suggestions about rhythmic development
could help them expand their soloing ideas.
Some other tunes ideas:
• Little Sunflower
• Blue Trane
• It Don’t Mean A Thing
• Caravan
Group #2: Absolute Beginners
This group consists of players who have had little or no experience improvising. Most
likely they are not as strong on their instruments.
I worked one summer with a group of teens, all of whom had very little playing
experience. Most of them had never improvised before. We had six days to get two
tunes together to play for their parents.
Where would you start?!?
As luck would have it, I heard an incredibly soulful version of “You Are My Sunshine” on
the way up to camp. I knew that they were all struggling with their instruments but I
imagined if they could sing something they would have a better chance of figuring it out
on their horns, (etc.). We all clapped and sang the tune. The drummers tried to find
the notes on their instrument. As they became more confident each person would take
turns playing the melody with the rhythm section. This was quite an accomplishment
when you think about it! If the player were self-conscious I would play quietly beside
them so they could have the feeling of playing alone while still feeling supported.
Eventually the soloist would embellish the melody or vary the rhythm slightly. They
were improvising!
The same approach worked well with “When the Saints Go Marching In”. The concept of
“call and response” worked very well also. One person would play the melody and the
rest of the band (congregation!) would answer back.

62
The majority of students in this group was slightly older (14-15) and was noticeably
more self-conscious than I had encountered before. They need to get to know each
other, and me, in order to relax. It took a lot of encouragement, gentle coaxing and
exuberance (on my part!) for them to feel enough trust to let go.
It was well worth it.
Group #3: A Meeting of Two Worlds
It is entirely possible you will encounter a group with players at varied skill levels. I
had the chance to work with a group that had an interesting confluence of skills and
experience.
This group consisted of a horn section that had been exposed to jazz at an early age,
and a rhythm section that had no experience playing jazz. The rhythm section was,
however, an original rock band. It became clear very quickly that the two worlds had
retreated into their own camps. I had to find a way to keep the horns motivated while I
spent time getting the rhythm section playing phrases.
We began with “Billie’s Bounce”. I thought that the horns would have a work out getting
the head together while rhythm section familiarized themselves with the form. This did
in fact work quite well, however the tension in the group was still palpable. The horns
felt superior to the rhythm section because of their experience. I could tell by hearing
the bass, drums and guitar player that they were incredibly musical. The fact that they
were also writing their own music demonstrated their dedication to music. I really liked
these kids!
I realized that they needed to find their middle ground; that they needed to respect
each other’s gifts and differences. I was prepared to lay a heavy speech on them when
I also realized that it would be more effective if they had a dialogue with each other.
Not a speech from me.
I had them play duets with each other. One horn, one rhythm section player.
They could play a tune we were working on, or some mutually agreed upon jamming tune.
The results were quite amazing. They had to communicate. They needed to be on the
same team. They needed to trust each other. We moved forward after this incident
with great success. I tried again to play to the strength of the band. The drummer
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started playing a “Bo Diddly” drumbeat. I thought “Cool! We can do something with
that.” We ended up playing “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” with that drum pattern. It worked
great. (Thanks Maceo!)
Some other tunes that worked for us were:
• “Surfin” by Richard Underhill

• “Norwegian Wood” by the Beatles
Group #4: Improvising with the Big Band
Many students will have their first improvising experience playing in a Big Band.
(12-13 year olds will have a jazz band in grade 7/8 if they’re very fortunate)
Generally the focus in a larger band setting is to play in tune (thank you!) and to work
out the technical challenges of their charts. The soloist is left to learn the written
solo on they’re own.
Working from a written solo is not a terrible thing, however, the musical part of the
solo; the nuance, the phrasing, the feel, is often neglected. I would be more inclined to
start from the melody. If the arrangement were of a standard, I would find time (in a
perfect world) to teach the melody by rote as a launching point.
If the arrangement is an original you could do one of a few things:
1. Write the melody out if the soloing changes are based on it.
2. Write out some simple guide tone lines as a reference/starting point.
3. Arrange time for the soloist and the rhythm section to work together.
If the band as a whole were interested in blowing, I would teach them a simple blues
head (C Jam, Sunnymoon For Two).
I would then get them to play the blues form trading 4’s. With 10-20 players taking
whole choruses would be impossible. I find the blues scale to be a reasonable or
certainly an obvious starting point, however it becomes monosyllabic and monotonous
rather quickly. I would focus on a smaller number of notes and give them some rhythmic
patterns to develop.

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For example: In the key of C use the first 5 notes: CDEFG on the C chord.
Use the same five notes on the F chord except change the E to an Eb.
CDEbFG. Then use the first five notes on the G chord. (Don’t worry about the C on the
G chord. You can explain that later) this will at least give them a simple colour palate to
begin with.
Summary
In each situation I tried to ensure that respect, comfort, challenge was in place for the
learners. Each group dynamic was different. Tried to develop/establish a community
for them to be successful. As soon as we have an attitude of acceptance we have
learner success. Jazz improvisation and the early teens is very exciting and rewarding
age group to work with. The key to success is understanding the profile of the learner
and the group dynamics of the ensemble.
A Nod to the Origin of the Music
As Jazz Educators I think it is important to acknowledge the origins of jazz music as a

basis for understanding and respect for the art form. I don’t believe that it is essential
for these young to have the same awareness in order to enjoy and benefit from the
experience of improvising. The serious student will gravitate toward teachers who will
help them deepen their knowledge.
Colleen Allen can be reached at

Colleen@ColleenAllen.Ca

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Teaching Jazz improvisation in a private or classroom situation can a first seem a little
overwhelming because of the wealth of information that is available. Many of the
learning tools that are available (books, compact discs etc.) are all very valid but don’t
seem to empathize what I think is the most important aspect of Jazz and that is
rhythm. In music as we remember there are three elements melody, harmony and
rhythm. Learning how to create a melody can only aid a student in a larger
understanding of music and the same can be said for a study of harmony which is of
course essential. Understanding rhythm however gives the student a fluency in the
language of improvisation and an understanding of the immediacy which is the
touchstone of the art form. There are hundreds of books already published that
explain the various scales, modes and artificial modes than can be used as a resource
for improvisation nevertheless in my experience what a lot of beginner improvisers
need is a place to start.
All music has a rhythm or pulse whether it is European Art music, Folk music, Popular
music or Jazz .In the many forms of Jazz music created today the pulse is usually felt
on the weaker beats of the bar for example in 4/4 time the pulse is felt on beats 2 and
4. In 3/4 time the pulse is felt on beat 3 in 6/8.By accenting the weaker beats the
music has a feeling of moving ahead .We call this forward motion. This applies not only
to the beats of the bar but also to the measures or bars for example bars 2 and 4 in
every 4 bar section through the use of the underlying harmony can have a feeling of
tension and release or forward motion. Consequently forward motion can also be felt in
1/8th notes and 1/16th notes of a melodic improvised line by accenting the weaker beats
in the phrase.
I begin by familiarizing my students with the concept of listening to the rhythm of the
phrases of the music as well as the rhythm of the comping instruments (drums, bass,
piano and/or guitar) .We’ll listen to a couple jazz cd’s and listen specifically to where
to phrases begin and end. Often it’s good to get a visual representation of where a
musician would play in reference to bars of the song during a solo .I suggest drawing a
graph of the form of the tune on manuscript paper and then draw a line representing
where the soloist plays and approximate the range of the solo. This, very quickly gives
the student an idea where they should play not just what they should play. It’s
Towards Teaching Jazz Improvisation:
66
Teaching Beginning Improvisation Using a Rhythmic Approach by Alex Dean
important to reference where the lines begin and end by trying to hear in 4 and 8 bar
segments to start.
I usually start my students with a little exercise that involves tapping improvised
rhythms out with their hands on their knees. It’s also important that they say out loud
what they tap with their hands using any syllable or sound they like. I try to develop
the rhythms from simple rhythmic ideas with half notes and whole notes to as
complicated as the student can handle but always stressing that they have to say the
rhythms that they improvise because that helps the student actually feel or
internalize the rhythms.
I often put the metronome on while we do this exercise usually on beats one and three
or two and four. As we get a little more advanced I move the metronome beat to one or
two or three or four to try to develop a rhythmic sense of were we are in the music. I
start the exercise in 4/4 time and usually I do something we call trading fours. That
means that we improvise rhythms over four bars of 4/4 and trade back and forth. As
the student gets a little more confident with the time I start to move the metronome
around as I said before to make it more fun. Eventually we improvise rhythms in as
many time feels as we can 4/4, 3/4, 7/8 what ever I can think of.
I think at this point it’s good to mention that what I’m trying to show the student above
all else is that this fun. Many of them are self-conscious so when I do this exercise I
try to challenge myself. The student and I are having fun and trying to learn together
I’m trying to demonstrate that on one level we are all beginners.
Often in the beginning steps of this exercise you can tell fairly quickly what some of
the basic errors in time feel are. I try to hear if the student’s rhythmic improvisations
are ahead of the beat (common) or behind the beat (not as common).
If I’m teaching some one who is consistently ahead or behind we talk about where to
play in the beat. I then move to the second exercise. I slow the metronome down to a
tempo of 72 or less and ask the student to try to clap right down the middle of the
beat. If the student accomplishes this the sound of the metronome will actually
disappear. If they are a little behind or ahead is will be obvious and most students can
tell the difference and adjust to it. As the student gets a little better at this I keep
slowing the metronome down .When the spaces between the metronome clicks get
larger it becomes harder to make the metronome “disappear” and the student starts to
relate to the time a little better and starts to develop an internal metronome or feel.

67
Once my student or students gets comfortable with improvising rhythms I start to add
some harmony and give him/her one note and ask them to improvise rhythmically using
just one note. We usually trade fours like we did when we were tapping and I try to
bring in the concept of accents in the music and the concept of tension and release or
building a rhythmic cadence and resolving it over 4 bars of 4/4 time. I found it useful
to analyze various melodies from standards or bebop tunes taking out the pitches and
looking at the rhythmic melodies or motives and how often they repeat. I also try to
get my students to start their improvisations on different bars of the four (4) bar grid
structure or even different beats of the bar keeping in mind the concept of strong and
weak beats.
When my students are comfortable with this concept I add two notes either from a
single chord or from the blues scale and we trade fours using our rhythmic
improvisations as a base. As we add notes from the scale or chord I like to move to the
piano and accompany the student but a play-along record is a good idea as well. Usually a
blues to start with and branch out into other tunes mostly tunes from the Great
American song Book or tin-pan alley type tunes. . A great exercise that has worked very
well for me over the years is to take the rhythm from a bebop melody like Charlie
Parkers Scrapple from the Apple or tricky melodies like Sonny Rollin’s Oleo and apply
my own pitches to it. If we use pitches from the blues scale we can then apply them to
a blues tune and create a solo that starts to have some of the language and clichés of
Jazz. This lets me talk a little bit about theory from a playing stand-point or what is
called practical theory.
Once we get to the point that we can find our way into 8 or 16 bars of a standard I
take a little different approach. When we start working on a tune I make sure my
student can play the melody .We take the melody from sheet music or a reliable Fake
book and memorize it We start playing the melody with a metronome or with me on
piano or with a C.D. of the tune. I introduce various concepts at this time like delaying
the melody or anticipating the melody adding approach-notes to the melody or
improvising different rhythmic structures using the pitches of the melody all within the
16 or 32 bars of the tune .This can usually be a lot of fun because I delay the melody as
far back as I can but still get it in the tune or really anticipate it or add approach-
notes to the melody notes, usually ½ a step above or below. In other words I’m trying to
make the melody the complete solo. After the student really starts to understand all
this I start to introduce soloing on the chord-tones using the same concepts as we used
soloing on the melody. I usually start with simple rhythms as we did when we were
tapping on our knees and then get a little more advanced as we go. As the rhythms and
the chord-tones start to create melodies we start to connect them and add different
tag notes to the melodies. All of this of course takes the student a lot longer than they
68
think it will but with patience the student or students are well on their way to
understanding the language of jazz and have developed the fluency to become creative
artists in music.

69
Alex Dean can be reached at
AlexDean.Ca

70
The composer is a magical being committing some of his most personal ideas to paper.
As jazz musicians we should hold the composer in the highest regards and play the
music as it was intended to be played. This requires analysis and a full understanding of
the work. On the macro level melody and key center should be the first consideration.
Then as the understanding of the work is internalized the musician should then move to
more of a micro level dealing with such concerns as chord / scale relationship, function,
and alterations as applied to chords symbols.
The greatest clue as to implied harmony (outside the recording) a musician can have is
the melody. Melodic cells often contain notes that would be considered altered with
regard to the given chord symbol. Such is the case in the key of F major where B
naturals appear in a given melody, this melodic #11 would imply a lydian scale.
In some situations finding the key center can lead to a simplifying of the chord
progression which can imply that the tonal center can be covered by one scale. This can
also lead to the development of melodic ideas. The function of a given chord is most
important when choosing a given scale. For example, in the key of C major, C ionian can
be used over the| I vi | ii V | I vi | ii V| progression which is found in the first four bar
of “rhythm changes”
For general chord / scale relationships (including chords with alterations) the following
table is common prastice:
Major Depending on the upper extensions, and function the choice could be
ionian or lydian. If the chord was to function as a IV chord , the correct
choice would be lydian.
Minor Dorian if the function is as a ii chord, aeolian if the function is of a vi

chord.
Note: the minor iii chord function would use a phrygian scale. Although
this depends on the presence of a natural or b 9, in the key of C major an
E- 9 would have a F# present negating the phrygian choice.
Minor 9b5 Sixth mode of melodic minor or locrian #2
Dom13 Lydian b7 4th mode of melodic minor

Towards Teaching Jazz Improvisation: Melodic Implications in a Harmonic World by
Paul Tynan 71
Dom7sus4 Mixolydian
Dom7#5 Whole tone
Dom7 #11 Lydian b7 (same as Dom13)
Dom7#9#5 Super locrian (also diminished whole tone, and altered scale) 7th mode of
melodic minor
Dom9b13 Mixolydian b6th 6th mode of melodic minor
Dom7b9b13 5th mode of melodic minor
Chromatic Scale made of all half steps. Heavy use in bop, and more free playing
Whole tone Scale made of all whole steps. Dom7#5. Often used by many “modern
players”
Diminished Type 1- made of alternating half steps / whole steps useful over dom7b9
Type 2- made of alternating whole steps / half steps useful over dim7
Augmented two augmented triads a half step apart
The end of this table brings us to the issue of how to internalize all of these scales.
The piano is a great place to start. This provides something to “look at” while keeping a
mental note of how the scale sound over the prescribed voicing. For horn players and
other single note instruments, one can play the chord on the piano and with the pedal
held down play the scale on their own instrument. This technique gives the musician the
aural understanding of how the texture of their instrument sounds with that of the
piano as well as providing the beginnings of muscle memory. This holds true for the
scales of a symmetrical nature as well. By playing the symmetrical scale (as apposed to
the “correct” scale choice) over a given chord players can learn to link patterns and how
to open their ears for different colors over functional harmony. On the other hand to
have a mastery of proper chord / scale relationships will give the improviser more
insight into the composer intentions.
Common Tones and Color Choices
When the harmony requires that a different scale be used from change to change,
finding a common tone in the next change and playing the new scale off that common
tone can lead to a melodic flow that will create interest. Color choice on the other hand

Paul Tynan 72
gives the soloist the choice of picking different scales or modes to use with one given
chord.
Example:
G7sus4- First choice would be G Mixolydian, but one could also play the ionian off the
4th C ionian
C7#5-First choice would be C whole tone, but F# and G# whole tone scales would
create a different color because of the note of departure.
Dmin. +7 First Choice would be D melodic minor; another color one could use over this
chord would be E dorian b2
Compositional Use of Chords and Their Relationship
As harmony occurs in time our ears remember what they have heard. This concept of
tonal memory affects different musical aspects such as tension, release and the
relative lightness or darkness of a given sound. If the soloist were to use the E dorian
scale (on E-7) followed by the A Mixolydian scale (on A7), the amount of tension
created would be small. But if the soloist used an A super locrian over the second chord
(A7), the amount of tension would be much greater that if he used the A Mixolydian. In
situations where the chord in question has duel function, the best choice would be the
scale that creates the smoothest flow between the two colors.
Example:
| EMaj7 | B7 | Bbmin7 |
The B7 function as the V of E major, but also as the tritone sub of the Bbmin7, is the
smoothest choice of scale the lydian b7 or the Mixolydian? The answer depends on
given musical situation, which includes phrasing and musical direction of the lines of the
improviser.
With this information presented, one must also be aware of the use of ethnic,
pentatonic, and synthetic scales. Rhythm is also a most important factor in
improvisation not to be ignored, but to be saved as a later topic, in another article.
Paul Tynan can be reached at ptynan@stfx.ca

or for more information please visit:

Paul Tynan 73
www.stfx.ca/people/ptynan/

Paul Tynan 74
The teaching of jazz time concept (or feel) in jazz education across the world has been
plagued by the myth that “this is something that can not be taught”. At times it is
often refereed to as the un-teachable and we have all heard the old adage, “you either
have it or you don’t”. Often is the case that the beginning to intermediate level
student spends most of their practice time on developing harmonic strength and
historically based vocabulary while mostly leaving the eighth note based time concept
up to chance. It is proposed that there is an efficient strategy in which to teach
developing students to play time with good control and strong forward motion.
Remember this is not the only path in search of an eighth note based jazz time concept,
though it has found to be very efficient with many levels of students.
Basic Use
This method is simple and easy to implement. It can be utilized in group or individual
settings. Begin by explaining to student that in this exercise there is no right or wrong
notes and there is no tonal centre. The rational for removing the harmonic ties to the
routine is that the student can concentrate solely on what it feels like to play good
time. Next set the metronome to a comfortable quarter note setting (A good place to
start is quarter note equals 70-80). Have the Instructor demonstrate by playing four
measures of whole notes then have the student play four measures of whole notes.
Make sure the connection between whole notes is even and occurs on beat one of each
measure (see example 1).
Repeat example 1, four or five times.
Towards Teaching Jazz Improvisation: Developing an 8th Note Time Based Concept by Paul
Tynan 74
Begin the next part of this time development routine by reiterating to the student
there is no right or wrong notes and there is no tonal centre. Proceed by demonstrating
the exercise using four measures of half notes, and then have the student play four
measures of half notes. As in example 1 make sure the connection between half notes is
even and occurs on beat one and three of each measure. Make sure the student makes a
good connection from the instructor’s half note line to their half note line (see example
2) to create an uninterrupted eight measure phrase.
The next part of this time development routine concentrates on quarter notes. Careful
attention must be made here by the instructor. If the student has a tendency to speed
up or slow down the instructor must call for the student to listen carefully to their
beat placement. At this point in the routine the student should be concentrating on a
strong quarter note foundation. As with the previous examples the instructor and
student should trade four measures of quarter notes (See Example 3) with the
metronome.
This brings us to the goal of the basic routine, eighth notes. Even at the suggested
staring tempo the younger student may have minor technical problems. These are
mostly of a digital nature and as the student becomes familiar with the movement of
their fingers in time the minor technical problems will dissipate. Trade four measure
phrases with the student (see example 4) and take careful note of the weight the
student places on the eighth notes placed on the upbeats. If the student demonstrates
Tynan 75
an unidiomatic eighth note upbeat (too swingy or too straight) advice the student to be
careful about the weight of the eighth notes on the up beats. Sometime simple
awareness of the time problem is all it takes to correct the issue. Other times it may
take many sessions of guided listening and playing to internalize an idiomatic eighth
note based time concept.
The student is now on the path of developing a strong and controlled idiomatic eighth
note based time concept. Once the student has gained an acceptable level of
proficiency with this tempo the instructor should continue by increasing the tempo. One
of the beneficial by-product of this exercise is the technique development that comes
by exploring ones instrument. And during the execution of this routine the student is
using proscribed rhythmic devices, but the note choice is completely improvised. This
fosters creative note choice.
Individual practice of this routine will only serve to strengthen the student command
over eighth note use. During individual practice the student should keep in the
“play/rest” model used above. The student should set the metronome at the desired
tempo, and play for the first four measures, and then rest for the next four measures
taking care to be precise on the next entrance. This method can also be applied to
group settings. Replace the metronome with a drum set player (if available), playing
swing time, and start with example 1. The instructor plays first passing it on to student
1, who passes it on to student 2, who passes it on to student 3, and so on until returning
to the instructor. Repeat until desired and then play example 2 as a group.
Advanced Use
Advanced use of this method can be applied to many different areas. The next logical
exploration would concern sixteenth notes and double time. It is a natural extension of
the pervious four examples (see example 5). At higher tempi this becomes a real
workout.
Tynan 76
To continue with more advanced application of this method once can move past duple
based note divisions and move to triple based note divisions. The student would start
with whole note as in example 1, but then move to half note triplets (see example 6),
continuing with quarter note triples (see example 7) and progress to eight note triplets
(see example 8). This can also be applied to quintuplets, septuplets etc. Awareness of
these advanced beat divisions creates a solid foundational strengthening and
understanding of the duple based idiomatic eighth note based time concept.
Tynan 77
Repeat each example, four or five times.
When the student has become most familiar with the routine and can easily play the
examples at a moderate tempo they can then be encouraged to play the exercise in a
hierarchy of “less to more” by starting with whole notes and progressing through to
sixteenth note using duple and triple meters (see appendix 1). This presents the routine
in order of intensity and in turn gives the student a firm understanding of basic
rhythmic intensity building devices.
The final advanced method discussed is upbeat based. By taking exercises 1-3 and
displacing them by one eighth note the advanced student gains awareness of the
forward motion created by the use of upbeat phrasing (see examples 9, 10, and 11). This
advanced application also gives the advanced student the tools for rhythmic strength
and security during creative interaction with other musicians. The eighth notes can be
displaced by delaying or anticipating the starting articulation. Examples 9, 10, and 11 are
all delayed eighth notes.
Tynan 78
Repeat each example, four or five times.
As with most concepts in the jazz idiom we must be aware of the historical evolution of
eighth note based time concepts, this helps successfully implement this method. The
instructor should be familiar with the treatment of eighth notes from master of
various eras. A good basic starting point could include reference recording from Louis
Armstrong, Roy Eldridge, Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley, Freddie
Hubbard, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Keith Jarrett, Kenny Wheeler, and Tim Hagans.
A good recorded collection also serves the student as a model on which to build a strong
jazz based time concept. If this routine is applied vigilantly by dedicated jazz
educators and their students we will soon see the un-teachable become teachable.
Tynan 79
or for more information please visit:
www.stfx.ca/people/ptynan/
Tynan 80
Tynan 81
Introduction
Transcription is one of the most frequently used tools in the study of jazz
improvisation. This study provides some commonly used techniques to help use
transcriptions to one=s advantage as an improviser and composer.
Transcription and analysis can help to:
1) Improve one=s overall aural skills

2) Gain insight into the methodologies, harmonic, melodic, rhythmic and architectural
designs within solos
3) Quantitatively ascertain stylistic similarities and differences between different
players
4) Extract ideas to be used as practice strategies and compositional devices
The process of transcription, though at times difficult, can be rewarding in a variety of

ways. Through an examination of transcription methods, analysis and practice
techniques, one can reap the numerous benefits of transcription.
Strategies
Selecting a solo: First, ask, “Why do I want to transcribe this solo? What aspects of
this solo particularly interest me?” Always select a solo that is familiar. One should be
able to effectively sing the solo accurately, in its entirety, with or without the
recording present, approximating the time feel similar to that of the recording. This is
a key element, because the aural skills developed while singing a solo will be further
developed with notation of the same solo.
Techniques of notation: When notating a solo, always include all expressive markings,
including inflections, glissandi, articulations, and other written annotations which may
be necessary when the rhythmic content in a passage is not particularly clear. Initially,
Towards Teaching Jazz Improvisation: Getting the Most out of Transcriptions by Shirantha
Beddage 81
transcribe the solo in the key of the source instrument; this will reveal not only
harmonic, melodic, rhythmic, and architectural devices, but will additionally provide
insight into elements of the solo that may be idiomatic to that particular instrument.
Methods of Transcription
1) With an instrument, without notation. This method is perhaps the most difficult, but
is particularly effective as an ear training tool. Performing a solo without the aid of
notation gives one the ability to use the source recording as an aural proofreading
device. This does not, however, provide a quantifiable product for the purposes of
practice or analysis.
2) With or without an instrument, with notation. Using notation gives the added
benefit of a written product which can be analyzed or practiced in a variety of
different ways. The transcription can be proofread by both the student and teacher,
and can provide significantly greater insight into melodic, rhythmic, harmonic and
architectural structures which then can be extracted.
Tools to aid transcription
Computers: The popularity of Aripping@ audio files from CDs has enabled students to
isolate small portions of audio and loop them, allowing for multiple opportunities to
audition difficult passages during the transcription process. Computer programs are
now available which allow users to alter the speed of audio files without changing the
pitch. This can be an effective tool in dense passages.
Practicing Transcriptions
1) Singing: The most important step to learning a transcription is the ability to sing it
accurately, imitating the same time feel, articulations and dynamics as displayed by
the soloist. Transcriptions should be sung with the recording initially, then without
the aid of the recording.
2) On the source instrument: Practice the solo on the instrument on which it was
originally played, once again approximating all aspects of the solo, including an
approximation of the soloist=s sound concept. Playing the solo on the source
Beddage 82
instrument is also helpful in deciphering which aspects of the solo may have
resulted from being idiomatic to that particular instrument.
3) On another instrument (and in another key): Once one has a clear sense of how
the solo feels on the source instrument, perform it on a different instrument if
possible. This works particularly well in the case of saxophonists, who can play the
same transcription on B-Flat and E-Flat instruments, giving the solo an entirely
different sound. Also, if one is playing the solo on a different instrument than the
source instrument, transpose the solo and play it with the recording in the same
key.
4) Extracting prominent features: Once one has become familiar with playing the
solo as a whole, begin analyzing the solo. Describe aspects of the solo=s character
e.g. time feel, treatment of the melody, rhythmic content, phrasing or motivic ideas.
If one finds a particular aspect of the solo to be of interest, extract information
from it and construct additional exercises (see section 5 below).
A Sample Analysis: Don Byas - Solo on “I Got Rhythm”
Don Byas’ treatment of “I Got Rhythm”, in a duet with bassist Slam Stewart (1943), is a
landmark recording in jazz history. The following analysis reveals some overarching
characteristics about the solo, as well as procedures to extract salient features of the
solo and incorporate into their vocabulary into one’s own playing.
Melodic playing, phrase structure
Don Byass lines are melodically complex, yet singable. The lines present a wide variety
of harmonic structures and often veer outside common tonalities with harmonic
substitutions and rhythmic devices. The phrase structures are typically long, with
eighth note lines pervading throughout. These phrases typically fit within the
boundaries of an eight-measure phrase structure.
Harmonic structures
In Chorus 4, Byas exhibits a harmonic substitution which is a cycle-of-fifths pattern

that begins on the flatted-6th degree of the tonic chord, concert B Flat 6th (App. A:
examples A and B). Example A is more structured, as the pattern established in the
first measure is repeated through the entire cycle. Example B is a logical extension of
A; this pattern undergoes several alterations, and does not remain consistent
Beddage 83
throughout the passage. These alterations give B a fresh sound, though it is based on
the same harmonic substitution as A.
Beddage 84
To analyze and assimilate formulaic passages such as these, it is important to
compartmentalize the ideas contained within the passage, and practice these
individually. The following are exercises which I have devised to help work on these
ideas.
Example C is an exercise in arpeggiating the applicable dominant seventh chords.
Example D is a triadic exercise, built off the third degree of each chord, using the
seventh degree of the dominant chord to connect chromatically to the third of the
next.
Example E is the patternistic origin of B, with ascending and descending arpeggios

based off alternating third and seventh degrees of the dominants.
Example F keeps the alternating up-down motion consistent in the line, but by using a
variety of altered tensions. Notice that in this case the inclusion of a greater variety
of altered tensions allows this line to exist in a smaller intervallic space than earlier
examples.
Example G is a more chromatic construction, using ideas from D, B and F. This example
includes altered dominant tension notes and chromatic passing tones.
Another significant feature is Byas’ treatment of the bridge (Appendix B, Example A).
In measure 1 of example A, he unconventionally superimposes an extra dominant chord
over the bridge, then proceeds to treat the II dominant chord (C7) as an altered
dominant with a raised 4th and 5th. This is accomplished by his use of the whole-tone
scale in arpeggios.
Dissecting the whole-tone idea, one can construct numerous exercises, similar to the
method in Appendix A.
Example B is a descending triadic pattern using the whole tone scale.
Example C uses a pattern of ascending and descending thirds.
Example D is a skip-step exercise, moving down the whole-tone scale with a chromatic
passing tone, then moving back up in thirds, then back down.
Example E is a line constructed by utilizing all of these formulaic ideas.
Beddage 85
Additional Analysis Methods and Exercises
Chorus-by-chorus vertical analysis
A helpful tool for deciphering prominent features in a solo is to examine it vertically,

viewing the soloist=s structures on consecutive choruses. In Don Byas’ solo, for
example, a cross-section of the solo reveals significant commonalities in his phrase
lengths, motivic ideas, and architectural design.
Writing out solos
Another useful exercise is to use prominent features in a solo as the basis for a new
written solo. This is an effective method of actively integrating important soloistic
features into one’s musical vocabulary.
Beddage 86
APPENDIX A
“RHYTHM” AROUND THE CIRCLE
Excerpts from Byas adapted by S. Beddage
Beddage 87
APPENDIX B
WHOLE TONE “RHYTHM” BRIDGE
Excerpts from Byas adapted by S. Beddage
Beddage 88
Beddage 89
Beddage 90
Beddage 91
Shirantha Beddage can be reached at
sb@shiranthabeddage.com
Beddage 92
These pages will examine the balance of real improvisation with prepared material to
create solos that are truly compositional in nature. It is an interesting fact that while
jazz is known primarily for being an improvised music form there are many moments in
the solos of great players that seem to rely at least somewhat on the use of worked
out lines and licks. We can often identify a jazz musician by his or her characteristic
use of material that has probably been practised and memorised because these types
of ideas will reoccur from solo to solo. This is a perfectly normal aspect of jazz playing
and one which we refer to as that player's vocabulary. The best jazz players possess
huge vocabularies of licks, lines and melodies and seem to be able to produce an
inexhaustible stream of musical ideas.
It is one of the interesting ironies of being a jazz improviser that one must prepare to
be spontaneous. Preparation and spontaneity seem like mutually contradictory ideas yet
that is precisely the terrain that the jazz musician deals with. One of the problems
that often confronts the developing player is knowing how to use ideas which have been
worked out, i.e. lines, in a creative way. Many musicians who have spent countless hours
transcribing solos and building up vocabulary can end up feeling as if they are just
connecting the dots or "running the changes" when they play. While these skills are
certainly an essential prerequisite an over reliance on them can leave the feeling that
something is missing. How then is the improvising musician supposed to deal with the
acquisition of language that is a necessary component of the jazz tradition while at the
same time finding something fresh to say and eventually establishing a voice?
Let's look at some of the basic ingredients of the jazz vocabulary and look at ways
that we can stretch them. For the purposes of this article we will loosely divide solo
content into slow and fast ideas. Fast ideas by their nature require the use of some
worked out material. While this material may be combined and recombined in many ways
it is essential for the player to have a command of this kind of linear material
otherwise it would be impossible to deal with playing lines quickly and coherently over
chord changes.
Towards Teaching Jazz Improvisation: Using Linear Material to Connect Melodic Ideas by Ted
Quinlan 92
Slow ideas are ones that require fewer notes and may sound like simple melodies. This
kind of approach finds a natural home in ballad playing but is also very effective at all
tempos. Because the player is dealing with either a much slower tempo or a sparser use
of notes it is more possible to truly improvise something that is spontaneously lyrical
and melodic. These ideas can be thought of as motifs.
For the sake of demonstration I have arbitrarily divided improvisation into these two
seemingly disparate camps. Looking at things this way however can be useful for
organising the material we use when we are practising and playing. This can help us to
get a lot more mileage from our ideas and to make more musical sense when we play.
We'll start by looking at "fast" ideas. Fast ideas are characterised by, among other
things, the eighth note line. The eighth note line is the key rhythmic element in jazz
solos and the control of this line at a range of tempos is the hallmark of the
experienced player. To produce a steady stream of eighth note ideas at a quick tempo
it is necessary for the musician to have a number of devices under one's fingertips.
Lines that fit tastefully over the 11- V-I progression in jazz are considered to be some
of the most important pieces of vocabulary to acquire.
Ex. 1 shows a typical II-V -I line. The initial line is four bars long however it can be
changed by dividing it into smaller increments. In Ex. 2 we can see that the series of
notes over the V chord have changed thus also necessitating a change in the line over
the I chord.
We can break this down even further and change the direction of the line within a bar.
A convenient way to do this is to treat the eighth note line as a series of four note
groupings in which each grouping suggests the continuing direction of the line. (See Ex.
3) Going even more micro we can practise becoming more adept at manipulating the
notes within a four note grouping thus, theoretically, being truly improvisationa1.
Realistically though, at a quick tempo, most players are likely to construct lines from
slightly larger series of notes thus necessitating a fairly large and fluid vocabulary
that allows the player to change direction on a dime and truly respond to the musical
stimulus around her/him.
Motivic playing is a different approach and often involves the use of fewer notes in a
looser rhythmic framework. Ex. 4 demonstrates a thematic approach to the opening
measures of" A11 the Things You Are". Compared to the previous examples these ideas
are sparser and simpler. They could thought of as an alternate melody on "An the
Things You Are" and this style of playing is sometimes referred to as…rewriting the
head". Ideas like this often are less based on specific vocabulary than on a generally
Quinlan 93
strong sense of melody and thematic development. Certain intervals, particularly
thirds, stand out and there is a logical sequence and build to the rhythms.
One way of working on this style of playing is by first avoiding worked out material and
beginning with a simple idea, perhaps a few notes or an interva1. Your ear and your
imagination are the keys here. Try to develop your idea through a set of chord changes
and see how much mileage you can get out of it. Listen to recordings of players who are
masters of this approach such as Lester Young, Miles Davis, Lee Konitz and Jim Hall.
Most jazz musicians use a combination of these approaches when playing solos. Viewed
in this fashion, longer eighth note Hnes can be used to connect the more thematic
elements of the solo. While these lines are important to the overall effect of the solo
they are not the sole point and are used to contribute to a larger musical statement.
For the player who may feel trapped by his or her vocabulary ( or lack of it), lines and
licks are seen in a broader context and may be broken up in more interesting and
creative ways.
Ex. 5 demonstrates the mixing of motivic phrases with longer eighth note lines.
Approached this way, the player should notice some immediate benefits. The solo will
sound less "notey" and more balanced. There will be a better sense of direction to the
solo. The musical results should sound less contrived and more spontaneous. Material
that has been worked out and practised wi11 be less obvious and will tend to be
“disguised" into the overall direction of the solo.
Bars 1 through 6 set up a motif. The second half of bars 7 and 8 uses an eighth note
line to connect to the development of the motif in bars 9 through 12. In bars 13
through 16 we see a long eighth note line using a fairly typical II-V -I idea in bars 14,
15 and 16. A new motif reveals itself in bars 17 and 18, the start of the bridge. The
motif continues in bars 21 and 22 having been connected by the line starting on the
pickup to bar 20. Bars 23 and 24 are made up of a few four note groupings which are
based on worked out material that is connected to flow smoothly. Bars 25 and 26 make
use of a simple two note figure that builds in density through bar 32. The lines in bars
27 through 32 split the difference between strictly eighth note ideas and simple
motifs. While they are comprised mostly of eighth notes, they are broken up in a way
that sounds thematic. Bars 33 through 36 are long II-V lines that take us to the
thematic material that begins the second chorus.
Although most of the eighth note lines used in this example are characteristic of the
bop and post bop idioms, their function as connective devices between more purely
compositional ideas should enable them to sound fresh and to be a means to an end
Quinlan 94
rather than the end in itself. By viewing ourselves as spontaneous composers when we
improvise we can come closer to accomplishing the goal of really telling a story when we
play. I hope you enjoy working with this concept.
Quinlan 95
Ted Quinlan can be reached at
TedQuinlan@Sympatico.Ca
Quinlan 96
Looking back on my development as a jazz improvisor, I was very frustrated at one
point with an aspect of my solos. The solos seemed extremely forgettable. They
couldn’t hold the listeners attention. I discovered that I was playing to diatonically off
the I major or I minor chord. I needed to be playing more off the V7 chord. Jazz is a
dominant harmony and most of its rich tensions lie in its dominant chords and their
altered tensions.
Here are some ways to start hearing those altered tensions on dominant chords. These
examples should be played with a corresponding rhythm track – volume 3 or 84 of the
Jamey Aebersold Play Along Series, or on the piano. If you play these exercises in an
isolated manner you won’t hear the tension and the ways in which they logically resolve.
Towards Teaching Jazz Improvisation: Getting Hip – Accessing Altered Tensions by Brian Lillos
97
98
BrianLillos.com
99
The be-boppers harmonic galaxy is based on the Diminished 7th arpeggio. It is the axis
upon which all is built. For this reason, the first thing I do when I look at a new set of
changes is to look for diminished relations. These relations quickly define key centers,
dominant relationships, and significant harmonic movement. In 30 seconds I am able to
gain the necessary insight for improvisation. However, from an educational standpoint,
my 30 second perusal took half a life time to learn. Let me try and retrace my some of
my steps. Remember, you are going to have to “connect some of the dots.” Also
remember, if you move to a new step without understanding the previous one, proceed
with caution because leapfrogging doesn’t work for long.
The beginning of my be-bop study started with be-bop scales. These 8 note,
rhythmically symmetrical scales, served many purposes. The first purpose was to my
get chord tones on the beat, which proved to be an essential part of be-bop playing.
The 8 note, rhythmic symmetrical scale, also facilitated back phrasing which is a very
important element of swing and be-bop phrasing.
Towards Teaching Jazz Improvisation: Navigating the Be-Boppers Harmonic Galaxy by Brian
Lillos 100
The be-bop scale also made harmonic anticipation easy to execute. For example,
But, most importantly, the be-bop scale delivered something harmonic. It sounded the
“I” chord and the V7 chord at the same time. For me this was particularly significant.
(I had to think of an inverted, rootless D7b9 to make this work.)
The result of discovering that I and V were in the same scale allowed me to, in the
initial stages of improvisation, harmonically generalize large sections of tunes. It
allowed me to create a “harmonic reduction analysis”, if you will. For example, I made
the following harmonic generalizations in the “A” section of “Loudly, as in an evening
Sunset. The original
Lillos 101
When reduced, became
While this can’t be considered making the changes, it does allow, through
generalization, a scale to be used which covers the tonality. By using the bop scale built
on A-6 the E7b9b13 and the B-7b5 is implied. The A-6 bop scale is as follows:
Another example would be “All Dr. Harris’ Children Got Rhythm”. The original
progression, for the “A” section, was as follows.
My harmonic reduction analysis gave me this:
Lillos 102
As my improvisation became more about melodic inventiveness with one scale, it gave me
the time to concentrate on rhythmic groupings and pronunciation (articulation). The
unreduced harmonic progression paralysed me. I felt I had to micro-manage it. With
the be-boppers reduction analysis I found I was looking ahead for a target that
required a new scale and looking for significant chords that were specific to this tune.
This is what is supposed to happen. And beboppers have a hierarchy of chords. In a
major tonality they believe I, V7, IV, and IV- are important chords. In their world
they would assign these chords bigger size fonts on a lead sheet. Everything else is
subordinate to I, V7, IV, and IV-. Look again at the reduction of “All Dr. Harris’
Children Got Rhythm”.
My generalization would put important chords on the beat. Hence, I would be left with
the example mentioned earlier.
When I initially improvised on this tune I would improvise on G major 6 and D7 for four
bars watching carefully for G7 to appear and immediately C major C minor in bar 6. To
the bebopper, G7 is important because it sets up C major. C major is particularly
important because it sets up C minor and C minor is very, very important because it
resolves (takes us back) to G major. Following this type of logic, bars 5 and 6 of “All
Dr. Harris Children Got Rhythm” are significant. The other 6 bars are G major. To
prove my point, I ask that you please consult the Charlie Parker Omnibook and look at
several of his solos on Rhythm Changes. Pay particular attention to his playing on bar 6
of each “A” section.
Lillos 103
With the concept of harmonic reduction in mind I started to analyze a great many bop
tunes and jazz standards. I was looking for an abbreviated or more simplified harmonic
progression to which I could apply my bop scales and also any “snags” or “hooks” or
significant harmonic movement I needed to negotiate.
One of my first bop tunes after Rhythm Changes was the bop anthem “Constipation”.
The original chord progression is as follows:
Lillos 104
My harmonic reductions looks like this:
What first startled me when I was improvising on my simplified version of

“Constipation” was bar 2 and bars 21 through 24. What commonality was I going to find
to handle these two spots in the tune. Bars 1 and 2 share the same diminished 7th. Bars
17 through 20 and bars 21 through 24 share the same diminished 7th. This is significant
because it means the dominant 7th chords are related. This is where a deeper level
understanding “the diminished” theory began. If chords share the same diminished
arpeggio then they are related. If they are related then navigation becomes easier.
Lillos 105
For example:
In my initial journeys through the galaxy I was looking for I, V7, IV, and IV- and any
modulations. Later, I started looking for significant harmonic movement that was
specific to certain tunes or what I learned later were “tune types”. I became
interested in connecting my be-bop scales. (Be-bop is a lot more than just playing the
right bop scale over a chord.) I became interested in moving from one chord to
another in a logical and melodic fashion. I became interested in chord inversions
because my instrument has a limited range. I became interested in voice leading (ways
in which to introduce tension and resolve it logically). I became interested in the way
chords moved from one place to another and why. My first journey of this nature was
to look at bars 3 and 4 as well as bars 7 and 8 of “Lovers No More”. I learned that the
tune actually started on the IV chord, moved to the flat VII7, then to I, then to flat
VI7 and then to V7. Melodically, the tune enjoyed the sound of the tritone. In my
improvisation I had the option of playing bop scales over the aforementioned bars:
Lillos 106
Or using these scales as harmonic anticipation or approaches to targets in my
improvisation:
Or doing the bop thing and looking for the tritone voice lead wherever musically
feasible and doing something like this:
Lillos 107
Later, I became interested in the diatonic and non-diatonic microcosm, the thing I
initially had rejected. I was becoming fascinated with it because I understood chord
function and the hierarchy inherent in be-bop harmony. I had learned these concepts
through understanding diminished relations. Here is what I think and play now: Bella
by Barlight.
The further one delves into the be-boppers galaxy, the more one realizes that the
diminished 7th is the axis upon which all is built. The diminished arpeggio gives us 2
tritones, 4 related dominants, and I and V7 in the same scale. Further, secondary
dominants are a semi-tone away, altered can be explained as the tritones minor, and
augmented is diatonic to harmonic minor. For the be-bopper, diminished is the axis upon
which all is built. All the best in your travels through the galaxy.

BrianLillos.com
Lillos 108
Throughout the history of Jazz, the topic of Latin rhythms and their relationship to
the North American art form has been widely discussed. Jazz Master Jelly Roll
Morton was the first to acknowledge the influence that rhythms from the African
Diaspora had on Jazz. He baptized this phenomenon as the “Latin Tinge”. (John Storm
Roberts, January 21, 1999)
From the 15th to the 19th century, millions of slaves were cruelly taken from their lands
on the West Coast of Africa. With them, they brought to the New World their
traditions, religions, as well as their dance and music. Whether they were relocated to
the Americas or the Caribbean the branches all belong to the same African tree.
Therefore, it could be said that Afro Cuban music and Jazz music are sisters that were
separated at birth. This would explain why Afro Cuban rhythms and Jazz music have so
many points in common and why so many musicians have tried to play Jazz en clave for
such a long time to produce some of the most exciting music ever played.
The heart beat of Cuban music is the clave, a two bar rhythmic figure that was
inherited from the African slaves that were brought to the largest of the Caribbean
islands, Cuba. Although the clave went through different stages, it gradually evolved
into what we know today as the Cuban clave.
THE CLAVE (SON CLAVE)
The clave is the foundation of popular Cuban dance rhythms like the son, rumba, cha-
cha-cha, and mambo. Even though other rhythmic figures are built on top of this two
bar rhythmic pattern, the core of it all is the clave.
Towards Teaching Jazz Improvisation: Cu-Bop and Beyond by David Virelles Gonzalez
109
New York based Cuban bands in the 1940’s inspired Jazz innovator Dizzy Gillespie so
much, that he hand picked one of the greatest rumberos Cuba had ever produced,
Chano Pozo. Diz and Chano succeeded at creating a kind of music that was a true hybrid
of both musical legacies. The intricate “bebop” harmonies devised by the trumpet
genius complimented the equally complex rhythms that were part of Pozo’s musical
vocabulary, acquired in the streets of Havana.
YOU N’ WOODY
The music they created together broadened the spectrum of Jazz. Their musical
experiments became jazz standards; compositions like “Manteca”, “Tin Tin Deo” and
“Cubana Be, Cubana Bop” are early examples of the natural fusion between the two
musical idioms.
A favorite of mine from this era, that marked the beginning of experimentation with
Afro Cuban rhythms in Dizzy’s long musical career, is the beautiful 1948 arrangement
of the Cole Porter standard “Lover Back Into Me”. Dizzy plays the melody backed by
syncopated block chords played by the horn section that flows on top of a slow 6/8 afro
groove, resembling a slow abakua groove.
110
LOVER BACK INTO ME
After Dizzy plays the melody for the whole first chorus, the band bursts into a fast
tempo swing that features the trumpeter playing double-timed phrases in his usual
muscular form from that period. Dizzy’s love for the music and culture of Cuba would
play a very important role in his musical personality for the rest of his career. In later
years he fostered the budding careers of several of his Latin Jazz disciples, among
them Arturo Sandoval, Paquito de Rivera, Danilo Perez, Giovanni Hidalgo and David
Sanchez.
Dizzy Gillespie, Machito, Charlie Parker, Chico O’Farrill, Mario Bauza, Stan Kenton, Bud
Powell, Max Roach, among others, were pioneers in experimenting with blending Cuban
rhythms and Jazz. In years to come, the influence of Cuban music in Jazz kept
expanding.
In the 1950’s, Cuba was a hotbed for Jazz in the Caribbean and South America. Sarah
Vaughan, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, backed by the likes of Philly Joe Jones, Roy
Haynes, Richard Davis and Kenny Drew Sr. among others often performed at the
famous Cabaret Tropicana in Havana. (Leonardo Acosta, 2003) On these trips,
American Jazz musicians were exposed to the music played by famous local musicians
like the late drummer Guillermo Barreto, the very influential pianists Pedro Justiz
“Peruchin” and the Art Tatum influenced Frank Emilio, Bebo Valdes (Chucho Valdes’
father), Israel Lopez “Cachao” as well as master conga drummer Tata Guines. (Leonardo
Acosta, 2003)
111
In years to come, many more musicians would keep trying to bring back together the
two sisters separated at birth, but none could match the clarity and understanding that
Gillespie conveyed a decade and a half earlier, with the guidance of Chano Pozo.
Several examples can be found in the music of the John Coltrane Quartet from the
1960’s. Coltrane’s drummer at the time, the master Elvin Jones, was known to be a
passionate student of West African and Afro Cuban rhythms. His work on “A Love
Supreme”, “The Sound of John Coltrane” and “Coltrane Live at the Village Vanguard”
clearly shows Jones’ knowledge about clave. On the first movement from John
Coltrane’s suite “A Love Supreme” (Acknowledgement) the vamp played by the quartet
can be easily superimposed against the clave.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (A LOVE SUPREME PART 1) AGAINST CLAVE
Inspired by the John Coltrane Quartet sound, Herbie Hancock and Cecil Taylor, the
late pianist Emiliano Salvador kept trying to experiment with the sounds of jazz and
Cuban music in 1970’s Cuba. The next example is an excerpt from Emiliano’s song
“Danza para Castro” from his album “Ayer y Hoy”. He uses this tumbao in 3/4 as the
introduction and interlude for his song.
DANZA PARA CASTRO
112
Another important contributor to the idiom at the time was the virtuoso pianist Chucho
Valdes and the members of his ground breaking group Irakere that included at that
time Paquito d’ Rivera, Arturo Sandoval, Carlos del Puerto Sr., Enrique Pla, Carlos Emilio,
etc. Chucho Valdes’ tune Mambo “Influenza” (basically a minor blues) is now a “classic” in
Latin Jazz.
MAMBO INFLUENCIADO
113
In the United States, there were also musicians that continued to shape the sound of
this style; notably Ray Barreto, Mongo Santamaria, Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente and
others.
In the early 90’s, Latino Jazz musicians (that happened to be the disciples of Dizzy
Gillespie) started to work on a new kind of Latin Jazz. Their music had obviously been
influenced by the concepts developed by the bebop giant, but the new music had a
different quality than his. Dizzy’s experiments were still deeply rooted in what was his
biggest contribution to the music: bebop. The new kind of Latin Jazz was played from
more of a folkloric perspective regarding the rhythms and incorporated as well
harmonic elements that were developed after Gillespie’s time. The following example is
from Danilo Perez’s groundbreaking album “The Journey”. In this song (“Panama 3000”)
he superimposed his advanced harmonic progressions to Panamanian native rhythms.
114
PANAMA 3000
115
With true knowledge and command of the jazz language, the music also incorporated
broader influences like Brazilian, West African and other musical forms from the
Americas which made the art form more of a Pan-American phenomenon.
At the forefront of this new Latin jazz movement was Panamanian born pianist Danilo
Perez, who incorporated the sounds of his native Panama. Others that were key to the
development of this music were Venezuelan pianist Ed Simon, Puerto Rican saxophonist
David Sanchez and bassist John Benitez that blended Jazz with the native Puerto Rican
rhythms of bomba and plena.
PLENA
These artists have contributed some of the most challenging and cutting edge music in
Jazz today. Albums like Danilo Perez’ “The Journey”, “Panamonk”, “Central Avenue” and
“Motherland”, David Sanchez’ “Melaza”, “Street Scenes” and “Travesia”, John Benitez’
“Descarga in New York”, and Ed Simon’s “La Bikina”, display the musical depth of this
new style of Latin Jazz. The next example is from David Sanchez’ influential album
“Melaza”. The song is called “Puerto San Juan” or “Puerto Juan de Fuca”, and is based on
the plena rhythm that comes from his native Puerto Rico. The composition is
harmonically influenced by the Miles Davis’ quintet with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter,
Wayne Shorter and Tony Williams, but the plena groove gives this composition a
different flavor.
116
PUERTO JUAN DE FUCA
Another example would be Danilo Perez’ version of John Coltrane’s song “Expressions”
from his album “Central Avenue”. In this arrangement the underlying groove is a
guaguanco, a rhythm invented by workers in the docks of Havana, Cuba. This time, the
guaguanco was played in an odd meter, which makes the bass line even more angular.
117
EXPRESSIONS
118
Artists like Danilo Perez, Ed Simon and David Sanchez have established Latin Jazz as
part of the Contemporary Jazz lexicon. They have extended the Jazz tradition through
their recognition as jazz musicians of the highest order. In more recent years, young
musicians of the likes of Miguel Zenon and Luis Perdomo have also contributed to the
legacy that pioneers Perez and Sanchez created in the process of finding their own
voices.
The fusion between Latin rhythms and Jazz is carved in history throughout North
America and the Caribbean by many of the innovators of the art form that is Jazz.
Over several decades, drawing from countless influences and inspirations, Latin Jazz
has evolved so much that it would be unfair to say that the trick to it is “to play the old
jazz standards with a Latin rhythm underneath”. But even with this highly sophisticated
type of sound that we have come to know today as Latin Jazz, the roots are evident.
The sisters separated at birth are once again reunited.
Bibliography
1. The Latin Tinge: The Impact of Latin American Music on the United States by John
Storm Roberts.
2. Cubano Be Cubano Bop: One Hundred Years of Jazz in Cuba by Leonardo Acosta.
3. Salsa Guidebook for Piano and Ensemble by Rebeca Mauleon
4. Discography (this is only the CD that I used for reference for this specific paper.
(do you want a general discography?)
5. Bud Powell: The Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 1
6. Danilo Perez: Central Avenue, Motherland, Panamonk, The Journey, …Till Then, Live
at the Jazz Showcase
7. David Sanchez: Melaza, Travesia
8. Dizzy Gillespie: Hall of Fame box set
9. Edward Simon: LaBikina
10. Chucho Valdes e Irakere: Colleccion Lo Mejor de Irakere (Egrem)
11. Emiliano Salvador : Vision, Ayery Hoy
12. John Coltrane: A Love Supreme
David Virelles Gonzalez can be contacted at

DavidVirelles@Sympatico.Ca
119
This article presents a select overview of ‘advanced’ improvisation concepts that I have
developed or learned over the years as a pedagogue, performer and student. Many are
practices I am still in the process of developing. I welcome the chance to use this book
as a forum through which to share my ideas and thank Dr. Brian Lillos for the
opportunity to spend time exploring these concepts.
Commonly, these approaches would be taught in an upper-level improvisation class;

however, as explained below, students with a limited exposure to conventional
improvisational practices may benefit from some of this material.
The common practice in academic jazz pedagogy is to approach improvisational pedagogy

from a temporal/linear direction. That is, students are instructed from the perspective
of the historical timeline within jazz theory/improvisation – swing is followed by bebop,
etc. There seems to be a perception that an improvisational ‘foundation’ in bebop or
pre-bop jazz is required before a student can explore ideas from the oeuvre of ‘free’
jazz. While this may be true of some of the concepts described here, some can serve
as important techniques for encouraging beginning improvisers, or even as vehicles for
non-jazz musicians to explore improvisation. Others require an understanding of basic
improvisational vocabulary, and are more suited for intermediate to advanced students.
At the very least, these techniques would be best utilized in the hands of an
improviser, beginning, intermediate or advanced, who has a good degree of control over
the mechanics of the instrument – who can ‘get around’ his instrument with some
fluidity.
The ideas below have been presented independently, though there is often an overlap in
their application. I have included a small sampling of techniques and for clarity, have
separated them under headings that define large-scale parameters of Melody, Rhythm,
Harmony, and Concept.
Towards Teaching Jazz Improvisation: Advanced Techniques by Sundar Viswanathan

120
Composing and Ear Training/Sight Singing
For each improvisational exercise I have included examples of its application. The
examples shown here were all composed using the outlined principle. The techniques are
most effectively internalized through a combination of composition and ear/singing
work. Students should write out their own examples (in all keys, if applicable) and learn
to sing them while playing any corresponding chords.
Melodic
1) ‘Self-directed’ melody
A melodic improvisation technique common to the ‘Avant-Garde’ is the ‘self-directed’

melody. Within other stylistic approaches (‘Bebop’, ‘Hard Bop’, ‘Swing’, etc.) there is an
immediate relationship between the harmonic framework of a composition and the
melody improvised above it. For instance, a chord progression of: Dmi7 – G7 – Cmaj7
would most commonly require the use of D dorian, G mixolydian and C Ionian modes for
improvising (see example 1) The needs of the melody then, is secondary to what is
required for practical realization of the harmony. This creates a one-level plane of
improvisation – melody is interwoven with harmony.
Imagine a circumstance when the melody is separated from its harmonic restraint. The
key to this is the development of a strong melody. Alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman is
a primary example of a practitioner of this method. His improvisations were often
simple and singable and frequently blues-based; over a chord progression like the
previous (Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7) that presents a strong tonicization of the key of C major
he might begin in the key of C major and move through any number of other, more
distantly related keys. Examples 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d present different instances of solo
lines that move through several different keys, while maintaining the diatonic sound of
the key of the moment.

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ex.2a: This line, played over a Dm7-G7-C progression,
moves through a number of key areas: C, Ab and D
ex.2b: Another line over Dm-G7-C, this time moving through Em, Eb,
and Db, before returning to C
ex.2c: A third line, moving through C, B, F# and back to C.

The emphasis in the line is on the roots of the ‘outside’ keys (B and F#)
ex.2d: A final example. This line moves through C, E, F#, returning to C

through a series of melodic sequences
What makes it work is the clear diatonic (to the key it is focused on in the moment)
nature of the melody. There is a harmony inherent within the melody itself that does
not require a reference to the harmony of the chord progression it is heard over. The
result is a completely independent harmony AND melody, and the creation of several
tonal centers within a single improvised melody. Also, there is the creation of a bitonal
texture between the improvised solo and the harmony with the result being a two-level
plane of improvisation. This is in a way an similar to the technique of ‘harmonic
superimposition’ that is heard in the solos of artists like John Coltrane where notes
that are ‘outside’ the chordal harmony still are heard as having a functional relationship
TO the chords in the chord progression. In the case of the ‘self-directed’ melody, the
improviser is less concerned with how his melody works with the harmony, and more
with how well the melody works in the moment as an independent idea.

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As abstract as this concept might seem, it is interesting that this idea is sometimes
grasped quickly by beginning improvisers, who have not as yet developed a keen enough
ear to be drawn into the ‘tonal gravity’ present in the underlying chord progression.
That is to say, it is easier for them to focus on maintaining a diatonic melody without
worrying about what is happening in the harmony. Ideally, of course, the improviser
should be peripherally aware of what is happening harmonically while he/she focuses on
the melody in the moment.
2) ‘Motivic chain association’
This is an approach that is similar to the ‘self-directed’ melody angle, in that the solo
melody that is improvised is self-determining. Here, however, the improviser latches
onto a motive that appears in the improvisation and develops it, ‘chaining’ variations of
the motive together to create a longer line. The solo takes primary coherence from the
reappearance of the motive, (which may be a simple rhythmic/melodic idea (as in
example 3 and 4) in different forms. So, the relationship between the improvised
melody and harmony is secondary.
The motives can be developed thorough techniques like inversion, retrograde, inverse
retrograde and transposition (detailed below). (Example 3b and 4b) below provides
instances of each of these devices, in the context of a solo line.
EXAMPLE 3B: DEVELOPMENT OF MOTIVE A

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EXAMPLE 4B: DEVELOPMENT OF MOTIVE B
An example of an original melodic phrase and several permutations are given below in
example 5. Students are encouraged to internalize the ‘motivic chain association’
technique through composition and vocalizing, and through ‘chaining’ the permutations
presented here.
It is helpful to be aware of the shape of the melody created through this technique –
this way of hearing and conceptualizing a solo helps give the soloist an overall ‘big
picture’ of the high and low peaks within a solo (this concept will be elaborated later).
Example 5:
Ex. 5a: Original Phrase
Ex. 5b: Retrograde
Ex. 5c: Inversion

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Ex. 5d : Retrograde Inversion
Ex. 5e: Every two beats transposed up a m3
Ex. 5f: Mode change (to Lydian)
Ex. 5g: Rhythmic expansion
Ex. 5h: Rhythmic expansion through fragmentation with rests
Ex. 5i: rhythmic compression
Ex. 5j: fragmentation through deleted notes

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3) ‘Register-specific’ Synthetic scales
Synthetic scales are those that do not fit within the modal system of ‘classical’ music
and that are invented to fit the sonic needs of the improviser. The synthetic scales
shown here are developed using very specific combinations of intervals, which are not
limited to major and minor seconds. The wider intervals lend a more disjunct, angular
sound to the scale. The primary distinguishing characteristic of the following group of
scales, however, lies in the fact that they are made up of a combination of an original
scale and a transposition of the original. So, the notes used in the lower register differ
from those in the upper register. In the case of example 6a, the original scale starts on
D4 (the 9 of the underlying C7 chord) and is a 5-note pentatonic structure with the
intervals m2, M3, M2, and m2. After the Bb5, the scale is extended from Db5 (the b9
of the C7 chord) in the same intervallic sequence. The result is a scale that contains
upper extensions 9, #9, 5, 13 and b7 in the lower octave, and b9, 9, #11, #5 (b13) and
13 in the upper octave. The chromaticism of the scale is tempered by the spatial
placement of upper extensions within the two scales and registers. A different melodic
quality is brought to the solo depending on which register the improviser focuses on.
Three approaches to using these scales are given in examples 6b, 6c, and 6d. In the
first (6b) the line focuses on a specific octave for each measure of the line. For 6c
numbers are attached to the two 5-note pentatonic structure. Then, a combination of
these numbers is used to create a line for the lower octave, then the upper octave. In
ex. 6d a mix of notes from both octaves is used to create a line that is far more
disjunct than the others. Examples 7 and 8 present two other ‘registral-specific’
synthetic scales that use different intervals and upper extension combinations. Lines
composed from these three scales are shown following the primary scale.
EXAMPLE 6:
ex. 6a: A two-octave ‘registrally specific’ scale.

The numbers reference an underlying C chord
ex. 6b: Each measure focuses on a specific register of the scale

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ex. 6b: A fixed digital (numeric) pattern of 4-5-2-1-3-2-5-4
is repeated in the lower and upper parts of the scales
ex. 6c: This example presents a ‘mix’ of upper and lower register notes
EXAMPLE 7:
ex.7a: A two-octave registrally specific scale. The second part begins with
common tone A4. Numbers reference an underlying C chord
ex. 7b: A fixed digital (numeric) pattern of 3-2-1-4-3-5-3 and 2-3-4-1

is repeated in the lower and upper parts of the scales. Notes from the
second octave are in italics.
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ex. 7c: This example presents a ‘mix’ of upper and lower register notes.
Note the wide range of intervals
EXAMPLE 8
ex. 8a: A two-octave registrally specific scale.

Numbers reference an underlying C chord
ex. 8b: A fixed digital (numeric) pattern of 3-3-2-1-5-4-1-3-4

is repeated in the lower and upper parts of the scales.
ex. 8c: This example presents a ‘mix’ of upper and lower register notes.
Note the wide range of intervals.

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4) Bi-tonal scales (major and major)
Major/major Bi-tonal scales are created from a combination of two major triads or
major seventh chords in a scalar formation. The example below (example 9 (a-f))
presents a sampling of more effective combinations using these chords. The first triad
(or major seventh chord) is shown, followed by the second triad (or major seventh
chord). This is followed by the scale that results from the combination of the two. This
practice is of course, also possible with minor, diminished and augmented triads and
seventh chords, so ultimately there is a much larger number of possible groupings. A
table that details extensions the bi-tonal scale creates over the first triad (7th chord)
and the second triad (7th) chord is also provided.
EXAMPLE 9:
ex. 9a: C(Maj7) and E
ex. 9b: C(Maj7) and F#
ex. 9c: C(Maj7) and Db
ex. 9d: C(Maj7) and Eb
ex. 9e: C(Maj7) and Ab7
ex. 9f: CMaj7 and D (essentially, this creates a Lydian scale)

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TABLE 1
Triads, Scales created and Resultant Extensions (enharmonic spellings are

frequently used)
Triads (7th Bi-tonal Scale Resultant Extensions Resultant Extensions

chords) heard over first triad heard over second triad
CMaj7 and E C, E, G, G#, B C: R, 3, 5, #5, 7 E: #5, R, #9, 3, 5
C(Maj7) and F# C, Eb, E, F#, G, A#, B C: R, #9, 3, #11, 5, b7, F#: #11, 13, b7, R, b9, 3,
7 11
C(Maj7) and Db C, Db, E, F, G, Ab, B C: R, #2, 3, 11, 5, b13 Db: 7, R, 3, 11, 5, #5
(#5), 7 (b13), 7
C(Maj7) and Eb7 C, Eb, E, G, Bb, B, Db C: R, #9, 3, 5, b7 (#6), Eb: 13, R, b9, 3, 5, #5, b7
7, b9
C(Maj7) and Ab7 C, D#, E, F#, G, Ab, B C: R, #9, 3, #11, 5, #5 Ab: 3, 5, #5 (b13), b7, 7,
(b13), 7 R, #9
C(Maj7) and D C, D, E, F#, G, A, B C: R, 9, 3, #11, 5, 13, 7 D: b7, R, 9, 3, 11, 5, 13
A number of examples of lines using these combinations of chords is presented in

examples 10a-10f. Chromaticism is created in a very specific way. Much of the interest
of these scales lies in the arrangement of intervals and the way in which structural
tones (3, 5, 7) are heard alongside their chromatically altered counterparts (b3, b5,
#5, b7). Notes like #9 and b9 will require careful treatment with regard to whether
they resolve or not (#9 moving to 3, B9 moving to 1), depending on the quality of the
chord the scale is played over. For instance, in example 10d, in the case where the
underlying chord is a CMaj7th chord, the b9 and b3 might be played as resolving non-
chord tones (depending on the level of dissonance desired).
EXAMPLE 10:
ex. 10a: A line created with CMaj7 and E as source chords, heard over the same chords

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ex. 10b: A line created with CMaj7 and F# as source chords,
heard over the same chords
ex. 10c: A line created with CMaj7 and Db as source chords,

ex. 10d: A line created with CMaj7 and Eb7 as source chords,
heard over the same chords.
ex. 10e: A line created with CMaj7 and Ab7 as source chords,

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ex. 10f: A line created with CMaj7 and D as source chords, heard over the same chords
Harmony
In traditional jazz improvising, single-line instruments like reeds and brass are not
typically focused on developing harmonic structures beyond arpeggios and simple voice
leading. In the exercises below, I hope to help open up the harmonic and spatial
spectrum that is available to keyboard or guitar players to these instrumentalists (and
vocalists!).
1) Constant Structures/Planing
The piano keyboard presents an immediately visible musical template on which to

construct harmonic shapes. Applied to piano harmony, planing is a
compositional/theoretical technique in which a vertical shape (or chord) moves in
parallel motion over the keyboard, irrespective of the underlying harmony. This
provides the basis for an improvisational tool that most effectively works over a static
underlying harmony. I’ve provided a number of levels in example 11 that illustrate how
the improviser can develop a solo line using this approach.
EXAMPLE 11:
Level 1
a) consonant grouping a (Cm11) b) dissonant grouping b
In level one, melodic structure (a) is developed from a combination of small and large
intervals. The intervallic makeup of the structure will determine the degree of
dissonance of the line. In example 11a notes from a consonant min9 chord are used. The
resulting structure is marked a. This is in comparison with example 11b where a more
dissonant group of intervals are used (b).

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Level 2
a) ‘close’ sets of a b) ‘close’ sets of b
c) ‘distant’ sets of a d) ‘distant’ sets of b
In level two, a and b are shifted to different points parallel to the origin, to give
different sets of notes that cover varying spatial areas. In a) and b) note sets are built
above ‘close’ roots, and in the c) and d), above more ‘distant’ roots.
In level three, notes are selected from each of the sets, keeping in mind what
combination of step and leap intervals will maintain an interesting line. Note that the
notes are kept in the original register of the set of its origin. This creates an
interesting combination of intervals and focuses on a specific range with a particular
sonority.
Level 3
a) note selections from ‘close’ sets of a
b) note selections from ‘close’ sets of b
c) note selections from ‘distant’ sets of a

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d) note sets from ‘distant’ sets of b
Finally, in level four (on the following page), rhythms are added to the notes. At this
level the point between where one set ends and the other starts is blurred, but the
consistency of the note sets in relation to each other help unify the line.
Level 4
a) rhythmic presentation of note selection from ‘close’ sets of a
b) rhythmic presentation of note selection from ‘close’ sets of b
c) rhythmic presentation of note selections from ‘distant’ sets of a
c) rhythmic presentation of note selections from ‘distant’ sets of b
2) Harmonic melodic-fulcrum
In functional harmonic situations, this is an interesting tool for creating superimposed

chordal harmonies while maintaining a melodic tie to the original chord progression. As
well, this is an effective way of developing a harmonic ear. This approach works equally
well in a situation where the harmony may be static.

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Using ‘Simple’ Harmonic Texture
In the first example (12a), the underlying harmony is a static Dmi7. The line emphasizes
the third scale degree of Dmi7 on each strong beat (1 and 3), and creates harmonies
that pivot around this F ‘fulcrum’ note. In this case, the note is played in the fourth
register every time (F4). The line outlines a different chord every two beats, using F4
as a common tone. Note that the A4 ‘fulcrum’ retains its function as chord tone for all
of the chords. The chords created do not extend harmonically beyond a seventh (and so
are classified as ‘simple’ chords).
EXAMPLE 12:
ex. 12a: the F4 acts as a common tone to the chord progression as well as the
superimposed harmony (which is shown by the chords)
The ‘fixed’ position of the strong-beat chord tone (F) in the previous example limits the
potential for a varied melodic shape. In Example 11b) the F is used equally in two
different registers, and allows for a more wide use of the improviser’s range. Again, the
chords created are Maj7th, min7th, and dom7 qualities.
ex. 12b: the melodic/harmonic fulcrum F shifted registrally
The next few examples present line composed over a D dominant harmony (D7). The
source notes on strong beats reflect all chord tones of a D7 chord. The resultant
chords once again remain ‘simple’ in harmonic quality.
ex. 12c: line with ‘D’ (root) as harm/mel. fulcrum

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ex. 12d: line with ‘F#’ (third) as harm/mel. fulcrum.
ex. 12e: line with ‘A’ (fifth) as harm/mel. Fulcrum
ex. 12f: line with ‘C’ (seventh) as harm/mel. fulcrum.
Complex’ Harmonic Texture
The next few examples (examples 13) follow the same ideas as the previous number of
examples, except that here the resultant harmonies extend beyond the seventh scale
degree. As there are still only four eighth notes available for each chord, it is
important to play the most essential notes. So, it is often the fifth degree that is left
out of the chord (unless it is a fifth that is crucial to the sonority of the chord).
EXAMPLE 13:
ex.13a: ‘Complex’ harmonies created with ‘D’ (root) fulcrum notes

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ex. 13b: ‘Complex’ harmonies created with ‘F#’ (third degree) fulcrum notes
ex. 13c: ‘Complex’ harmonies created by ‘A’ (fifth degree) fulcrum notes
ex. 13d: ‘Complex’ harmonies created by ‘C’ (seventh degree) fulcrum notes
Remember that these are all composed examples. Students of this technique should
write out a number of their own lines, as well as working on developing ‘in the moment’
improvisations. In the beginning, it is more beneficial to work on improvising these out
of time, so that it is easier to pre-hear the harmonies that are created around the
central note.
Another approach to this idea is presented in example 14. First, in step 1 the chords
are connected with chord ‘guide’ tones and common tones in half notes. In step 2 the
functions of the chord tones are changed and alternate chords are constructed around
them. Note that the original notes are still chord tones in the context of this new
superimposed progression and that they have been shifted up or down the octave in
places to give the line shape.
EXAMPLE 14
step 1: ‘guide’ tones over chord progression

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step 2: ‘Simple’ Harmonic texture constructed around guide tones
Rhythm
1) Cyclic rhythm
It is common practice to improvise rhythmically symmetrical phrases that are

subdivided into 2 or 4 bars. This fits most effectively into the rhythmic scheme of a
chord progression in common (4/4) time. Superimposing phrases that are assymetrical
in length offsets the rhythmic accent and creates a sense that the line is ‘out-of-sync’
with the rhythmic pulse. This practice can be used by the improviser with very creative
results. In the following example (example 15), the lines are phrased in continuous
groups of seven eighth notes or fourteen eighth notes. So, the effect is that of 7/8
and 7/4 over a pulse that is 4/4. The beauty of this is that even though the rhythmic
pulse is off-set initially by the unconventional phrasing, after a certain number of
repetitions the phrases synch back into the 4/4 pulse. In this case, it would be 4
repetitions of a 7/4 phrase or 8 repetitions of 7/8. Over the span of a cycle, the
improviser can also phrase in combinations of these 7/8 and 7/4 (14/8) groups. Taking
it a step ahead, each asymmetric phrase can be further developed by augmenting or
diminishing rhythms as in example 16.
EXAMPLE 15:

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EXAMPLE 16:
In the final example for this concept (example 17), the rhythmic basis returns to
eighth notes. Here, each phrase is delineated through registral separation of the
beginning of the phrase. As each phrase starts, there is an unexpected leap away to the
beginning of the next. So, there is less continuity between phrases, as there was in
example 15, where each phrase was separated by a half or whole step, and the effect
was more of a long line that was phrased in sections, rather than a number of small lines
put together.
EXAMPLE 17:
It should be noted that though these examples used seven beat phrases, it is possible
to also use other phrase lengths, such as five beats, nine beats or eleven beats. All of
these subdivisions can be cycled until the rhythmic accent returns to beat one – this
would be 8 times for an x/8 phrase, or 4 times for an x/4 phrase (x being the
subdivision grouping). Also, playing the x/8 phrase 4 times or the x/4 twice would bring
the accent to the next strongest beat (beat 2), after which the improviser can decide
to fall back into a conventional ‘swing’ model of rhythmic accents (as in example 16).
2) Assymetric Rhythmic Groupings
The previous three examples presented on a rhythmic approach focused on groupings in

seven. The idea here is that the improviser can combine groupings of different lengths
to vary the rhythmic accent even further. In example 18, a solo over the first 8 bar ‘A’
section of “Star Eyes” is subdivided into uneven rhythmic/melodic units. Basically, the
32 beats available in the ‘A’ section can be broken up into any combination of groupings.
To some degree, this assymetrical phrasing is characteristic of bebop solos; however,
there is a wider variety of groupings here than in most bebop solos. The rests help
break up the continuous flow of eighth notes and add to a feeling of syncopation.

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EXAMPLE 18: SOLO OVER “STAR EYES” DEMONSTRATING ASYMMETRIC RHYTHMIC
GROUPINGS
3) Irregular Rhythmic Accents
This is a very simple concept that can be applied to any improvised line. Take the case
of example 19a. This is a common eighth-note bebop type solo line in the key of F,
marked with characteristic off (weak) beat rhythmic accents. In 19b some of the
accents are shifted to on (strong) beats. The line may appear awkward at first and the
placement of the accents may seem to clash with the shape and direction of the
improvisation, but ultimately, the rhythm of the solo becomes more interesting. In a
way that is similar to example 17, the accents break up the repetitive 8th note pattern
and swing feel, creating the effect of smaller subdivisions of the entire line (example
19c). Over the barline phrasing (as in mm. 2-3) helps to add a more free-flowing
rhythmic character to the solo.
EXAMPLE 19:
ex.19a: off-beat (weak beat) accents
ex.19b: rhythmic reduction of 19a

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ex.19c: accents moved to some on-beats (strong-beats) varies the rhythmic impulse
ex.17d: rhythmic reduction of 19c
Concept
The ideas presented here deal primarily with ways of conceiving a solo that go beyond
the technical details and musical parameters of melody, rhythm and harmony. This
ultimately points toward a way of ‘feeling’ a solo, in shape, time and form, of working
toward a ‘big picture’ whole of a song form in order to be able to express
improvisationally in gesture and abstract.
1) Form and Temporality
The process of developing a good sense of rhythmic ‘time’ starts with an understanding
of how the rhythmic pulse inherent within a piece of music works. At a most basic level,
(using as an example a tune in 4/4 that has an 8 bar ‘A’ section), the soloist will ‘count’
32 beats (or some divisions of this) in order to keep clear as to where he/she is in the
form. This, however, limits the soloist to a vertical way of thinking. A horizontal way of
thinking, say, feeling ahead to two bars at a time, helps creates the perception of a
more forward-directed solo. Ideally, the improviser should work toward pre-hearing
(more accurately, pre-feeling) an entire section of a piece (e.g. the A section) as s/he is
playing through it. Development of this ability is likely par for the course for drummers
(Billy Hart once told me that he is aware of the form of a whole composition at once).
This requires of the improviser a great deal of trust, for s/he must be confident of
the chord progression without having to think of it from measure to measure. This
measure to measure way of hearing limits the soloist’s ability to think in a horizontal
fashion beyond the barline.
Consider time. In this case this refers to the non-musical, ‘non-spatial continuum’ known
as time. If someone asks us to wait 1 minute, we have a good sense of what that means –
without counting seconds we may ‘feel’ when that time has elapsed. And while the time
was passing, without counting we had more of a sense of the gestalt, the whole, of that

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‘time period’ than if we focused on it second to second. This can be applied to musical
form as well. The most immediate way is to use the example of a ballad that is played at
60 beats per minute. If the ‘A’ section of that ballad with AABA form is 8 bars long,
that makes it 32 beats at 1 beat/second, or 32 seconds. If we can train ourselves to be
cognizant of a span of 64 seconds without counting each second, we can improvise more
freely on the entire ‘A’ section, with a pre-awareness of the point in the future when
the tune moves to ‘B’.
This isn’t to say that it is necessary to calculate the length in seconds of every piece.
Most musicians, especially at the advanced level, should have a good sense of how
different tempos feel. Toward this end, once the student has sufficiently internalized
the chord progression of a particular form aurally, his/her focus can be on the pace at
which the tune moves through physical space.
A description of the idea may be helpful: imagine the downbeat of a formal section (A
section for example) as the beginning guidepost and the downbeat of the next A as the
ending guidepost. Next, the guideposts become fence posts, and a walk down a country
lane from beginning fence post to ending fence post poses as an analogy for playing
through the A section of this piece. As the soloist walks (improvises) from the first
fence post, the ending fence post is visible, and becomes his/her target destination.
When s/he can see the destination s/he has a sense of when s/he is going to arrive
there. If the walk is consistent and at an even pace (tempo) it is easier to be aware of
the point in time in the future when the target will be reached. As well, one does not
think of each step along the way to the final destination. More clearly stated, the
soloist should attempt to visualize in physical space where the beginning of the next A
section is (like the ending fencepost). This idea effectively applied to a piece would
render barlines unnecessary, and would help to free up the rhythmic and melodic
conception of the solo. The soloist would become ‘target’ oriented (the beginning of the
next ‘A’) instead of focusing on the moment-to-moment playing of notes.
As an exercise to help expand focus, the student can play over a blues chord
progression (or a static chord progression) with a metronome marking a medium tempo.
As the improviser proceeds from the top of the form, he/she should keep sight on the
IV chord that appears on the 5th measure of the blues progression. The idea is to
‘disregard’ focusing on the chord of the moment but to rather focus on the ‘arrival’
point at the IV chord. For example, the improviser can play ‘random’ rhythms on the way
to the 5th bar and ‘nail’ the downbeat of the IV chord. After this seems under control,
the target should be placed further away (say, the V chord on the 9th bar). The
important thing is to maintain focus on the targeted chord in the distance. The desired

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outcome for the soloist is the development of an internalized sense of form and
understanding of the spatial symmetry of a tune form.
2) Shape (Graphic notation and Melodic Contour)
As noted earlier, most improvisers tend to phrase lines in symmetrical patterns of 2 or

4 bars. As well, some tend to play lines that travel up and down without attention to an
interesting melodic shape. The most direct and effective way to develop a sense of
shape and to create interesting lines is to graphically represent the shape desired and
then, to add notes to fill in the contour. The improviser is urged to consider a few
elements that will help render an effective contour: placement and degree of high and
low points in the line, placement of rests, and amplitude of ‘waves’ within the line. Notes
are then added to the created shape. In the case of a functional progression, like the
one below, the notes may reflect the corresponding harmony; however, this practice is
used quite extensively in the case where exact notes are not required, as in
contemporary composition and improvisation.
Example 20a presents a functional chord progression (the first eight bars of “Have You
Met Miss Jones”) that has had a melodic contour sketched in.
EXAMPLE 20:
ex.20a: Graphic notation over chord changes to “Have You met Miss Jones?”

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Next, in example 18b, the line is filled in with notes that correspond with the chord
progression. The large interval spacing between some phrases in the contour creates an
interesting disjunct effect. In measure 4, this is reinforced by upper extensions #9
(b10) and b9.
ex. 20b: Solo over “Have You met Miss Jones?” following graphical contour from ex.20a
Conclusion
The approaches presented in this paper are but a few of many ways to think about
improvising. They present a vast reserve of material that can expand on the students’
existing vocabulary. Each of these techniques present sufficient ‘woodshed’ material
for many hours of focused work; in fact, one can spend months and still feel that more
practice is required for proper internalization of the concept. The reader should vary
the use of the exercises and for interest’s sake, may explore more than one of the
ideas concurrently. The improvisations that can be developed through these ideas vary
in terms of their degree of dissonance. Though some of the more chromatic and ergo,
more dissonant, examples may be more effectively employed in the context of ‘free’
improvisation, these techniques need not be limited to application in a ‘free-blowing’
context, but can be carefully incorporated over the playing of ‘standards’ and other
tunes that employ functional harmony. The definitive judge of whether a certain
application works in a certain situation rests ultimately in a well-developed ear and good
sense of musical taste.
Sundar Viswanathan can be reached at

SundarVis@Hotmail.Com
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In all my years of teaching Jazz Theory and Improvisation the Diminished Chord and its
corresponding scale use have created the most problems for students. Musicians with
intermediate or even advanced skills when confronted with a diminished chord often
revert to basic arpeggiation or try to plug in the symmetrical diminished that we Jazz
Educators have been teaching for years. I say try because nothing stops a student’s
forward motion when soloing more than trying to recall in a split second our outdated
WHWHWHWH or HWHWHWHW formula for building a diminished scale, this of
course standing for the interval relationships W=Whole Step H =Half Step to form the
Diminished Scale. I was also taught this very formula when I was at Berklee in the 60’s.
Through years of playing and finding shortcuts I realized that these old formulas were
great if you are sitting in a classroom taking a written test but were unrealistic when
playing a tune where these chords were flying by at lightning speed. Granted after
years of playing, these scales become engrained in your finger patterns and no deep
thinking is involved you can simply call them up at will.
In my Advanced Jazz Theory course at Humber College I have my students convert all
diminished chords to minor chords, for example Co7 becomes Cmin but we only use four
notes of the Cmin Dorian Mode (Ex 1).By using only four notes in Minor I find that
students can sound quite convincing on passing diminished chord sequences with only
part of the scale. After getting this under their fingers and in their heads we focus on
the area a tri-tone or diminished fifth away from the root, the note F# is a tri-tone or
three whole tones away from C but this very description puts us back into too much
thinking so what I tell students is after we play the fourth note in the C Dorian Scale
(the F) move up a half step to the F#, this seems to work, once we find the tri-tone
away from the root we play four more notes from that Dorian Scale and we have our
Diminished scale for the Diminished chord(Ex 2) Once the student realizes that these
two areas are two portions of Dorian Modes I find them creating better melodies
during solos especially when the songs contain many passing diminished chords.
For a final follow up we play four notes of Dorian Modes on all diminished chord tones
(Ex 3) thus we have C Dorian (4 notes) Eb Dorian (4 notes) F# Dorian (4 notes) and A
Dorian (4 notes). Getting a student to think of diminished chords as partial Dorian
Towards Teaching Jazz Improvisation: Uses of Diminished by Pat LaBarbera

145
modes allows them to use something very familiar on something that usually is often
vague or unfamiliar.
Solving the symmetrical diminished scale (WHWHWHWH) problem allows one to be

more comfortable with this scale but does not address what I consider the biggest
problem. Almost everybody sounds the same or has the same mindset when it comes to
playing on diminished chords because we were taught one type of scale. When we learn
other chord scale relationships we are also shown the alternate choices. Every type of
chord (Major, Minor, or Dominant) has at least two and sometimes up to ten or more
(Dominant) choices. Why do we teach only the symmetrical diminished scale on
diminished chords? Because the symmetrical diminished scale although a problem to
master is what I call a student friendly scale, that is, all notes will sound good on a
diminished chord once the student can play the scale. This was not always the case. To
the best of my knowledge early swing players and Jazz Musicians into the early 50’s
used a different set of diminished scales for different chord situations.
#IV,#I #IIAnd bIII Diminished Scales
In traditional Jazz theory diminished chords have only two functions they move up or
down and pass between chords of a more static nature, this a general rule not always
carved in stone. In more modern compositions the diminished chord can stand alone for
several bars as a separate sound (The bridge to Coltrane’s Liberia). Earlier Jazz
musicians improvised off the chord not the scale. In order to make diminished chords
sound more interesting they needed to use tensions or colour tones to get rid of the
Silent Movie Suspense sound associated with a basic diminished chord. The tensions on
a diminished chords are tones that are a whole step away from the original chord tones
(Ex 4) we see that this forms another diminished chord a whole step away from the
original chord. We can also see that if we combine these two chords we have our
Symmetrical Diminished scale. With this information at hand one would assume early
Jazz Musicians would have discovered this scale and used it, but they didn’t because
the use of every tension on diminished chords would destroy what earlier players called
the key of the moment.
If we look at a typical chord sequence using diminished chords we can easily see the key
of the moment is the key of C Major, even though we pass through other chords the
basic key center of these four bars is still in C. (Ex5) After we add the tensions on the
two diminished chords we eliminate any tension that is not in the key of the moment so
we take out the D# and the F# on the C#o7 chord and the G# on the D#o7 chord
because these notes are not in a C Major scale our key of the moment (Ex 6) This is
146
the way earlier writers and players thought. Now that we understand this we start to
get a more complete picture of diminished function. In (Ex 7) we see how bIIIo7
passes between the III-7 chord and the II-7 chord and the elimination of the tension
Ab because Ab is not in the key of C.
Our next task is to find chord scales for the various diminished chords; this is totally
different thinking than just plugging in one type of scale on every diminished chord.
When diminished chords ascend the scale is different than the descending diminished
chord scale.
To learn our ascending diminished chord scale we start with the #IVo7 chord. This
chord is usually found in bar six of a blues. To find a #IVo7 diminished scale on the
F#o7 chord in bar six of a blues in C we carry the F7 mixolydian over to the F#o7 bar
then raise the root up a half step to F# keep the F natural on the top of the scale and
then add the F# above the F natural in the top octave. The way this scale is formed
carries over to the #Io7 and #IIo7 chords. (Ex 8) If we look closer at these scales
we can see that they are Harmonic Minor scales with the minor third interval eliminated
or they are also Major bop scales starting on the added passing tone. Another unique
thing about these scales is that they contain the given chord and the chord being
approached.
The bIIIo7 scale is the most difficult for students to master possibly more than the
symmetrical diminished scale. When we look at the Ebo7 chord in (EX 9) we can place
an imaginary root a major third below the Eb to form a B7b9 chord, if we then make
this an Altered Dominant scale then add a natural 5(G) to the scale we arrive at an
Altered scale with all three functions of the fifth included (b5, Natural 5 and #5)
starting this on Eb gives us a bIIIo7 chord scale for Ebo7 descending to D-7 (Ex 10)
We see that this scale also contains the given chord and the chord being approached.
Also note this scale is a regular Symmetrical Diminished scale with the fourth note the
G# or Ab lowered a half step to G natural. The G# is also the note we eliminated from
the chord tensions because it was not in the key of the moment.
Now you have the total Diminished picture and a set of scales to use depending on what
material you are playing on. This will give the player an alternate choice on Diminished
chords and will stretch the imagination on Altered or #9 Dom 7 chords because these
scales can be used here also.

147
Pat Labarbera can be reached at
PatLaBarbera@Aol.Com
148
The jazz artist is continually shifting and exploring in order to create new sounds in
music. The composition process is an outlet that also gives the jazz artist as composer
a personal springboard of original ideas in which to explore. Successful contemporary
examples of composing improvisers who write the bulk of their material include Dave
Holland, Dave Douglas, Bill Frisell, Jim Hall, Ralph Towner, Carla Bley, Pat Metheny, and
of course the torch-bearer of the new millennium, Wayne Shorter.
The Roots of Formal Jazz Composition
Jazz is still a relatively new style of music born in America, with original formal jazz
composition (i.e.: written and recorded) being even younger. Duke Ellington should be
considered the roots of this family tree of formal jazz composition. He is among the
first generation of jazz composers, subsequently influencing every generation after him
with his diverse and timeless repertoire. His music has staying power through the use
of strong melody, harmony, form and rhythm. Billy Strayhorn, his prodigy and partner in
composition and arranging, was heavily influenced and well-versed in Ellington's works.
Because of his immersion in Ellington's early works, he could be considered a catalyst of
Ellington’s unique use of form.
“Ellington holds a privileged position in the history of jazz. He was it’s first composer in
the strict sense of the term, and for a long time he was it’s only composer…A composer
is a musician who makes full use of a capacity which neither the tune writer nor, with
very few exceptions, the arranger possesses, a capacity which might be defined as that
of endowing jazz with additional dimension. This dimension, which gives a work new
depth and greater possibilities for development, is form…Ellington created form in
jazz.” 1
Here are three categories of jazz composers who have made a deep impact on formal
composition from the 1930's to the present. All of them deserve a close look in terms
of formal analysis:
1
Hodeir, Andre “Why did Ellington “remake’ his Masterpiece?” Reading Jazz, edited by Robert Gottlieb p.893
The Contemporary Approach to Jazz Composition by Christine Jensen
149
Group I- Duke Ellington & Thelonious Monk (30's, 40's, 50's)
The most influential composer in jazz history after Ellington could be considered to be
Thelonious Monk. He wrote some masterfully crafted compositions full of his
individualism, which have stood the test of time and still sound fresh and new to this
day. Other composers following their lead with the use of tonal harmony include Benny
Golson, Charlie Parker, Tadd Dameron, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mullligan and Horace
Silver.
Group II Modal Composers (50's onward)

These composers make use of a more modal approach, as opposed to traditional
diatonic harmony. The late 50’s and early ‘60’s was a time of development for these
composers. They include Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner,
Wayne Shorter, Bill Evans and Woody Shaw. Tom Harrell could be considered a later
example of this style of writing. Charles Mingus could fall between group I and II with
his style. Gil Evans could also be considered an influential composer and arranger who
falls into this category, although his repertoire as an arranger far outweighs his
repertoire as composer. His arrangements at the time were among the first at
exploring the use of modality, thus shaping the new direction in the sound of jazz in
the '50's and onward.
Group III Post-Modal Composers

Post-modal, or contemporary jazz composers who break further from traditional form
include Pat Metheny, Kenny Wheeler, Keith Jarrett, Carla Bley, Ralph Towner, Steve
Swallow, Dave Holland, Joe Zawinul, Ornette Coleman, Steve Coleman, and Chick Corea.
They have tendencies to refer to folk or world music through melody and rhythm, with
reference to the use of pentatonics. Steve Coleman and Dave Holland have especially
influenced a current generation of players and composers who explore odd-meter
rhythm especially.
Group IIIA-The Modern Large Ensemble Composers

It is hard to combine this with other levels. There is more tendencies for these writers
to through-compose, or at the very least, placing original material with written
development for the ensemble in the foreground. The material for the soloist is placed
secondary to the development of the form. These composers include Thad Jones, Bob
Brookmeyer, Don Ellis, Gunther Schuller, Gil Evans, Oliver Nelson, Jim McNeely, and
Maria Schneider. They have gone on to influence a whole school of composers who focus
on developing the piece through the use of the jazz orchestra. They also draw on
classical orchestral devices in the development of compositions and arranging
techniques. Emerging composers could also include John Hollenbeck and Django Bates.

150
Listening and Transcription
An integral step in the growth of a composer is to assimilate the compositions of the

Master’s. This can be done through listening to recordings, playing lead sheets, score
analysis, or through the use of transcription. The deeper the student gets involved in
ear-training, the more they will learn and retain, which is why transcription is such a
valuable tool. Listening to as many resources as possible can only open the composer’s
ears to trying various techniques, no matter what style of music. Transcription can be
the most effective process, as it challenges the listener to map out the form, as well as
practice the use of cohesive music notation.
A valuable exercise for the student to understand the roots of jazz composition is to
transcribe one of Ellington’s works from his ‘30’s period. For example, Ellington's piece
"Jack the Bear" clearly deliniates the symbiotic relationship in his counterpoint
(independent harmonies played as melody by each member of his orchestra). These
assignments should be played in class, either by ear, or by transcription, with each
student taking on one of the roles in Ellington's orchestra. 2
The Writing Process
There is no singular formula in the process of composition. The dedicated jazz musician
who is also a composer tends to have to multitask at best in order to make a living.
Established players are constantly trying to find a balance between touring, recording,
practicing their instrument, rehearsing as well as fulfilling their duties as teacher and
entrepeneur. Therefore, the composition process can easily get sidelined. Most of the
duties mentioned, including recording, touring, rehearsing and practicing actually
become intertwined in the creative process, lending themselves to the practice of
composition.
There are various methods in the composer's documenting their processing of ideas.
Some musicians use tape recorders, or multi-track machines in order to work through
their initial ideas. Others transcribe their ideas directly to the paper. Some disagree
with using a chord instrument altogether as an aide. Others view the piano as an
integral tool in composition. Paul Bley has been known to envision an ensemble with no
written material, yet he is a composer upon review of his discography and reputation.
He has been successful with his philosophy of blurring the lines between composition
and improvisation. Jimmy Heath gave some advice in spending time on sound: “[I] get
2
IBID p. 142
151
ideas at any time, “but they usually flash and go away. So I keep a tape recorder handy,
a Walkman type. I think that’s the only way to keep the stuff. The ideas come and go.
Some [ideas] take longer to write than others; some of them I mess around with for a
long time. When you’re trying to create something that’s a little different and you
really have the time, I think that’s better than having to create on demand, as I’m doing
now- which is to complete four big band arrangements by next Wednesday! I can’t
spend much time mulling over ideas. I have to settle sooner.” 3
Gerry Mulligan reinforced Heath’s ideas. “It just requires time concentration,
continuity of time so that you can follow through on ideas. It’s good to work at the
piano and then, for various reasons, to get away from the piano for a while to try to
avoid the trap of the keyboard…” 4 Mulligan explained that the piano has limitations as
a composing tool in that “ a lot of times you find yourself restricting yourself to what
your fingers can do and what they fall into naturally, and when you’re dealing with
orchestration and specific instruments, there are things that are particular to an
instrument and to a section that, away from the keyboard, you’re more likely to think
about.” 5 He had no interest in using a recording device in order to catalogue his ideas,
and preferred to notate the music directly.
Upon studying the writing process with established composers, it is obvious that each
person uses their own methodology in coming up with an idea. Composing takes time. Gil
Evans would sit at the piano for days playing the same chord over and over, immersing
himself in the entire quality of it, before moving on to the next chord. He would
carefully examine every direction of voice leading between the two chords before
making a final decision. His style and influence can be found in the harmonies of Herbie
Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Bill Evans, Maria Schneider, Jim McNeely, and Gil Goldstein.
Therefore he could be considered a huge, transparent branch of the jazz composition
tree that would be the roots of modal composition.
The arranger Rayburn Wright interviewed Bob Brookmeyer, and asked him for some
advice for emerging composers. Bob’s reply: “[They should] spend a lot of time playing
at the piano and listening to what it really sounds like, rather than just getting through
situations in order to finish a piece. I think that time spent reflecting is the time that
counts in writing.” 6 Brookmeyer refers to composition as problem solving over time. His
student, Maria Schneider expands on this idea of problem solving. “ There’s a lot of
different levels and things that you go through when you write a piece…when I’m first
3
W. Royal Stokes, Living the Jazz, p. 140
4
IBID, p. 142
5
IBID, p. 142
6
Rayburn Wright Inside the Score, p. 181
152
coming up with an idea, sometimes I find some little sound that I like. But it’s kind of
like chaos, you just throw something out there, and I’m always looking for something,
some spark that has personality. Something that makes me interested. I believe that
any note or any sound that you throw out there has a potential life for personality. But
which one interests me enough to really go through the process that I need to discover
what it is. When I find it, I’ll play with that idea and I’ll actually sit and improvise on
piano a lot. Just play and feel in the natural flow, where it takes me. And then I back
up, and start to look at it and see what’s the DNA inside of this thing? I really believe
if you come up with some spontaneous thing that you like, this little idea or whatever,
there’s bound to be something inside of it – a mathematical thing or some kind of
consistency or intervallic thing, like a DNA, and you have to get inside and find what it
is. Then you can start building, looking for possibilities and really taking control of this
thing and start to search for where it might go. Then it’s the process of ‘ahead and
behind’. Sometimes you discover something you can do with it that’s really intense, but
it’s something that has to be set up by a long journey. You have to work your way back
and through." 7
It is very hard to put the thought process in composition into words. Schneider
discusses harmony in composition as a three-dimensional being. “I really think of music
very much in terms of math, geometry, parallel things, things in contrary motions,
chunks that cross and weave, and I think that much of what we perceive and understand
in music is really kind of aural, multi-dimensional geometry: kind of flying in the air.” 8
The contemporary jazz composer John Hollenbeck describes his writing process. “Some
composers find some sort of code, some sort of system, and they write a series of
pieces following that system. I respect that but I've never been attracted to that
method. I really try to make each piece its own thing, its own universe. I think I'm
pretty successful at that, but even if I weren't, it's more important that the process
of each piece be different. 9
Hollenbeck’s method of approach for each composition is similar to Schneider’s, which
includes searching and identifying an original theme for each piece in order for it to
take on a life of it’s own. Upon looking at a successful composer’s body of work, it is key
that there is something new in each piece that sets it apart from the composer's
previous ideas.
7
Maria Schneider, Interview The Green Mountain Messenger, p,12, p.34
8
IBID, p.10
9
John Hollenbeck, Interview from All About Jazz, www.allaboutjazz.com
153
Melody and Individualism
Melody can be the most delicate and personal aspect of a composition, yet at times, the
most overlooked. It will also give the composition its structure through its use of space.
On the surface, it is just a row of intervals put together, but its construction is the
heart of any piece of music.
“A melodic source is the pitch organization of a motif, phrase, section, or any area of a
melody that shows musical unity.” 10 The contemporary classical composer is the
perfect place to study the individualism of writing style, and for tracing the
development of a melodic theme. For example, Schoenberg used and developed the 12-
tone method. Bartok took folk music and his axial system of twelve-tone music, and
Copland combined simplicity by weaving together simple folk, cowboy and hymn like
melodies with twelve-note technique. Going back further, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart,
Schumann and Schubert have put melodic development as a priority in their writings,
making for memorable music that has stood the test of time.
“Although jazz harmony has a direct reference to European art music, its rhythmic
development...[and] melodic materials have strong important ties to folk music [including
Africa, Brazil, the British Isles, the Balkans etc.].” 11 19th and 20th Century classical
composers reinforce the idea that it is beneficial for the student to research the
category of world music, as there is a rich source of rhythm, harmony and melody to
tap in to.
Form and Style
Miles Davis and Bill Evans’ song “Blue in Green” is an important example of form that
breaks away from the traditional AABA or AB forms. It is a 10-measure piece that
circles around, blurring the lines between the top and bottom of the form. Bill Evans
made from a priority in his compositions. “You make a lot of decisions on a purely
structural, theoretical, common sense, or emotional basis…A lot of it can be analytical,
but ultimately the judgement seems to be made on a musically intuitive basis – of being
able to encompass the totality of what you’re doing and to make judgements based on
being able to see it all in one glimpse…Also of great importance, even perhaps the
fundamental determinant, is a feeling for what fulfills perfect form in the piece
10
Ron Miller, Modal Jazz: Composition and Harmony, Vol. 2, p.12
11
IBID, p. 10
154
involved.” 12 Evans views his piece ‘Turn Out the Stars’ as a perfect form. The Form of
the song is A/B/C/D/E =8/8/8/8/8. This piece contains many of Evans' trademarks in
sculpting a strong melody. It ascends through the A and B section, with C being
transitional. D and E have the melody descend. “Each eight measure section has an
individual melodic content…The function of each section is important. A is the opening
statement. B is a partial repeat of the opening statement, but the function is to lead to
the entrance of C. C is a bridge, not a transition. It is an architectural bridge between
the AB and DE sections.” 13 Form is what makes a piece of music breathe through
groupings of phrases.
The Chord-Scale Relationship- The Evolution of the "College

Chords"
Besides rhythm and melody, the chord-scale relationship is integral to the cohesiveness
of the composition outside of free form. In Ron Miller's book Modal Jazz Composition
and Harmony, Volume 1, he classifies the compositional styles into three categories that
include tonal, modal, and avant-garde. In terms of where the emerging composer is at in
this new millennium, it is most relevant to focus on the modal style of composition in the
classroom. Modal composition may be referred to as "college chords" as the sounds
tend to flood the jazz institution's halls once discovered in jazz composition class, and
rightfully so. Some key composers and players adding to the origins of this movement
include John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock.
Composers such as Wayne Shorter and a slate of ECM artists, including Pat Metheny,
John Abercrombie, Dave Liebman, Richie Bierach, Kenny Wheeler and Ralph Towner are
a few examples of the use of a non-diatonic path, while at times paying homage to more
traditional uses of tonality as well as rhythmic feel. The use of modality can stem from
certain modes and scales. The most common include unaltered and altered Lydian,
Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian, Locrian, Hungarian Major, Hungarian Minor, Harmonic Minor,
and Spanish Phrygian scales. These modes give the composer a wonderful tool to sustain
a quality of non-resolution. Tension and release is at the forefront with this style of
composition. Finding a balance between the two is of importance. The use of space
cannot be overemphasized at this point. Slash-chords or upper structure terminology
tend to create more ease in the translation of chord-scale relationships for the
performer. Examples with the use of C7:
D/C7=C7#11,13
Ab/C7=C7#9,b13
12
Gil Goldstein, Interview with Bill Evans Jazz Composers Companion, p. 93
13
IBID, p. 93

155
D-Maj7/C7=C7 b9,9,11,13
AbMaj7/C7=C7#9,b13
There is a parallel between the modal composers mentioned and the contemporary
Canadian jazz sound. Through the use of learning these chord/scale relationships at
post-secondary jazz education institutions (including Banff, McGill, University of
Toronto, New England Conservatory, Berklee College,and Humber College), many
wonderful Canadian composers have emerged creating a new contemporary Canadian
sound by using these techniques. Some examples include Jeff Johnston, Steve
Amirault, Joel Miller, Nancy Walker, Roy Patterson, Quinsin Nachoff, Hugh Fraser,
Francois Bourrassa, and Brad Turner.
Composition –A Basic Formula
Whether a composition is a basis for an improvised setting or not, there must be a

premise that is memorized or written down for the musician. First there is the initial
idea or material. This idea will be labeled A*. Once A has been established, the
composer must move on to one of the following choices:
1. Repeat A
2. Repeat A
• Vary A
• Introduce new material B
• Vary A
3. Vary A
• Repeat B
• Vary B
• Introduce new material C
(4.5.6.etc.)
*A can be of any length. It can be a rhythm, harmony, or melody, or any combination of

the three.

156
Closing
There is a fine balance that must be maintained by the composer as player and vise
versa. Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, John Coltrane and
Charlie Parker are examples of jazz artists who had their own individual styles that
were explored and expressed cohesively between their improvisations and compositions.
Bill Evans comments on the complete jazz musician as a composer: “I believe in things
that are developed through hard work. I always like people who have developed long and
hard, especially through introspection and a lot of dedication. I thank that where they
arrive at is usually a much deeper and more beautiful thing than the person who seems
to have that ability and fluidity from the beginning.” 14 This can apply to the growth of
the composer and the improviser.
The contemporary jazz composer and pianist Joanne Brackeen elaborates on the role of
player as a composer. “If you write your own tunes, you write from the nature of the
sound that’s in you, so that even makes it closer. It’s like the way a poet remembers his
own poetry, as opposed to almost anyone else’s. There might be someone else’s he would
feel close to, but his own is a living thing to him. That’s how the memory of music ought
to be for everyone, because that gives him or her the freedom of playing. It gives you a
freedom in your improvisation that you wouldn’t otherwise have.” 15
Once the improvising composer has embarked on the life-long journey of presenting an
original statement, it will be integral to spend as much time as possible composing, as
the more it is explored, the more choices there are to make. The end result will be a
personal artistic statement, which will hopefully continue to grow and become more
refined and original through the lifespan of the musician. They will obtain a sound that
becomes even more personal and unique as their improvisations will be an extension of
their written work.
14
IBID, p. 94
15
W. Royal Stokes Living the Jazz Life, p. 148-149
157
Bibliography
Dobbins, Bill Jazz Arranging and Composing: A Linear Approach, Rottenburg N.:
Advance Music, 1986
Goldstein, Gil The Jazz Composers Companion, Rottenburg N.: Advance Music, 1993
Liebman, David A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody, Rottenburg N.:
Advance Music, 1991
Miller, Ron Modal Jazz: Composition and Harmony, Vol.1, Rottenburg N.: Advance Music,
1992
Miller, Ron Modal Jazz: Composition and Harmony, Vol.2, Tubingen: Advance Music, 1997
Stokes, W. Royal Living the Jazz Life New York: Oxford University Press, 2000
Wright, Rayburn Inside the Score New York: Kendor Music Inc., 1982 Articles
Glasgo, Don Maria Schneider: A Striking Composition: The Green Mountain Messenger
Vol.2 #4 March/April 1999, written by Don Glasgo
Martin, Mel Wayne Shorter Interview: The Saxophone Journal Volume 16, Number 4
January/February 1992
John Hollenbeck ‘All About Jazz’ Interview: www.allaboutjazz.com
Christine Jensen can be reached at

littlechrissy@gmail.com

158
For any musician who wishes to be a knowledgeable and well-rounded jazz performer or
composer the usefulness of studying jazz history would seem to be self-evident. Jazz
has a rich musical and social history that stretches well over one hundred years and we
can trace its roots with phonograph recordings that pre-date the “Original Dixieland
Jazz Band” discs from 1917. Regardless of whether or not a musician is primarily
interested in one style of jazz or another, exposure to as much of jazz’ recorded (and
filmed) history can only serve to make a better musician. Interestingly, all of the major
styles that make up the study of jazz history (traditional or early jazz, swing, be-bop,
modal jazz, free jazz, fusion etc) are still being played and refined in the present day.
Since we can hear the work of many of the pioneers and innovators in virtually all of
these styles via recordings (and in some cases via films or video), there is ample
opportunity for a student of jazz history to deepen their knowledge of a form of jazz
and expand their understanding of jazz as a whole.
Another important reason to study jazz history is the simple fact that jazz has had an
enormous influence on what became North American popular music. Although jazz, and
its related forms ragtime and the blues, may have had their greatest impact on “pop”
music in the past (particularly in the 1916-46 period), many elements of jazz’ “feel” can
be discerned in the rhythmic patterns (both vocally and instrumentally) in hip-hop and
other contemporary styles (just compare the rhythmic line of Scott Joplin’s “Original
Rags” to the rhythmic pattern of a current rap song!). In the end, when a musician
decides to become a jazz musician he or she has the opportunity to make a connection
to a deep and important tradition.
Since most jazz musicians learn primarily from aural rather than notated examples, the
study of jazz history can open up some interesting new vistas via actually learning to
play, write and/or sing in a specific jazz style. For instance: playing in a “New Orleans”
traditional collective-improvisation ensemble, singing with a “Swing Era” style big band,
transcribing (and playing) a Fletcher Henderson (or Don Redman, Bill Challis, early
Elllington) big band arrangement (or writing something new in this vein), playing/singing
in a free jazz ensemble (performing either transcribed compositions by players like
Ornette Coleman or exploring other approaches to free jazz as played by: European
Towards Teaching Jazz History by Alan Matheson

159
free jazz artists, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Oregon, Han Bennick, Instabile
Orchestra et al).
At an introductory level, transcribing the textural and formal “road map” of a specific
recording is extremely useful. Gunther Schuller has used this technique in his books
“Early Jazz” and “The Swing Era”. Creating these road maps is a very effective way for
the student to get “inside” the music and can help to foster a better awareness of
form, instrumentation and a greater “vocabulary” of performance practice.
Methodology
Ideally, a chronological survey format (in a lecture setting) is best as a starting point
and wherever possible (and funding allows), adding a more in-depth upper level class is
very useful. An upper level class can be devoted to more comprehensive overview of
specific areas (ie: the music of the 1964-68 Miles Davis quintet, early big band
arrangers, “Third Stream” jazz, the “pre-bop” transitional period from 1939-44). The
lecture format class (at any level) should have at its core a strong in-class listening
component. While the instructor needs to provide background and context to music
being examined, I have found that encouraging “deep” listening along with group
discussion to be most important aspect to teaching jazz history. In a given class, my
ratio of music to talk is about 3 to 2. The recordings that I use in class include CDs,
videos and DVDs along with as much music as I can demonstrate “live” as possible (which
might include playing excerpts from Joplin to Hancock on the piano and demonstrating
the use of the plunger and pixie mutes on the trumpet). Most of the recordings that I
use in the classroom are kept on reserve in the college library and they form the basis
for the series of exams that I give throughout the semester.
The students are given a short exam every two to three weeks (usually for a total of
five exams during the semester) on a specific stylistic period (ie: Ragtime and “Early
Jazz”, “Swing” etc) where they are asked to identify from a recorded excerpt (around
1minute and 30 seconds) the artist (composer and/or performer), the song-title and
usually an important musical or stylistic element of the recording and the performer
(“What made this performer’s approach to improvisation unique in the early-jazz
period?” might be a question the would apply to a recorded example of Earl Hines). All
the examples played in an exam come from the recordings played in class (and kept on
reserve in the library).

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Another assignment that works well is to ask the student to compare and contrast two
important figures of the same era (Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke or Duke
Ellington and Sy Oliver) or two players (or vocalists, composers or arrangers) from two
different eras using similar materials (ie: the blues as sung by Bessie Smith vs. Dinah
Washington or played by King Oliver vs. Miles Davis). This type of assignment (which
can be a “take-home” project) allows the student to bring his or her own analytic skills
to the task as well as allowing some room for creativity and the student’s personal
opinion.
Along with a wide selection of recordings, a single-volume jazz history text is essential.
A good example is “The History of Jazz” by Ted Gioia, which presents an excellent
survey of the music from its pre-ragtime beginnings to the mid-1990s.
The main textbook should be supplemented with additional readings (some
recommendations will be listed below) in order to present other points of view-
including readings from fiction that relate to the historic period being covered. The
study of history (in any subject) can be a passive experience, but this can be remedied
by asking students to do road map assignments, comparative analyses and
transcription/performance assignments at the higher levels.
If time permits (and the class is not too large), I have asked students to speak to the
class (towards the end of the term) about a jazz performer that has influenced or
interests them. The student must play one or two recordings to illustrate that
performers’ style and present a brief (circa ten to twelve minute) overview of what
makes their chosen artist unique. If the class is too large to allow for individual
presentations, I will ask for a final essay (c.800-1000 words) on this same subject. The
student must cite at least two recordings in their essay to a maximum of five examples.
Materials and Resources
A basic overview of jazz history should include the following topic areas and artists:
RAGTIME/ “PRE-JAZZ” AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC (c.1899-1916):

Scott Joplin, James Reese Europe, Al Jolson, John Philip Sousa (early ragtime
recordings). Although authentic recordings of ragtime piano-rolls are generally available
on CD, there are some fascinating CDs (on the Archeophone and Retrieval labels) that
give a glimpse into what “pre-jazz” pop music (by African-American and white
performers) sounded like.

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EARLY JAZZ (c.1917-29): Original Dixieland Jazz Band, King Oliver, Ma Rainey,
Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, Jelly Roll Morton, Charlie Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson,
Louis Armstrong (who deserves a separate lecture to himself), Bix Beiderbecke, Bing
Crosby (1927-33 recordings), Jack Teagarden, Earl Hines, Fats Waller, James P.
Johnson.
EARLY BIG BANDS (c.1922-32): Paul Whiteman (arrangements by Ferde Grofé and
Bill Challis), Fletcher Henderson (arrangements by Don Redman and Benny Carter), Jean
Goldkette (arrangements by Challis), Bennie Moten (arrangements by Count Basie, Eddie
Durham and Eddie Barefield), early Duke Ellington.
“SWING ERA” BIG BANDS AND SOLOISTS (c.1934-44):

Benny Goodman (Fletcher Henderson, Jimmy Mundy, Edgar Sampson and Eddie Sauter
arrangements), Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford (Sy Oliver arrangements), Chick Webb,
Mary Lou Williams (arrangements for Andy Kirk and Goodman), Tommy Dorsey
(arrangements by Sy Oliver and Bill Finegan), Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller (arrangements
by Billy May, Finegan and Jerry Gray), Woody Herman, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young,
Benny Carter (as multi-instrumentalist and arranger), Roy Eldridge, Art Tatum, Teddy
Wilson, Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, Lionel Hampton, Jo Jones, Sid Catlett,
Gene Krupa, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Nat Cole (piano and
vocals).
DUKE ELLINGTON: all the eras of his recorded career (1924-73) should be covered. A
study of Ellington’s music should examine his composing, arranging and band-leading
skills as well as the contributions of Billy Strayhorn and many talented (and
individualistic) soloists that were an essential part of the Ellington “sound”.
“SWING TO BOP”: a study of the “pre-bop” era (1939-44) is useful in outlining the
developments in melody, harmony and rhythm that took place in jazz during this period.
Some artists and recordings to include are: Charlie Christian (the “live” jam session
recordings with Thelonious Monk), the Jimmy Blanton-Duke Ellington duet recordings,
Jay McShann’s orchestra featuring Charlie Parker, the 1944 Coleman Hawkins
recordings that featured Dizzy Gillespie and Monk, Dizzy Gillespie’s arrangements for
Jimmy Dorsey and Woody Herman (“Grand Central Getaway” and “ Down Under”
respectively).
THE BE-BOP ERA (c.1945-53): Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Bud
Powell, Fats Navarro, Tadd Dameron, Milt Jackson, Barney Kessel, Chuck Wayne, Oscar
Pettiford, Ray Brown, Kenny Clarke, Max Roach, Sarah Vaughan.

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BE-BOP ERA BIG BANDS (c.1945-50): Billy Eckstine, Woody Herman (the “Four
Brothers” band), Dizzy Gillespie (especially the Afro-Cuban pieces like “Manteca” and
“Cubano-Be, Cubano- Bop), Stan Kenton (1946-47), Boyd Raeburn (arrangements by
George Handy and Johnny Richards), Claude Thornhill (arrangements by Gil Evans), Gene
Krupa (arrangements by Gerry Mulligan).
“RHYTHM AND BLUES AND THE ROOTS OF ROCK AND ROLL” (c.1938-55):
Pine Top Smith, Pete Johnson, Joe Turner, Louis Jordan, Wynonie Harris, Ray Charles,
“Big Mama” Thornton, Muddy Waters, Otis Spann.
“COOL JAZZ” (c.1949-55):

Miles Davis (the “Birth Of The Cool” nonet), Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz, Bill Russo’s and
Bill Holman’s arrangements for Stan Kenton, the Modern Jazz Quartet, the Gerry
Mulligan/Chet Baker quartet, Dave Brubeck, June Christy, Chris Connor.
“HARD BOP AND MODAL JAZZ” (c. 1955-61):

Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Clifford Brown/Max Roach quintet, J.J. Johnson, Sonny
Rollins, Miles Davis (with John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Gil Evans etc), Charles
Mingus, Bill Evans, John Coltrane (“Blue Train” , “Giant Steps” , “Impressions”), Nancy
Wilson, Betty Carter, Sheila Jordan.
“FREE JAZZ” (1949-the present):

Lennie Tristano (“Digression” and “Intuition, 1949), Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor,
Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane (“Ascension”, “Expression”), Albert Ayler,
Arhie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Dave Holland
(“Conference of the Birds”), Anthony Braxton, Sam Rivers, Oregon, Han Bennick ,
Edward Vesala, Ursula Dudziak, Leon Thomas.
“OTHER TRENDS IN JAZZ IN THE ‘60’S AND BEYOND” (modal jazz, fusion, etc…)
Herbie Hancock, Wes Montgomery, Gary Burton, Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis (fusion
period), Mahavishnu Orchestra, Chick Corea, Weather Report, Woody Shaw, John
Scofield, Kenny Wheeler, Michael Brecker, Jane Ira Bloom, Marilyn Crispell, Maria
Schneider, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Kenny Werner, Bobbie McFerrin, Cassandra
Wilson. (this last section is subject to constant change and updating).
Most of the important recordings by the artists listed above are readily available.
There are also a number of good anthologies on CD that are especially useful for
covering the “Early Jazz” period and increasing numbers of anthologies that examine
other eras as well:

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The Riverside History of Classic Jazz (Riverside/OJC; the various “artist overview”
(Eldridge, Getz, Tristano, Oscar Peterson etc) samplers on Properbox and ASV CDs; the
Archeophone samplers (“1915” etc)
There is a growing number of good jazz DVDs becoming available. They range from
documentaries (“Satchmo”, Duke Ellington: Love You Madly/A Concert Of Sacred Music,
the Ken Burns “Jazz” series, “Imagine The Sound” with Paul Bley, Cecil Taylor, Archie
Shepp and Bill Dixon) to performance films, old and new ( the “Sound Of Jazz” with
Basie, Billie Holiday and Thelonious Monk, the Montreux Jazz Festival Series features
Oscar Peterson, Mary Lou Williams and Clark Terry and many others; the “Jazz Casual”
series features John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, and Count Basie and
many others). Jazz video and DVDs tend to go out of print rather quickly, so if you see
something of interest, it’s a good idea to purchase it as soon as possible.
The excellent “Centennial Collection” series on the BMG/Bluebird label features audio
CDs and DVDs (in the same set) by Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Coleman Hawkins, Glenn
Miller, Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman. While the audio CD contains a good “best of”
selection by these artists (with some rare items as well), the DVDs contain a lot of rare
performance material and the Artie Shaw set is particularly valuable for the interview
with Shaw from 2001.
While there is an increasing abundance of good books of solo transcriptions (from Jelly
Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong to Joe Henderson and Woody Shaw), the full scores
of jazz performances (of small and large groups) are not as common. There are,
however, some excellent scores to be found, at present, including the “Jazz At Lincoln
Center” series of small and big band pieces (Morton, Armstrong, Ellington, Lunceford,
John Kirby Sextet, Mary Lou Williams et al) but some titles may be out of print. Scores
from this series can be ordered separately from the individual band parts. Other
examples are the Miles Davis “Birth Of The Cool” and “Kind Of Blue” scores (Hal
Leonard Publications), the Stan Kenton series published by Sierra Music (arrangements
by Bill Russo, Bill Holman, Johnny Richards, Pete Rugulo, Gerry Mulligan), and the
Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk “official” fake books.
There are excellent transcriptions of solos and some ensemble parts in Gunther
Schuller’s “Early Jazz” and “Swing Era” books as well.
While some audio and filmed interviews with historic jazz figures are starting to appear
in commercial formats (the Artie Shaw interview noted above, the Jelly Roll Morton
“Library Of Congress” recordings) one on the largest bodies of oral histories is at the
Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University. Other institutions with important

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holdings are: the New Orleans Jazz Museum, Tulane University (New Orleans), Williams
College (Massachusetts- the Paul Whiteman Collection), the University Of Arizona (the
Artie Shaw collection) and the Smithsonian Institute (the Duke Ellington collection).
Access varies widely between these various libraries, but often photocopies can be
made available for study purposes, pending the proper copyright clearances.
Other recommended texts and jazz history readings:
Ted Gioia: The History Of Jazz

Mark Miller: Such Melodious Racket-The Lost History Of Jazz In Canada
Arnold Shaw: Black Popular Music In America
Frank Tirro: Jazz-A History
Henry Pleasants: The Great American Popular Singers
Martin Williams: Jazz Masters Of New Orleans
Richard Hadlock: Jazz Masters Of The 1920’s
Chip Defaa: Voices Of The Jazz Age (excellent oral history)
Rex Stewart: Jazz Masters Of The 1930’s
Mark Tucker (editor): The Duke Ellington Reader
Stanley Dance: The World Of Duke Ellington
Will Friedwald: Jazz Singing
Stanley Dance: The World Of Swing
Nat Hentoff (editor): Hear Me Talkin’ To Ya (excellent oral history)
Ira Gitler (editor): Swing To Bop (excellent oral history)
Scott DeVeaux: The Birth Of Be-Bop
Martin Williams: The Jazz Tradition
Ira Gitler: Jazz Masters Of The 1940’s
Joe Goldberg: Jazz Masters Of The 1950’s
Whitney Balliett: American Musicians
David Rosenthal: Hard Bop-Jazz And Black Music, 1955-65
A.B. Spellman: Black Music-Four Lives
Arthur Taylor: Notes And Tones
John Litweiler: The Freedom Principle: Jazz After 1958
Ekkehard Jost: Free Jazz
Joachim Berendt: The Jazz Book
Max Jones: Jazz Talking (excellent oral history)
Alfred Appel, Jr.: Jazz Modernism-From Ellington and Armstrong to Matisse and Joyce.

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Jazz is an African-American art form that has traveled past its initial boundaries of
North America and has continued to influence (and be influenced by) many other types
of music from around the world. Nonetheless, I feel that it is essential to develop a
knowledge of and a respect for jazz’ social roots and to bring this understanding to
both our listening to and playing of jazz.
Here is a list of readings that I’ve enjoyed and found to be of interest personally and in
the classroom.
Selected Readings on African-American Life and Music
ANTHOLOGIES:
Selected African-American Writings from 1760-1910 (Frederick Douglass, Harriet

Wilson, Paul Laurence Dunbar et al) (Bantam Books)
From Blues To Bop- A Collection Of Jazz Fiction (Langston Hughes, Eudora Welty,
James Baldwin et al) (Anchor Books)
Hot And Cool- Jazz Short Stories (Maya Angelou, Al Young, Amiri Baraka) (Plume
Books)
Brother Man- The Odyssey Of Black Men In America (writings by: Jean Toomer, Ralph
Ellison, Sidney Bechet, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. et al) (One World/Ballantyne Books)
ZORA NEALE HURSTON: Their Eyes Were Watching God

NELLA LARSEN: The Complete Fiction of
RALPH ELLISON: Living With Music (essays)
Shadow And Act (essays)
Flying Home (fiction)
Invisible Man (fiction)
Juneteenth (fiction)
AUGUST WILSON: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (stage play)
NICK SALVATORE (editor): The Memory Books Of Amos Webber
JAMES BALDWIN: Go Tell It On The Mountain (fiction)
Another Mountain (fiction)
MAYA ANGELOU: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (fiction)

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Recommended Books by Musicians
LOUIS ARMSTRONG (Thomas Brothers-editor): In His Own Words

SIDNEY BECHET: Treat It Gentle
DUKE ELLINGTON: Music Is My Mistress
BARNEY BIGARD: With Louis And The Duke
COUNT BASIE/ALBERT MURRAY: Good Morning Blues
BUCK CLAYTON: Buck Clayton’s Jazz World
ETHEL WATERS: His Eye Is On The Sparrow
BILLIE HOLIDAY: Lady Sings The Blues
ARTIE SHAW: The Trouble With Cinderella (autobiography)
The Best Of Intentions (fiction)
DIZZY GILLESPIE: To Be Or Not To Bop
MILES DAVIS/QUINCY THORPE: Miles-The Autobiography
HAMPTON HAWES: Raise Up Off Me
CHARLES MINGUS: Beneath The Underdog
Recommended Biographies
Don Marquis: In Search Of Buddy Bolden-First Man In Jazz

Howard Reich/William Gaines: Jelly’s Blues - The Music, Life and Redemption of Jelly
Roll Morton
Alan Lomax: Mr. Jelly Roll
Chris Albertson: Bessie
Laurence Bergreen: Louis Armstrong
Max Jones/John Chilton: Louis
John Chilton: Ride, Red, Ride (The Life Of Henry “Red” Allen)
John Chilton: Sidney Bechet- The Wizard Of Jazz
Richard Sudhalter/ Philip Evans: Bix- Man And Legend
Nick Catalano: Clifford Brown
John Chilton: Roy Eldridge-Little Jazz Giant
Stuart Nicholson: A Portrait Of Duke Ellington
Ella Fitzgerald
Billie Holiday
Linda Dahl: Stormy Weather- The Lives and Music of a Century of Jazzwomen
Alyn Shipton: Groovin’ High- The Life Of Dizzy Gillespie
Ross Firestone: Swing, Swing, Swing-The Life And Times Of Benny Goodman
John Chilton: The Song Of The Hawk (Coleman Hawkins)

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Lewis Porter (editor): A Lester Young Reader
James Lester: Too Marvelous For Words-the Life and Genius of Art Tatum
Gene Lees: Leader Of The Band (Woody Herman)
Gary Giddins: Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker
L.O. Koch: Yardbird Suite- A Compendium of the Music and Life of Charlie Parker
Ian Carr: Miles Davis-The Definitive Biography
Peter Pettinger: Bill Evans- How My Heart Sings
Lewis Porter: John Coltrane-His Life And Music
John Litweiler: Ornette Coleman- A Harmolodic Life
LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka): Blues People
Vladimir Simosko: Eric Dolphy- A Musical Biography and Discography
Gene Santoro: Dancing In Your Head-Jazz, Rock, Blues And Beyond
This is obviously an incomplete list, but should provide a good starting point for a jazz
history library.
We are very fortunate that when we study the history of jazz, we can hear (and in a
number of cases) see the pioneers and innovators of this music in the act of creation.
There are a few exceptions to this, most notably legendary figures like Buddy Bolden
and Tony Jackson, but it seems that there are more and more rare recordings and films
coming to light every day (in 2005, previously unissued live recordings of both the John
Coltrane/Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie/Charlie Parker groups appeared on the
market). To teach jazz history is a constantly inspiring experience for me. Being able
to spark my students’ enthusiasm for such wonderful music is a real privilege, especially
since the art form of jazz continues to grow and evolve and not necessarily in a linear
fashion. Jazz, like many other art forms, can be shown to be (by its history) to be both
progressive and self-referential.
On a developmental level, the musical changes that took place in jazz from 1917 to 1945
are amazing, let alone what has happened since then. Because so many of these changes
were documented on records, films and musical scores, the study of jazz history is all
the more fascinating. I learn something new every semester that I teach jazz history
and I’ve found that there’s something new to learn about jazz and its history almost
day!
Alan Matheson can be reached at

AlanMatheson.com
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Right, Oscar Peterson... and Massey Hall.
Yes, Peterson, whose illustrious career at the

piano is now its seventh decade, and Massey Hall,
the site in Toronto of a fabled encounter
between Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie one
night in 1953, first put Canada on the world map
of jazz.
Arguably, they remain the most recognizable

Canadian names in jazz, notwithstanding the
popularity of the flamboyant trumpeter Maynard
Ferguson, the subtler influence of pianist Paul
Bley and trumpeter/composer Kenny Wheeler,
and the emergence internationally in more
recent years of Rob McConnell and the Boss
Brass, guitarists Ed Bickert, Kevin Breit and Peter Leitch, pianists Oliver Jones, Renee
Rosnes, Paul Plimley and D.D. Jackson, saxophonists Fraser MacPherson, Jane Bunnett
and Seamus Blake, clarinetist François Houle, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and dare we
forget? singer and pianist Diana Krall.
But there's more to jazz in Canada than the Canadian musicians who have been
recognized internationally, many of whom have in fact pursued their careers as
expatriates. The music's history here dates as far back as the fall of 1914, when six
musicians from New Orleans, including the legendary cornetist Freddie Keppard,
appeared as the Creole Band on vaudeville stages in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary,
Vancouver and Victoria.
That the Creole Band, which is generally recognized as the first group of New Orleans
jazz musicians to travel outside the South, performed in Canada several months before
it made its first appearance in Chicago and a year before it played New York, is little
more than a fluke of history. But it's a fluke that illustrates just how long and enduring
the music's presence north of the 49th Parallel has been.
It also underlines the inextricable ties, from the very beginning, between jazz in
Canada and jazz in the land of its birth. Of course every country is beholden in this
Jazz in Canada, Courtesy of IAJE’s Jazz Education Journal, by Mark Miller, January 2003
169
respect to the United States. But Canada, by virtue both of its geographical proximity
and its self-effacing suggestibility as been especially open to America's influence in
matters of culture, both high and low, and never more - understandably enough - than in
jazz.
This relationship has been both beneficial and problematic. Beneficial, in terms of
Canada's direct access to the music's greatest exponents - as great as Jelly Roll
Morton, who first crossed the border in 1919. Problematic, in terms of the stifling
effect that such an immediate influence has had for so long on Canada's own efforts to
find the sort of national voice in jazz that many European countries, at a greater
distance, have now developed.
It may be harsh but it would not be wrong to suggest that "Canadian jazz" for most of
its history has simply been American jazz played by Canadians. That's not to question
the skill with which Canadians have played it over the years - as witness Peterson et al.
- perhaps only the originality. Nor, by any means, is it to imply that the Canadian scene
more generally has been just an adjunct of the American scene.
An Historical Perspective
The Creole Band was followed onto the Canadian vaudeville circuit by many other jazz-
related acts during the late 1910s, not least among them the Tennessee Ten, whose
numbers included several instrumentalists prominent on record in the 1920s. Meanwhile,
African-American musicians were also finding work in Canada's hotels, dance halls and
cabarets. Jelly Roll Morton was intermittently active in Vancouver between 1919 and
1921 - his haunts there, the Regent and Patricia hotels, still stand on East Hastings
Street - while drummer Jasper Taylor spent three years, 1920-23, in Quebec City and
Montreal with pianist Millard Thomas' Famous Chicago Novelty Orchestra.
Taylor and Thomas in particular established a pattern for many other American
musicians, black and white, who would spend longer and shorter periods based in Canada
for personal or professional reasons - figures as distinguished down through the years
as pianists Calvin Jackson, Sadik Hakim and Gene DiNovi, guitarist Lonnie Johnson,
flutist Paul Horn, singers Salome Bey and Clarence "Big" Miller, saxophonist Pat
LaBarbera and trumpeter Sam Noto.
Canadian musicians were quick in these early days of jazz to emulate the new sounds
that they heard in person and, increasingly, on disc. Incidentally, the very first tune
recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in January of 1917, Darktown Strutters'
Ball, was written by a Canadian, Shelton Brooks. Montreal's Westmount and Cyclone
jazz bands, the Winnipeg Jazz Babies and the Vancouver drummer George Paris were all
active before 1920. Surprisingly, even Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians showed
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themselves to be quite conversant with jazz when they made their first recordings in
1924, not long after they had left London, Ontario, to find their fortune stateside.
Among the bands that chose to remain in Canada during this period, however, only
Montreal's Melody Kings and Toronto's Gilbert Watson Orchestra survive on record.
Indeed, the Canadian recording industry that flourished in Montreal during the 1920s
(and faltered in the 1930s) took little interest in jazz. (Anomalously, the Ajax label
that produced "race" recordings of American artists exclusively for the U.S. market
between 1923 and 1925 including those of Millard Thomas and the Famous Chicago
Novelty Orchestra was a Montreal company.)
Moreover, the recording of Canada's jazz musicians would be sporadic well into the
1960s, just a few 78s here and the odd LP there, notably Oscar Peterson's first
recordings from 1945 through 1949 for Victor, the only commercial releases by
Canada's "King of Swing," multi-instrumentalist Bert Niosi, in 1947 for Victor and
Musicana, and the debut albums by clarinetist Phil Nimmons' Nimmons 'n' Nine in 1956
for Verve and flutist Moe Koffman in 1957 for Jubilee, the latter LP including
Koffman's popular Swinging Shepherd Blues. The most significant collection of jazz on
record from this period would prove to be a transcription series of some 50 LPs
initiated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for its Radio Canada International
service.
The absence of recordings should not be taken, however, as a reflection on the state of
jazz in Canada during this period. Musicians across the country continued to embrace
the newest developments; swing, which had the active support of the U.S.
entertainment industry, spread north quickly in the mid-1930s; the trad-revival and
bebop, which lacked the same exposure, arrived more slowly by the late 1940s.
It was in this context that Canada's first "stars" emerged - Oscar Peterson of course,
from Montreal, and Bert Niosi, who followed the Royal Canadians out of London,
Ontario. Both men enjoyed national prominence during the late 1940s through CBC
broadcasts, recordings and, for the first time in direct competition with their
American counterparts, personal appearances across the country.
Of course, U.S. bands could simply head north into Canada for a night or two at will,
then continue on their way back home; Canadian musicians, on the other hand, were at
the decided disadvantage of having to travel east and west over great distances that
made barnstorming all but impossible. Not until the Canada Council for the Arts began
to offer travel funding in the 1990s did such tours become practical, if still not yet
profitable.
It shouldn't be surprising then, given the defining issue of distance in Canada, that
individual "scenes" would develop regionally around the country's major cities, each
largely in isolation from the other. Even now, the interchange of musicians between
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Toronto and Montreal, much less between those centers and Vancouver, remains
relatively limited except during the summer festival season in late June and early July.
So the Canadian scene is in fact a multiplicity of scenes, each with its own local legends
and lore, its own stars and heroes, and its own stylistic orientation. In Vancouver, for
example, the local legend is Chris Gage, a brilliant pianist who dominated the clubs and
studios during the 1950s and early 1960s; the local lore surrounds the Cellar, which
flourished from 1956 to 1964. (The name was revived in 2000 by a new club that has
quickly become the city's leading jazz room.)
In Toronto, Moe Koffman, Rob McConnell, vibraphonist Peter Appleyard, flugelhornist

Guido Basso and soprano saxophonist Jim Galloway have been among the city's stars,
and Phil Nimmons, Ed Bickert and multi-instrumentalist Don Thompson among its heroes.
Bickert, now retired, is a particular rarity on the Canadian scene, a musician who could
claim his own lineage were he so inclined (which the modest guitarist surely is not); his
influence on other Toronto guitarists rivals that of his American counterparts.
The same might be said to a lesser degree of guitarists Sonny Greenwich and Nelson
Symonds, each of whom have had their disciples in Montreal. There, the legends and
lore swirl around The Corner - the intersection of Mountain Street and St. Antoine at
the heart of the city's small black community - where Rockhead's Paradise, the Café
St-Michel and the pianist Harold "Steep" Wade thrived in the late 1930s and the
1940s.
That the face of jazz in Canada is otherwise overwhelmingly white is a function of the
country's demographic history. The Canadian census of 1931 - at which point Oscar
Peterson was five years old - recorded fewer than 20,000 residents of African
ancestry in a total population of more than 10 million. Even allowing for statistical
inaccuracies, this figure represents less than half of one percent of all Canadians,
which makes Peterson's story all the more remarkable. And while the country's black
population is proportionally much larger 70 years later, its members are, in the main,
first and second generation Caribbean-Canadians whose musical heritage is reggae and
calypso, not jazz.
In general terms, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal can all be said to have developed a
distinctive sound. Vancouver has the most contemporary orientation of the three,
reflecting the enlightened influence of the city's Coastal Jazz and Blues Society and
the showcase that its critically-acclaimed festival, now in its 17th year, provides for
American and, especially, European avant-gardists. Jazz in Toronto, on the other hand,
tends to be mainstream and musicianly, as epitomized by the Boss Brass. Montreal,
displays some of New York's energy and devotion to tradition but it has a soft spot as
well for individualists. Bandleader Vic Vogel and drummer Guy Nadon give the scene an
intangible character and spirit of its own.
Montreal has also been home since the early 1980s to the wholly cosmopolitan musique
actuelle crowd, which favors a post-modern mix of jazz, pop, French-Canadian folk
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references and electronic manipulations. It's worth noting, though, that one of its
leading lights, the saxophonist Jean Derome, can also be heard with the trio, Évidence,
devoted to the music of Thelonious Monk.
Elsewhere in Canada - Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Quebec City,

Halifax - the scenes are smaller and understandably less distinct. But they, too, have
local histories and heroes, the Yardbird Suite and bop altoist P.J. Perry in Edmonton,
for example, and 777 Barrington Street, bassist Skip Beckwith and alto saxophonist
Don Palmer in Halifax.
Clearly the tradition runs long in Canada, it runs wide, and it runs deep.
The Canadian Scene in 2003
As the new year dawns, the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal looks forward
to its 24th season as the senior, flagship event of its kind; smaller festivals now take
place in more than 30 cities and towns across the country each year, celebrating
everything from dixieland (Victoria) to the avant-garde (Guelph, Ontario).
Coda Magazine, published in Toronto, is in its 45th year; its former affiliate, Sackville
Records, turns 35. The Montreal label Justin Time will celebrate its 20th anniversary,
as will the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville. The appearances
of Rob McConnell's Boss Brass and Vic Vogel's Le Jazz Big Band at the IAJE
International Conference in Toronto will mark each band's 35th year in the business.
Toronto's traditionalist Climax Jazz Band has been going for 32 years, while
Vancouver's avant-garde New Orchestra Workshop (NOW) has just passed 25, and
Hugh Fraser's Vancouver Ensemble for Jazz Improvisation (VEJI) comes up on 23. The
Coastal Jazz and Blues Society dates back 18.
These are Canada's jazz institutions. The Montreal festival and its eight-figure budget
aside, they have survived on the passion, sweat and sacrifice of the individuals behind
them. For that, and for their varying origins and aims, they are far too disparate to
stand as anything that could be described as a "jazz establishment," much less an
industry. And while the absence of industry pressures has meant that there are
unaddressed infrastructural weaknesses on the Canadian scene - artist management and
record distribution, for example - it has also allowed Canadian musicians a healthy
degree of creative freedom from fashion and market forces.
Sure, Diana Krall's The Look of Love sold more than one million copies in Canada alone;
she is, after all, one of our own. But smooth jazz has had only a modest presence with
just two small-market stations, The Wave in Burlington, west of (but not heard in)
Toronto, and The Breeze in Calgary. Significantly, Canada's leading musicians in the
173
smooth jazz style, flutist Alex Zonjic, saxophonist Warren Hill and guitarist Brian
Hughes, have all taken their careers stateside.
But look instead at Canada's festivals. Their characteristic mix of Canadians,

Americans, Europeans, Africans, jazz, blues, and World Music reflects an increasingly
expansive view of the tradition - past, present and future - that now moderates that
long-prevailing winds of influence blowing up from the south.
And consider Canada's most active independent record labels, Ambiances Magnétiques
and Effendi in Montreal, Cornerstone in Toronto, Maximum Jazz and Songlines in
Vancouver, Spool in Uxbridge, Ontario and Victo in Victoriaville, Quebec. By and large,
their rosters are made up of artists who seem intent on creating vital, interesting and,
above all, personal music that draws not on any one tradition, but on many: cellist Peggy
Lee, composers Paul Cram and Christine Jensen, saxophonists Jean Derome, Mike
Murley and Yannick Rieu, pianist Marilyn Lerner, trumpeter and pianist Brad Turner,
singer Kate Hammett-Vaughan, drummers Barry Elmes and Dylan van der Schyff, the
NOW Orchestra, and the quartet Talking Pictures among them.
They're all apparently quite happy to leave the commercial imperatives to the majors -
to EMI Music Canada with Jane Bunnett and the vocalists Molly Johnson and Marc
Jordan, and to Universal Music with Diana Krall and fellow singer and pianist Denzal
Sinclaire, as well as the fusion quartet Metalwood.
And although it's perhaps still a stretch to declare that Peggy Lee, Paul Cram, Jean
Derome et al. have developed a Canadian jazz voice, it's not at all unreasonable to
suggest that they have established for themselves a Canadian perspective - one that is
broad, open and internationalist in its outlook - and that a Canadian voice may soon
follow.
For Further Reading
Oscar Peterson
The Will to Swing, Gene Lees, (Lester & Orphen Dennys, Toronto, 1988; Cooper Square
Press, New York, 2000)
Jazz Odyssey: The Life of Oscar Peterson, Oscar Peterson, (Continuum, London, 2002)
Oscar Peterson: A Musical Biography, Alex Barris, (Harper Collins, Toronto, 2002)
174
Jazz at Massey Hall
Cool Blues: Charlie Parker in Canada, Mark Miller,1953 (Nightwood Editions, London,
Ontario, 1989) Quintet of the Year, Geoffrey Haydon,(Aurum Press, London, 2002)
Jazz in Canada (General)
Jazz in Canada, Fourteen Lives, Mark Miller,(University of Toronto Press, 1982)
Boogie, Pete & the Senator: Canadian Musicians in Jazz, The Eighties, Mark
Miller,(Nightwood Editions, Toronto, 1987)
Such Melodious Racket: The Lost History of Jazz in Canada, Mark Miller,1914-1949
(The Mercury Press, Toronto, 1997)
The Miller Companion to Jazz in Canada and Canadians in Jazz, Mark Miller,(The
Mercury Press, Toronto, 2001)
The Canadian Jazz Discography, 1916-1980, Jack Litchfield,(University of Toronto

Press, 1982)
Swinging in Paradise: The Story of Jazz in Montreal, John Gilmore,(Véhicule Press,

Montreal, 1988)
Who's Who of Jazz in Montreal: Ragtime to 1970, John Gilmore, (Véhicule Press,
Montreal, 1989)
Toute la ville en jazz, Stanley Péan,(Éditions Trait d'union, Montreal, 1999)
Mark Miller, a Toronto writer and photographer, has been the jazz critic for The
Globe and Mail, "Canada's National Newspaper," since 1978. He is the author of five
books about jazz in Canada, and has contributed to The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz,
Coda, Down Beat and many other books and magazines.
175
Figure 1- Art Kane Jazz Portrait (available from www.artkane.com)
Figure 1 displays a famous picture among Jazz enthusiasts. Within the frame are some
of the founders, developers, and innovators of the music, Jazz. How did the
photographer, Art Kane, manage to congregate all of the musicians? What time in the
day was it? What did they do after it was taken? Did they realize how the picture
would affect people fifty years later? The question that does not come to mind is:
where are all the women? One’s initial assumption is that the crowd of legends would
not include more than two or three women. Yet, women have been working musicians
since the first downbeat in jazz occurred. Exploring the reasons for these assumptions
requires a study of the history of jazz. When those reasons are exposed, one might be
able to understand why an isolation of women from the jazz world exists.
Women in Jazz by Alexis Marsh

176
Jazz has, according to some, a sordid past. A response to the effects of slavery and
segregation, this American music was the only outlet many Black people had. For them
listening, dancing, and playing jazz music held a freedom that many could not
experience. It is no wonder that with such a spirit behind it, jazz spread throughout
the United States affecting young people everywhere regardless of their race or
gender. By the middle of the 1930s, also known as “the big band era,” jazz was a popular
form of music. Benny Goodman’s big band was making his audience members dance in the
isles, while Duke Ellington’s band was touring the country and filling the audiences of
concert halls. These well-known bands were a handful of many big bands that were
working at the time. And women were part of them. Sometimes, as will be revealed,
male leaders were taking advantage of the sexual appeal that female big bands offered
and females, for their part, wanted to play bad enough to go along.
Because many women were introduced into the professional world through the big band,
this study focuses on all-female and female-led big bands. Through studying the origins,
historical period, and recorded examples of these bands, I will attempt to find out what
was keeping female jazz musicians from taking part in activities like Kane’s Jazz
Portrait.
Sherrie Tucker pointed out in Swing Shift that there were hundreds of all-female big
bands during the swing era. She started her inquiry with the expectation that she
would find a handful of female-musicians willing to relate their experience as jazz
musicians. When she received replies from women all over the country eager to share
their experience, she was baffled. 1
If I was surprised many years later [after having heard the Count Basie Orchestra] to
discover that there had also been all-woman bands made up of women who were as
serious about the music of the big bands as I was, it is because I made it a habit to
read the major texts on the swing era … which repeatedly presented a story in which
all-woman bands either did not exist or were barely worthy of comment. In the worst
cases, women’s bands were ridiculed. 2
One reason women were not included in the all-star bands or the jazz publicity events
was that many people did not see them as valid jazz musicians. They were seen as
“freaks” or anomalies, who for some unknown reason, wanted to be like men. This
rigidity of gender roles contributed to the seclusion of female instrumentalists by
music critics and further isolated women from jazz history. Even today jazz history is
taught without mention of many female musicians or all-woman bands. This continues a
1
Sherrie Tucker,, Swing Shift (USA: Duke University Press, 2000)
2
Ibid. 5.
177
cycle of social surprise that occurs when people see a woman get on stage with a
‘masculine instrument’ such as a trumpet, saxophone, or a set of drums. And without the
example of female musicians as role models, young women may experience difficulty in
finding their place in a music that is considered a ‘man’s world’. In spite of all this, more
women are coming into prominence in musical circles. Musicians today are more
concerned with making music than with fighting social stereotypes. These stereotypes
can be traced back to one idea: pretty women with instruments can make money.
In 1934, Irving Mills backed an all-female big band led by Ina Ray Hutton. The
Melodears was the band’s name and, along with playing at popular dance halls, they made
three feature films. With the rise in popularity in dance band music, Mills realized the
commercial potential of having more than fifteen young, glamorous women in ball gowns
playing instruments. A beautiful vaudevillian performer, Hutton had no musical
knowledge and could not play an instrument, but she was chosen as the ideal leader for
an all-female big band. Nicknamed, the ‘Blonde bombshell of Rhythm’, Ina Ray Hutton
set the standard for the female big band leader. With numerous ball-gown changes a
night, Hutton was the sexy leader who brought in the crowds. Still, the music had to be
good, and so Audrey Hill, a former-member of an earlier all-female group, the
Bricktops, had a book of contacts full of female instrumentalists that she had met in
her travels. She was the woman who tracked them down and got them playing in the
band.
Guitarist Eddie Durham was the manager of the group, who went on to lead other all-
female big bands including the Sweethearts of Rhythm. He rehearsed the band to be
able to play along side any popular male big band of the time. At one concert, Hutton
used her influence to place the Melodears just before the Count Basie Big Band on the
program. They played all the Basie numbers with transcribed solos, and the Basie band
loved it. On recounting the story, Durham exclaimed, “That’s the way that band played,
just the same as the boys.” 3 Still, Durham was not teaching the girls how to play ‘hot
solos.’ He wanted the women to play musically and with steady rhythm.
It was not easy for the women. Most of society thought that women playing jazz was
improper. The women in the band had to go out of their way to show that they could be
the heterosexual, all-American feminine ladies that society expected them to be. This
shifted the women’s focus from music to proper hair, make-up, and clothing. They were
accompanied by chaperons on their tours and were closely watched by the public.
3
Quoted in: Sally Placksin, American Women in Jazz: Their Words, Lives, and Music (USA: Wideview
Books, 1982) 98.
178
Essentially, they compliantly reproduced the image of ideal white womanhood (see
Figure 2). 4
The women did not let that stop them from playing the music. There were still a number
of female musicians trying to play jazz. Unfortunately, the expectations placed on them
from society caused many jazz enthusiasts to dismiss them as ‘gimmick’ musicians
unable to play ‘real jazz’. Swing Historian George Simon is quoted as saying of the
Melodears: “Only God can make a tree … and only men can play good jazz.” 5 Conversely,
one critic insisted that the band had sounded so good on their films that the
soundtrack must have been over-dubbed by a male band.
Inspired by the Melodears, a schoolmaster from Mississippi started an all-female band

to raise money for Piney Woods Country Life School- a school for poor and orphaned
black children. The first coach was Eddie Durham. Along with teaching them how to
swing, he taught them choreography. Each member had six different gowns with
matching slippers and they were popular among black audiences because they
represented a different African American female. At the time, the African American
female was portrayed in movies as a tragic figure, a maid or mammy, or a hyper-sexed
jezebel. 6 These young women were well-dressed, and under conservative scrutiny.
Durham remembers one night at the Apollo:
It wasn’t too many notes. It was something with little ditties in it, and it was beautiful.
Then a lot of the guys went to the box office and wanted to see Mr. Schiffman [the
owner of the club]. The musicians wanted permission to go backstage to see what boy’s
band was back there playing, see how this thing is done. ‘It was pantomime, they gotta
have a band back there,’ they said. ‘Ain’t no girls can play like that.’ 7
Much of their repertoire was the same as the male big bands although some arrangers
did tailor the charts to better suit the band. Because few of the women improvised,
Durham wrote out the solos.
This lack of improvisational prowess can be traced back to the jam sessions of the time.
Known then as cutting sessions for the aggressive way that musicians would improvise
faster, higher, and louder than the previous player, jam sessions were the epitome of
the jazz man’s attitude. They were held late at night till early morning after the bands
4
Ibid. 37.
5
Ibid. 12.
6
Ibid. 8.
7
Placksin 133.
179
had played whatever ballroom they were booked into. It was here where many famous
jazz musicians leaned to improvise and polish their skill. It is little wonder that women
were not known for their improvisation. It would be rare that a woman would be allowed
to ‘hang with the guys’ that late or be able to take on the aggressive attitude that was
required to take part in the activities.
The Sweethearts, however, were known for their tight section work, rhythmic bounce
and polished sound. A characteristic of the ‘male’ sound can be heard in the brass
section of the band. If a band were to have a strong lead trumpet player, then the band
could get a big, commanding sound. The role of the lead trumpet player is one of the
most ‘masculine’ roles in the big band. She or he plays the highest notes in the charts,
giving the music an extra punch throughout the song, especially at the end of a chart.
The power required to blast high note over top over up to instruments is considerable,
and so the lead-trumpet player has epitomized the dominating-masculine image of a jazz
musician. Also, some of the most noted lead-trumpet players in jazz history were large
men, reinforcing the idea that women were simply unable to muster the strength to
blow high notes. By playing with this power, the Sweethearts were subject to the
accusations of ‘faking it’ by having a male-band play behind them. They never needed to.
The Sweethearts played at the Savoy, the Apollo, went on European tours, and also
appeared in a number of film shorts. Though the group disbanded in the early fifties,
some of the women went on to be professional musicians and start other female groups
in the following decades.
After World War II, men came home looking for work, and the women who had
occupied the jobs were expected to gracefully leave the work force and start raising
families. The start of the Cold War led the country to believe that the way to National
Security started in the home. If a woman was out at night making more money than her
husband, the family structure was threatened, and so the image of the self-sacrificing
home-wife was glorified over the woman who had experienced independence during the
war. Some female bands were still active in the fifties, but many women retired from
the professional music scene.
The emergence of Rock and Roll as well as R & B changed the palate of Americans. The
baby-boomer generation wanted something new to listen and dance to. These smaller
groups were less expensive to hire and brought in more patrons to businesses. The
dance halls slowly became obsolete. Ina Ray Hutton reformed her band and entered the
commercial world of television, and the Sweethearts reduced to a smaller unit. Racial
tension caused by segregation laws made it difficult for them to work in the southern
states. Female talent still emerged in the Jazz world though it was through the small

180
group that women had an opportunity to perform. Also, the women themselves began to
change their attitudes. Ada Leonard, an all-female band leader said of trying to get
women in her band: “They like to feel that they’ve been hired not because of their looks
or sex appeal, but because they are good musicians.” 8 This idea is still prevalent today,
and many of the top female musicians do not want to work with all-female big bands for
fear of being type-cast.
There are some hypotheses as to why these all-female bands never lasted as long as the
Duke Ellington band (over 40 years) or Count Basie Band (the band is still running
today). One idea is that, of course, many women retired to pursue domestic
responsibilities. Others have noted that while the girls may have been long on looks,
they were short on talent. If this were the case then it was the fault of the band
organizers. Most of the bands were founded by men, and the men usually looked for
romantic interest over musicianship. This was a great handicap. Women had to be
considered beautiful to make these bands, and there may have been musicians that
were passed by because of this. 9
If women wanted to continue in their musical pursuits, they had to find other outlets.
Women started teaching, playing at church, in cocktail lounges, and novelty acts. Jane
Sager, trumpet player in Ina Ray Hutton’s band started a female group called The
Frivolous Five. The idea was to have five women play their instruments badly for laughs.
The sad part is that these women were more than proficient on their instruments but
they had to make a living. Says Sager, “We were so crummy and funny, and people would
laugh. Listen, I made more money getting laughs …. ” 10 This, no doubt, only helped to
fuel the poor opinions of the jazz critics.
By the late fifties, a change was beginning within the jazz world. Ornette Coleman
released his controversial album The Shape of Jazz to Come in 1959. The reaction from
musicians at the time was varied; it is reported that Max Roach, bebeop drummer,
hunted down Coleman to punch him in the mouth after one of Coleman’s concerts.
Others sought to hear Coleman because they believed he was playing the music of the
future. David Ake cites the reason for the passionate response as being due to the fact
that Coleman was undermining accepted notions of masculinity in jazz. 11 Up to that
point, he states, bebop had dominated the music scene in New York City. With its fast
tempos, difficult chord changes, and complex melodies, playing the music well or better
8
Ibid. 224.
9
Ibid. 226
10
Tucker 320.
11
David Ake,. “Re-Making Jazz: Ornette Coleman, ‘Lonely Woman’, and the New York Jazz Scene in the
late 1950s.” American Music. (Illinois: University of Illinois Press: 1998) 25.
181
than any other musician on the bandstand served to validate the male musician. He was
viewed as a sort of ‘king’ for the night if he ‘cut’ every other musician on the stand.
There was a correlation between instrumental prowess and standards of excellence,
power, and virility. Coleman broke down these notions, and in turn, changed the course
of jazz history by leaving those distinctly masculine characteristics outside of his
music. What upset the beboppers of the time was that he left enough characteristics
of bebop in his music to be able to hear where the music was coming from: swing ride
cymbal pattern and the instrumentation of alto saxophone, trumpet, acoustic bass, and
drums. It was labeled ‘avante-garde’ and it was a threat to the music that gave so many
men an identity. After this event, female instrumentalists begin to get recognition for
their individual playing.
A year later, Miles Davis released what would become one of the best-selling jazz
albums of the century, Kind of Blue. Example 1 provides a transcription of the first
eight bars of Davis’ solo from the track, Freddie Freeloader. 12
Example 1: Miles Davis solo excerpt (“Freddie Freeloader”)
What is significant about his solo is the space left in the solo and the melody that is
created as a result. The solo is neither fast, full of notes, or written over difficult
changes, yet Davis was often thought as the alpha-male figure because of his apathetic,
cool attitude, and his disregard for being an ‘entertainer’ to white audiences. He also
diverged from the bebop mentality, not to challenge any existing social stigmas, but to
continue to develop and change the music. A double standard seems to exist in this
example-If a man plays jazz without the inherent masculine characteristics in his
playing, he is being artistic, if a woman does the same, it is because she could not play
like a man in the first place.
In the sixties emerged a young composer that would contribute more to the avant-
garde big band than any other. Carla Bley began her musical pursuits when she met and
married Canadian pianist, Paul Bley. They met when Carla was working at the famous
12
Davis, Miles. “Freddie Freeloader.” Kind of Blue. Miles Davis, trumpet. Columbia 40579.
182
jazz club, Birldland, as a hat check girl. Once they were married, Paul would come home
and say, “I’ve got to record six tunes tomorrow,” and Carla would write them all.
From musical parents, Bley grew up on the east coast, listening to all types of music. It
was not until her job at Birldland that she encountered jazz, and while her music has
elements of many different styles, she is regarded as the ‘Empress of New Music’. 13 In
the sixties, Bley had little skill on her instrument, the piano, but what mattered to her
was note choice. Heavily influenced by Thelonius Monk, her solos contain similar phrases
and ideas. Known as a minimalist improviser, Monk’s solos rarely contained any of the
characteristics of the male-dominated ‘hot solo’. It was Monk’s style that got him
international recognition as a jazz master. Example 2 and 3 provides transcriptions of
eight bars from one of Monk’s solos followed by Example 3, one of Bley’s solos 14 .
Example 2: Thelonius Monk Solo (Bemsha Swing)
Example 3: Carla Bley Solo (The Lost Chords II)
In analyzing these solos together, one can see that both players are not filling up the
spaces with eighth-note lines, a characteristic of the ‘hot-solo’. The players are
concerned with rhythmic and melodic lines. The first couple bars state melodies that
are then developed by the improviser. This example is significant because it shows that
the ‘hot-solo’ does not define the improviser as ‘good.’ If that were the case, Monk
would not have the recognition that he has today. Bley is similarly not concerned with
proving herself as a virtuoso pianist, but she is occupied with her effort to improvise
melodies.
13
Dahl 202.
14
Monk, Thelonius. “Bemsha Swing.” Sonny Rollins: The Freelance Years. Thelonius Monk, piano.
Riverside Records.
Bley, Carla. “The Lost Chords II.” The Lost Chords. Carla Bley, piano. WATT/25 78118-23125-2.
183
After her marriage to Paul Bley ended, she married Michael Mantler, a trumpet player,
and formed The Jazz Composers Orchestra. They also formed their own record label
that encouraged any kind of new music. From 1967-72, she worked on Escalator Over
the Hill, a lengthy opera that secured her place as a major composer in the music world.
When asked about being a woman and a jazz musician, she becomes uncomfortable, not
wanting to be categorized as anything but a composer and a musician. Bley does not
acknowledge any set backs due to her gender and replies, “Maybe not many of them
were very good” when asked why more women are not known jazz musicians.
A fascinating writer, Carla Bley’s music often takes a humorous approach, as when she
arranged Old MacDonald Had a Farm for Big Band. She is out to “tickle tonality” and not
to “overthrow it.” 15 When asked about her approach to writing she exclaims, “The little
instruments gets the high notes, the big instruments get the low notes.” Over the years
she has become one of the only women acknowledged as a major composer. 16 The Carla
Bley Big Band is comprised of male musicians from the New York area, with her
daughter, Karen Mantler, playing glockenspiel. The lack of women is not a slight to her
gender but she does not make any exceptions for her music. One of the trademarks of
her band are her soloists. She, like Ellington, writes specific parts for the musicians
she wants in the band. None of them happen to be women.
Another female band leader, Toshiko Akioshi emerged on the American jazz scene in
the sixties when she moved from Japan at the encouragement of piano legend, Oscar
Peterson. Born in 1929 in Manchuria, Akioshi had established herself as the highest-
paid free-lance musician in Japan. She studied at the Berklee School of music and after
a marriage to saxophonist, Charlie Mariano she started a big band with her second
husband, tenor saxophonist, Lew Tabackin. It became one of the most interesting and
exciting big bands in the country. 17 Like Bley, the Toshiko-Tebackin Band was all-male.
Unlike Bley, Akioshi recognized a difficulty in leading an all-male band. Here she speaks
candidly about her feelings.
Being female I think you have a little difficulty because you’re seen as taking a man’s
job. Maybe now it’s much better than before…when we formed the band it was a new
experience for the musicians to rehearse under a woman. I had to think that aspect
15
Dahl 208.
16
Placksin 252.
17
Dahl 166.
184
through very carefully. I think that emotionally, a man still has a hard time taking
orders from a woman. 18
Her band rehearses exclusive Akioshi arrangements and compositions. She calls her
writing, ‘program music’ because the music tells a story. She draws on her Asian roots
to add diversity to the music, incorporating Japanese instruments and text into her
compositions. At the same time, the music holds elements from a range of styles from
Ragtime and BeBop to Contemporary. Akioshi’s records, which are self-produced, have
won four Grammys and the band has played all over Japan and the U.S. For a short
period, they held a residency at the Birldland in New York City.
By the 1980s the all-female big band was coming back into prominence. On the west
coast, Roz Cron, one of the few white musicians in the Sweethearts of Rhythm, co-lead
the all-female big band Maiden Voyage with drummer, Bonnie Janovsky. Later, alto
saxophonist, Ann Paterson took over the leader position. They started the band to give
female musicians some playing experience. In Ann’s words, the band existed “to give
women who have incredible potential some experience; to give women musicians some
work … that’s gonna make them competitive with the guys.” 19 The other female big
bands were frustrating to play in for many of the women. According to Paterson, “They
[didn’t] even care if you [could] play, as long as you [were] a woman, and relatively
attractive.” Apparently, not much had changed since the 1930s. Still, Maiden Voyage set
out to play jazz band music, though they did have some Glen Miller type music in the
book for lucrative work. Patterson points out that the band is a really positive thing. It
gives women a chance to play when they may not be asked to play anywhere else. The
women in the band are showcased so that others might hear them. Most importantly,
the camaraderie of the group is dear to Ann’s heart. The women care about each other
as well as the music, and that makes a big difference for her. It is unknown if the band
is still playing but when they were, the band was featured in jazz festivals, jazz clubs in
Los Angeles and on the Tonight Show.
One of the most prominent all-female big bands of today is the Diva Jazz Orchestra
led by Sherrie Maricle. Co-founded by John LaBarbera and, former Buddy Rich
drummer, Stanley Kay, Diva began in 1993 with the idea that an all-female big band
would be a good ‘hook’ for lucrative gigs. The first member was Sherrie Maricle, a
drummer that John had adjudicated when she was in high school. Kay had seen Maricle
with the New York Pops Orchestra and wondered if there were any other female
musicians of her caliber. He had never seen a girl play like that. They called for female
jazz musicians to come to New York City and audition. At the end of the day they had
18
Ibid. 167.
19
Placksin 269.
185
barely enough women for a band but they went forward with it. There were so few
women around that could play. When asked about the standard of the musicians, John
LaBarbera said the caliber when it was started was at the level of the University of
Louisville Jazz Ensemble II. It was not because all of the individuals were at a student
level, but there was a lack of proficiency in the brass section and that affected the
whole band.
There were women who refused to be a part of it. For some it was an opportunity to be
heard, but for others, it was a dead-end of type-casting and being a novelty. By this
time, the recognition of women in jazz was improving and some women were getting
more work. Diva still had validity but, according to LaBarbera, it should have branched
out to welcome male musicians. Instead, the band has become the novelty that many
women fear being a part of. Today, men and women play together freely and for most
professionals there is not a problem.
At the outset of the group, the band was a supportive environment to develop their
musicality. Since then, the musicians within the group have become competitive,
fighting over who is playing the lead parts or the solos. One reason for some fighting is
because of sexual partnerships within the group. This is one thing that is very rarely
found in all-male big bands. Also, while Ann Paterson cites a lack of friendship in the
Don Ellis Big Band, which she played lead alto on, LaBarbera said that the
competitiveness within the Diva band is not normally found in all-male big bands.
As to writing for the band, John did not make any exceptions in terms of the difficulty
of the material. He brought in the charts that he was writing and they read it down.
Some writers walked on eggshells, not wanting to offend the girls but in a big band
rehearsal, an arranger can demand specific things from their musicians. For the women
in Diva, some would take the criticism to heart, citing racist or sexist reasons for
corrections. A reason for this may be that many women have never encountered the
atmosphere of a big band before. For some, the singling out to fix wrong notes can be
intimidating and insulting when the leader only means to make music.
There was a time when the band could have competed with any big band, male or female.
A comparison of a male trumpet lead part and a female trumpet lead part can be seen in
Example 4 and 5. 20
20
Appleyard, Peter. “Slambo.” Live In Concert. Liesl Whitaker, trumpet.
Steinberg, J. “Gospel John.” Chameleon. Maynard Ferguson, trumpet. Columbia/ Legacy 46112.
186
Example 4: Diva lead trumpet (Slambo)
Example 5: Maynard Ferguson (Gospel John)
Both players end the chart on a G above high C. The range of a typical trumpet player
stops at a high C (above the staff). Playing above a C is possible but requires the muscle
development of a devoted lead player. One can observe that both the Diva player and
Maynard Ferguson are skilled lead trumpet players.
Due to a lack of work for big bands, the band cannot keep many of the top female
musicians. When asked if there is a benefit to having all-female big bands, La Barbera
is of two opinions. For some women, it is a chance to be heard and he quotes the old
adage, “You never know who is in the audience.” Yet for others, the band is a gimmick
and they become type-cast quickly. At the moment, Diva is an active Jazz Band in New
York City. Most of their gigs come from playing in colleges, high schools, and festivals.
To their credit, they have had some of jazz’s favored musicians’ play with them. Among
them are Ingrid Jensen, Virginia Mayhew, and Liesl Whitaker.
As this brief study of women’s involvement in the development of big band music
concludes, I am left with the same question I started out with: Where is a woman’s
place in jazz? Were the women from the Melodears and the Sweethearts of Rhythm
nothing more than a gimmick to make money for dance hall owners? At the outset,
perhaps they were. But in this study, one can see the foundation that they built for
women in later decades to play and be taken seriously by the public and their male
peers. The question ‘where were they?’ has been answered. It is apparent that women
were working, sometimes entirely unnoticed. The truth is that jazz is such a diverse
music that each individual brings something to it that cannot be traced back to gender.
Jazz is meant to be played for musical expression and not to ‘cut’ other players or ‘out-
swing’ other bands. The reason for a woman’s absence in the Jazz Portrait is not due to
a lack of ability but to a society’s lack of change. The good news is that Jazz is evolving

187
all the time, to the dismay of some and to the delight of others. In its nature it is an
emancipating music and frees its musicians from racial and gender stereotypes.
Kenny Wheeler, a Canadian trumpet player based in the UK started writing a new kind
of music in the Seventies. It was a departure from the fast, hard-swinging jazz bands
that were playing at the time. Wheeler has said that he never did enjoy playing the fast
be-bop style. Wheeler started writing the music he wanted to play. Interestingly, it
has been referred to as ‘estrogen music’ because of its beauty. Maria Schnieder, a
composer brought up in the northern mid-western States, has been said to be the most
significant composer of Jazz in the twenty-first century. Her music is like nothing ever
played before in Jazz. She embraced her feminine influence and infused it into her
music, and as a result, along with Kenny, has impacted the jazz world by being herself.
These two musicians are brought into this paper because they represent a category of
jazz that does not fit any kind of stereotype. Rather, the music infuses both feminine
and masculine characteristics without prejudice towards one side.
So, looking back to the Jazz Portrait, women ought not to look on with a sense of
longing, but a sense of pride. The women not shown in the picture have shown
themselves subtly through the music we hear today. Their glory is not that of the men
in the picture but they are still a part of it. Every jazz enthusiast with a passion for
the spirit of the music is a part of it. They understand that Jazz crosses every
boundary and that for every player on those steps, a woman equal to the task is behind
the camera, playing and working as if nothing was wrong.
Bibliography
“Don’t Get It Twisted.” Forty Years of Women in Jazz. The International Sweethearts
of Rhythm. Jass Records 9\10.
“Wild Party.” Forty Years of Women in Jazz. Ina Ray Hutton and her Melodears. Jass
Records 9\10.
Ake, David. “Re-Making Jazz: Ornette Coleman, ‘Lonely Woman’, and the New York Jazz
Scene in the late 1950s.” American Music, edited by Robert Walser, 25-44. Illinois: The
Sonneck Society and the University of Illinois Press, Spring 1998.Vol. 16 no. 1
Akioshi, Toshiko. “Long Yellow Road.” Hiroshima: Rising from the Abyss. Toshiko Akioshi
Jazz Orchestra. TLE 1000082.
Appleyard, Peter. “Slambo.” Live In Concert. Sherri Maricle and the DIVA Jazz
Orchestra.

188
Bley, Carla. “Birds of Paradise.” Big Band Theory. Carla Bley Big Band. WATT/25 78118-
23125-2.
Citron, Marcia J. Gender and the Musical Canon. Urbana and Chicago: University of
Illinois Press, 1993.
Davis, Miles. “Freddie Freeloader.” Kind of Blue. Miles Davis. Columbia 40579.
Dahl, Linda. Stormy Weather: The Music and Lives of a Century of Jazz Women. New
York: LimelightEditions, 1984.
Ellis, Don. “New Horizons.” Electric Bath. The Don Ellis Orchestra. Columbia 65522.
Enstice, Wayne and Janice Stockhouse. Jazz Women: Conversations with Twenty-one
Musicians. Bloomingtion and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2004.
Gourse, Leslie. Madam Jazz: Contemporary Women Instrumentalists. New York and
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Gridley, Mark C. Jazz Styles: History and Analysis. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1978.
Johnson, Maria J. “Jelly Jelly Jellyroll”: Lesbian Sexuality and Identity in Women’s
Blues. In Women and Music, edited by Catherine J. Pickar, 31-52. International
Alliance for Women in Music, 2003.
Jones, Thad. “Central Park North.” Thad Jones Legacy. The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.
New World Records 80581-2
Linmeyer, Paul. Celebrating the Saxophone. New York: Hearst Books 1996.
McClary, Susan. Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality. Minneapolis and
London: University of Minnesota Press, 1991.
Monk, Thelonius. “Bemsha Swing.” Sonny Rollins: The Freelance Years. Thelonius Monk.
Riverside Records.
O’Brien, Lucy. Shebop. NewYork: Penguin Books, 1995.
Placksin, Sally. American Women in Jazz: 1990 to the Present, Their Words, Lives, and
Music. U.S.A.: Wideview Books, 1982.
Russell, Luis. “Saratoga Drag.” An Anthology of Big Band Swing (1930-1955).
Steinberg, J. “Gospel John.” Chameleon. Maynard Ferguson.Columbia/Legacy 46112.
Tucker, Sally. Swing Shift. U.S.A.: Duke University Press, 2000.
Yaw, John. “Balboa Bash.” Artistry in Rhythm: the Stan Kenton Story. Stan Kenton
Orchestra. Proper Records P1149.
Alexis Marsh can b reached at

Alexis.Marsh@gmail.com
189
Meet Fair and Galloway, two Canadian women in jazz:; [Final Edition]
Greg Buium. The Vancouver Sun. [Final Edition] Vancouver, B.C.: Feb 18, 2006. pg.
F.16
In what is still a male-dominated endeavour, Toronto bassist Rosemary Galloway and

saxophonist Jane Fair are pioneers.
Let Toronto bassist Rosemary Galloway tell you about the first time she played with
Wild Bill Davison, the hot-jazz cornetist who came up in the gangster-run clubs of
Prohibition-era Chicago.
It was the early 1980s. He was booked to play Bourbon Street, a fabled
(and long-demolished) jazz room in downtown Toronto, where he'd be joined by a
local rhythm section, something he commonly he did at that point in his career.
When he saw that his bass player would be a woman, he was taken aback.
"As time passed, he just couldn't stand it. We were about to do a

Rehearsal and he said to me, 'Let me see your hands,' " Galloway says, then stops in
the remembrance of it, before breaking into laughter. "He was going to
Look to see if I had calluses . . . I have to think, he'd never said that to a man
before."
And so it went, in the ancient (or not so ancient) history of women in jazz.
Today, when it seems gender just doesn't (or shouldn't) count, these are the small
reminders of what it once meant to be a female instrumentalist in this often
brazen, overwhelmingly male art form.
Just remember Galloway's anecdote next Friday night as she arrives at the Cellar,
a rare West Coast appearance with the quintet she co-leads with Toronto
saxophonist Jane Fair.
PROFILE: Canadian Women in Jazz, Courtesy of The Vancouver Sun, by Greg Buium,
February 2006 190
That four of the band members are women will inevitably draw attention, although
here in Vancouver an all-female band isn't without precedent -- think of Mother of
Pearl or the improve ensemble, V.I.E.W.
But Galloway and Fair go much further back. They may still be in their mid-50s, but
they are true pioneers -- among the very first to start tipping the gender balance
from an absolute male monopoly. Fair, in fact, who first picked up the horn when
she was a French major at McGill, was perhaps the only Canadian-born woman
playing professionally in this country in the early 1970s.
"People were incredulous," Fair remembers, referring to audiences, not her male
colleagues who, she says, were mostly sympathetic. "People would say, 'Oh, my god,
do you have enough to wind to blow that thing?'"
"It was kind of shocking, I think, because people weren't used to seeing that."
Fair and Galloway have been together now for more than a quarter century.
In 1981, they formed the all-female Swing Sisters, followed later in the Decade by
Velvet Glove, a group that also began with just women.
The Sisters, Galloway admits, was "a commercial situation to start with," formed
with the hope of landing work, mainly because of the novelty of its configuration.
"Compatibility," is a word that they both use repeatedly when it comes to

colleagues. The bands have all been about a good musical fit.
Just consider the comfort level on the quintet's 2002 CD, Waltz Out. After
experimenting with swing and even Dixieland, Fair and Galloway find their way back
to their favourite esthetic ground: the kind of contemporary jazz that moved them
long ago, informed by the writing of Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis's 1960s bands and
the classic Blue Note sound. Fair calls it "the most artistically satisfying" project
she's ever done with Galloway. And with young trumpeter Lina Allemano, pianist
Nancy Walker and drummer Terry Clarke, Waltz Out (cdbaby.com) is a vivid
reminder of how sure and sharp the blue- chippers can be on the Toronto scene.
Still, when I asked Fair and Galloway about the new crop of female players they
both, unwittingly began with B.C.-raised musicians: pianist Renee Rosnes (North
Vancouver) and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen (Nanaimo), both based in the U.S. for
many years. Jensen's Montreal-based sister, Christine, a composer, saxophonist and
pianist was mentioned, too.
February 2006 191
I pointed out others still based here. Bassist Jodi Proznick, a Cellar mainstay, might
have had the most gigs at last year's Vancouver International Jazz Festival. The
pianists alone would rival Toronto or Montreal: Sharon Minemoto, for one, or Lisa
Miller, Jillian Lebeck or
Amanda Tosoff, who's just in her early 20s.
"There's so much going on in B.C., who needs Ontario," she says, beginning to laugh,
a typical bit of humility from a touchstone figure in Canadian jazz.
The Jane Fair-Rosemary Galloway Quintet performs at the Cellar (3611 W.

Broadway) Friday night. They will also appear at Hermann's Jazz Club in Victoria
Feb. 25.
[Illustration]
Photo: The Fair-Galloway Quintet: (from left) Saxophonist Jane Fair, trumpeter
Lina Allemano, pianist Nancy Walker, bassist Rosemary Galloway and drummer Terry
Clarke play a gig in Vancouver.
Greg Buium can be reached at

GBuium@png.canwest.com
February 2006 192
What exactly is meant by the concept of fundamentals? If you look at it in the context
of performing music on an instrument, it means the ability to produce a full, in tune,
characteristic sound, while having the ability to manipulate pitches with dexterity and
flexibility (including articulations). Pitches in motion create melody. You manipulate the
sound, add a few characteristic articulations and you are producing melodies. This
sounds quite basic, but a majority of junior and senior high school students have
underdeveloped sounds, and limited instrumental technique. These limitations inhibit
the quality of the musical product. It also takes much longer to have a piece prepared
to performance standard.
It should also be kept in mind that fundamentals apply to any style of music, and any
age level and type of ensemble. Fundamentals or the basics of music equal the lowest
common denominator.
It comes down to basic teaching. At the beginning of rehearsal you spend time working
on sound, intonation, sight reading, dynamics, articulation, and technique in several keys.
This routine continues for the first few weeks, and then the following scenario hits:
“concert in 3 weeks, festival in 5 weeks......I have to get those tunes sounding better!!!”
You stop teaching and start beating notes. The students stop learning so those tunes
will sound better. You no longer spend the time on fundamentals. This probably sounds
all too familiar. You are caught in the situation where you want the band to sound good,
and therefore you sacrifice the teaching of musical skills in order to make the festival
set sound great. The only development of fundamentals now comes as a direct result of
what is necessary to perform the tunes in the festival set.
The pressures of time management are everywhere, and in every situation. When
looking at this logically, not worrying so much about the festival set, it becomes clear
that if students have control of sound, have skills in twelve keys, and know how to sight
read, the ensemble will sound better with less rehearsal time simply because of those
skills. When time is invested at the beginning of each rehearsal to develop basic skills,
it will pay big dividends by giving you an ensemble which has the potential to perform
more challenging music, with less rehearsal time. You have the choice, fundamentals, or
three tunes a year.
Rehearsal Techniques for the Jazz Orchestra: Fundamentals by Gordon Foote

193
Everything dealing with the basics can more or less be divided into two categories:
Sound and Time. Think of every aspect of performing music: intonation, technique,
articulation, range, dynamic control etc. They fall into one of the two categories.
If we think about playing musically, or true to style, it becomes a challenge of

manipulating time and sound to create that elusive element known as musicality.
Let’s get down to it, what are the fundamentals, and how should they be developed?
Before continuing, it should be made clear, that this discussion does not exclude any
instrument, or level of development. The students may have been playing six months, or
ten years. Metronome markings may be faster for more developed players, but the
content is the same.
Why should it be so out of the question to think that people who have been playing for
one year should be able to play twelve major scales, major and minor triads around the
cycle, or a two octave chromatic scale? It should be common place. Unfortunately, it is
very rare to see that happening. In fact, most young players don’t even know that there
are twelve major keys.
The hard sell is getting over that hump to truly believing that it will pay off in the end!
It can’t be abandoned after three weeks, in favour of learning a limited amount of
repertoire.
A very important point to make here, is to simply get back to using our ears! For some
unfortunate reason, learning to play an instrument has become a process of matching
black dots on the page to the proper fingering. The ears are somehow bypassed in the
process of making music. An interesting experiment, is to ask one of your students to
play a simple melody by ear. Take Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, or any other simple
melody. See how long it takes before the melody is correct. Next, repeat the exercise
but start on a different note. It is very likely that this process takes a great deal of
trial and error. The end result has the student using his/her ears to play the
instrument, and not the eyes. In the school system, we have lost the concept of playing
by ear. To create music you need brain, ear, and finger coordination, not eyes. One only
has to think of some of the greatest blind jazz musicians to realize that eyes are
totally unnecessary.
So why have eyes become so important in school music, probably because it is faster to
teach from a method book. Method books are naturally very important, but of equal
importance in becoming a well rounded musician, is the developing the ability to sight
read. The one thing which has to be incorporated is the use of the ears.

194
At the beginning of every rehearsal, religiously set aside 10 minutes for the
development of fundamentals. Use brain and ears....that means no eyes. In other words
you don’t need any type of method book. Warm up with various long sounds at mf. Take
scales and play whole notes on each degree. Work on low range, high range at various
dynamic levels. From the repertoire in your book, find lush rich chords. Isolate them
and use them as a sound exercise. This can also turn into a theory class. For example
the chord may have a #11, a #9, a sus, or a major 7 next to the root. Young students
are not familiar with these sounds and therefore shy away from them. In actual fact
the opposite has to happen. Take the example of the major 7 next to the root. That
creates a half step clash between the two notes, not a pretty sound by itself, but
combined with the full chord it is a marvelous sound.
We learn basically by imitation. There has to be an example of sound for the students
to try and emulate. If they have never heard what a well developed sound is, how can
they reproduce it? If you have invited a professional player to your school, it is very
interesting to watch the reactions of the students when they hear a mature sound for
the first time.
Concentrate on opening up the ears. Have they experienced a live sound right in front
of them? Do they know the differences between sounds? Can they hear the difference
between a thin sound and a rich, dark full sound? How many times have you heard those
horrible trombone sounds, or those wimpy saxes? There is simply no energy (air) going
through the instrument.
One of the best learning experiences is to have your ensemble sit in with a high quality
group. They hear, see and feel the power, the subtly, the musicality, the energy. Can
your students play through the twelve major scales? When they always start on B flat,
they become engrained in the muscle memory in the hands and brain, more or less
second nature. When it is repeated often enough, it no longer requires any thought to
play it. Try going up a half step to B major, or around the cycle to E flat. What are the
results?
Arrangements have melodies in all keys and in all ranges, speeds, styles, articulations
and volumes. In order to play these, you need to have first practiced all of the scales in
all ranges, speeds, styles, articulation and volumes.
Do this all by ear, books only confuse the issue, and the ears aren’t doing any work.
Make the learning of fundamentals an ear to finger coordination exercise and leave the
eyes out of the process.

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The warm-up should be seen as the time where some of the best teaching takes place.
After all, that is where fundamentals will grow and develop. If the warm-up is handled
properly, and given the respect and position it deserves, not only will some great
teaching take place, but it will set up the attitude for the rest of the rehearsal. Often
the warm-up consists of playing a B flat major scale up and down in whole notes. The
real purpose of that exercise is to get everybody seated, and settled. There is little or
no musical value associated with that activity. The next step is to go right into the first
piece, and work out the notes and rhythms.
What is the warm-up really meant to do? Obviously it is meant to prepare the group
mentally and physically for the rehearsal and to get students focussing. Optimize this
time and get the best teaching done here. Develop the tools.
The warm-up should develop ears, sound, intonation, technique, major and minor keys,
range, articulation. It should also instill a strong work ethic, and an attitude which is
positive and ready to work. The warm-up should have a standard format, but the
exercises within the warm-up should be varied. Try not to do the same thing twice.
That sounds like a contradiction, but what it means is that each day the group will do a
warm-up, but the content will be constantly changing.
This is the time to challenge the students. New keys, patterns, faster tempos, brighter
sound, darker sound, expanded dynamic range, intonation, range. This time should be a
mental, physical, and aural work out for all involved. It is up to you to know what you are
going to do, and how you are going to proceed. The pace of this segment of the
rehearsal should be extremely fast, with no more than a few seconds between
exercises for explanation. There should be no time for minds to wander. Rapid fire is
what comes to mind.
One way to teach during the warm-up session is for you to play the example for the
class, and have them respond. Start with just a single note, and play it in various
rhythms. Depending on the level of the class, this can be done with simple clapping,
although it is preferable to do it on the instrument. Play a one bar pattern and then
have the students repeat it. Start with simple rhythms, and then continue into the area
Rehearsal Techniques for the Jazz Orchestra: Warm-Up by Gordon Foote

196
of syncopations. Don’t forget to use long notes, short notes and rests. The more skilled
the students become, the longer and more complex the rhythms can be. This will
develop both articulation and rhythm skills.
You may have noticed that many students have trouble when it comes to playing
subtleties in rhythms. They haven’t developed the ability to place a note a little bit
earlier, or a little later. Placement of notes is obviously very important when you try to
play any kind of music, but even more important when you have to attain the relaxed
feeling of swing, or the energy of Latin music. Since most people have an innate sense
of rhythm, try tapping into it and develop it. Rhythms which normally cause the most
problems are syncopations.
Following rhythmic development, move to the area of melody. Start with very simple
two and three note melodies. Move it to other keys. Play the first five notes of a major
scale, repeat it in other keys. Change it to the first five notes of a minor scale. Speed
up the tempo. Play the whole scale, play it in thirds, play the arpeggios, major, minor,
augmented, diminished. Come up with as many variations as possible.
When doing this by ear, the process will be slow. The students will not have developed
the ear-finger coordination needed. For results to show, you have to stick with the
process. At first it will be frustrating for you and the students, but the results will be
the reward. Don’t drop it after a few frustrating attempts. In any kind of learning, if
you aren’t getting frustrated, you aren’t learning.
Give very clear assignments, not just such things as “you have to learn all your keys”.
When it comes to learning technique it is very easy to set out complete assignments.
Examples might be something like: play the root notes of the cycle in one breath (C F
Bb Eb Ab Db Gb B E A D G) or play all the major triads around the cycle in one breath,
or play the first five notes of each major scale in eighth notes, up and down, with a
metronome marking of quarter note equals 100. You can design all sorts of exercises,
but make sure they have very clearly set out guidelines so the students know when they
have successfully completed the assignment.
Rehearsal Techniques for the Jazz Orchestra: Warm-Up by Gordon Foote

197
Music from orchestral literature to standard jazz requires all performers to be able to
produce sounds with accurate time placement. When you have many people playing a
piece of music, a major prerequisite, is that everyone is in the same place at the same
time. That seems like a fairly logical and simple concept. The question is, just how exact
does one have to be, and at what level does time become clean and accurate, versus
time that would be considered sloppy?
If students have an idea of how to visualize time, as with anything else, they are very
likely going to execute the procedure with a higher degree of precision.
Time is rather intangible, we can’t see, touch or smell it, but we can certainly feel it in a
non-tactile sense. We know when it feels right, and when it feels wrong, but we often
have trouble explaining to players what is required when the time doesn’t feel good.
Here are a few exercises and visualizations to improve time and accuracy.
Start a metronome where the quarter note = 100. Try clapping exactly with it. Precise
execution is the goal, basically mask the sound of the metronome. When this has been
achieved, try clapping slightly ahead of the click. As you clap ahead of the beat, you
don’t actually speed up, you are merely anticipating the beat by a fraction of a second.
The general feeling should be one of being light and energetic. If you start anticipating
the beat more and more, it will go from that feeling of energy, to a feeling of being
edgy and rushing. What is actually happening is a physical response to a mental concept.
You are manipulating the time. Although the metronome has not changed the tempo, the
feel of the time has changed.
With the metronome still at 100 beats per minute, try clapping a fraction of a second
behind the beat. As you move further behind the beat it goes from a feeling of slightly
dragging, to a feeling of being completely lethargic.
With your bass player and drummer playing together, have one of them act as the
metronome, and the other to play slightly ahead or behind the beat. Then reverse the
Rehearsal Techniques for the Jazz Orchestra: Time by Gordon Foote

198
roles. Each version has a slightly different feel to it. If the drummer and bass player
are capable of manipulating the time as such, they will be much more flexible when it
comes to playing together. They will also be able to hear when they are ahead or
behind, because they are able to simulate the various situations.
This concept also works for horn players. Try playing slightly ahead or behind the beat.
Isolate and focus on the concept of time placement.
Another very interesting way of conceptualizing time is to have the metronome clicking
at about 72 beats per minute. Those clicks are now going to be half notes. Think of each
click as beats one and three. Now reverse it in your mind so that the clicks are beats
two and four. These clicks on beats two and four would simulate what happens with the
hi-hat. One of the results is that your brain has to be able to manipulate the time in
your head. The metronome has not changed it is still clicking at 72 beats per minute,
but the concept feels totally different with it on one and three, versus two and four.
Try moving the tempo up and down. As you move it down you need more points of
reference to make it easier to find the beats. In other words sub-divide the beats into
duples and triples. If you put the metronome at the slowest setting and try clapping
exactly with the beat, odds are that it will be several beats before you hit exactly with
the click, and even longer before you can hit four clicks in a row with precision. If you
sub-divide sixteenths or triplets with the metronome, you will start to be much more
accurate. When tempo is faster it becomes impossible to sub-divide as much. You
already have more points of reference because of the tempo. In fact, the faster you
go, the fewer actual beats you should think. For example with quarter notes at 60, you
need to sub-divide (either triplets if it is a swing feel, or straight eighths if it is latin
or rock) and think all four quarters. By the time you are at quarter note =320, you can’t
possibly be thinking sub-divisions.
When we play swing music we think two and four (what the hi-hat is doing). It also feels
better clapping on two and four, rather than one and three. When the tempo picks up,
you need to switch from thinking two and four, and go to thinking one and three. When
the tempo really gets cooking, you need to think even fewer beats per bar, and go to
one beat per bar. When a band is playing a medium up, to fast tempo swing tune, if
everyone is thinking on two and four, it starts to feel jumpy and edgy. Try having
everybody think one beat to the bar, it will probably feel much more relaxed. It makes
the beat feel much larger, and therefore it becomes easier to control. It is easier to
control one long beat as opposed to four fast ones.

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Time has various layers happening at the same time. Try the routine of tapping quarter
note triplets in one hand and quarter notes with the other. Feel the 2 against 3.
Concentrate on the triplet side, and then on the duple side. Feel how they mesh. Try
the same with the concept of 3 against 4.
A conceptualization for students works with the visualization on peg-board, or a

cribbage board. Each hole on the board represents a quarter note. Notice how each
hole is spaced equidistant from the next hole. The holes don’t bunch together or
stretch apart, the space between them is equal.
Another visualization is to think of a row of several fishing lines hanging from the
ceiling. Each line has a weight on the end. The lines are attached to the ceiling and are
absolutely evenly spaced. Each line represents a quarter note. As you get to the next
line, you get to the next beat. The faster you move through the lines the sooner you get
to the next one, therefore the tempo is faster. If you move at an even speed, you will
get to quarter notes at exact beats. It is the concept of moving through the lines at a
very even pace.
Have your students clap a quarter note on beat one. Try to do this for several bars in a
row. The normal situation is that the first few claps are very uneven. Talk about
subdividing the time into triplets and see how the accuracy improves. Most bands
anticipate notes that are written on the beat. The most common situation is to
anticipate beat one. If you listen to your ensemble you will most likely hear uneven
placement on the major beats. It becomes something of a flam effect.
Having done some research in the realm of time and swing concept, it becomes very
clear to hear the problems as they exist in young bands. It only stands to reason, that
if a group of people can’t clap together on four quarter notes, that with the added
complexities of playing an instrument, they won’t be capable of playing four quarter
notes together.

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One of the major aspects needed for an ensemble to sound tight, clean, powerful, and
full of energy, is that of accurate execution of articulations. Many young ensembles
don’t pay enough attention to making the proper articulation. It would be similar to
trying to talk without a tongue, you would hear what is being said, but you would need to
listen very carefully to understand.
It isn’t that young ensembles are incapable of producing good articulations, it is simply
that they are not quite sure how they should sound, and how to physically produce them.
When they have the fundamental of producing the various articulations, the ensemble
will sound considerably better.
Each note has three basic components: beginning, middle and end. Students are used to
paying attention to the beginning, but usually are not concerned about what happens
after that. The start of the note is obviously important because of where it has to be
placed in time. The middle and end are the components which help to bring out
musicality and tight and clean performance.
If we look at the beginning of a note, there are really only two ways to get it started.
It is either started abruptly as in an accent (in other words, from silence to sound
instantly), or a more relaxed version of silence to sound, as if you played a taper
backwards. (Huh!?). Try saying the word “who” or “how” softly and slowly. The beginning
of the word is soft. It doesn’t explode as if you said the word “car” or “king” in a loud
percussive manner. The percussive accent might look like one end of a rectangle, in
other words, a vertical straight edge, the “who” sound might look more like the
beginning of an ellipse.
In the following illustrations, think of time flowing past the illustrations from left to
right. As time hits the shape, sound begins. It is either abrupt, or gradual.
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As time flows by those lines from left to right, sound starts. If you think of time
flowing by those lines at an even rate, and sound starts at each line, you would have
even time. As the time passes each line it is the beginning of another beat. When they
are equidistant, and lined up with what could be the “click” of the metronome, it would
be perceived as “in time” or “on time”, with an abrupt beginning to the sound. The above
sound has no length, and might be heard as a click. Let’s look at a sound which has an
abrupt beginning (as in the above illustration) and an abrupt end, with very little middle.
The above would simply be four staccato quarter notes. There is an abrupt start to the
note, a very short middle and then an abrupt finish to the sound. There should be, as
depicted by the illustration, more silence than sound. It should be complete silence
between the sounds. If you think of the syllable “dit”, you will notice that when it is
said in a percussive manner, it has the potential to be an aggressive type of articulation.
Work with the students first singing the syllable and then performing it on their
instruments. One way to work on this particular articulation is to say the syllable very
slowly (perhaps quarter note = 60). Say it percussively and at the same time, exactly in
time. If there is trouble getting the quarters together, start by clapping them, and also
subdividing the time. Try the sub-divisions three different ways: even eighths, eighth
note triplet (for swing feel) and sixteenths. Speed the metronome up and work for
accuracy at faster tempos.
If the middle of the note was lengthened, but maintained the same beginning and end,
the note might sound more like a “dot” or “daht”. This particular sound still has silence
between the notes, just more meat to the middle of the sound. This type of articulation
is very common in jazz, and is depicted by the “cap” or “^” over the note head. Make
sure to emphasize the “t” sound on the end of the note. Most often this note starts to
sound like “dah” (more of a tapered end) because the “t” is not strong enough. Students
are not used to this sound, most likely because it more or less requires two articulations
for each note, one to start the note, and one to stop it. Remember, it is simply a
staccato note with more middle. It might look like this:

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The notes should literally sound like blocks of sound. The slower the tempo the longer
the sound lasts, but is still relative to the above illustration.
If the legato sound was required it would simply be constant sound with slight
interruptions in the flow. The syllable “duuduuduuduu” or “dooodooodooodooo” might
best depict the sound.
Notice that there constant sound with a slight articulation to add time to the sound. If
the sound had no articulation it would be a whole note. What we have here are legato
quarter notes.
In ballad playing a tapered sound is often required.
In the above, you can see a sound which has a softer rounder beginning. It does not
have a either an abrupt beginning or end. Perhaps it would be more like a “haaah” or
even the earlier mentioned “who” syllable. This articulation is often very difficult for
young players because it requires a great deal of instrumental sound control. To be
capable of having a sound start out of nowhere, expand through the middle, and then
taper to a smooth end, is something even more advanced players have trouble
accomplishing. Having said that, it is much more likely that young players will be able to
execute this type of articulation if they have a graphic depiction.
The taper on the beginning and end of the above notes could be larger or smaller. There
might even be a slight separation in the sounds (silence between notes). The fade on the
end of the note might be extremely long if for example it was the end of a whole note,
or the final pause of the piece.
So far we have looked at notes with abrupt beginnings and endings, and notes with
tapered beginnings and endings. What happens when we combine an abrupt beginning
with a tapered end.

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The middle of the sound (note) has the option of starting soft and getting loud,
starting loud and getting soft, starting soft getting loud and then getting soft again
(and vice versa). By mixing and matching the various beginnings, middles and ends, the
end results are notes which have every possible length and shape. These lengths and
shapes are the tools of sound required for making musical lines.

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There are many common problems that are heard every year in concerts, festivals and
workshops. With this in mind, the following is a list of easily implemented suggestions to
help your band swing harder and play more accurately.
1. LISTEN TO THE MUSIC! Your students are playing a language of music, with
various jazz dialects (swing, rock, latin etc.). They have to hear examples of what it
is they are trying to imitate. Make sure to listen often, and in depth. It has to be a
very active type of listening. Have music playing before rehearsal and use recorded
examples during rehearsals and if possible get recordings into the hands of your
students of the actual arrangements you are learning. Have them play their parts
along with the recording.
2. DON’T RUSH!! The most common mistake, and the most common phrase used on
adjudication tapes. Understand the first and most basic concept of swing, every
note that is written on the beat, is to be played directly on the beat. That applies
to every instrument from the lead trumpet down to the bass. Every single note on
the beat, from every single instrument has to be executed precisely together, and
exactly on the beat. Do not rush or drag, but match the metronome exactly. Listen
especially for beat one. It is guaranteed that beat one will be rushed. Clap the
rhythms to verify and demonstrate accuracy.
3. The laid back feeling of swing does not come from playing behind the beat. If you
look at number two above, you will see that notes on the beat are directly on the
beat. They are not laid back. The laid back feeling comes from the “and” of the
beat, and just how far back it should be placed. No matter how far back you put the
“and” of the beat, the following note “on the beat”, has to be exactly that, “on the
beat”.
4. There are two types of placements for the “and” of the beat. One which is the
normal two-thirds, one-third relationship (swing eighth notes), and the other which
is in large part unknown, but truly responsible for the “laid back feeling”. Simply put,
anytime you have a note on the “and” of a beat, which is followed by a rest (or is
Rehearsal Techniques for the Jazz Orchestra: Swing Harder by Gordon Foote
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tied over), in other words there is no rush to play another note after the “and” of
the beat has been played, that note will be laid back further than two-thirds, one-
third. It will now be placed in the position of the last sixteenth of the beat. By
playing notes in that particular situation, slightly later, the band starts to swing
harder.
5. Look for accuracy in all aspects of rehearsal. Break things down to the lowest
common denominator, and isolate the problem at hand. In order to illustrate and
diagnose the problem utilize the system clap, sing, play. Each of these steps
demonstrates a particular aspect of performance. Clap, illustrates where the
ensemble is exactly together, and where there is room for improvement in rhythmic
accuracy. Sing, illustrates lengths, shapes, energy, forward motion and style of
notes and phrases. Play, brings the basic elements of the two previous steps
together.
6. For swing to happen, the foundation must be solid. Bass players need to play notes
much longer, more connected, and accurately in time (exactly with the click of the
metronome). Notes still need accent and point to them, but they cannot be chopped.
Separated bass notes make the swing feel bounce. Electric bass players need to
think of imitating an acoustic bass sound, and attack. In order for this to happen,
they have to hear what they are trying to imitate. Play along with Basie recordings.
For bass players in swing music, it’s all about quarter notes!
7. Drummers need to think of a couple of basics, the first of which is: keep it simple.
Since the drumset is a foreign instrument to most directors, it is rather
intimidating. The common reaction is to control the drummer, and keep telling
him/her that it is too loud. The drummer is like the captain of an aircraft, everyone
may be on board and ready to go, but without the captain, the engines don’t even get
started. Drummers, take charge of the band, you have to fly the plane! The basis of
swing time for drummers is the quarter note on the ride cymbal, locked up with the
“chick” on the hi-hat on two and four. If you get a good sound out of the ride
cymbal (straight and even quarters), combined with a strong, solid, full and even
“chick” on the hi-hat, that should swing by itself. Make sure the hi-hat and ride
cymbal hit exactly together on every beat two and four. If you play bass drum on all
four beats (known as feathering the bass drum), it has to be very soft. Try staying
away from the bass drum as a time keeper, let the bass take care of quarter notes
on all four beats.
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8. Articulation in the horns is a major weakness in trying to develop swing phrasing and
style. Very few young bands know how to articulate properly, and it shows in the
music. The most common place to hear this is in horn soli sections. They wiggle the
fingers but don’t articulate anything. The opposite or over articulating is also a
problem. This is where series of consecutive eighth notes are bounced. This starts
to sound like the Mickey Mouse Club Band. The notes must be connected but still
articulated. This is a very legato tongue that some people call bebop tonguing. The
proper use of articulations will really help in producing a good swing concept.
9. When thinking of dynamics think of large and small areas. The large section
dynamics would be where the music is marked ff or mp etc. Try to expand the
dynamic range where the softs are much softer, and the louds are much louder.
That point is obvious, but unless the director insists on expanded dynamic range
consistently, mf will be the basic volume from beginning to end. The second type of
dynamic could be thought of as embedded, where there are a certain notes which
need to be louder, and ones that need to be almost non-existent. Articulations that
are accented need to be accented harder, notes that are ghosted need to be
softer. When you play ff it needs to be louder, and conversely when you play pp it
needs to be softer. Don’t fall into the compressed dynamic range of mf to f Insist
on dynamic contrasts. A good exercise is to take a chord and play it at what you
think is a normal f volume. Rather than deal with the traditional dynamic markings,
try using numbers, such as you would find on a stereo (1 through 10). Students will
much more easily relate to a variation of volume level 2 to 6, as opposed to mp to f.
Ask them to perform the chord at level 5 and then just show fewer or more fingers
to indicate louder or softer volumes. You will find that they have to work very hard
to get the volume variations. It is your job to make sure that the dynamic range is
not compressed. It takes so much less energy to play at mf, but the music loses so
much life.
10. Focus your attention on the concept that every note has a beginning, a middle and an
end. If you are only concerned about the beginning of the note, it means that only
one third of the package is receiving attention. Carry the process through to the
end. Be concerned with when, how and where notes are started, but don’t forget to
also focus on the length and shape of the middle, and also on how and when it should
be ended.
11. Most often notes and lines sound like a translation of dots from the page. Really
start to hear the lines, and be flexible with the way they can be played. Shape
notes, both dynamically and in pitch. Listen to what your voice does when you explain
something. It will have dynamic range, where important words are emphasized and
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words that are not so important are negated. It is the same with music lines. Find
the notes that have importance and emphasize them. These will give lines a much
more human and musical quality. Again listen, listen, listen.
12. Piano, in medium and fast tempo swing, stay away from the pedal. The pedal will blur
rhythmic punch, and detract from energy. Remember that you are a percussion
instrument. Too much pedal will also “flood” the sound, making voicings and
harmonies muddy and mushy. In ballads the pedal can be used for sustaining and
connecting chords.
13. Think of the ensemble as actors. When you mount a stage production everything is
exaggerated, from the make-up, to the way the lines are delivered. Do the same
with all aspects of music, from articulations, to dynamics. Most often in rehearsal
the various aspects of performance are compressed. Remove the compression, and
don’t let the ensemble get lazy. Short needs to be short, loud needs to be loud, soft
needs to be soft, notes need to be placed exactly where they belong and with
everyone in the band doing it the same way.
14. Insist on all of these elements. It is your job to make them happen. Do not accept
mediocrity. All students are capable of excellence, if excellence is nurtured and
expected.
15. Directors, stand back and really listen to the ensemble. Very often directors don’t
really hear how the ensemble sounds because they are caught up with the actual
conducting. It becomes impossible to hear the group objectively. Develop the ability
to dissociate yourself from the group, and honestly evaluate the performance as if
you were hearing it for the first time. This is very difficult, and takes discipline,
but will prove to be an eye opener, helping you to truly isolate problems and to
further improve the group.
16. Keep the concept of forward motion and energy in mind. Music has to have energy
and direction in order to live. Understand what factors enhance, and which destroy
the feeling of energy. Dynamics, articulations, accents/ghosts, note/time
placement, sound quality, balance and intonation, are all key factors which will
directly impact the feeling of forward motion and energy. It is common to think
that energy comes strictly from volume. The Basie band has incredible energy while
playing at pp. Find the contrasts in the lines and make sure they happen.
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The leader of any organization has to be many things to many people. If the people you
are leading doubt your abilities, or question your motives, there is cause for concern.
Following are areas of interest which reflect the various elements required for being a
successful and effective leader and in this case a successful and effective ensemble
director.
It seems that the leadership role in a musical setting, can be subdivided into two major
categories; one which is very tangible (rehearsal techniques, conducting skills, musical
concepts, fundamental knowledge of styles, basic teaching ability) and the other which
is much more nebulous (the human side, personality, charisma, approachability, team
building, reliability, dependability, concern for the individual).
One element which seems to be necessary is the presence of respect. This isn’t
something that is automatic, but must be earned, and goes in both directions from
director to students and from students to director. The person giving direction to the
group has to be worthy of gaining the respect of the students. This may be done in a
variety of ways. In a musical sense, the most obvious way would be the demonstration
of highly developed musical skills and performing ability, or the talents and skills
demonstrated in rehearsing and conducting. Gaining respect in non-musical ways might
be through the demonstration of dedication and commitment to the music and the
group, knowledge of the subject, and such things as trustworthiness, fairness,
consideration for the students, and promotion of the group.
Duties of the director/leader:
• Strong organizational abilities (students, rehearsals, fundraising, support groups,

publicity and promotion)
• The musical direction of the ensemble is clear, focused, and well planned.
• There is a philosophy for the music and the direction of the group, which is clear
and well defined
• The ability to choose repertoire which matches the musical direction, level, goals
and group philosophy
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• The setting of clear rules and guidelines for the group
• Setting the atmosphere and tone of the rehearsal
• Making the expectations and responsibilities clear
• Creating attainable challenges
• Developing a positive group spirit
• Instilling a sense of commitment, dedication and pride
• Convincing the administration to support the program
• Convincing the parents to support the program
• Creating a reputation for the organization
Requirements and obligations of the leader:
• Consistency in determination, expectation, drive

• The ability to truly and honestly evaluate your talents, strengths and weaknesses
• The ability to honestly evaluate and emphasize those strengths and minimize the
weaknesses
• The ability to effectively solve problems
• The ability to effectively understand and deal with the varied personalities in your
ensembles
• The ability to mold the various personalities, skills and talents into a single cohesive
unit
• The ability and worthiness of gaining the respect of the ensemble
• To have high expectations of your students, and even higher expectations of
yourself.
• Superior rehearsal skills and techniques
• Solid and valid concepts of time, sound, style, phrasing, articulation, balance, blend,
intonation and the skills to develop them in your students.
• In depth knowledge of various aspects of the subject (in jazz this could range from
improvisation, theory, arranging/composition, to understanding rhythm sections and
styles)
Personality of leader:
• Reliable, dependable, flexible, approachable

• Fair and consistent
• Trustworthy
• Enthusiastic, energetic and hard working

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• Committed and dedicated
• Knowledgeable
• Charismatic
• Passionate about the music, the students and the ensemble
• Strong and powerful positive attitude
• Able to inspire and motivate students
• Will not accept lazy or uncooperative attitudes
• Respect for students, and the music (which is hopefully returned in kind by the
students)
• Knows why he/she is teaching, and those are the right reasons (i.e. Not for the
money, or because it is a job)
Each individual is just that, an individual. Each leader, director, teacher has his/her own
methods for dealing with the day to day routines of students, colleagues, and the
process of teaching. Over the years, with added experience, we all hopefully do things a
little bit better and are a little more effective and efficient. As teachers are observed
over the years, they tend to use less physical energy, but at the same time, the musical
product is of higher quality. This might be called working smarter, not harder. Running
an efficient operation is the goal, experience is the key.
There are those teachers who go about building a program simply with the combination
of determination, desire, hard work and energy, but with limited musical or directing
skills. Others go about it perhaps in a more intellectual way or perhaps in a strictly
musical way. The results are what count. What have the students learned, and how does
the ensemble sound. It is also important to of what kind of musical experience you are
giving the students.
Think in broad terms. How profound is the impact of participating in this ensemble on
the rest of their lives? What is the impact on the students who have participated in
your ensembles? How will it influence how your students think, work, concentrate,
focus, react and evaluate throughout the rest of their lives?
It is very important to assess the reasons why you decided to go into teaching music,
and to periodically reassess your level of commitment, and re-evaluate your reasons.
Which of the following most closely identify you?
• It’s a job, and there are bills to pay

• You have put in several years, and now you are coasting
• You feel you have something to offer (whether you are teaching in the first or
fortieth year)

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• You feel that you can make a difference
• You enjoy working with young people
• You are passionate about the music and really want to share your knowledge
• You want to build your reputation
• You want to build the reputation of your school
The feeder system
A great way to develop a top notch ensemble is to have a solid foundation through a
feeder system. This could be a strong middle school that feeds into a high school, or
having ranked ensembles that feed into the top group. It is a matter of developing and
grooming the younger or less experienced players for the higher level groups. Every fall
there is a turnover of students, and if you have to start from scratch each time, it is a
little like running on the spot, there aren’t people to fill in when the holes are left when
the previous students graduate. If you have groups which feed into the top group, you
will not only realize the benefits of having people ready to jump into the openings left
by graduating students, but there will also be some incentive for the members of the
lower bands to climb to the upper bands. The members of the top group will also realize
that there positions aren’t necessarily secure. This will keep the standards high, and
everyone on their toes. It also helps to preserve the tradition that you have developed.
This does tend to become a bit of a balancing act. You want the group to feel like a
group, with its members feeling secure that they will remain in the top group. At the
same time, there has to be a little bit of insecurity and doubt, so they don’t become
complacent. The amount of insecurity has to be minimal, but it still needs to be there.
There has to be a little bit of an edge. This goes back to the point of always changing
things up. Different tunes, different order, new soloists on the spot, changing
backgrounds. That is how things keep growing, maturing and evolving. The bottom line is
that the music has more snap to it, more life and energy. It becomes more vibrant.
Those in the top band should realize that they have to keep producing and improving, or
they might be replaced. This should be set up as a very formalized challenge procedure,
which is understood by all involved. One method is to have an open challenge system
where anyone may challenge for a spot in a higher group at anytime. The process should
be explained as to how the challenge will be executed, the requirements, and how the
final decision will be made. This must be a very clearly defined process.
Another type of challenge system might be one where challenges are permitted only at
specified times of the year. This could be at mid-semester, semester break, or any
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other convenient time. The challenge procedure would remain the same, with the only
difference is when challenges would be allowed.
The actual challenge could be anything you feel will show the differences between the
two players. Depending of what qualities you are looking for, soloist, sight reader,
styles, range, sound, intonation, balance and blend, you could set the challenge material
accordingly. One suggestion might be to have one prepared piece, and one for sight
reading. It is also a very good idea to have the challenger play in the group to see how it
sounds. You also have to weigh the personal side of the issue. Will the challenger be a
positive or negative force in the group, what do the other members of the group think,
will he/she be accepted by the ensemble. From past experience, replacing a current
member of the group with the challenger, can cause friction within the group. This will
fade if the challenger is truly a better player, and the group realizes that the exercise
was done for the overall betterment.
This section may not apply to many of the programs due to the fact that having several
jazz groups is almost impossible, given the various constraints. Those who do have
strong feeder systems will very likely say that one of the major reasons for success is
due to the fact that the feeder system is in place.
There is no substitute for experience, and no way to get it without doing it! Keep
evaluating your methods, goals, direction, skills, abilities, and weaknesses.

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Most of the job of the director has to be accomplished in rehearsal. Very little actual
input is needed during performance and therefore it is for this reason that rehearsal
time should be considered sacred, and the students need to regard it as such. The
feeling during rehearsals should be warm, welcoming and fun, but everyone involved
should have an attitude that is serious, with focus and a sense of urgency. Rehearsal
time is always at a premium and the most has to be made of every minute. The attitude
the director brings to rehearsal will go a long way in developing that sense of
importance and urgency.
It is extremely important to set routines, rehearsal parameters, rules and attitudes at

the beginning of the year. Since it is more difficult to tighten up a situation which at
first was too relaxed, perhaps it is better to error on the side of seriousness at first.
Peer pressure is very important. When things are on track, it will be obvious, as the
stronger personalities and more senior members will take care of those who are not
contributing, or are detracting from the product. Discipline problems should be very
minimal.
All groups, teams, ensembles develop an identity and a personality. The personality that
the group develops is an amalgamation of attitudes and personalities of the director
and its members. This will change and develop the longer the group stays together, and
the better everyone starts to know each other.
Try and develop this ensemble personality early in the year. You will begin to know who
will be the most trustworthy, positive and helpful, who you can depend on to help with
extra work, and those who might need a little extra attention. Each member is an
individual and has something to contribute. It is very important to have the group spend
some time together outside of rehearsals, as early in the year as possible. It could be
as simple as having pizza, or watching a movie. Watch how the personalities interact,
the senior members, the strong characters, the rookies. They will all start to feel like
they are a part of the group and will be able to contribute to its overall success. The
director’s job is to mold the sum of the parts into a single unit, worthy of the energy
and time commitment, and something of which to be proud.
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The very best way to develop an ensemble personality is to have the short term and
long term goals for the year in place. A great goal is to have the group travel. If at all
possible, it is suggested that one of the trips be scheduled as early in the year as
possible. It doesn’t have to be a long trip, nor does it have to be an overnight trip, but
just the effect of spending time together, away from home and school, working
together as a unit, will go a long way towards building the feeling of unity. One
suggestion is to plan a retreat for the group. These usually consist of a weekend outing,
with a clinician to teach and rehearse the ensemble. The benefits of such an outing
early in the year go far beyond the musical. As we know, we aren’t just teaching music,
we are preparing students for life. This is a perfect example of developing life
preparation skills.
In a university setting, a great ensemble serves as a major recruiting tool for the
school. In high school and junior high, it serves to expose students to the art of music.
It is important to give them a well rounded experience so they will appreciate and
support music for the rest of their lives.
The budding romances, the personality clashes, the friendships, and the rivalry for
superiority (the drummer or lead trumpet syndrome) will all start to emerge. The
interactions will develop the ensemble personality further.
Routine and schedule must be organized and maintained. Try to have a consistent time
for rehearsal. When times get moved around too much, it is very easy to lose the
feeling of continuity and forward momentum. We are all creatures of habit, if time and
place are set from the beginning, rehearsal times tend to have more significance
psychologically, than if they get bounced around from week to week.
Make rehearsal a priority. If it isn’t your priority then it definitely won’t be a priority
for your students.
Some very important rules: be true to your word, be fair to all involved, expect the
best effort from everyone, and above all be consistent. When a rehearsal is scheduled
for a specific time, expect it to start at that time. Respect the time of your students.
Tension is always created when a start time cannot be respected because someone is
late. Don’t accept that type of behaviour. It is important to have a respected start
time for the rehearsal and it is equally important to have an end time that is also
respected. Obviously the director has to set the example for what is expected by being
on time and prepared. Having established what is expected, let the peer pressure take
care of any members who show up late. Everyone will be late at some point, so there
needs to be some flexibility, and each situation should be evaluated separately.
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One trick which has worked very well over the years has been to assess some type of
fine for those students arriving late. The members of the ensemble decide, and
enforce what the levy will be. You are considered late as soon as the ensemble starts
playing the first tune. Students usually give a late comer some grief. If the students
are truly committed to the group, they won’t be late. Let the students decide if the
fine should be waived or levied.
When people arrive late it could also be a sign of some other types of attitudes. It
could be a passive aggressive attitude towards the ensemble, the director or the music.
This also shows a lack of respect for fellow ensemble members, the music and the
director. This type of behavior can be somewhat contagious, and it is best to deal with
it as soon as it is noticed.
The most important element is to establish common goals, and to develop pride in the
organization.
There are obviously many different styles when it comes to rehearsing a group. With
experience, everyone develops his/her own lines, phrases, methods and style. They run
the gamut from very loose and relaxed, to tense and with military precision. Find what
works best for the way you think and hear, and what your ensemble gets used to.
The pace of the rehearsal will go a long way in keeping up the interest. Pace should be
independent of the style of the director. Loose and relaxed can still have a fast pace of
stopping and starting, and conversely, military discipline can move painfully slowly from
stop, through explanation and back to playing. Spend as little time talking, and as much
time playing as possible. Not only will you have productive rehearsals, but there will be
less opportunity for students to start up conversations. Explanations should not take
more than 10 to 20 seconds. Try and develop a routine where the band stops playing
immediately after you indicate a stop. Give a brief account of the problem, explain how
you want them to do it differently, and then try it again. A rapid fire approach keeps
people on their toes. The director should be putting out a great deal of energy during
rehearsal, and should expect the same from the students.
Any behaviour that is not helping the group should be eliminated. An example of a
behaviour that wastes a great deal of time is when you stop the band to fix something,
and several students keep playing after the rest of the band has stopped. Do not
accept that type of behavior, because it will tend to get worse over time.
During each rehearsal there are several things which must be accomplished: the warm-
up, teaching and developing skills, sight reading, preparing and perfecting repertoire,
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and some time for announcements. The amount of time spent on each element will
change throughout the year. Obviously at the beginning of the year, or after a major
concert, much more time will be spent on sight reading. The focus of each rehearsal will
change depending on the various external factors. Be flexible, and at the same time,
mindful of just what it is you wish to accomplish in each rehearsal. Have a game plan.
The order of the routine should be something like this: the warm-up, then play a tune
the band knows, sounds good and is fun to play, next sight read a tune, then get down to
rehearsing tunes that really need work and are on the next performance (this section
should be allotted the greatest amount of time). The last tune of the rehearsal should
be one which is very energetic and fun to play. This will have everyone leaving the
rehearsal with a good feeling and lots of energy. It is very important that everyone
feels a sense of accomplishment at the end of the rehearsal. It is very demoralizing if
everyone feels that it was just a big waste of time.
Pace the rehearsal in terms of brass chops, variety and styles of tunes, tempos, and
keys. Occasionally throw in tunes which you don’t necessarily intend to perform, but are
a real challenge. This can sometimes really get the juices flowing and inspire the group
to rise to another level, or it may have the opposite effect of discouraging the
ensemble. In either case, it is a very good dose of reality. Sometimes they might need a
well placed ego boost, or sometimes the opposite. A well chosen piece to sight read can
give the desired result.
Keep reminding yourself and the ensemble, that several aspects of performance are
independent. Sound quality, time feel, volume, tempo, style, cut-off, note shape, and
articulations are all essential elements, but cannot be allowed to influence the other
aspects. They must work together, and at the same time independently. Think of a row
of light switches. Each switch controls a basic element. When you turn on the switch
for volume, it doesn’t affect any other element. We all have seen the effects of trying
to change the dynamic. Softer should mean just that, softer. Unfortunately softer
usually influences other elements, with the result of softer being slower with longer
articulations. The row of light switches gives the students a concept to think about.
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One of the goals of learning to play music is to have the chance to demonstrate what
you have learned. When a performance is scheduled, it gives everyone a very clear and
focused goal, within an obvious time frame. Although the performance isn’t the ultimate
goal of teaching music, it does serve to motivate and focus many aspects of the
rehearsal. Time restrictions with a focused goal, usually make for the best use of
rehearsal time. When you feel pushed for time, you usually squeeze the most out of
every minute. One way to maintain that feeling is to have strategically placed
performances throughout the year. Everyone works better when they have deadlines
which keep the pressure on you and the ensemble.
The number of performances is a very important issue. It becomes a bit of a juggling

act to schedule enough, but not too many concerts. You should have in mind, a rough
estimate of the minimum and maximum number of performances you would like, and as
mentioned above, they should be scheduled so that a feeling of direction is maintained.
The feeling of forward motion and growth will be lost if you have several performances
scheduled in one month, and then nothing for the next three months.
It is also interesting to be working on material for several different types of

performances at the same time. One audience might be senior citizens, or a recruiting
concert at a junior high, plus a parents concerts or a festival set. Some of the material
might be useable at several of the events, but there would still have to be a
considerable range of repertoire to accommodate all of the performances. That in
itself puts positive pressure on you and the ensemble to make the most out of every
minute of rehearsal time.
While working on the schedule you should take into account the other types of
activities in which your students participate, their work schedules, school work,
activities scheduled for the entire school, plus other trips, tournaments, and sports
events which may include music students. If you consult with those involved, and you
have established good lines of communication, compromises will be worked out to strike
a happy balance. The number of performances will depend on you, the students, the
parents, and the administration. You can’t schedule all of this in a vacuum. Try the
approach of the three C’s, consultation, communication and compromise.
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If you are committed to developing a great jazz program, you will think nothing of
having the group perform for any and every occasion. Be careful not to overextend your
students, the parents, or yourself. Listen to those around you and keep things in
perspective.
When performing a jazz concert, it is customary for the director to also act as the
emcee. This includes introducing the selections and soloists. Often some background on
the piece is given with perhaps a little information on the soloists, the school and points
of interest. After the performance of the tune the soloists should be acknowledged
once again. Make sure that those people being acknowledged realize that when their
names are called, they should stand and take a bow. At some point during the
performance everyone in the ensemble should be introduced (don’t just use the first
names, use the full name). Introducing the group at one time may take too much time,
and might disrupt the flow of the concert. One way to avoid this is to insert the
introductions one section at a time, throughout the performance. Another important
aspect is the fact that the audience needs to hear what you are saying. Speak clearly
(hopefully you will have a sound system) and wait for the applause to stop before
speaking (nothing will be understood if you speak over the applause).
As the director, you should try and convey a relaxed atmosphere, showing that the
group is there to have fun and enjoy making music, but at the same time is very
respectful of the art form. Your comments should be brief and to the point. Have you
been to a concert where the director talked more than the ensemble played?
Flow is the key to a good concert. Make sure that the program has a variety styles,
tempos, features, soloists and keys. Feature the strengths of the group and also try to
hide the weaknesses. Start the performance on time, don’t break it up with too much
talking between selections, and keep the concert length in mind. People won’t turn out
for concerts if you have the reputation of producing long winded affairs. Concerts can
be any length, but never over two hours. Always leave them wanting more.
The atmosphere should be more relaxed and not as formal in comparison to an

orchestral concert. The members of the ensemble should be allowed to look and feel
relaxed. This however should not be taken to an extreme. Occasionally jazz ensembles
have turned performances into sporting events, with cheers and high five’s at the end
of each solo. Enthusiasm should be evident, but it shouldn’t sound like the winning goal
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When a member of the ensemble is playing a solo, the other members of the ensemble
should be paying attention. It is disrespectful to the music and the soloist to see
members of the group engaged in conversation while the soloist is out front playing.
The pacing of a concert should be very important. Vary the styles, intensities, volumes,
and keys of the selections. How do you want to open the concert, with a burner, or a
more subtle approach such as a medium swinger? How do you want to close the concert,
and will there be an encore? Have you covered all of the musical bases.....swing, latin,
rock, ballad....with various tempos being covered? Has the order held the interest of
the audience, or did you loose them half way through? Did the type of music suit the
audience? Will there be an intermission? Will you have a printed program?
Another important element is the uniform. Some ensembles perform in their band
uniforms, others in tuxedos and others in a less formal type of attire. Will you allow
students to wear hats and sunglasses? Whatever the dress-code keep in mind the
meaning of “uniform” and make sure that there is always respect shown for the music
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We all have fairly easy access to recording equipment these days. Every school has a
video camera, and some sort of audio recording device. These two pieces of technology,
if used properly, can really enhance to the teaching and learning experience. If you
have never recorded a rehearsal or concert, and if you have never video taped yourself
and your ensemble, now is the time to start.
Many directors don’t hear how their groups really sound. They also have no idea how
they look when directing. It is very easy to get so involved in the performance, that the
sense of reality is lost. It will be wonderfully revealing when you record your band, and
then sit back, watch and listen to what was recorded. Very often it is quite a shock, “I
don’t really look like that when I direct!” Video tape doesn’t lie. After watching yourself
on video, it is very likely that you will make some changes.
Audio tape your rehearsals regularly. Most often it is the music you want to hear, but
try letting the tape roll through the rehearsal so you can evaluate your rehearsal
techniques. The tape will give you a good idea of how you relate to your students. Many
times the perception from the student’s point of view is different from what we think
we are projecting. You will hear how efficient you are at isolating and repairing
problems. You will hear problems that you may have missed during rehearsal, and want
to fix next time around. Be organized, follow the score, and take notes as you listen.
When you video tape yourself, look for the types of motions you use, and if they are
appropriate. Do they serve a purpose, or are they superfluous. Do the motions fit the
music? For example, in a smooth ballad, are the motions jerky, do you conduct too much
or not enough, what could you do better? Watch the ends of tunes, are the pauses long
enough? One question to ask is simply “could the ensemble continue in this spot without
any conducting?” If the answer is yes, then stop conducting, you might be doing more
harm than good. If you look at this logically, it is rare to see a professional jazz
ensemble with a conductor out front. That should be a very big clue in itself. If they
don’t have conductors, then what is the importance of a conductor for a high school
band? In other words, it is impossible to conduct too little. On the other hand, almost
any conducting is too much!
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If you find the right clinician for your situation, the benefits to you and your students
will far outweigh the costs involved.
Several directors have said that one of the most effective ways for them to learn was
to invite a clinician to work with his/her ensembles. It is also a great way for your
students to learn. Many times it is the director who gets the most out of a clinic. Don’t
forget, the director will be able to use the information for the rest of his/her teaching
career, which could possibly benefit thousands of students over the years.
If good teaching is happening, the clinician should be reinforcing what the director has
been saying. The advantage is to have someone new, say the same things as the regular
director, but with different words, and from a different face. This fresh approach
helps both the director and the students.
Often directors get very involved with the actual conducting of the ensemble. The
sounds and energy are very exciting, making it very easy to get caught up in the action.
They jump around using so much energy, and in the process they don’t really hear what
the ensemble is doing. With a clinician rehearsing the band, the director has the
opportunity to sit back, and really hear the group. This can be revealing at times, and
often humbling, but in the final analysis, the ensemble will sound much better. In your
rehearsals, make sure to take time to stand back, detach yourself from the ensemble,
FOCUS and REALLY LISTEN to what is happening. It will reveal many things that would
have otherwise gone unnoticed.
When someone else works your ensemble, you can get their perspective on what needs
attention, how problems are fixed and their rehearsal pacing. We all have different
strengths, and listen for various things, so it is good to invite people from various
instrumental areas (a rhythm section player versus a horn player), you will get a broad
range of perspectives, and learn some technical information from them at the same
time.
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When hiring a clinician there are several things to keep in mind. Ask yourself what you
want and need to learn. In other words, what are your weaknesses? Go through the
various sections and decide what are the gaps in my knowledge, what do I want to learn
and what will benefit the ensemble the most? The most common are: knowledge of the
various styles, improvisational skills, jazz articulation problems, time problems, and
range problems. Not to mention the fundamentals of sound quality, intonation, balance,
blend and phrasing.
The prerequisites for hiring a clinician are: he/she must have the skills you are trying
to develop in your ensemble, he/she must be capable of demonstrating the various
aspects (30 seconds of demonstration is worth 30 minutes of talking), he/she must
have broad knowledge in the field, and be able to work and communicate with the
students in your program.
The fee charged by clinicians varies greatly. You have to be specific with your request.
Many fine players have valuable information to contribute in clinic sessions, however you
have to be certain that the individual is able to communicate that information. How
often have you heard a comment about someone who is known as a great player, but
really doesn’t say much of value in a clinic situation? It becomes a very frustrating
situation when a highly regarded player is in to clinic your ensemble, and after hearing
the group, says something like “that was very good, just keep doing what you are doing”.
Teaching and performing are both arts, requiring very different kinds of skills and
talents.
If you want someone to be a guest soloist with your ensemble then you hire a soloist. If
you want someone to teach your ensemble, then you hire a teacher who can also play. It
is a very rare combination to have someone who is an excellent teacher, an excellent
player, is articulate, and also has the ability to relate to the students.
One of the best ways of finding people to clinic your ensembles is simply word of mouth.
The scene is not really that big, and therefore the number of good clinicians is limited.
Naturally you will be limited by budget, so try to find people relatively close to you. In
the larger centers it might even be possible to find someone at your own back door.
Travel and hotel costs are minimized. You might also be able to take advantage of
graduates of your program.
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One of the most obvious places to dramatically improve your ensembles is during the
sectional rehearsal. The most common types of sectionals are where like instruments
get together to rehearse trouble spots. Within the jazz ensemble, it is usually broken
into four sections: saxes, trumpets, trombones, and rhythm section. This does not
necessarily have to be the only format. Depending on the work that needs to be done,
the group could be larger or smaller. For example, it is not uncommon to combine the
trumpets and trombones into a brass sectional, or to have just the bass and piano
together for a rehearsal. Since the baritone sax and bass trombone often have similar
lines, it might be a good idea to invite the bari player to the trombone sectional. The
point is to check out the music, know what areas need work and then tailor the
instruments to fit the situation.
Who should run the sectional? Since one of the goals of the sectional rehearsal is to
develop the section so it works together as a unit, it is often a good idea to charge
them with the responsibility of running the rehearsal. This may be a hit and miss
proposition, depending on the strengths of the individual section leaders. Ideally it
would be best if section leaders took charge of scheduling rehearsals, and running the
actual sectional. As we know, this isn’t always possible for a variety of reasons. It might
be good if at first you ran the sectional, giving them an idea of how it should be
organized, and then from time to time give them the opportunity to try it on their own.
We cannot separate the human or personal side of things from the music. These
students are teenagers, with all of the insecurities, fears and worries which
accompany that chaotic age. If we remember that we are not just teaching music, but
developing people, then the situation of having a small group of people working together
as a unit to create a product, turns into a great life lesson. They have to work together,
and in order for that to happen, they have to get to know each other.
Usually if students are given the opportunity to assume responsibility, they will try very
hard to live up to the expectations. In the case of leading a section, one of those
responsibilities happens to be musical, but another one involves developing interpersonal
relationships.
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The beauty of sectional rehearsals is that if properly organized and run, a great deal of
pinpoint rehearsing can be accomplished. Where the saxes have a passage that looks
like chicken scratch, the brass may have rests. The brass sit there doing very little,
while the saxes are sweating it out. With rehearsal time at such a premium, it is best to
move on to passages requiring the full ensemble. Time will be utilized much more
effectively if you leave the nasty work for the sectional.
We have all had the situation where we keep working a certain section to death,
because it bugs us. “They are going to play it now, and they are going to play it
properly!!!” If that is a familiar feeling, you need rehearsal discipline. That will tell you
to leave it for the time being, and catch it in sectional.
Pinpoint the areas in need of work. Have the members of the various sections make a
note of what is particularly difficult for them. It is all about time management, detail
and efficiency.
In the first part of the year, sectionals are good for more than just cleaning up notes,
articulations and rhythms. Work on developing the section sound, intonation, blend and
balance. Every member of the section needs to know where he/she fits, how loud it
should be, and basically what are the expectations of the section.
The optimum length for a sectional is an hour, to an hour and a half. The whole point is
to clean up the sections in need of work. To play through entire tunes is most likely a
waste of time. Go directly to the tough spots.
Students should also know that they are responsible for learning the basic notes and
rhythms during their private practice time. This may not be up to tempo, but at least
the foundation is there. During the sectional rehearsal, there is time to focus on such
things as marking articulations, accents, cut-offs, dynamics, pitch problems, and other
aspects such as when to start and stop a fall. Every detail which pertains to that
section can be worked out in a very specific manner, without wasting the time of
everyone else in the ensemble.
Some explanation of the details in the above paragraph should be clarified.

.
Articulations can be marked as short ( ), long ( - ), and various accents ( >, ^ ). Many
people forget to deal with the end of a note and when to stop it (the cut-off). Once you
have decided when you want the note to stop, mark it with a minus and then the beat.
For example if you have a half note and want it to stop on beat three, simply mark it -3.
If you want that note a little longer, mark it -3+. This means to cut it off on the “and”
of three. Although this seems quite simple, it is surprising how few students know the

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answer to the question, “on what beat do you cut off a dotted quarter note?” We pay so
much attention to where the notes start, but tend to forget when they are supposed to
end. Naturally if everyone starts and stops exactly together, the ensemble will sound
much tighter. Dynamics are marked easily with the traditional markings ppp through
fff, and the variations between. The beauty of dealing with dynamics in sectional is that
you can really give them the idea of just how much variation from loud to soft that you
want. It is always more than they think.
There are two problems at work, concerning the marking of pitch problems. One
concerns the hearing and tuning of the complex harmonies found in jazz, and the other
with the inherent pitch problems of the instruments. Marking pitch problems is simply a
matter of putting an up or down arrow above a note. Obviously if the note is sharp, put
a down arrow above the note, so that it will be lipped down.
In tuning complex harmonies, it is important to isolate, play, listen and then tune each
chord. Many of the harmonies will be uncomfortable for the students. For example, the
interval of a minor second is not a pretty sound when isolated. Students will hear it, and
back away from it because of the “bite” it creates. When written in a chord, and it
happens regularly, that same minor second, that when isolated sounded so harsh, is
what is partially responsible for producing those wonderful complex jazz harmonies.
When students are introduced to those “biting” harmonies, and the importance is
explained, the harmonies will be played with a different attitude. Naturally the voicings
have to be in tune, and that is the reason for isolating each chord.
Isolating a minor second interval can happen in full rehearsal or in sectional, it doesn’t
really matter. What is important is that the “crunch” of a minor second is heard, and
then put in context with the full harmony. If they understand the sound and how it all
fits together, chances are that the chord will be played more intelligently.
The other problem is that of horns having inherent tuning problems. Very common
tuning problems occur, for example, on trumpet. In the low range of the horn, when you
start using valve combinations of 1 and 3, or 2 and 3, or 1, 2 and 3, we know that those
notes will be sharp. Most of the time, students don’t realize just how sharp they
actually are. By understanding where each note fits in the chord, what and where the
tight harmonies are, and which notes on particular horns are out of tune, you will stand
at least a fighting chance of getting things in tune (no guarantees, but it is better than
flying blind!!). Chord balancing can be a time where you not only work on the
fundamentals of tuning and balance, but you can use it to teach a bit of theory. Explain
the chord they are playing and then figure out what part of the chord each person is

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playing. When they know how the notes relate to each other, they will hear it better
and then be able to adjust the intonation accordingly.
The subject of marking falls is also one which needs explanation. A fall is simply a note
which is held, and then the pitch drops. This may be played as a fast chromatic scale
down, or done by dropping the jaw and allowing the note to go out of tune. On trumpet
it is often done with the valves put down only half way (half valve). Trombone can do it
by simply extending the slide. The physical playing of the fall isn’t usually the problem,
it is usually a problem of context. If you listen to young bands playing a fall, they
usually get there, hit the note and drop immediately. The total effect has been lost.
What should happen is the note gets held, and then the fall starts. What needs to be
marked is when to start the fall, and when it stops. For example, if you have a half note
written with a fall, the common way students play it is to play the note for less than a
quarter note value, and then quickly drop. They end whenever they get to the bottom of
the horn. Let me explain how it should be played, keeping in mind that this is an effect,
and therefore should be overemphasized. 1) play the note for full value, and often even
longer, before starting the fall, 2) mark when the fall should actually start, if it is a
half note, the fall might start on three, or you might want it on four, or even later, such
as beat one of the next bar, 3) mark when the fall should be finished, in this case it
may finish on beat one, two bars later.
Style and tempo will influence the length of the fall. Just make sure to really set the
harmony, before starting the fall. The fall is secondary to the harmony, but most
students rush through the process making the fall the most important factor, and
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In a jazz context, the term “conducting” doesn’t accurately describe the function of
the person standing in front of the ensemble. Perhaps it should really be called
ensemble management. Many people who have studied conducting in the classical sense,
often assume that the same rules apply when directing a jazz group. This just isn’t the
case. Hopefully the following guidelines will help you with your jazz groups and give
some food for thought.
It is important to keep in mind that the majority of work with a jazz group is completed
during the rehearsal. When it comes to the concert situation, the director assumes a
role which might be considered closer to that of a traffic cop, rather than a conductor.
First rule: forget almost everything you have learned about conducting concert bands,
choirs and orchestras. There is very little carryover. The first difference, you don’t
use a baton. The second rule, for the most part, get out of the way and let the band
play. There are many directors who feel they need to conduct everything.
The easiest way to go through the norms of directing/conducting jazz groups, is to

divide it into categories of what, when, where, why, and how. We already know who, and
that is you!
What
When it comes right down to it, there are very few things in jazz which require any
conducting. Most of the work is done in rehearsal. In the performance setting, the
ensemble should pretty much take care of itself. Naturally you have to get the group
started, and that means a count-off. Depending on the style and tempo you will conduct
more or less. For example, ballads should have more give and take in the tempos, sort of
elastic time, and therefore require more conducting through the changes. If a tune
doesn’t change tempo, after the ensemble is playing, they really don’t require any more
conducting. There are certain things, which need to be conducted, but the majority of
the time will be spent listening. The major function of the director is to count-off
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tempos and cut-off the last pause (in other words, get them started and then get them
stopped). In between those two functions, not much is required in terms of actual time
conducting. You need to conduct tempo changes, cues, open sections, the end of open
sections and ballads. Balance and intonation problems can also be pointed out.
Basic directing can be divided into two categories: 1) time conducting or time
management, 2) form and traffic management.
Time conducting means the actual conducting, beat patterns, movements and gestures
using standard beat patterns. Time management refers to keeping tempos “in the
pocket”, not rushing or dragging. You could call it the time police. That is usually done
by snapping fingers, or clapping (on two and four in swing, and one and three in latin) to
illustrate where the time should be placed. Often it is the drummer or the bass player
(or both) who can help to rectify the situation. If you have eye contact and hand signals
worked out, they will get the message and start to improve the situation.
Hand signals that work in order to change the tempo are quite simple. If the tempo is
dragging, just make circles in the air with your hand. If the tempo is rushing, put your
two open hands together in front of you in the shape of a “V”, which means to get back
into the pocket. Often if you just snap or clap for a couple of bars, the time usually
finds the pocket again. These signals are used all the time in rehearsals, giving us a way
of communicating during a performance.
What form and traffic management means, is simply that it is the director’s job to
control the flow of soloists, creating open sections for soloists, plus adding
backgrounds and endings. To keep your group on their toes, it is important to vary the
order of things. Don’t perform the tunes the same way. Use different soloists, open
sections up, add backgrounds, and rotate which sections will play the backgrounds.
Most of that last paragraph probably needs some explanation. First of all, jazz tunes
have form, for example, twelve bar blues. Arrangements are written with sections for
solos. Each twelve bar section is the beginning of another chorus. Instead of just
playing through the twelve bar solo section once and then continuing with the
arrangement, it is possible to create an open section to make more room for the soloist.
It is also possible to have several soloists in one open section. It is like adding open
repeats, where the cue to either add backgrounds or move to the next section is given
by the director. The easiest way to “open up” a section is to form an “O” with your
hands. Since you will have told them where the form begins and ends, they will know
where the open section is, and will keep repeating it until the signal to “go on”. That

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signal is simply a closed fist held over your head. When the group gets to the end of
the form, it is like removing the temporary repeat sign and continuing with the piece.
During these open sections, there are often backgrounds, lines, or punches in the
arrangement. Mix and match who plays them, and when. Point to a soloist. That person
will stand up and take a solo from the beginning of the form. For a trumpet solo, have
the saxes play the background. Next time, don’t have any backgrounds at all. Perhaps
one time through have everyone play them. Changing soloists and backgrounds every
time you play a particular tune will accomplish several things. It will give the solos
added textural interest, it will keep everyone on their toes because they don’t know
who is playing first, it keeps the tunes fresh, and it keeps everyone concentrating on
the form. By mixing and matching soloists, form, and backgrounds, the tune will be
different every time it is performed. The tune will start to evolve and the students will
become much more creative in the process. They will start to feel the freedom to
experiment. It should be made clear that the form never varies. In other words if it is
an AABA form, that must always be respected. Solos must keep that form, and not just
be played over a repeated “A” section.
When to conduct
For the most part, you will not conduct. It is however permissible to conduct through
tempo changes, in odd meter tunes, and in ballads, since time there is somewhat elastic
(or should be). Naturally you will have to conduct pauses and releases. Dynamic
contrasts will also be indicated.
Force the group to develop and rely on its own time. This makes them use their ears.
They will be much more aware and focused if you give them the responsibility of
maintaining the tempo and groove. Remember that the tradition of concert band and
orchestral conducting does not apply here.
If by chance you have combos at your school, there should be no conductor at all, just
the people in the group. Think of any of the great jazz combos, there is never a
conductor. They will have to be responsible for all tempo changes, starting and stopping,
form, and backgrounds. During rehearsals the director will work on developing the
ensemble as well as the music, but this should be done without actually standing in front
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The movements of conducting
Hopefully you have seen and heard jazz groups of various levels. This in itself is an
irreplaceable learning experience. Try for a moment to separate the movements,
motions and gestures of the conductor from the music. Everyone seems to develop an
individual style, but keep in mind that the movements should fit the music. There are
those who dance, jump and flail, as if trying to direct a 747 around an airport, and
those at the other extreme who are so mousy, that it seems as though the ensemble is
running over them. If you video yourself, look for a few things. First of all, do your
motions fit the styles and dynamics, are they too large or too small, too jerky or too
smooth for the style and volume? All of these are subjective to a point, but if you have
never really looked at your actual conducting, after seeing yourself on video, you might
decide to modify your movements. Most often, we just get involved with conducting, and
never give it another thought. This can be a problem.
Have you ever seen the conductor who is working so hard, jumping, running, wildly
waving arms, hair flying, apparently with the thought in mind that this display of energy
will improve the performance of the group? Sadly enough, it can often have the
opposite effect. It is a difficult balance, trying to get energy from the ensemble
without overdoing it from a conducting standpoint.
A very good idea is to force yourself to step back a pace or two, and listen to the
ensemble. Without moving, just focus on the sound of the ensemble, and listen. When
you separate yourself from the ensemble, and really listen, it is amazing how much more
you will hear. It will allow you to be much more efficient and effective in rehearsal,
because you will hear the problems much more quickly and clearly. Spend time focusing
your listening on various areas of the ensemble. Listen to each section and to each
individual of each section; listen for balance, blend, sound quality, intonation balance,
phrasing, dynamics, articulation, and style. Listen to the hi-hat, the bass drum, the ride
cymbal, the bass sound, attack, style etc. What you are doing is elevating your hearing
and perception of the elements necessary in order to improve the performance or your
ensemble. Things will be much clearer if you disengage from the ensemble from time to
time.
Listen to the ensemble from a cerebral point of view, and a musical point of view, and
then from a visceral point of view. Each will complement the other.

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The count-off
One of the most important aspects of directing is to get the group started, with the
right tempo, the right volume, the appropriate amount of energy, and the right groove.
What happens from the first note, is a direct result of the count-off.
An easy way to get the tempo and feel you want, is to simply sing the melody in your
head. When that feels good and is firmly established, start the count-off. Impress
upon the students that the tune doesn’t start at the first note, but rather at the first
snap of the count-off. They must concentrate on the time and feel, in order that the
tune starts together, and feels good from beat one. Too often the director starts the
count-off and the ensemble is still talking and obviously not concentrating. If that is
the case, the ensemble could be several measures into the tune before the ensemble
locks in the time. The tune starts at the first beat of the count-off, and it is your
responsibility to expect and reinforce that.
The length of the count-off will vary depending on the tempo and style of the piece.
The faster the tune, the longer it takes to establish the tempo, therefore it will need a
longer count-off. Ballads on the other hand really don’t need a count-off, just conduct
one beat before the top and it is away. With ballads it is essential to have the attention
of everyone before starting, better still, insist on it! It is very difficult to start a slow
tempo and be together. The only way is to subdivide. Don’t accept an entrance that is
not together. Stop and start again until it is together. Try clapping the first note of a
ballad. If it is a soft entrance it will take some serious work to produce it accurately.
A typical sequence for the count-off of a medium swing tune might go as follows, sing
the tune in your head until you like the feel and tempo, start snapping (which does not
stop until the tune has started) on two and four with the tune still going in your head.
With everyone is concentrating and with eye contact (especially the drummer), tell the
group the length of the count-off (usually four bars), then start the count-off. When
the group is used to your counting, you won’t need to explain it. The usual four bar
count-off is: one...two...one.two.one, two, three, four.
Try to show the energy and dynamic required for the particular piece, in the count-off.
A soft entrance will have a different type of count-off than one that starts at fff.
A very common mistake is one where the count-off is at one tempo, and then the
ensemble starts at a different tempo. Do not accept a tempo that is different from
that which was given. Stop and redo it until the count-off, and ensemble tempo match.

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Another common problem is that of an inconsistent tempo during the count-off. This is
usually noticeable at the beginning of a faster tempo tune, or one that starts at ff. In a
four bar count-off, the first two bars are in tempo, but the last two speed up, trying to
convey the energy that is expected at the beginning of the tune.
Throughout the tempo spectrum of swing tunes, there is a point at which the snaps will
shift from beats two and four, to beats one and three. With very fast tempos, it is
best to snap just one beat to the bar. Although it is mostly psychological, the ensemble
will play with a much more relaxed feel, if everyone thinks one beat to the bar. Thinking
on beats two and four at fast tempos will make everything feel choppy and bouncy. Try
thinking the big beat, just one to the bar.
A typical fast tempo swing tune count-off might work like this (perhaps think of
Cherokee, where the half note might be mm 132) sing the melody and think the tempo,
start snapping one to the bar (on beat one), give an eight bar count-off.... One.......,
one......., one..., one..., one,two,one,two, and then the ensemble kicks. From then on, think
one beat to the bar.
The metronome
This can be a very revealing and at the same time, a very helpful and useful tool.
Consistent time is a concern of every musician. We speed up, and we slow down, all the
while we are trying to control the time, and find that even tempo.
If we are always conscious of time and work to improve it, eventually it will improve.
The metronome is one of those tools to help us along the way. Think of the metronome
as a speedometer. You can use it to tell when you have improved technical speed, and
when you have the tune at tempo. It also keeps you honest because it doesn’t change (if
you have a good metronome).
Try using it in sectional or full band rehearsals. The ones with the light will show you
the tempo even if you can’t hear it. Another trick is to plug one of the electronic types
into an amplifier. Everyone can hear the clicks. So many rhythms have a psychological
effect, especially when going from triples to duples, or vice versa. When playing with
the metronome, you get a much clearer picture of how things should line up, and can
then compensate for the psychological factor.

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In sectionals, it can be used to rehearse a particularly difficult passage, by starting it
slowly, and then speeding it up, notch by notch. Sometimes this is the only way some
members of the ensemble will practice.
Put the metronome on at half note equals 100. The first click would be beat one, and
the second would be beat three. Listen to it like that for a few bars. Without touching
the metronome, have your mind manipulate what were beats one and three, into beats
two and four. Beats one and three should feel like latin, or straight eighth notes, on
beats two and four, it should take the position of the hi hat, and feel like swing music.
Work so that you can easily manipulate the clicks from one and three, to two and four,
and back again.
Try clapping with the metronome at the very slowest marking. You will probably find
that it is almost impossible to mask the click for more than once or maybe twice.
Sometimes you are ahead, and other times you are obviously late. This is a very good
exercise for practicing subdividing beats. With the metronome at quarter note equals
40, try to subdivide the beat in eighths, eighth note triplets, sixteenth notes, and
sixteenth note triplets. Hopefully you will get a better grasp of the beat. Remember so
much of it is psychological.
Try clapping through the spectrum of rhythms. With the metronome at quarter note
equals 60, clap two bars of quarter notes, quarter note triplets, eighth notes, eighth
note triplets, sixteenth notes, etc. Then come back down again to quarter notes. This
will give much needed help the psychological problems of going from duples to triples
and vice versa. Drummers spend a good deal of time working on those transitions in
practice. Horn players and singers should also work on that aspect of time management.
Another way of manipulating time is to try and play or clap slightly ahead, or behind the
click. It isn’t rushing or dragging, because you are not changing tempo. It would be the
same as if you started two metronomes a fraction of a second apart. Assuming they are
good metronomes, they should have that split second difference. Think of one as the
anchor, and the other one that roves either ahead or behind. If the two click together,
it feels natural and normal, nothing out of the ordinary. Keeping the anchor in mind as
the control, listen for the one that is just slightly behind. Now put it just slightly
ahead. Each case has a slightly different feel in terms of light or heavy. When slightly
behind, it feels somewhat lethargic and heavy. When ahead, it feels lighter and more
energetic. If you move it further and further ahead, it will move into the realm of
rushing, and likewise with the other direction, dragging.

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A very good exercise for your bass player and drummer, is to have one act as the
anchor, minding the store, while the other plays slightly ahead, and then slightly behind.
Then switch roles. This will take some time to develop, but hopefully the end result will
be a considerably heightened awareness of time, and time interaction. They will also
start to feel, and know what to do when it needs more energy. Technical abilities will
also be improved.
As you can see, there are many places where the metronome is very handy, but one
place where it really should not be used, is on the concert stage. There is something
very unmusical, and seems to disrupt the musical flow, when you see a director setting
the metronome to find the tempo for the next tune. That is something that should be
left up to musicality and feel. Sing the tune in your head until it feels good, and then
start the count-off. What happens if your batteries go dead?!
Hopefully these concepts and tips will help. The best thing you can do, is spend time
with recordings of great ensembles. Listen to the sound, phrasing, articulation, energy,
soloists, dynamic range, time feel, groove, balance and blend. When you know the sound
and style you want, then it is a matter of getting it out of your students.

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These are all fairly self-explanatory and are intended to serve as a checklist.
Pre Performance Conducting Technique Rehearsal techniques
• Voice quality • Count-off explained • Time (rush or drag)

• Clear, logical • Count-off audible • Sound quality of the
instructions • Count-off in correct tempo ensemble
• Problem spots pointed • Beat pattern easy to follow • Intonation
out • Cues given clearly and well • Articulation, attacks
• General energy level prepared and releases
and attitude • Dynamics indicated • Dynamics
• Major divisions of the • Phrasing
piece indicated • Style
• Does conductor dictate • Balance of chords
time or merely follow • Rhythmic accuracy
• Pace of the
rehearsal
Rehearsal Techniques for the Jazz Orchestra: Conductor Evaluation by Gordon Foote
236
The notion of participating in music festivals has been a wonderful concept for a very
long time. Students and teachers alike, have the opportunity to meet people from
various places, exchange ideas, and learn from hearing other groups. Festivals are often
the perfect place for networking and renewing old contacts. It is also a situation where
you can hear new repertoire that might work for your band and also get a sense of
perspective on quality levels for various age groups.
There are basically two types of festivals connected with the educational system,
competitive and non-competitive. In the realm of competitive festivals, there are two
sub-categories: those where the groups are rated against a standard and those where
actual grades are calculated, resulting in the awarding of first, second and third place.
Playing against a standard usually offers awards of gold, silver and bronze. In a
category, any group performing up to the standard would be given a gold award. In this
type of festival, one band is not singled out as being the best band in the class. The goal
of such festivals is to emphasize and encourage the learning and performing of music,
while discouraging the competitive aspect.
In the strictly competitive type of festival, the results are often seen as the group
winning first place goes home very happy, with all other groups in the class going home
disappointed. Unfortunately the element of music education takes a back seat to
winning first place. If the goal of the competition is to win, many groups move the focus
from creating music, to winning first place. They want to make those three tunes sound
great. In the process, many of the basic skills of learning to play music are neglected.
The totally non-competitive type of festival doesn’t award any grades or rankings of any
sort, allowing the students and teachers to focus on developing the educational and
musical aspects of performing. Everyone listens to the other groups, enjoying and
supporting the performances. The atmosphere is much more conducive to good music
and education.
Rehearsal Techniques for the Jazz Orchestra: Festival Participation by Gordon Foote
237
One of the greatest experiences your students can have is to attend one of the I.A.J.E.
(International Association for Jazz Education) Annual Conferences. Each year the
conference is held on the second weekend of January. The location moves to different
U.S. cities (plus Toronto) each year. Ensembles must be invited to perform at the
conference, and are selected by an audition recording. Performance slots are limited
and many groups from all over the world apply to perform. It is a real honour to be
selected. If you want an inspirational learning experience, attend one of these
conferences.
Rehearsal Techniques for the Jazz Orchestra: Festival Participation by Gordon Foote
238
Group Dynamics
There are no two groups alike. They are always a combination of diverse personalities
with varying levels of musicality, skill and talent. The goal is to use all of these factors
to create a group that reaches or preferably, exceeds expectations. At many levels, the
individual players are not necessarily very strong, but when all of the elements are
developed, the sum should be greater than the combination of individual parts.
Ensemble playing and musicality should surpass the actual musical level of the
individuals.
When you devote time to the ensemble you might want to think of dividing it into a
60/40 ratio. The 60% might be called preparation and development and the 40% is the
actual music making.
Preparation and development
This includes the time needed to build a team: fund-raising, reputation building,
publicity and promotion, trip planning, touring, organizing, score study, self-
development, attending conferences, searching out repertoire, setting goals,
establishing expectations, building momentum, group dynamics, instilling a sense of
responsibility, addressing your weaknesses.
The music making
The music making part includes: rehearsal time (both full band and sectionals),
attention to individual students, performing concerts and making recordings.
Rehearsal Techniques for the Jazz Orchestra: Final Thoughts by Gordon Foote
239
Address your weaknesses
If you are a horn player and don’t know much about the rhythm section, spend some
time on each of the instruments. Learn what it feels like to sit behind the drums, or
walk lines on the bass. When you took your teacher training you very likely spent time in
the techniques courses learning to play brass, woodwind and percussion instruments.
What most people really need is a techniques course that deals with jazz rhythm
section instruments.
Check your knowledge of theory and harmony
Can you transpose a score from concert pitch to written and vice versa? Most published
scores tend to be transposed so you need to be able to quickly convert back to concert
pitches in order to analyze the harmony. Make sure you understand the transpositions
of all the instruments.
Check out the arrangements
What is the form of the piece, where are notes doubled, who is playing the thirds of
chords, where are the color notes. Do the students know where the melody is, where
the backgrounds are, where they are in the form, what is important in the music at all
times? Can you hear individual notes in the chords and name them in terms of function
(the third, the flat nine etc.)? Do you understand functional harmony (now we are going
to the four chord, or this is a turnaround of III, VI, II, V)?
Investigate the styles that your groups are rehearsing
Go to the original recordings and listen for sound quality, articulation, phrasing, time
feel and time placement of notes, dynamic control, note shape, inflections and vibrato.
Imitate all the details. Remember that you are learning to speak a new dialect (the
dialect of swing or funk or samba etc.) and you want to speak it as if it is your first
language.
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Search Out Repertoire
You need to spend a great deal of time searching out repertoire. Check out the major
catalogues and listen to sound bites on the websites. Go to concerts, festivals,
workshops and conferences. Take note of the tunes you like, making sure to include the
name of the writer/arranger and if possible the publisher. Your students should be
exposed to the music from the many big bands throughout history.
Ask for Help
Don’t be afraid to ask local musicians for help . People are usually very happy to come in
and share their knowledge.
Have your students study privately if at all possible
This is especially important if it relates to instruments where you aren’t comfortable

(drums, bass, guitar and piano are usually the least understood). Most people have
studied piano in a classical sense, but have no idea how to voice chords how to comp in
various styles.
Give complete instructions
If you find yourself saying things like “you have to listen” or “you need to play that
better” you should think about how you could be more effective by giving more
complete instructions. Instead of saying “you have to listen”, perhaps it should be
something like “you have to listen to the lead trombone in bars 6 through 10. It is the
melody that you are doubling, so match the sound quality and intonation”.
Don’t waste time in rehearsal
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Since rehearsal time is very limited, there should always be a sense of urgency. You
hear a problem, expect the band to stop immediately, point out the problem and give
the instruction for addressing the problem, then move on quickly. It is important
however not to move on if they haven’t fixed the problem.
Energy
If you want energy to come from your ensemble, then you have to give energy in your
teaching and rehearsing. You should never sit down in front while you are actively
rehearsing a big band. Energy starts from the front! Students will be naturally lazy if
you let them (no air, no sound, no dynamics, no snap to the articulations, bad time feel).
It’s up to you to keep them on their game.
Expect Quality
The director has to know what he/she wants and can realistically expect. Then it is up
to you to make sure that you don’t accept a product that doesn’t meet those
expectations. Expect quality every time.
Work on the fundamentals
Sound quality, dynamic range, articulation accuracy, rhythmic accuracy, note shape
(both dynamically and pitch shape), intonation, balance of chords, time feel, stylistic
accuracy, note cut-offs (the placement in time and the shape of the release).
To sum it up, there is no magic to having a wonderfully energetic, impeccably clean

group that sounds great and plays musically. It all stems from a director who is
committed to the students, the group and the music. One who is organized and has a
solid work ethic. Presence, personality and charisma are also major assets.
Good luck and good music making!
Gordon Foote can be reached at

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Gordon.Foote@Mcgill.Ca
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The most important thing you can do, besides recruiting great students for your jazz
studies program, is choose great repertoire for the Big Band. It needs to be
repertoire that reflects the traditions of jazz and needs to be material that fits the
strengths of your band – range of brass, soloist skills, possible solo features. It is not
about what you want to play or rehearse. It is what is best for the band. It is about
what the band is capable of. For example, I’ve always wanted to play a Stan Kenton
feature entitled “For Stan”. I played it professionally and really loved the tune.
However, when I taught high school, I never had a piano player that could handle it and
it didn’t sound anything the same on a fluegelhorn. One year I had a superb alto player
and a great lead trumpet player. We did Sammy Nestico’s “Samantha” (hard version)
and it was a great success. Another year I had some incredible woodwind doublers and
we did a Rob McConnell/Jimmy Dale tune entitled “Good Morning Irene”. I obviously
had a great fluegelhorn player as well, and the band was very successful. In jazz,
almost everything is taught through repertoire.
To give you an idea the importance I place on repertoire, my first priority in May of
each school year was to determine who was returning for Jazz Orchestra in
September. I’d then spend June, July and August picking repertoire for the four Big
Bands. (Where possible, I would commission several works – usually from an alumnus or
a starving young writer.) At our first rehearsal in September I would hand out the
recordings and the charts to the bands. We would listen and follow our parts and then
play along with the recorded examples. If I had selected the right charts (ranges)
that suited the skill level of the band (compage, improvised solos, etc.) we were away to
the races. I also would have some spare curriculum time to work on jazz anthems.
For tunes the band was going to perform I tried to pick material that was playable –
given the growth each student and section was capable of making in one semester.
Most of this development was dependant on brass range, rhythm section intuition, and
soloist potential. I would fill in this chart in my pursuit of repertoire.
Choosing Repertoire for the Jazz Orchestra by Brian Lillos

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GRADED REPERTOIRE
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Title Author Publisher Improvisation Rhythm Section Bass Range
Level Level

Density/Line Recorded
Independence of Example
Arrangement Title/Author/
Publisher/#
My Spring and Summer repertoire search would something like this: step 1, listen to
recordings and find 10 tunes that I’d like to work on. I emphasize the word listen. I
never go to a shelf and open the arrangement before I’ve heard it; step 2, after
listening and choosing the tunes, I try and find the printed charts and evaluate their
playability. I repeat this process until I have 10 to 12 charts for each semester that
works to the strengths of the band. I try and ensure I have picked several styles and
different tempos; step 3, I make edits as required. In charts for developing bands the
lead trumpet range is reduced. The consequence for this is the compression of all the
voices in the band. The trombone section gets most of the punishment. Often
Trombone I will have a C natural and Trombone II will have a B natural. With
developing players, this voicing can lead to sounds like large domestic animals with
gastro-intestinal problems. It is not the fault of the trombone players. It’s the writer.
No one else in the band is asked to play an interval of a minor 2nd with a pitch
approximator. I re-voice the chord – unison works, minor 3rds work, etc; step 4, I
purchase multiple copies of the recordings of the charts we are going to play. If the
chart has not been recorded, I take it to a local professional band, a community band,
an armed forces band, or a top College or University band and record it. Most of these
people are more than happy to assist; step 5, I began the process of rehearsal and
performance.
In addition to this process I believe there is repertoire that is essential for any age
level. This repertoire is commonly referred to as “jazz anthems” and correspond to
specific works of Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, and Bach in the classical world. I make a
point of having multiple copies of the recordings and the conductor’s scores, as well as
their individual parts, available for students. I utilize 20% of my rehearsal time
attempting these charts with my bands. We don’t always reach a “festival ready” or
“performance ready” level with all these arrangements but we do reach a very high level
of musical comprehension. There is a unique level of musical growth and understanding
that comes from playing a professional chart along with the professional band
(recorded). I think everyone should play jazz anthems in this context. Some of my
favourites are: “Basie Straight Ahead,” by Sammy Nestico; “Groove Merchant,” by
Jerome Richardson; “Us,” by Thad Jones; “The Queen Bee,” by Sammy Nestico; “That
Warm Feeling,” by Neil Hefti; “Greetings and Salutations,” by Thad Jones; “Black,
Brown, and Beautiful,” by Oliver Nelson; “L’il Darlin,” by Neil Hefti; “I’m Beginning to
See the Light,” by Sammy Nestico; “Blues in Hoss Flat,” by Frank Foster; “Smack Dab in
The Middle,” by Sammy Nestico; “Moten Swing,” by Buster and Benny Moten; “Splanky,”
by Neil Hefti; “Hay Burner,” by Sammy Nestico; “Hang Gliding,” by Maria Schneider;
“Just Friends,” arranged by Bill Holman; “High 5.” by Sammy Nestico; “This May be Your
Luck Day,” by Rob McConnell; “What are We Here For?,” arranged by Rob McConnell;

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“No More Blues.” arranged by Rob McConnell; “Green Piece,” by Maria Schneider; and,
“Sea Lady,” by Kenny Wheeler.
If I had to make a short-list of materials that are specifically important I would

include: Duke Ellington – David Burger transcriptions of original recordings available
with instructions and C.D.’s from the Lincoln Centre; Count Basie Big Band – especially
the arrangements by Sammy Nestico, Neil Hefti, and Frank Foster; Thad Jones/Mel
Lewis – especially the arrangements of Thad Jones and Jerome Richardson -- available
through Kendor Music; Oliver Nelson – available through Bob Curnow at Sierra Music;
the works of Rob McConnell, Maria Schneider, Kenny Wheeler, and Bill Holman –
various publishers. These aren’t just some of my favourite writers, they are
representative of many important styles in jazz history. There are many more and I
apologise for leaving them out. (I hope in the next edition of this book to have a
significant list of graded repertoire available.)
The antichrist to this method of choosing repertoire for the jazz orchestra is the
“reading clinic.” They are very tempting because, by June of any particular school year,
you are exhausted. The need for “teaching detoxification” is serious and the
temptation to become catatonic (recovery mode) for two or three months is often too
powerful to resist. This self-prescribed healing scenario means that you will re-surface
in late August, just in time for the “reading clinic.” The “reading clinic will become your
“new” repertoire session. (“Reading clinics” are sponsored by publishing companies and
they conveniently set up ahead of time, with you school purchasing agent, a purchase
order arrangement for you to buy instructional materials.) The “reading clinic will often
have a “teacher ensemble” with a couple of “ringers” to help the band read through the
publishers new charts. Often a clinician (usually one of the arrangers being profiled)
will direct the band and advise you on the playability of the charts. Everyone rates the
repertoire and a “top 10” list is developed. There is wine and cheese and a good “hang.
The schmooze works because no one leaves empty handed. I can’t blame the publishing
companies. They’re in business to sell charts. I understand and can empathize with the
“catatonic” director. However, stress is just around the corner for them.
Some of the charts from these “reading clinics” are o.k. Once in a while a really good
one shows up. Mostly though, they are mediocre and that is usually as good as you can
get them to sound. Seldom do they have a lot of jazz in them and inner voicings usually
require editing. They often take extensive editing/re-writing in order to get any
concept of the “pyramid of sound” to happen. If they come with a recording, the
recording is usually not a “professional” band and doesn’t swing, or bop, or funk, or
bossa like the real thing. Chord progressions for soloists are often ambiguous and this
is overcome by including a written solo. They are typically “easy play” materials that

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are convertible to any instrumentation. Occasionally a good one sneaks through, but it
is rare. As well, some arrangers are commissioned by publishing companies to write
“dummied down”, “Minnie Me” versions of jazz anthems. These charts are usually full of
mistakes and do not make good teaching vehicles because, the mistakes get imprinted.
While it takes more effort initially to be a well informed consumer of Big Band
Repertoire, the rewards in ensemble sound, student success and overall jazz literacy
are truly amazing. There is today a plethora of knowledgeable teachers, publisher
websites, recordings of professional bands, University and College Big Bands,
experienced and knowledgeable arrangers and composers, Artists in Residence,
clinicians, summer workshops, and starving writers looking for commissions. There are
many qualified people out there. Most would be thrilled to assist you. Have the
courage to ask. Have the motivation to find a mentor or two. It will make a huge
difference to your teaching.
One of the assignments my pedagogy students are given in the Big Band unit is to
recommend three charts from each of the following categories: swing, latin, ballad,
rock, and other. They need to do this for charts in the grade 1 to 2 category, charts in
the grade 2 to 3 category and charts in the 3 through 5 category. Each student is
required to grade 36 charts in the above format and I am quite insistent that recorded
musical examples be provided. I advise my students that the first question a band
director will pose to you, as a clinician or an adjudicator, is “do you know a good chart
for my band?”

BrianLillos.com

247
The majority of us "teach as we were taught", even though for most of us this is
not really teaching from our own strengths. Role models are important, but mentors
will serve us better if we manage to do continual analysis to enhance our most
positive attributes and strengthen those areas that we can recognize as our own
“improveables”.
It is my experience that the finest ensembles that I have heard are directed by
teachers who have an incomparably well developed ability to HEAR. This innate
ability allows them to listen and analyze on an extraordinary level. For these gifted
educators the product and process become so intermeshed that the outcome is a
solid aesthetic and artistic standard in which the performers become musicians in
the most genuine sense of the word.
This article offers some basic and some practical suggestions to implement in the
vocal jazz rehearsal. These considerations are offered to:
1. generate a model for establishing the most functional rehearsal situation
directed at a high performance standard,
2. aid in helping the director to appreciate her/his strengths and “improveables”,
and,
3. encourage directors to continuously focus on developing an ever heightened sense
of HEARING.
Basic Considerations
1. A DEDICATED SPACE/ A COMMITTED ATTITUDE IN THE SPACE

This ensures that there are no interruptions during the course of the rehearsal. It
need not be a separate room, just one that is exclusive during the period of the
rehearsal. Turn the school's administrative P.A. system off. Save the “social stuff” and
the gossip for after the rehearsal. Students need to treat this space as the “operating
room”. Start and finish exactly on time.
The Jazz Choir by Russ Baird 248

2. A SAFE PLACE
Ensure that students are focused on the music and have left any extra "baggage" at the
door. There should be no fear of emotional disruption. Create a supportive environment
that is focused on what is in the music. Music has profound healing powers which the
director emphasizes through continual positive reinforcement.
3. TUNE THE PIANO

The good news is that you use an acoustic piano. The bad news is that you use an
acoustic piano. Invest in the student’s achievements by keeping the piano tuned. Peder
Karlsson of the Real Group suggests that all note learning be done on a good electronic
keyboard.
4. BASS AMP OFF THE FLOOR

The decay time of fundamentals will be quicker if the amp is a foot off the floor. This
will facilitate better tuning within the chordal structure because there will not be a
lingering fundamental reacting in the chord.
5. TUNE THE KIT AND DEAL WITH RINGING CYMBALS

Too often the kit goes for months (or years) without being tuned. The heads stretch
and the boomy impact of what results also kills the hard work of the singers trying to
make a chord tune. There are many different tuning setups. The overall impact of the
kit is as a supportive role with frequencies that are in vocal range with crisp attacks
and quick decays. (For the vast majority of Vocal Jazz repertoire the kit need only
consist of 7 pieces: bass drum, floor tom, small mount tom, snare, ride, crash and hi-
hat.) Ringing cymbals are an enemy of tuning chordal extensions. Masking tape seems
to be an reasonable alternative to new cymbals.
6. RHYTHM-SECTION REHEARSING
The critical nature of what happens in the rhythm section demands that they receive
individual consideration. John Davis of the University of Colorado suggests that the
rhythm section should be tight on a chart before the choir (or band) works on it in
rehearsal.
7. RECORD AT REHEARSALS
When you consider that "The only person who does not know what you actually sound
like is you." then you can appreciate that taping in rehearsals will help pinpoint issues
that are so hard to deal with in the flight of a rehearsal. It would be wonderful if we
had enough time to record and listen to whole rehearsals, but most of us do not. So
record a few minutes each rehearsal, and make a point of listening either alone or with
students.

Practical Considerations
1. CONNECT ON A PERSONAL BASIS

Bill Evans said: "Music should enrich the soul; it should teach spirituality by showing a
person a portion of himself that he would not discover otherwise." If this becomes the
foundation of your teaching philosophy, then you are working in a zone that strips away
layers of self-defensiveness from your students and makes each person very
vulnerable. Appreciate that this is the case: be prepared to nurture by taking a real
interest in your students.
2. PERSONAL PREPARATION
a. Know the chart!
There is material that you have decided will be in the final repertoire. Do not
compromise on this music. Know the style. Know the music. Know the text. Know the
phrasing you want to hear. Know the background on the chart. Know the
composer/arranger. Know it inside out.
If you are just using a chart for sight reading and have not done the prep on the chart
then let the students know that you are on a journey of exploration together.
b. Introduce a new chart with unbounded enthusiasm.
How you introduce a chart will impact not only on how the students respond in their
personal preparation but how they will commit to the chart over the course of the year.
If the piece is worth doing it is worth making the effort to prepare an introduction
which is commensurate with your expectations for the chart.
2. STAND TO SING/SIT TO TALK

Rehearsals are hard work. Do not leave students standing idly. Have them sit
comfortably when you are marking music, dealing with business issues, or working with
another section of the ensemble. When singing, your students should be completely
involved, head-to-toe, with the process.
3. USE MUSIC STANDS

If your ensemble is using written music, place it on a stand.
4. PENCILS
So much information comes at a rehearsal. The only effective way to ensure that
details are absorbed is to write on the charts in pencil. Encourage students to be pro-
active in this process. Mark dynamics, phrasing, chord balance issues, tuning issues,
accents, cut offs, word stress, soli sections.

5. LESSON PLAN
Define what is to be accomplished at the rehearsal. Have the students put their music
in order. Follow a consistent rehearsal plan.
a. Individual Warm-Up
Be ready to sing when the rehearsal starts-not ready to warm up when the rehearsal
starts. This puts a lot of faith in your students and will help them take more ownership.
b. Ensemble Blend & Balance Piece or Excerpt

This does not have to be a time consuming process. The goal of this piece or excerpt is
to get the tone, colour, and placement while focusing the energy and opening the ears.
Brent Ghiglione, University of Regina, and John Trepp, Magee Secondary school,
promote the concept of having a reference chart: a piece or excerpt for which the
students have all the concepts practically and functionally "in place," such as the
concert band’s or choir's chorale. This material is not to warm up with but to ensure
blend, balance, tone, tuning, and listening. This excerpt can be constantly referred to
throughout the rehearsal to refocus on blend and balance.
c. A Familiar Chart
Start the formal rehearsal with a chart that helps students feel comfortable. Insist on
listening, particularly for the "3 T's: time, tuning, and tone.
d. Today's Challenge
This will be your major teaching material for the day. It will be music that you are going
to include in the long-term repertoire.
e. Review & Polish

Go over the previous rehearsal’s challenge.
f. Repertoire Touchup
Work other charts in the repertoire.
g. End with a Comfortable "Up" Chart

John Chalmers for many years used a "signature tune," the chart that was a group
favourite and became identified with that particular ensemble. It was a wonderful
focus, a feel-good chart that changed annually for the group.
h. Expectations for the Next Rehearsal/Business/Debrief

Be very clear about what you expect your students to prepare for the next rehearsal.
Identify specific bars in specific pieces.

Define sectional rehearsal expectations.
Always take a few moments to debrief the rehearsal. Allow and encourage student input
so as to increase their ownership, raising the value of their stake in the ensemble and
the program. Deal with business (concerts, uniforms, tours) at the end of a rehearsal,
not in the middle; and if there is a lot of information, offer prepared handouts.
6. LISTENING EVERY REHEARSAL

Jamey Aebersold says:" All the answers are in the recordings!" Make some time every
rehearsal to listen to a selection, telling your students why they are listening to that
specific recording and on what you want them to focus.
7. RESOURCES
a. Directed Listening
Provide your students with a specific listening list. Include solo performers,
professional groups, college ensembles and outstanding high school groups. Site specific
listening tasks in these recordings. Supply the recordings and monitor student
involvement. This list should never be a static list as there are always outstanding
individual performers appearing on the scene every year; however, you will never find
better examples than Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan, Shirley Horne,
Mel Torme, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and Joe Williams. Make sure to include
Diana Krall and Michael Bublé.
Professional groups the students should be aware of include the Meltones, The Hi-Los,
Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, the Singers Unlimited, Manhattan Transfer, Take 6, New
York Voices, The Real Group, Rajaton.
There are several college groups to hear. Start with Nitecap from Capilano College,
North Vancouver, B.C. under the direction of Rejean Marois. There are several
university groups from the States: American River College directed by Art LaPierre,
Edmonds C.C. directed by Kirk Marcy, Gold Company under Steve Zegree, Mount Hood
C.C. directed by Dave Barduhn, North Texas directed by Paris Rutherford. The college
groups are generally larger ensembles and a little more reflective of what we are trying
to achieve in the high school vocal jazz program.
b. On-line
There are several web sites that cater to vocal jazz ensemble programs. Try:
www.micheleweir.com (please check out Michele’s books!)
www.singers.com
www.a-cappella.com
www.dj-records.com
Join IAJE Canada! An amazing resource for any jazz enthusiast or educator!
Membership gives you not only the IAJE Journal but the privilege of consulting with
the remarkable resource team personnel, as well.

www.iajecanada.org
c. Quality arrangements
Look for arrangements by the following writers:
Rejean Marois Keith Powers Peter Taylor
Phil Mattson Michele Weir Jeremy Fox
Paris Rutherford Dave Barduhn Kirk Marcy
Ward Swingle Gene Puerling
You can find information on these arrangers on line. Many have a personal site which will
give you accessibility to music that is not quite so “popular” oriented, driven by the
publishing market.
It is remarkable what students can achieve in terms of performance standards. Please

maintain high expectations and constantly challenge yourself to provide an ever more
positive atmosphere in which your students can work.
Russ Baird can be reached at

RBaird@sd35.bc.ca

In conversations with junior high school jazz ensemble directors and, in listening to their
bands, it is apparent that many of them have problems getting the desired sound from their
rhythm section. This problem seems to stem largely from the players’ lack of training in
specific playing techniques on their instruments and in jazz fundamentals. To add to this
dilemma, specific advice on the concepts of playing, phrasing, articulation, fills, solos,
compage, choice of instruments and their care, is often beyond the average band director.
In a recent search through jazz educational materials, it has become apparent that there is
still a scarcity of literature directed towards the junior high school or entry level rhythm
section.
The purpose of this submission is to offer an overview of the main areas of concern I
regularly witness in entry level rhythm sections. More detailed information on basic hand
positions, warm up and technical exercises, understanding chord symbols, jazz styles and
interpretation, how to deal with auxiliary percussionists and instruments and tuning can be
obtained from me at BobReb@telus.net
The rhythm section is the heart of the jazz ensemble. Not unlike the heart, the rhythm
section is somewhat complex. Generally consisting of piano, bass, drumset and guitar plus
periodic additions, such as vibraphone (vibes), conga drums, bongo drums, timbales,
tambourine, cowbell, shaker, claves and other hand percussion, one can see that coordinating
this ‘band within a band’ is not necessarily an easy task. All the players in a rhythm section
must know what their function is within the section. They also must know that the music
they make should form a cohesive and unified whole that lays the foundation upon which the
other sections will build their sound. At the same time the rhythm section must provide the
energy and spark to inspire the horns in their ensembles and solos. Two prime
responsibilities of the director are to constantly remind the beginning players of their
function and to encourage the development of their interpretive technique.
Just as the heart must often have exercise to be healthy and strong, the rhythm section
must often rehearse separately. The necessary cohesiveness can only be developed through
a regular routine of small group exercise coupled with a strong desire to create a ‘together’
sound. Not only must the rhythm section practice their current repertoire as a section, but
they must also jam as often as possible. Jamming is important because it speeds up the
Rhythm Section Pedagogy: The Junior High School Jazz Rhythm Section by Bob Rebagliati
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development of improvisational technique. It allows the players more time and space to try
out new ideas through self-expression. Since the music written for rhythm section
instruments is generally, at best, a guide, it necessitates improvisation and creativity on the
part of the player. Jamming is a very useful way to spend time (even sectional time – it
yields results!)
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Basic Functions
Drum set – lays down the rhythm pattern which is basic to the style being played and keeps
a very steady tempo.
Bass – lays down a very steady pattern that rhythmically supports what the drummer is
playing and melodically supports what the piano and guitar are playing.
Guitar – plays, in a very steady manner, a rhythmic pattern that is stylistically in keeping
with the bass, drum set, and chordal sequences (and voicings) of the piano.
Piano – adds the ‘spice’ to the sound; plays a two-handed comp that fits rhythmically and
chordally with the guitar comp while occasionally adding fills when appropriate.
Possible additional instruments such as:
Conga Drums – (usually a pair) (also Bongo drums and timbales – less common) – plays a
steady rhythmic pattern in a style appropriate to the music and fills when called upon.
Tambourine, cowbell, shaker, maracas, claves, guiro, cabasa, vibraslap, flexatone, triangle,
bell tree or mark tree – generally speaking, all of the auxiliary percussion instruments play
steady patterns in various sections of the music. Variety and good taste must be employed
in order to avoid monotony.
Vibraphone (Marimba or Xylophone rare) – outlines (comps) the chords of the progression,
occasionally doubles the melody and fills where appropriate; also good solo instrument. If no
specific vibes pt. exists, use a guitar or piano pt.
The word ‘appropriate’ will be used extensively in these explanations. The jazz synonym of
appropriate is ‘tasty’, i.e. in good taste, stylistically. Taste is one of the hardest things to
teach. It is usually present in amounts that vary with an individual’s natural ability. Using
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word to describe how to play with taste is often quite inadequate. The best method is to
play examples personally and/or by jazz recordings.
For a beginning band to have many extra rhythm instruments playing at the same time as
the main four is risky. Remember – the greater the number of instruments that are in the
section, the harder the job of producing a unified sound. For the bands that have an
abundance of talented and eager rhythm section players, there are some suggestions
outlined in the Trouble Shooting the rhythm section.
The two basic instruments that are absolutely essential are bass and drum set – the section
starts there and adds. It is almost a toss-up between guitar and piano as the next most
important addition. There are good bands without guitar and good bands without piano. It is
definitely to a bands advantage to include both, however. Educationally, it is also better for
the two players concerned as well as the rest of the band, if both instruments are present.
As a matter of fact, if one or the other is missing, the functions change slightly and this
requires more expertise than beginners generally possess.
The physical set up of the rhythm section is so important that it quite often makes or
breaks the overall sound of the band. The section members must be able to see and hear
each other. The other band members must be able to at least hear all the rhythm section
members. Although playing techniques and volume levels come into consideration in this area,
the most significant factor is still the physical set up.
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Physical Set Up
The physical set up of the rhythm section is very important. The section members must be
able to see and hear each other. The horn players must be able to at least hear all the
members of the rhythm section. Although playing techniques and volume levels come into
consideration, the most significant factor influencing proper balance and togetherness is
still the physical set up.
Here are some set up variations.
Set up No.1 (using electric piano)
Set-up no. 2 adds an electric piano into the acoustic

grand piano set up. 1 pushes the grand back a little into
Aux.pc. territory.
Set-up no. 3 uses an acoustic upright piano.

Depending on the height of the piano, the
players might have less eye contact.
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While the bass player has traditionally been positioned beside the drummer’s high hat (to
help lock in the time), there are those who consider the drummer’s ride cymbal to be as
much a time keeper as the high hat therefore putting the bass player beside the ride
cymbal. It is also very important to have all amplifiers directly behind the players, this way
they have close access for all changes that need to be made and they can hear clearly the
sound of their instrument.
As an aside, it is very important to have the trombones sitting on risers so they blow above
the saxes and the trumpets standing on the trombone level so they blow above the
trombones.
This is probably the most common. Notice that the rhythm instruments are not only close
together but are positioned for possible eye contact as well (especially piano, bass, drums).
The drum set is central so that the drummer can best hear what all three horn sections are
playing. The bass player is standing to the left and back of the drum set high hat. The bass
speaker should be turned in slightly towards the other sections. This way the bass line can
be clearly heard by everyone in the band. The guitarist is positioned (sitting) next to the
piano. The piano is on a slant facing the director. All players have close access to their amps.
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Understanding the Arranger - PIANO
The young pianist must have a number of years experience. Even with previous experience,
there is a lot of hard work ahead in learning the volumes of chords and interpretive nuances
that make up the typical piano part. Listening to recorded examples is an extremely
important activity right from the first jazz classes.
General Ambiguities
1. The pianist should not normally play the bass line (it is exclusively the bass players
domain). In example No.6 the right hand chords would suffice but it would be better to
use both hands as indicated in example No.7. When playing the piano part minus the left
hand part (i.e. bass part), the pianist can either play the written chord with both hands
or break up the written chord into both hands. Except for ballads, the sustain pedal
should not be used when playing ‘time’.
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Example No.7 is not a finished product. It is an interim solution (hopefully short term).
The young pianist must soon begin to ‘flesh out’ the chords by reading the chord
symbols. Example No.8 illustrates at least one possibility.
Notice the range of example No.8. For a good blend, it is best to stay between the two
middle octaves of an acoustic piano. On an electric piano, the octave below middle c
sounds rather muddy. Most left hand voicings must therefore be a little higher on the
electric piano. If the piano part is to be more present in the sound or if a fill is to be
played when the upper octaves are used. Example No.9 illustrates what could be done to
bring more life to the phrase.
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2. Example No. 10 is an introduction. This bass line can be doubled at the forte level if on
acoustic piano. The sound of the electric piano is wider and would tend to cover the
bass. If playing electric, one would either leave it out or play it softer than indicated so
that the sound will blend.
To comp in the manner of Example 11 would completely destroy the ballad feel. Color
tones have been added to the interpretation Example No.12. Of course, these would
have to agree with what the harmony in the horns is and what the guitarist is playing.
3. The next three examples indicate that the rhythm must be played precisely as written.
Sometimes there is an “AS IS” indicated, sometimes not.
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4. When the chord changes are spaced fairly evenly in a section of music (other than a
ballad), the pianist can usually add interest to the sound by anticipating down beat
chords by one half beat. The asterisks indicate the anticipations. Examples Nos. 11/12.
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5. Piano parts are often written on one line as well. If some specific rhythm is wanted, it is
noted in guitar or drumset fashion.
6. Sometimes there will be a fast moving and difficult looking sequence of changes. It is
not always necessary to make all these changes precisely. Many arranger write out the
exact horn voicings into the piano part. This is more for rehearsal purposes and for the
pianist’s information. Depending on the complexity of the voicings, it might even muddy
the sound to have the piano duplicate them. The pianist should try to play at least the
basic part of each chord. Most arrangers will write out the actual notes if the piano
part is quite important.
7. Some arrangers write out occasional horn lines into piano parts. These are not to be
played (usually) – they are for reference only – the piano part being considered sort of
mini-score. The pianist should comp as usual unless otherwise indicated.
8. Occasionally, rhythm stems will co-exist with written chords in the same bar. The
indicated rhythm should be played using the notes of the previous chord.
When there are no stems attached to the slashes, comp as desired.
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9. The word ‘piano’ on keyboard arts usually means acoustic piano. Electric piano is often
designated as such. Those charts which call for electric piano call usually be effectively
played on acoustic piano. Personal taste, performing conditions and performing space
also govern the type of piano used.
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Terms, Phrase and other General Ambiguities
1. Play rhythm ad lib – comp in an appropriate style.
2. Fender Rhodes – The Fender Rhodes electric piano made electric pianos very popular in
the 70’s and 80’s. Occasionally one might see the designation ‘Fender’ or ‘Rhodes’ on an
electric piano part. Most contemporary electric pianos have a sound choice that closely
resembles the Rhodes.
3. Solo A La Basie – Count Basie is known for his very sparse, ‘one note’ type of
accompanying and solo playing. Only listening to his recordings will convey the proper
‘Basie’ style.
4. Solo A La Shearing – George Shearing became very popular in the 1950’s with his style
of lock hands playing. The melody would not only be in the top voice of his right hand
chord but it was also played as a single note, one octave below, by the left hand. This
system was combined with vibes and guitar to create the sound that has influenced jazz
ever since.
5. Fill – play a short solo (usually anywhere from one to six beats). Use the top third of the
keyboard so it will come through clearly.
6. Fill Lightly – refers to light, simple fills done in the top third of the keyboard
throughout a section. A good ear to hear the open spots and good taste will make this
kind of playing successful.
7. Chord loosely – comp sparsely.
8. Right Hand Play Blues Fills Ad Lib – same sort of thing as Fill lightly but use only licks
from a blues scale.
9. Eb(LYD) – the ‘(LYD)’ refers Lydian Mode (a major scale with a raised forth). The soloist
and accompanist(s) should therefore include the sharp forth in their playing.
10. COMP SOLO(S) – This does not usually mean for the pianist to take a chorus comping
only. It means that the comping will be exposed, i.e. that it will sound through easily.
The pianist should still treat the section as an accompaniment but put more effort into
comping rhythms. In other words, the comping is an obvious background line to the
melody or soloist; also SOLO BACKGROUND.
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11. COMP AD LIB – this designation is similar to number one above; create a rhythm
accompaniment in the appropriate style. Often there are sections that contain just
whole notes or chords in whole notes. The notes are a suggested voicing but the player
is to comp ad lib.
12. BLOCK – play in a block or tight chord style (e.g. voices close together)
13. PIANO BLOCK –two hand block or close voiced ‘tight’ voicings.
14. EASY – lightly
15. AD LIB – without the accompanying word ‘solo’, ‘ad lib’ means to create ones own comping
pattern. It is not a direction to play a solo.
16. SLOW MOTOR – this indication is for an electric piano and it comes from vibraphone
literature where it means to have the vibrato motor at it’s lowest speed. Since most
electric pianos do not have a variable vibrato, the best choice is probably a ‘chorus’
setting. Experiment with the chorus and/or reverb settings – sometimes the ‘intensity’
can be varied.
17. NOODLE – play right hand fills where appropriate.
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Understanding the Arranger - BASS
Bass parts tend to be the most specific of the rhythm section parts. This is true especially
at the young band level. In other words, beginning bass players need to exercise the least
amount of extra interpretation compared to pianists, drummers and guitarists. This is not to
say however that the bass player can be ignored in favor of others. High on the list of
priorities is the development of the ability to create bass lines from chord symbols.
Most young bass players tend to play exclusively in first position. Overlooked is the fact the
upper positions make many bass lines easier to play. Flat keys are also easier to negotiate in
upper positions. Upper positions also help avoid the ring-on of open string, promote good
hand position and make for easier stretches.
Here are some terms and possible ambiguities taken from a cross-section of big band bass
parts.
1. Arco – with the bow. Electric bass players must sustain the note(s) as long as possible.
In the case of tied notes, the articulating fingers should be alternated as quickly and
smoothly as possible in order to sustain the sound. The use of a volume pedal greatly
helps.
2. Ad Lib – (over a chord symbol section) – This does not mean to take a solo unless the
word ‘solo’ appears as well. It means to improvise a bass line accompaniment in the style
of the piece, derived from the chord symbols.
3. In 3, Walk – construct a walking bass line in ¾ meter.
4. Open – open for solos
5. Cue or On Cue – watch for a cue to enter into the next section.
6. As Written – although most bass parts contain written notes, most arrangers expect
the players to expand on the part. The exception to this is the ‘As Written” designation
where the part must be played precisely as written. Sometimes an arranger will combine
notes and rhythm slashes (even in the same bar), example Nos. 1 and 2
EXAMPLE NO. 1
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The notes are to be played where written but the player improvises a part for the slash
lines.
7.
Many older dance band charts (stocks) are written as below. It is often appropriate to
double the notes or add in others so as to give the part a better 4/4 flow.
8. Occasionally, there are parts marked ‘Bass Guitar’ which are written in treble clef.
Example No. 4 shows how the bass and treble clefs match up for bass guitar.
9.
The lines through the stems are an indication to move the articulation fingers back and
forth as rapidly and smoothly and possible. It is as close to ‘arco’ as the fingers can
produce.
10.
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Example No. 6 should be interpreted as in example No. 7. Eighth notes tied to single
eighth notes are shortened and accented in the swing style bass lines as well. The eighth
following the shortened note is shortened and accented as well to give an emphasis to
the off beat and a ‘kick’ to the bass line.
11.
Example No. 8 is similar to Examples Nos. 1 and 2 but there is an absence of chord
symbols. The player should stay on the given note or double it at the octave then, at the
next opportunity, copy in the chords from the guitar part.
12. The word “bass” on the bass clef part now means either electric or acoustic. Sometimes
parts are specifically labeled “electric bass” or “string bass”. In older charts, “bass”
means string and bass one might easily find indications of “arco”. The electric bass will
suffice adequately, however. “Fender Bass” markings simply mean use any electric bass.
The use of string bass for jazz rock (fusion/funk) charts is not recommended for this
level. The character of jazz-rock bass lines and their function in the overall jazz-rock
context are not well suited to string bass, especially the young player.
13. Easy – light feel, medium volume.
14. 2 beat – the indication of ‘2 beat’ means that the bass player must play generally a half
note part on beats one (1) and three (3).
15. 4 beat – ‘4 beat’ means that the bassist must ‘walk’ (ie. Play a steady pattern of quarter
notes on all four beats of each bar).
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Understanding the Arranger - DRUMSET
Beginning players quite often have tempo problems because of the number of demands made
on their concentration. They have to: use four separate limbs of their body; read music that
is only a guide; listen carefully to the rest of the rhythm section in order to keep up a good
feel; listen to the rest of the band for spots to accent and/or fill; watch the director.
Working with the metronome is extremely helpful in developing steady time.
It must be assumed that every drummer has a regular routine of stick and wrist control
exercises (consisting of at least single strokes, double strokes, and multiple stroke
patterns)
Here are some typical drum set parts and an interpretation with each one.
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The presence of quarter notes on this example indicates a swing beat. This sample is usually
found in older arrangements. Drummers should play a swing beat on the cymbal or high hat,
hit the snare drum on beats tow and four and/or various syncopations, strike the bass drum
lightly on all four beats and close the high hat on beats two and four.
Cymbal
Snare
Bass Drum
High Hat
It is another sample of standard swing writing and should be played as Example No. 2.
This sample is standard in “Basie” type charts. The interpretation is still basically the same
as Example No. 2.
The syncopation is usually played on the ride cymbal and bass drum or ride cymbal and snare
or all three, depending on how loud the passage is and which horn section(s) is playing the
figure. This type of notation usually does not refer to a loud ensemble figure but rather to
a background figure by one section.
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When syncopated figures are written within the staff lines with note heads, the figure is
usually being played by the whole brass section or by all the horns. The drummer should
therefore accent louder, using perhaps the crash cymbal. There should be a fill on beats
one and four to prepare the syncopated accents on the ‘and’ of one and four.
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BRASS
Often the figures are written above the staff lines with just rhythm slashes below. The
arranger usually indicates which instruments are to be accompanied. In most cases, rests
indicate fill spots for the drumset. Unfortunately, the practice of writing accent figures
above or within the staff lines has not been standardized. Even if the practice does
become standardized however, there will still be the large volume of charts in existence
which is not systematized. Although many arrangers indicate which instruments are playing
the figures, drummers must learn to anticipate the kind of demands (set ups, choice of
cymbal and drum, etc.) made for each situation.
Rhythm slashes alone simply mean play a rhythm pattern in the style of the piece.
Example No. 9 means for the drummer to play on the high hat alone, opening it (0) and
closing it (+) as indicated. This is the standard open-close pattern for the high hat. High
hat notation is more often than not ‘X’s’, however.
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Phrases, Terms and Signs
1. Time Solo – means to play a solo, using the basic ‘time’ pattern and based on the style of
the piece. It would be very important to keep the tempo steady and the rhythm flowing.
2. Top Cymbal / Big Cymbal – usually mean to play on the ride cymbal. Many arrangers
are ambiguous with these designations. The drummer must choose whatever cymbal, ride
or crash, seems most appropriate. If it is an accent situation, then the best choice is
probably crash cymbal. If it is an unaccented ‘time’ situation, then the ride cymbal is
best.
3. Slight Jazz Double Time Feel / Jazz Double Time Feel / Swing Double Time Feel -
these terms are sometimes added to the sixteenth note – feel type of rock beat (half
time feel). They mean for the drummer’s cymbal beat to be played with a triplet feel,
thus giving the whole drum set sound a swing feel. This feel is properly called ‘rock half
time shuffle’. It is a mistake to refer to it as ‘double time feel’.
4. ST. on H.H – sticks on high hat (usually a closed high hat).
5. Strike Metal / Bell / Cup / Dome – means hit the centre dome of the ride cymbal.
6. T.T. – tom- tom (S.T. small tom; F.T. or L.T large or floor tom).
7.
The presence of the above eight notes in the pattern include a straight rock beat of the
duple subdivision variety (8/8).
8. Jazz Feel / Swing Feel – these terms would be found mainly over a new section in an
8/8 rock tune. The indication means to go into a full swing beat for the section. The
word ‘jazz’ is often used to mean ‘swing’. This indication is also found in 2 beat type
swing tunes when the drummer and bass are expected to go into a ‘four’ feel.
9. Set Up - means play a fill before an accent figure, i.e. prepare the accent
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10. Time / Play Time / Jazz Time / Play 8 (bars) – these terms all mean play a rhythm
appropriate to the style of the piece. With the exception of ‘jazz time’, which means a
wing beat, the other terms could apply to both swing or straight eights. ‘Time’ can also
be used to indicate: (a) a regular pulse as opposed to rubato, (b) the return to a steady
background accompaniment style from one with a lot of excitement and loud accents.
11. To Brushes / To Sticks / Stx – change from sticks to brushes or vice versa.
Drummers must practice this change a lot because it has to be made effortlessly,
smoothly and precisely, without losing rhythm, tempo or intensity. Drummers should
always keep a pair of brushes (and mallets) and an extra pair of sticks close at hand.
The bass drum can be a convenient spot to place brushes or sticks. A stick bag hanging
open on the side of the floor tom tom is also a good idea.
12. Double X Feel – play as though the tempo has doubled. The actual bar number
(harmonic rhythm) will remain the same so it is important to stay in the proper place.
The doubled frequency of the high hat especially makes the double time feel effective.
Playing with the subdivision in mind in helpful. Ballads quite often have this feel in a
centre section. This term must not be confused with actual ‘double time’, where the
tempo by everyone does double, including a doubled harmonic rhythm.
13. Sock / Sock Cymbal / Top Hat / Hat – high hat
14. Kick / Kicks – fill or set up (prepare) an accent or figure. The ‘kick’ is also the kick
drum, i.e. bass drum.
15. R.S. – rim shot. A rim shot is made by hitting the rim of the drum and the skin
simultaneously.
RIM – a ‘rim stroke” (rim sound) is made by hitting the rim of the drum with the neck or
shank of the stick while the butt of the stick is kept on the skin.
S.S. – a ‘stick shot’ is made by hitting one stick on the other. The stationary stick has
its tip pressed into the drum skin. The free stick connects, shank to shank, with the
stationary stick.
16. Back Beat – beat two and four.
17. Fat Back - a loud and solid beats two and four.
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18. Explode / Bust in – these terms, and others like them generally mean to break in with a
loud fill or set up, usually having come from a softer dynamic.
19. Trpt. Jazz / Sx. Jazz / Pno. Jazz – an indication of an improvised solo by the
designated instrument.
20. Swing 4 / Rhythm in 4 - four main pulses per bar.
21. Rock Feel – accented ‘on’ beats.
22. ‘Clack on 4th Beat – A la Miles and Philly Joe Jones’ – Philly Joe Jones was the very
influential drummer with trumpeter Miles Davis in the ‘50’s. He exemplified a hard,
driving style, often times with a rim stroke (not rim shot) on the fourth beat of each
bar.
23. Kick / Swing Hard / Sock It / Dig In – these terms and others all mean about the
same things: play with fire and intensity. All accents must be especially together and
solid and everything must flow with much energy.
24. Street Beat – play a march-like beat; a combination of rolls and flams, etc. Another
interpretation might be the New Orleans 2nd line street beat, e.g.
25. Colors – hit various parts of the drum set (particularly cymbals) in random fashion,
similar to a painter here and there over a canvas. This is rather difficult for a young
drummer to do effectively. It would probably be better to use mallets and play mainly
cymbal rolls in rhythm.
26. Easy – light and simply.
27. Heavy Cym – ride cymbal – dig in.
28. Old Time March Style – a rhythm, played on the snare alone, that comprises rolls,
flams and accents. It may have a swing or straight feel, depending on the style of the
piece.
29.
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The circled cymbal note means simply a half note duration.
30. RDS – reeds have the melody.
31. Fake / Fake Time – the word ‘fake’ (verb) means improvise the accompaniment. It
means the player is free to create the rhythmic patterns. This term has the same
meaning as Play Time.
32. 2 Beat / 4 Beat – these indications are very closely linked with the bass part. The 2-
beat style is exemplified by the bass drum on beats one and three, snare on beats two
and four. This will coincide (must coincide) with the bass notes on beats one and three.
The 4-beat feel is made so by the bass notes on all four beats. The drum set part then
becomes less rigidly tied to anything except a steady ride cymbal beat (or high hat
beat) and the high hat on beats two and four.
33. Play Tight / Tight – usually refers to a dry (dampened) sound – also really solid 2 and 4.
34. Open and Loose – usually refers to playing that has some ring-through and is more
soloistic in nature (but still as an accompaniment).
35. Stop Time – a regular pattern of breaks in a regular, consecutive rhythm pattern.
During these breaks either the melody continues or improvisation is inserted.
36. Vamp Until Cue – the verb ‘vamp’ means to create a rhythmic accompaniment, either for
a short phrase or a phrase which is repeated. ‘Vamp until cue’ means to create the
rhythmic accompaniment repeatedly until receiving the conductor’s cue to go on to the
next section.
37. Afro Cuban – play a strong Latin-style beat; suggestion: use conga beat between snare
and tom-tom, i.e.
38. If there is no tempo or style indication on the part, check the score. If the score is no
help, then check the bass, piano or guitar parts for clues. Straight eighth patterns
usually mean rock or Latin. Sixteenth note patterns usually mean half time feel. The
presence of nothing but quarter notes indicates a swing style.
39. The drummer should play a small and light fill to accentuate section changes – also called
phrasing fills. A section change is usually a new rehearsal letter or number, a double bar
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line or an ending system. In the new section, a small change of sounds is always
appropriate such as a different cymbal or a change from a skin stroke on the snare to a
rim stroke.
40. The name of the instrument about to solo is often written into the drum part. This is so
that the drummer can be ready to change the sound to one more appropriate or at least
different for the soloist. A sound change, however slight, should always be made for
each soloist. For piano and bass solos, it is appropriate to lighten the sound. Bass solos
are usually accompanied by a very light beat on the high hat alone.
41. Even though most shots (accents) should be played, the main purpose of written shots is
to make the drummer aware of what the horns are accenting. Drummers do not have to
play all of the written accents.
42. Oftentimes, there is what looks like a snare roll indicated as a fill, particularly under a
pause. It is seldom appropriate to play a multiple stroke snare roll in this case. It would
be must better to execute a fast single stroke roll on a cymbal or incorporate single
stroke rolls around the drumset with random cymbal accents, i.e. a fill. Multiple stroke
snare rolls are best used as lead-ins and for section change fills. They are most
effective played with a crescendo and ending either with a cymbal crash (not necessarily
a heavy one) on the down-beat or a rim shot on the last beat preceding the new section.
43. When a roll is indicated on a cymbal, it is executed with single strokes rather than
multiple strokes (especially when using mallets).
44. In swing and shuffle styles, dotted eighth-sixteenth figures often co-exist with eighth
note figures. Usually, no difference is made between the two, i.e.
Occasionally, it is appropriate to play the dotted eighth-sixteenth figure as written.
This emphasizes the sixteenth note further (it should always be slightly accented in any
case). Sometimes the dotted eight is completely detached from the sixteenth for
emphasis.
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45. The designations ‘solo’ and ‘fill’ are often used interchangeably. When the solo space is
from one beat to approximately three before an accent figure, the term ‘fill’ is more
appropriate. Technically, any fill or set up is a solo but the term ‘solo’ usually means
something more extended in ideas and not meant to prepare an accent figure.
Understanding the Arranger - Guitar
A typical guitar part has only slash marks and chord symbols regardless of style or tempo.
This certainly allows the players to develop their interpretive abilities but it is a little
confusing at times. The guitarist must decide at least two things: what strum to use and
what type of chords to play. The style of the music governs both decisions to a fair degree.
Obviously, the arranger wants the music to sound interesting and smoothly executed.
Here is a list of possible ambiguities taken from the various guitar parts of the sample
literature. (Many possible entries to this list will be covered in the following piano section,
including chord symbols).
1. Dry-a la Freddie Green (refers to the strum sound – four quarter note rhythm
strum per bar) – The sound is to be similar to an acoustic arch-top, steel string
instrument with the left hand releasing the chords almost instantly after strum.
Freddie Green, guitarist with the Count Basie Band, established himself as the epitome
of the short, dry, down-strum style (since the 1940’s!) on an un-amplified arch-top
acoustic.
2. Solo – A La Wes Montgomery – Wes Montgomery became known for his style of octave
solo playing octave on the guitar. His unique (at the time) approach was unusual also
because he strummed exclusively with his thumb (no pick).
3.
The notes under the chord symbols in the above example are to be used as voice-leading.
Each chord should have for its top voice, the note indicated.
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4.
The tremolo lines above mean for the guitarist to play, after the slower arpeggiated
strum, a tremolo on the indicated chord. The pick should be turned slightly so that the
side comes in contact with the strings more than the point. This also makes the
diminuendo easier.
5. Solo Break – a solo break usually comes a bar or two before the actual start of the solo
section. In these few beats, the player is expected to render an introduction of some
intensity that sets the mood of the upcoming solo section.
6. Let vib. – let ring. It has nothing to do with ‘vib.’ Which means vibrato.
7.
Occasionally, chord changes come fast and thick. The student should not panic but
rather keep strumming as close to the chord symbols as possible. The alterations in the
chords are most definitely being played by the horns so it will suffice if the chords are
strummed in a simpler form (see chords in bracket underneath). This is not to say that
the full chords should not be learned. It is to say that a simpler approach to this kind
of progression is best at first. The most effective voicings will be those using only the
top four or five strings.
8.
In the case of divided chord symbols such as these compound notations, the most
important part for the guitarist to ‘grab’ is the upper portion – the bass player normally
plays the note underneath.
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9.
The ‘chick’ indication means to slap the strings with the strum hand while dampening
them with the other hand. A little experimentation will produce the desired dry, ‘pop’
sound.
10. Wah, Wah-Wah, or Wa-Wa – use the wah- wah pedal. The guitarist plugs into this
device which, when the pedal is moved up and down, makes a very specific high pitched
and distorted sound appropriate for ‘70’s and ‘80’s funk and contemporary fusion. Can
also be used by electric bassists and electric keyboardists.
11. When a bar or section of music is in brackets, it usually means don’t play. It is followed
by the indication (PLAY)
12. A guitar part will sometimes have the words (BRING OUT) or (PLAY OUT) over the
chords orn otes. Regardless of the dynamic marking (it could be piano), the part should
become much more present in the overall sound of the band.
13. (RHY) or (RHYTHM) or TIME or (YOUR TIME) – comp in an appropriate manner.
14. The designation ‘guitar’ at the top of the guitar part almost always means electric
guitar. All but Basie-type swing tunes need the added presence of an amplified
instrument.
15.
The diamond and upstrum sign means for the guitarist to execute a medium fast up
strum (called a ‘rake’) and let it ring.
16. Swing Four – straight ahead 4/4 swing style – 4 strums per bar.
17. When there is a on a chord, it is often appropriate for the guitar player to tremolo
with a light, smooth feel and fast action. It might also be appropriate for the guitarist
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to fill (play a short cadenza). This would be subject to the direction and what else is
happening on the chord.
18. Bossa Nova Style – a combination of long and short strums (the bossa pattern perhaps)
in a smooth flowing legato but light feel is appropriate for this designation.
19. Solo Background – make comping a bit more soloistic in nature or a bit more prominent.
The guitarist could also add short solo passages lightly and in good taste (so as not to
interfere with the main soloist or main melody of the piece [head])
20. Single String – play a single string (single note) melody or background line.
21. Jazz Break (boogaloo) – generally refers to a rather technical (very active
rhythmically, i.e. ‘busy’) rock rhythm with strong accents on beats two and four.
22. F (sust. Bb) – a rather unusual way of notating F sus or F suspended 4th.
23. 2 Beat / 4 Beat – the ‘2 beat’ indication means to comp a downstroke chord on beats
two and four only. ‘4 beat’ means the player should strum on all four beats or create a
more individual comping pattern based on a four pulse.
24. Tight – play a dry sound strum that is quite active (but a regular pulse) – emphasize
beats two and four.
25. Open and Loose – let more strums ring through somewhat and perhaps be more
individualistic with the comping, i.e. play fills in appropriate spots.
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Understanding the Arranger - AUXILARY PERCUSSION
Most auxiliary added percussion parts are notated in a fairly simple and straight-forward
manner. This problem is usually deciding what can be done for variation and how to make
the part sound musical. With the exception of vibraphone or marimba parts, most other
parts are line after line of the same rhythm. Unless a specific instrument is notated as
being featured, the part is usually considered optional. There is no doubt that, for most
arrangers, additional percussion is considered icing on the cake.
The sound of auxiliary percussion can make a substantial contribution, however, if it is

judiciously applied. The instruments have to be in good shape and played in a tasteful
manner. The discretion of the director and/or player is a big factor as to whether the
additional sound(s) enhances the overall sound. For success, the best approach is to develop
and layer the sounds. Find at least two different sounds and from each auxiliary instrument
and ‘layer’ them into arrangement. Starting the sound, stopping it for certain sections, then
re-introducing it can bring variety and unification to the form. Often there is actually no
written part but even when there is the choice of instrument is sometimes left to the
player.
If there is no indication on the part as to what instrument it is written for, check the score
for clues. If the score is no help then the following may provide some help:
1. A rhythm such as usually means congas.

2. A straight eight rhythm of some kind usually means a shaker or tambourine.
3. The presence of a treble clef usually means vibes or occasionally orchestra bells.
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Troubleshooting
Often, there’s ‘something’ wrong with the rhythm section. This can be very bothersome if
the problem is not apparent. Here is a list of possible trouble spots that a director may
encounter while instructing the rhythm section. The solutions given are not guaranteed
solutions but are just suggestions to try. In most cases, there will be more than one
suggestion. In some cases, the same solution is appropriate for different problems.
1. The rhythm section is not making a ‘together’ sound; it lacks definition
a) The drummer is not laying down a precise enough rhythm, the rhythm being used or
style of playing may not be simple enough
b) The bass player may not have enough treble in the tone settings.
c) The pianist may be using the sustain pedal; it should not be used except for obvious
sustain situations like ballads.
d) The guitar sound does not have enough treble in its tone settings. One must be
careful here; there should not be too much treble in the sound for swing tunes but
there should be full treble for rock tunes. Ideal tone setting for swing is (approx.)
1/3 treble 1/3 mid and 1/3 bass – every guitar is different but his is a good point of
departure. (See nos. 8-10). Remember also that tone settings are in the ‘personal
taste’ category.
e) The rhythm section may not be ‘together’ because of the lack of sectional rehearsal.
Sectionals are an absolute MUST for the rhythm section.
f) The bass player may not be playing with enough sustain. Most bass lines must be
extremely legato.
g) The bass guitar may be slightly out of tune.
h) The set up might be such that the rhythm section players cannot see, feel, hear or
otherwise communicate very well with each other.
i) The pianist and guitarist may be interfering with each other’s chord voicings or
comping patterns. Unless the guitarist and pianist have worked out complementary
comping rhythm, it is best to alternate comping sections under solos. This also
involves vibes when comping. Complementary rhythm need to be worked out and
turns organized.
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j) The drummer and bass player may not be playing compatible or complementary
rhythmic patterns
2. The Rhythm Section does not seem to create variety in accompaniment sounds during
pieces.
a) It is very much the responsibility of the rhythm section (especially the drummer) to
provide variety in the accompaniment sound. The drummer can make a real
difference in this situation. Ensure that the drum set player fully understands that
small changes in sound are very effective in the overall sound. These small changes
can take place at double bar lines, (new sections) or on repeats. There are many
variables available to a drummer. Here are eight:
i. use the ride cymbal

ii. use the crash cymbal as an alternate ride (it must be played much more
lightly than the ride cymbal) and closer to the center
iii. play on the high hat
iv. play on the skin of the snare drum
v. play on the rim of the snare instead of the skin (rim strokes)
vi. alternate strokes between the rim of the snare and the skin of the small
tom tom
vii. use brushes
viii. use mallets
ix. the entry (or departure) of an auxiliary percussion instrument always gives a
fresh sound or feel to a new section
As for the other three instruments, they can alter voicings, comp rhythms, volume,
the octave or feel. The whole rhythm section should be aware of the necessity of
sound variation. The players should feel a subtle building throughout a section until
there is a sort of ‘rising up’ at the end of the section. This is especially true for
drums where subtle end-of-phrase fills are important. It certainly takes a while to
develop these subtleties but even young players must be aware of this musical
practice.
3. The rhythm section lacks ‘punch’, especially when the horns are playing accent figures.
a) Usually this means that the drummer is not preparing the accent figures. Practically
all accent figures should be prepared by the drum set. If done well, the
preparations actually ‘telegraph’ that accents are coming up. Generally, the accent
cymbal (crash) should account for 50% of the volume of the accented note (shot)
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and the accompanying drum the other 50%. It is crucial to remind drummers that
every crash cymbal hit (for accented shots by the horns) there must be an
accompanying drum – usually the snare or bass drum.
4. The drums sound too ringy.
a) Some dampening is almost always necessary. In the rehearsal room, there should be
some ring; in the performance venue, there should be very little ring. Stay away
from internal damper mechanisms – they pus up on and distort the skin’s natural
vibrations. Experiment with the following suggestions:
i. try an external dampening ring or adjustable (clamp on) felt dampers for
each drum. Dampening is always personal ‘taste’ category also.
ii. use a felt strip across the bottom head or even the batter (top) head.
iii. If desperate, one can use wide tape on the drum top or bottom skin.
5. The guitar lacks definition in swing tunes.
a) There may not be enough treble in the tone settings. There should be just enough
treble in the mid-range sound to project clearly. The instrument should be an
acoustic electric; this will help the sound in the style immensely.
6. The acoustic electric (jazz) guitar feeds back when the volume is turned up.
a) Try putting some foam in the sound holes.

b) Try taping over the sound holes.
c) Don’t play directly in front of the amp – turn to side slightly.
d) Lower the volume.
7. The acoustic electric guitar lacks the treble to cut through in rock tunes.
a) If all tone settings are on full treble, then use only high string voicings.
b) Plug in a treble boost until between guitar and amp.
c) Use a wah wah pedal in the down (toe down) position.
d) Plug a small in-line equalizer into the line between guitar and amp. The setting to
emphasize the upper frequencies will definitely work.
e) Make sure that the amp has lots of treble capacity. Perhaps the guitarist is using a
bass amp by mistake.
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8. There are two guitarists and both are playing, either because there are two separate
guitar parts or because they are both keen and don’t like to sit idle. The sound is
muddy.
a) If there are two guitar parts, one is often mainly notes and the other is mainly
chords. Most times, however, both have the same music. Assuming that both
students know their parts correctly:
i. Make sure one part is (or becomes) very straight-forward and simpler if the
other one is complex.
ii. Double check that the guitars are in tune with each other.
iii. Assign a note part to one – e.g. double the lead trp/alto or bari pt.
b) If the piece is rock oriented, have one player comp just on beats two and four
while the other plays a busier strum pattern. Two complementing strum patterns
will work if carefully executed.
c) Perhaps the easiest solution (especially if there is only one part) is to divide the
piece up so that only one guitarist plays at a time. Alternating pieces is, of course,
the other possibility.
9. There are two pass players. If should be understood that there is normally only one
bass player used in jazz music.
a) Have both players play simultaneously but keep one volume completely off. This
way, they both learn the parts but only one of them is responsible for the actual
line and sound.
b) One could play the part on acoustic bass. If there is no amplification being used
and the volume balance is carefully monitored, this would work.
10. The electric piano’s sound is covering the rhythm section’s sound.
a) The player may be playing in the middle-to-low register. One should not comp
much below F3 on an electric piano.
b) The player may be using the sustain pedal too much.
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11. The piano (electric or acoustic) cannot be well heard in the total sound.
a) Young pianists often do not hit the keyboard hard enough to send the sound
through the ensemble. The piano playing must have percussive quality and energy.
b) Volume settings (including mic on acoustic) are too low.
12. The piano solo is not coming through as clearly as it should (especially if acoustic piano)
and the player is putting out good effort.
a) This is sometimes caused by the drummer or guitarist being too busy behind the
solo.
b) The ride cymbal is covering too much. Have the drummer play time on the high hat
instead.
13. What to do if:
a) There are two eager keyboardists
i. To involve two keyboardists, you will need two keyboards

ii. One pianist plays the regular written piano part on the acoustic piano (or
electric piano on acoustic piano setting) and the other pianist plays the same
part on the other keyboard (electric piano or synth) at a lower volume, along
with director carefully monitoring the balance. When there is comping, the
players alternate sectors.
iii. If one electric piano/synth has a string or organ patch, the keyboard ‘2’
player can play the chords as ‘pads’ (long sounds) as background to keyboard
‘1’. Sometimes the guitar part is the best source of chords.
iv. Keyboard 2 can, in the two handed octaves (one note each hand), play (re-
inforce) the lead trumpet/alto bari or bass trombone part. Sound balance is
always the key.
14. The auxiliary percussionist takes a solo but it doesn’t come through too clearly.
a) There may be too much other playing going on. Most auxillary percussion solos
(except for mallet keyboards) should be treated somewhat like a bass solo: most
of the rest of the group lays out. The drumset player may still play along very
lightly and the piano or guitarist could add an occasional fill.
b) Another idea is to have the percussionist and drumset player trade solos. The
rest of the band could lay out completely or the rest of the rhythm section could
play a stop time pattern during the solos.
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15. The ‘other’ drummer is always kept busy playing auxiliary percussion but it doesn’t seem
to add much to the overall sound.
a) Be sure that the percussionist always has a separate copy of the drumset music
(this becomes his own part). During rehearsals, the copy should be carefully
marked as to which sections to play in and which to lay out (don’t play). Auxiliary
percussion is only effective if used at certain times – to highlight sections – and
should not generally be employed continuously. Continuous use causes that
particular instrument to lose its identify and become masked or monotonous in the
overall sound.
16. Many amps come with sound changing effects. It should be said that young players have
a lot to learn about natural sounds before venturing too far into effects. Use of these
effects should be closely monitored.
a) Reverb – only slight use of reverb is appropriate for most jazz styles.
b) Wah Wah Pedal – a muddiness could be created if the pedal is played in the up
position too much. It takes quite some time and practice to fully utilize the
potential of the wah wah.
c) Phase Shifter – if the sound is muddy, the pianist may be playing chords too low for
clarity. When using the phase effect, the low range restriction on electric piano is
even more critical. A muddiness is also created if this effect is used on pieces of
medium and fast tempos.
d) There are three other effects that are similar to the phase shifter and they are
the flanger, chorus and echo. These effects are not advised for comping at other
than slow tempos as they can certainly cause muddiness. In the hands of an
experience player, they have very few restrictions and can really enhance melody
lines as well.
e) Volume Pedal – There is no clarity problem caused by the volume pedal (unless volume
is too high).
f) Equalizer – The setting might have too much bass in it. To much treble will cause
feedback.
g) Microphone – The microphone on the piano may have too much bass in its setting
(from the microphone mixer board or amplifier). Too much treble in the setting is a
main cause of feedback.
Bob Rebagliati can be reached at

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BobReb@Telus.Net
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The last thing I ever thought I would have to do when I began my University teaching
career was fund-raise. I thought I was hired for my credentials as a scholar and a
performing artist. I thought that my University appointment was an opportunity for
me to teach a bit, compose a lot, and tour selectively. Wow, was I naïve!
Fundraising
Arts funding in our society is always at risk. At the University level the arts are
invariably lower on the food chain than medical research. How far down the food chain
are we? … How far is down? The arts, and particularly jazz studies, are significantly
under funded in most post secondary institutions. Jazz Studies Programs are in need
of continual advocacy. Without advocacy, erosion happens quickly and programs can
move from the endangered list to extinct species in less than 10 years. Programs
require funds, and student tuition is not enough. Who will pay for the guest artist, the
recordings you are doing with your student ensemble, the advertising you do in local
newspapers and on radio for your student jazz concerts, un-sponsored clinicians,
brochures on your program to recruit freshmen students, library collections, piano
tunings, curriculum expansion, scholarships and bursaries to retain students, the repair
and servicing of departmental equipment, new faculty appointments? The list goes on
and on.
Budget
Why should I worry about budget, it’s the department head’s job? BZZZ! Wrong again.
You need to share the responsibilities as a faculty, because if you leave this to one
person in the Department you will burn them out. If you leave the budget, the
advocacy, the timetable, the guest artists, the recruiting and profile, the curriculum
revision, some high profile teaching, and the fund-raising for the Department Chair, you
will find them, at some point, sitting in their office, cutting out paper dolls. To validate
my point concerning “burnout,” ask a great former administrator, one that has managed
Jazz Program Infrastructure by Brian Lillos

334
to re-invent themselves as a performer, composer, pedagogue and scholar if they would
like to be the Department Chair again. Their body posture will immediately tense up.
After they realize you are not making a joke they will look you squarely in the eye, their
face may turn a bit red or a smirk may come over their face, nevertheless the answer
will be an emphatic NO! Their response will likely be embellished with some words your
Mother told you not to use.
It is important to learn about budget and attempt to be share-holders when called

upon. Learning about budget can be a very informative exercise and one that will truly
enhance your understanding of the beauraucracy in which you work as well as provide
new respect and support for the designated department chair.
In simplistic terms you will face three types of budget. The Operating Budget covers
instructional services and support staff --secretarial, librarian, and teacher salaries.
The Capital Budget covers the purchase of new equipment. The Discretionary Budget
covers everything else.
In a typical scenario in Canada in 2006, you will have to fight to retain full time
teaching positions. You will find that your operating budget is continually under attack
because, in the short-term, it costs less to hire part-time teachers then it does to
retain full-time teachers. You will find that your Capital budget is only available every
7 to 10 years and is completely inadequate. In the meantime you will have to make due
with broken, borrowed, and otherwise acquired equipment. There are no contingency
funds. Any contingencies come from your discretionary budget. It is the smallest of
your budgets and is completely inadequate for the needs of the department. This is
st
life in the 21 Century. This is not a Monty Python skit. It doesn’t help to pout and
stamp your feet. I can suggest many expletives that worked for me “after hours”, but
they are short-term solutions. It really helps to understand the inner working of the
Budget process and understand ways in which you can address its shortcomings.
Now, more than before, full–time teaching positions created through retirement or
attrition, are not refilled. Instead the full-time position is split between several part-
time teachers. New teaching positions are rare and usually come with strings attached
(to get something you might have to give up something). Seldom does an institution fold
two or three part-time positions into one full-time position realizing the advantage the
full-time teacher presents in program ownership, administration, curriculum coherency,
and the extensive compliment to the program’s “community”. While institutions may
inherently realize the quality difference between part-time and full-time teachers,
they are somewhat blinded by the new management rhetoric of “in time” manufacturing.
This thematic material emphasises costs per unit. Full-time teachers cost more dollars

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than part-time teachers because full-time teachers receive medical, dental, and pension
benefits. The Departments that are able to create new faculty positions have spent a
great deal of time generating the required support from the right people. In convincing
the right people for their support, you first must demonstrate need. Comparisons to
other school programs and the competition for market share are important statistics to
keep on hand. As well, support from grant-giving agencies, your alumni and your
advisory committee can help in developing long and short-term artists in residence
programs. Also, Research Chairs are prestigious for a University. This concept will be
endorsed by your institution and someone within its hierarchy may have a fast track
through the paperwork.
Be cautious of creating a new teaching position(s) to offer new programming within your
department. These can come with strings attached. They can come under the guise of
new courses that will make the curriculum more relevant. The courses, while
interesting, are peripheral to the core of jazz studies and take time away from the
mastery of jazz fundamentals. (The irony is that these courses are not offered in a
modularized format and delivered by part-time teachers.) I believe you should resist
the “strings attached” deals. They are however, hard to resist because they seemingly
provide and instant fix (more full-time teachers). They will erode the core of your
curriculum and represent simplistic short- term solutions (additional faculty) that make
for extensive long-term repair (the dilution of jazz studies curriculum). You be the
judge.
Capital money will come your way every 7 to 10 years. When it is your turn you will get
some. In the meantime you’ll have to make due with what you have. There are no
contingency funds. Contingency will come from your Discretionary budget and you will
not be allowed to run a deficit. With the trend to “on time” management strategies, it is
unlikely that annual Capital Funds will be available for some time. Capital equipment
budgets are structured in such a way that the new guys get money. You will need to
make your capital budget proposals within the first 3 to 4 months of your new teaching
position. This means you will need to do some serious homework prior to arrival. Your
first money will be your last. You will receive all the capital funds you’re going to get
for the first 7 to 10 years, in your first 16 months on the job. Being the new kid on the
block you’ll get your share. Then they will turn their attention to the next pressing
need. We’ve been forced into a reactive mode as opposed to a proactive mode of
program support. You will need to decide on your teaching space – size, acoustics,
office, phone, internet access, practise modules, secondary teaching spaces, storage
space. etc. and how often it is available to you, and the reasons for change. Sole
proprietorship is best. You will need to do an inventory of musical equipment: music
stands, drum set, bass, acoustic basses, guitar amp, guitars, acoustic piano, fender

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Rhodes piano, auxillary percussion equipment, rhythm section equipment for student
sign out and for secondary practise rooms. You will also have to inventory the sheet
music library, the listening rooms, the record collection (vinyl, cassettes, c.d.’s), the
video collection (cassette, d.v.d.’s), musical scores, texts and journals. Basic equipment
such as bass trombone, bari sax, flugelhorn, woodwind doubles, mouthpieces, mutes, and
tuners. You will need to explain why this musical equipment is essential. It is useful to
have the equipment lists of hugely successful programs as a means for comparison.
(There is no standard equipment list to which all programs conform.) It is a great idea
to present a three-year phase in of Capital Equipment because it doesn’t look so
overwhelming on first glance. Pad it and structure it in such a way that you are able to
acquire what you need within the first 16 months. Another crisis will take place in the
institution and funds will be allocated, diverted, or re-allocated elsewhere.
Schools/Universities do not have the money. It is not a question of whether they want
to give your program the funds, it’s a question of them not being able. In this new
world order of “on time” management, capital funds are scarce and you have to wait
your turn. Its crisis management versus the proactive model we were used to.
Lastly, you will have discretionary money to try and do everything else with. These
funds will range from $1200.00 per year to $40,000.00 per year depending on the
student enrolment in your program and how many favours you are owed. In my opinion,
it serves very little purpose to try and figure out who is to blame for all of this. I
recommend finding a solution to the problem. One of the ways around this unfortunate
and frustrating set of circumstances is to learn the principles of fund-raising within
given institutional contexts. For example with respect to the discretionary budget:
what percentage of our costs can be off-loaded to recoverable student fees; what
continuing education courses can be developed that are money raisers; what guest
artists and clinicians come with music industry sponsorships; what equipment and
software sponsorships can we attract; what endowments, corporate dollars, and
philanthropical donations can we access; what types of recruitment and profile projects
can we develop that are cost recovery based? The list is endless and requires your
complete and thorough attention.
I apologize if this is starting to feel like a role in a MAD TV skit. This can be the
darkside of that prestigious University position you dreamed of and worked so hard to
get. There is a reality factor, however. This is the landscape we are faced with today.
It is not unique to University teaching. As a matter of fact, education is a bigger
winner with government funding than most government agencies. This crisis we are
faced with exists in every crevice of our society today. It can be devaluing and
demoralizing if you let it. I see it as a context issue. Someone different is in charge.

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Find a way to circumvent the silliness of it all and get on with the enjoyment of
teaching jazz.
I have successfully fund-raised for complete sets of professional horns and rhythm
section equipment in all programs which I have taught. I’ve run bingos, sold firewood,
had instrument company sponsorships, and capital renovation projects purchase the
necessary equipment. While some view it as exhausting, thankless, and completely out
of the scope of my professorship, the less cynical see it as a team building exercise and
possibly a necessary evil.
Student Recruitment/Program Profile
The second to last thing I ever thought I would have to do when I began my University
teaching career was recruit students. I did not know where good students came from,
and I didn’t know you had to “sell” a music education. Moreover, I was particularly sure
that if it needed to happen, it wouldn’t involve me –I mean didn’t the University have a
recruitment office? BZZZ! Naïve again. Jazz studies departments compete for
students. There are more jazz studies programs than there are good students.
Speaking candidly, we buy the best ones. We track them, treat them special so they
will tell their friends what a great school we have, and help them to their next level of
success in order to boast about our successes. This may be a crass way to explain
recruitment for post secondary jazz study however, it models athletic scholarships in
the U.S.A., only on a smaller scale. In the United States there are NACAC Guidelines
on Ethical Practises for Student Recruitment. (There are no such guidelines in Canada.)
Now that you are over the initial shock of recruitment and profile, here are some
typical profile strategies: perform concerts for your local high schools, regional
student jazz festivals, music educator conferences, National and International jazz
festivals; provide complimentary adjudicators and clinicians for regional and National
student jazz festivals; present performances for events within the college/university
(don’t bite the hand that feeds you); host internationally renowned guest artists and
provide public concerts; hire faculty that are internationally renowned; publish the
best website of any jazz studies program (like any kind of selling its 90% image). Get a
buzz out there about your program. I thought this was over when I left show business.
Little did I know it was just the beginning. Ideologically, some professors are
offended by this practise. However, we all compete for students and in the end we’ll do
whatever it takes to get the best ones. Good students make it a lot easier to develop
and maintain good programs.

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Equipment Needs/Facility Needs/Timetable Needs
The next to last thing I ever thought I would have to do as a University Professor was
worry about the equipment and the facility I used when I taught my students. I
thought it was a given that the University would provide me with a good facility, supply
the necessary equipment for my students to learn, and have a timetable in place that
allowed all of us to meet in performance situations. BZZZ! Oh No! Not again!! I spent
all this time and money becoming this well educated, world renowned
performer/composer/pedagogue and now I’m supposed to lobby for funds to build a
facility, spend hundreds of hours with architects and acoustical consultants in the
design of the facility, fund-raise for the requisite new equipment, and lobby for a
timetable which allows me to see all the members of my ensemble at the same time.
The plot thickens!
This was the one that darkened my spirits for a while. I started out my career naïve
and enthusiastic. If I had known this one was coming, honestly I’d have stayed on the
road. But I didn’t realize all these things at one time and I had a lot of ownership in my
students by the time I actually realized the uniqueness of the system in which I had
become a shareholder. By the time I had sorted it all out I had so much invested in my
students that the road was no longer an option. I decided to learn more about the
business of administration so I could position my program effectively.
Facilities and equipment involve tremendous capital expenditure. Schools don’t have any
funds. Governments will deny they have any funds. Philanthropists will give to research
chairs in Science before they will give to Jazz Studies (the notable exception is Jamey
Aebersold). Attempting to acquire funds in this arena is serious business. It is not for
the hobbyist. While you have to demonstrate need through consultants, advisory
committees, and alumni associations, you also have to move quickly. You need to be sure
that the administration you’ve convinced stays in place long enough to see the proposal
through to fruition. For jazz administrators this is the big leagues. Proposals for new
facilities and equipment are enormously time consuming. Their approval often requires
the right kind of massaging and political pressure. And trade offs with strings
attached will cost you in the end. Make no mistake this process will consume you. You
may generate enough memos to reforest an entire section of the west coast rain forest
and still fail. Before the proposal is presented the “climate” has to be just right. If
the economy is in recession and five public theatres in the city are “dark” don’t expect
government funding for a performance venue on campus for your jazz studies program.
However, if the opposite is happening you may be in luck. Much of your success in these

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type of activities is keeping a “wish list”, assessing the “climate”, and knowing when to
present which piece of the wish list to whom.
In music programs, whether high school, college, or University, timetables are usually
made up of singleton courses (one section only). Everyone competes for timetable
space—those within the music department and those within the University that may
share your facilities and/or your students. A dedicated facility is essential. The Co-
operation of other departments is important. The co-operation of the members within
your department is a given. The timetable exists for one reason. In order to teach
effectively you need to see your students. I know this sounds a bit precocious but it is
not. Timetables that require year long courses, with very specific clientele, are a “pain
in the ass” for most institutions because they create a conflict matrix of enormous
proportions. You need unqualified administrative support to run a performing arts
timetable. Your program needs to be timetabled first. Other programs and their
courses need to be fit into to the timetable so that they compliment your program.
This is the only chance for the inclusion of jazz studies. The first response from
others will be that “the tail shouldn’t wag the dog”. Once you are able to get past this
you will have a chance to actually see all you ensemble members together.
A challenge in every program I have worked is student ILP time. Individual Learning
and Practise Time. In jazz studies this equates to the availability of rehearsal room
space. How many hours per day have you allocated per student? Are there rental
facilities near the campus? Have you ensured that there are enough practise facilities
on campus or nearby that students can complete their assignments. Typically, students
are short-changed on this because the program advocate has not been strong enough on
their behalf. This is a big issue. It affects student learning and it affects your sense
of community. We have approximately 280 hours per week devoted to student
ensemble rehearsal space. It is not enough. We could use twice the amount and still
only be providing students with two hours per week of individual ensemble time. Some
schools have none. If you want to see perfection visit the University of Indianna.
Somebody got it right.
F.T.E.'s
FTE’s are full time teaching equivalents. They are the most precious budgetary
commodity of the 21 st century. The theme out there is, why hire someone full-time if
you can hire part-time personnel to do it for less money. This is one of those very
short-sighted, “in time,” process engineer applications to education that many
administrators have bought into. It is nonsense and the quality of our education system

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is in serious decline because of it. Education requires teacher ownership in the
“community” of students being taught. Education requires mentorship and guidance of
the student. This is not possible with part-time instructors because they aren’t in
attendance often enough to significantly contribute to the dynamics of the community.
They, because of necessity, are rushing off to their part-time “gig” and at best are
part-time shareholders in your program. In education, ownership and the realization
that everything about education is about community is a huge concept. Good
administrators understand this. Great administrators prove to be visionaries,
advocates and leaders in this area. It is why some jazz studies programs are more
successful than others.
In order to create additional FTE’s you must have a partnership with your
administrator. They must be a part of your team. They need to believe that your
program will significantly affect their institution. You must encourage them to be a
shareholder. Encourage them to be a partner in the building of student excellence
within your program. If you can do this you will have a chance to make significant
change within your department. If you don’t, then you are at best, going to be in a
custodial situation.
Administrative Support/Career Planning
Where are you in the food chain of support with administration in your institution.
Become number one!! It is that simple. Become number one!!
I had a great mentor before I started teaching. He said, “Interview your

Dean/Principal.” Make sure he really wants you. Make sure he sees you as the #1 Draft
Pick of the year. Make sure he wants to build his school around you and people like you.
And make sure you form a partnership and involve him in every success the program has.
At first, all I wanted was a job. I was prepared to teach anything, thinking that
eventually, after I received tenure, I’d slide into what I wanted to do. The problem
with this theory is there was someone else already doing that job in the department.
Nonetheless, I thought, I’d wait it out. I’d get my tenure (in 7 years) and then start
moving towards teaching more of what I wanted to teach and do my artistic projects on
the side. Anything to get away from the draconian leadership of some of the acts I’d
been with on the road. Finding “higher ground”. Right? Not completely! You need a
partner in your success. You need someone to champion your cause. Deans and Vice-
Presidents and Presidents are the ones. Great music programs don’t just happen. They
happen largely because someone pulled someone’s chain who pulled someone else’s chain
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who pulled the Board of Governors chain that dispersed funds for success. Not only did
these “chain pullers” defend your proposal, they watched it evolve carefully and were a
shareholder in its maturation. While these type of administrators are not in every nook
and cranny of the institution, they do exist. My success in education is largely due to
the fact that I have been able to work with “world class” administrators. I go looking
for them. Interview your prospective Dean/Principal.
Administration is its own unique species. There are great administrators, good ones,
average one, bad ones, and absolutely horrible ones. I’ve worked for them all. Initially
I went to work for great administrators and each time I moved institutions it was
because someone was “transferred” in that was less than a great administrator. Seek
out great administrators. They are the reason institutions work effectively. They are
open to the success of your program and especially the artistic empowerment of your
students. They will facilitate the success of your program in all ways possible to them.
For example, if I can develop a graduate studies program for the department, gain the
approval of the faculty for these projects and convince my Dean that these projects
are meritous, he will get me what I need to be successful. It is my experience that if
you can convince your University Dean or School Principal that your ideas are worthy,
the ideas will be supported and will reach fruition. If the Dean or Principal doesn’t see
value in your proposal the ideas will be rejected. (They won’t usually be rejected
outright. Rather, they will receive “token” support and die over time in a stack of
paperwork.) Depending on the champion or non-champion nature of my administrator, I
may submit the same proposal and have it accepted or rejected. If he isn’t buying what
I’m selling it isn’t going to happen. It could be the way I’m selling. It could be the way
he’s buying. It could be he’s not a buyer. It could be he’s not a buyer of anything I do.
Wrong place, wrong time, wrong planetary system. My strategy for aligning the
Universe in the manner that best benefits my students and my program is to find a
great Dean/Principal.

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Introduction
Jazz Academy Course designed for the aspiring jazz musician who wishes to participate
in an enriched educational experience of jazz music education.
Interested students will enroll in Jazz Band 11 or 12 and also be provided the
opportunity to enroll in Jazz Studies 11 or 12 (study of jazz improvisation in a combo
setting). Students will have a regular academic course load, with Jazz Band and Jazz
Studies.
Objective
The objective of the Jazz Academy Program is to offer students the opportunity to
develop prerequisite skills for jazz improvisation and music performance in an
instrumental setting within the academic setting of the school, with a commitment to
excellence in student achievement. The program is integrated with the regular school
program and is designed to develop the individual and group skills of the participants.
Rationale
The Jazz Academy Program will provide excellence and opportunity for more intensive
music education in jazz studies, whether it is in performance, theory, and music
recording or music management. The Jazz Academy Program at will address the
academic and musical needs of the students who desire to participate in a jazz studies
program.
Jazz Program Infrastructure: Proposal Writing by Carmeila Luvissotto

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Goals
• Students will be placed in an ensemble of musical peers of equal ability.
• Provide professional musical instruction to student musicians committed to high

level jazz performance.
• Students will become an independent thinker and self-motivated worker while

becoming a team performer while directing and taking part in productive sectional
rehearsals and performing whenever possible without a conductor.
• Students will understand, appreciate and perform a wide variety of jazz literature.
• Students will be instructed in basic jazz history.
• Students will learn to become a proficient sight-reader of music.
• Students will become aware of his or her skill level on their instrument in relation to
their potential.
• Students will learn an amount of music theory related to the proficiency level of
improvisation they see to attain.
• Students will be made aware of various career, employment opportunities and

university/college options made available to them.
• Students will engage in concerts whenever possible.
• Students will have the opportunity to be exposed to guest clinicians.
• Students will be encouraged to arrange or compose music.
• Students will be exposed to aspects of audio recording.
• Students will be exposed to current technology in music notation and

accompaniment software.
• Students will have the opportunity to plan aspects of concert and promote audience
attendance at concerts.

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Benefits
The Student Musician:
The Jazz Academy Program will have the unique opportunity to align academic and
musical goals within an integrated and supportive academic environment. Students will
be members of a group of individuals committed to academic and musical success and
will receive outstanding instruction in an environment dedicated to success.
By committing to the Jazz Academy Program students will enhance their skill and
knowledge in the jazz music field and produce opportunities to participate in jazz
opportunities at the highest possible level during their senior high school years and
upon graduation.
Parents
The Jazz Academy Program will provide student musicians with the opportunity to
benefit from intensive music instruction within the public school environment. It also
provides families with an opportunity to access a program designed to meet the musical
and academic needs of the student as well as enhancing the opportunities jazz music
offers.
The Jazz Academy Program offers an educational program that includes in-depth
musical training. Additionally, the program will provide parents with the knowledge and
satisfaction that their school is committed to working with them to nurture, support
and to enhance their child’s musical and academic development. Parents will also have
the opportunity to improve the program and outcomes.
Overview
The Jazz Academy Program will provide two main courses, Jazz Band and Jazz Studies,
available to students entering Grades 11 and 12.
In Jazz Band, students will learn basic jazz ensemble performance skills, including
introduction to jazz styles, articulations, basic jazz theory, jazz ear training and jazz
improvisation. Students will also be made aware of the basic jazz history and jazz
listening will occur.

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In Jazz Studies, students will learn the study of jazz improvisation in a jazz combo
setting. Students will be introduced to an advanced jazz theory, advanced ear training,
composition/arranging, concert/promotion management skills, computer music
technology and audio recording skills. (To participate in the Jazz Studies Course,
students must take Jazz Band also.)
Equivalency/course credit
IMJB 11 - Jazz Band 11

IMJB 12 - Jazz Band 12
MCT 11 - Jazz Studies 11
MCT 12 - Jazz Studies 12
Staff qualifications at proposed site
2 Jazz Gods
Site facilities
The Secondary School currently has a Music Room. The stage is currently only used
part time. It would be available for extra classes. The long term forecast for the
school is a declining student population. This may free up classroom space for
conversion to music space.
Similar programs
There are approximately 20 school that run a Jazz Band Program and 6 schools that run
a Jazz Studies Program.
School of My Dreams Secondary and More of My Dreams Secondary run successful

similar programs that attract many student musicians from across the province.

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Registration guidelines
The Jazz Academy is open to all students. The program is designed for students who
desire to pursue jazz music in an in depth manner.
Interested students are asked to register for the courses during the regular course
selection period: Spring, 2005.
A written application is required, but will be used as part of the student’s Portfolio.
Cost to students
Current students in the Music Program are charged no fee. It is expected that this
practice will continue! An expectation of any music program is for students to
participate in public performances. Further, students will be expected to participate in
music festivals. There is an entry fee for participation in these co-curricular activities.
These costs up to now have been covered through the Parent Advisory Council Bingo and
student fundraising activities. We anticipate that this funding will continue. It should
be noted that this is an expectation but not mandatory. Students will be provided many
opportunities to fundraise for field trip costs. No student has been denied
participation in the co-curricular program due to financial reasons.
School and community support
The Nanaimo community has always strongly supported jazz music in their town. Well
known examples of this is the support for jazz artists Diana Krall, Ingrid Jensen and
Christine Jensen. The City of Nanaimo is looking into the possibility of setting up a
post secondary Jazz Academy. Our Secondary School would be the perfect feeder for
this post secondary jazz academy.
Attached are letters from many jazz musicians, music educators, University professors
and festival co-ordinators who support the concept of a Jazz Academy at Our
Secondary School.
The impact on other secondary schools is the potential loss of a few students.

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Our School’s Staff Committee is supportive of this initiative and wished luck in
promoting Our Secondary School in this venue.
What it means for our secondary school
• Unique program for its students
• An “identity” for the school
• An influx of new students, who will be excited about their education
• More students in the school should equate to more course offerings.

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School Letterhead
APPLICATION FOR ADDMISSION
STUDENT: M / F: _________
PREVIOUS SCHOOL: ________________________ GRADE: _____ AGE: _____
ADDRESS:______________________________________CITY: _____________
POSTAL CODE: PHONE NUMBER:
INSTRUMENT: _______________________ YEARS STUDIED: _____________
Respond to each of the following questions (you may attach additional pages, if
necessary).
1. List some of your personal goals, and describe what role the Jazz Academy plays
in working toward those goals.
2. List your music training, performances and experiences in school.
3. List music training and experience outside of school (for example: music camp;
private lessons in music; Vancouver Island Youth Orchestra, Provincial bands).
4. List all past honours, awards and recognitions.
5. List past academic and other school honours, awards and recognitions.

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FATHER’S NAME:
EMPLOYER: PHONE NUMBER:
MOTHER’S NAME:
EMPLOYER: PHONE NUMBER:
Signature of Parent/Guardian Date
Carmella Luvisotto can be reached at

cluvisotto@hotmail.com

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Just when you thought the Monty Python skit was about to end and you were safe from
any further dilemmas you realize that we, as visual and performing artists within the
academic community, compete, not just with medical research for funding, but with one
another. Ouch!!
Networking the Jazz Education Industry can be helpful here. It keeps you in contact
with the rest of the world and what they have and don’t have. And while it is the oldest
trick in the book of Manipulations it still works. If I say to my Dean that this
University and this University and this College and this Conservatory have been able to
expand their curricula, hire additional faculty, have a new facility, have Artists in
Residence Programs, and Freshmen scholarships, and consequently are gaining market
share, scooping our top faculty, and positioning their students to be more competitive in
the global marketplace, my Dean is going to listen. The trick here is “don’t bullshit.”
Make sure your facts and figures are correct. If they are and they are presented in
such a manner, whether its manipulative or not, your Dean or Principal is obliged to help
you reposition your program.
Recruiting Faculty
This is not as big an issue as it used to be because there are lots of jazz educators
looking for work. However, there are still very few great jazz educators looking for
work and to get a real good one you’ll likely have to take them away from something
they are already doing ( someone else’s employ). This is particularly important because
it is generally agreed upon that the three things that make a great jazz studies
program are: great students, great faculty, and a great curriculum. You can usually
attract a “world class” faculty to teach full-time for you if you have world class
students, a world class faculty, and a world class curriculum or visionary concept
thereof. While it doesn’t hurt to live in a large, vibrant jazz community, and provide
professional development release time for their artistic growth, Program location is

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much less important today then it used to be. Great concerts, compositional colloquia,
jam sessions, and private study are only a plane ride away.

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Program Direction/Coordination/Administration
Speaking as a previous director, for every hour of program instruction, someone has
spent 10 hours with the “powers that be” advocating that jazz studies is worthwhile,
deserves special funding, a new facility, degree status, a recording studio, a
performance hall, technological upgrades, more faculty, curriculum expansion, more
advertising budget for student recruitment, more bursaries for student retention, and
the like thereof. Often there are layers of administration and approval within an
institution so it might take an additional 10 hours to secure one hour of quality
instructional time. Imagine someone having to devote 20 hours of advocacy just to
ensure one hour of quality instruction takes place in your department. However,
without this kind of advocacy, jazz programs in North America can and often do erode
very quickly. Unfortunately, the advocacy positions are seldom shared in a music
department and seldom rotated. When you mention administration, most jazz musicians
avoid eye contact and say they have a crisis in their life that they absolutely must deal
with now and they only really have time to keep their teaching going. This lack of
shared responsibility means music administrators have a lot of time by themselves
doing the “grunt” work on behalf of the department. It gets lonely, its very stressful,
and it can lead to burnout. As the next generation you should be aware that these
responsibilities can be shared. Once again, I see them as a necessary evil and, if
approached collectively, lead to strong, long-lasting departments and people. Think to
yourself how a school becomes the host for the Thelonius Monk Institute, The Miles
Davis Institute, the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Studies Program. Think of the work
involved. Think of positioning the school to host one of these prestigious programs by
yourself, in addition to your teaching duties as well as doing all the administrative
duties for the department. Not up for it! Now re-think the scenario with shared
duties. Feel better.
This is not meant to be a dark exposé nor is it meant to insist that everyone become a
music administrator. It is only meant to give you some insight into the business called
jazz education or more simply put, the cultural arts industry. At first it will seem
overwhelming. The utopia that you thought you had finally realised, has been disrupted.
I found it necessary to try and learn the process slowly and balance it with my teaching
and my performance/composition/scholarship. The key element to creative health
within an institution for me has been to stay in touch with myself as a performer. It
seems to provide me with a high degree of emotional health. I develop a certain kind of
energy and artistic excitement to share what I know. In this situation I learn as much
from teaching as my students learn from me. Teaching my art forces me to constantly
reassess it. Trying to develop “depth” in my performance makes me look at it from
many different angles. In this sense, for me, the teaching is “life-giving.” The positive
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energy I receive from my performance/composition and my teaching has allowed me to
venture into administration. I enjoy it best when I can be a team player with a specific
task. I know that if I take on to much the balance in my life will be upset and my
creative health will suffer. I try and do my share because I love the department and
it is a privilege being a part of it. (If you’ve ever played in a great band you know what I
mean.) And I also realize that my most significant contributions to the department
come when I’m balanced.

BrianLillos.com

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The Master of Music in Jazz Performance was designed to appeal to musically
advanced, serious students in search of their own unique musical voice/style and to
reflect the reality of the jazz music world at the present time.
One aspect of the degree that differentiates it from most other performance masters
is the emphasis on composition and arranging. In contemporary jazz music I think it is
fair to say that a good share of those artists who are finding their “own sound” are
doing so in part by performing their own original music. Performing and composing are
becoming inextricably intertwined for a good many of today’s leaders. We therefore
decided to emphasize this in the degree and students are required to take a full year
of composition and arranging in a seminar format. In addition the final recital and the
final Performance in Recording Media CD must consist of the student’s original
compositions.
Another unique aspect of the degree is the final project, Performance in Recording
Media, worth 12 credits. This was conceived as a kind of thesis replacement. The
student must compile and submit a 60-75 min CD (or DVD) performing their original
compositions. This becomes the student’s main documentation of his or her work in the
degree as well as an excellent exercise in ensemble leadership, recording, and CD
organization and presentation. Indeed some students have released their final projects
as commercial CDs as one might publish a thesis.
The only real ‘academic’ course in the degree is the Jazz Pedagogy Seminar. This course
is included to reflect the reality of today where so many jazz musicians are involved in
some sort of teaching. In that many of those opportunities are at the university level
and a masters degree is often required, the greater share of the course deals with
university level teaching. Topics include: curriculum design and philosophy, different
approaches to teaching improvisation, history, composition and arranging, organizing and
evaluating auditions and exams, large and small ensemble organization, rehearsal
techniques and comparative studies of various undergraduate and graduate programs in
North America and Europe. We also discuss job opportunities, the interview process
and preparing CVs. A final paper on a jazz pedagogy topic of the student’s choice is also
required.
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354
Participation in either Jazz Ensemble or Chamber Jazz Ensemble is also required and is
an important aspect of the degree. These ensembles are very high-level groups with
many performances throughout the year and are also excellent platforms for
performing student work. Private study (lessons) is also required. This is quite flexible
in that the student is allowed to choose his/her teacher and with permission may even
choose a teacher on another instrument.
There are also teaching assistantships available and graduate students teach various
courses in our undergraduate jazz curriculum:
• Basic Jazz Materials (theory)

• Jazz Keyboard Proficiency
• Jazz Ensemble (big band three)
• Jazz Combo (combos choose their own faculty supervisors including grad students)
• Jazz Ear training and Jazz Improvisation for non-majors may also be available in
the future.
www.mcgill.ca/music
Kevin Dean can be reached at

Kevin.Dean@McGill.Ca
Graduate Degrees in Jazz Studies in Canada: McGill University by Kevin Dean

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Overview
Jazz in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at York University is offered as an academic

stream within the degrees of Master of Arts (MA) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
The degrees allow for a wide variety of study options that enable students to craft a
curriculum to suit their own unique interests and talents. Current course offerings
include: Jazz Studies, Topics in Composition, Musical Analysis, Seminar in Composition I
and II, Private Lessons in Composition I and II, Performance Option I and II, African
American Music, and Latin American Music. Students may also “self design” Directed
Reading and Independent Study courses. Future offerings include Jazz Arranging, Jazz
Theory, Jazz Pedagogy, and area topics.
The graduate program has attracted well known jazz performers and scholars such as:
drummer and record producer Prof. Barry Elmes; bassist and composer Prof. Al
Henderson; pianist Frank Falco; cellist Matt Brubeck, vocalist Bonnie Brett; guitarist
Mike Cado; musicologist Prof. Matt Vander Woude; librarian Rob Van der Bliek; pianist
Mark Eisenman; percussionist and ethnomusicologist Prof. Michael Marcuzzi;
musicologist Prof. Howard Spring; and drummer Anthony Michelli. In addition to an
impressive full time complement dedicated to jazz, the program draws on many of
York’s world class contract faculty to supplement academic offerings with workshops
and lectures. Students have access to the expertise of such artists as Mike Murley,
Mike Malone, Kevin Turcotte, Richard Whiteman, Kelly Jefferson, Lorne Lofsky, Roy
Patterson, Artie Roth, and Jim Vivian among others. Recent clinicians have included
Jerry Bergonzi, Cedar Walton, Adam Nussbaum, and David Braid.
In addition to academic course work, performing and composing, York graduate

students may function as Course Directors, Teaching/Grading/Research Assistants,
accompanists, ensemble coaches, and music tutors for a wide variety of undergraduate
courses including: Musicianship; Music and Cultures I and II; Jazz Theory; Jazz
Workshops; Gospel Choir; Private Lessons in Jazz Performance (piano, bass, drums,
Graduate Degrees in Jazz Studies in Canada: York University by Michael Coghlan

356
guitar, sax, trumpet, voice); Private Lessons in World Music Performance (Gospel,
Cuban, Caribbean, and African ensembles, Latin percussion, folk and blues guitar, etc.).
More information on the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Admission Requirements,

Scholarships, Assistantships, Fellowships, and Tuition can be obtained through the York
University website (www.yorku.ca).
Michael Coghlan can be reached at

mcoghlan@yorku.ca
Graduate Degrees in Jazz Studies in Canada: York University by Michael Coghlan

357
Overview
The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto has offered an undergraduate

degree in Jazz Performance since 1991. In the fall of 2005, with the undergraduate
program firmly established and recognized for the quality of its curriculum and
outstanding graduates, a jazz stream was added to our graduate performance degree
offerings. This degree is designed to provide students with an opportunity to study
music at an advanced level, to benefit from performing and studying alongside other
students who have achieved a high level of competence in the field.
Performance is at the centre of the degree and students receive private instruction on
their instrument (one hour per week). In some cases, students may study with teachers
who do not play the same instrument as the student. This is arranged in consultation
with the Director of Graduate Jazz Studies. There is an ensemble requirement in both
years of the degree. Offered are: small jazz ensemble, jazz orchestra, and jazz choir.
Students may also elect to play or sing in other ensembles (symphony orchestra,
concert choir, wind symphony, or chamber ensembles).
Students are required to present two recitals during their two-year residency. One of
the recitals may be replaced by a fully mastered recording that features the student
as leader, composer/ arranger and performer.
In constructing this degree, the decision was made to integrate jazz into our existing
M. Mus. degree in performance – which has been offered for many decades – rather
than establish a separate degree. This decision arose from a desire to reinforce the
idea that music is music and that jazz courses should be part of the mainstream
curriculum rather than set apart. This means that jazz courses are accessible to
qualified students majoring in orchestral/classical programs and that jazz students are,
likewise, able to tailor their programs to include courses available to any M. Mus.
student. In effect, the dotted line that often exists between classical and jazz
Graduate Degrees in Jazz Studies in Canada: University of Toronto by Paul Read

358
programs is made as insignificant as possible. For this reason we refer to our degree as
a “jazz stream within the M. Mus. degree”.
In addition to the emphasis on performance, the degree challenges students to broaden

their musical perspectives in achieving a deeper understanding of the history of the
music, and its performers and composer/arrangers. It also aims to expand students’
awareness of the diversity and multiple dimensions of present day practices. To this
end, students are required to take a course in the Analysis and Performance Practices
of 20th/21st century music as well as a central academic course called Seminar in Jazz
Literature. The latter is normally taken in the first year of the degree and includes a
broad range of topics including the study of jazz repertoire, performers, and jazz
history, including criticism, reportage and other writing. The course also allows
students to do concentrated work in areas of individual specific interest. Another
required course is simply titled “Special Topics” which allows the student to pursue
study an area of independent interest under the guidance of a faculty advisor.
Beyond the required courses listed above, students are able to further customize their
studies through selection of non-performance courses, including; advanced
arranging/composition, pedagogy, and courses offering development in other musical
genres. This is particularly relevant to jazz majors since the careers of jazz musicians
typically combine a variety of disciplines, including composition/arranging and teaching.
Because the degree is integrated into the performance graduate degree, jazz majors
may elect to include in their studies any course open to any M. Mus. student.
Further information on the curriculum, fellowships, scholarships, TA positions, faculty,

and other details may be found on the University of Toronto website:
http://www.music.utoronto.ca, or by calling the U of T Graduate administrator’s office
at (416) 978-5772.
Paul Read can be reached at

Paul.Read@UToronto.Ca
Graduate Degrees in Jazz Studies in Canada: University of Toronto by Paul Read

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Brief History of Jazz Programs at The Banff Centre
1974-2006
Jazz programs at The Banff Centre have provided one of the most important training
grounds in the world for improvising jazz musicians and composers. For a few weeks
each summer, the International Workshop has brought leading performers and
composers together with younger emerging artists in an intense program of master
classes, ensemble playing, discussion and experimentation. The impact has been felt
around the world: Banff Jazz alumni have achieved prominence in Canada, the United
States, and Europe, and an international network of alumni has fostered exciting
musical developments in many countries. Alumni continue to assume positions of
leadership in the creative music community worldwide
In less than twenty-five years the summer workshop grew from a daring, all-Canadian
experiment in jazz education to a mature, internationally acclaimed program at the
leading edge of developments in jazz.
How Jazz programs started at The Banff Centre
The idea for a jazz workshop at The Banff Centre arose at a chance meeting in Toronto
in 1972. David Leighton, then president of the Centre, was being interviewed on a
television show. His fellow guests were Canadian jazz musicians Oscar Peterson and Phil
Nimmons. Leighton approached them after the show and invited them to put their
ideas on jazz education into practice at Banff. Peterson and Nimmons accepted, and in
July 1974 they came to The Banff Centre, bringing with them Dave Young, bass and
Stan Perry, drums. The week-long workshop was so successful that the decision was
made to repeat the experiment the following summer.
The Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music, Courtesy of the Banff Centre
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Summer Workshop with Phil Nimmons as Artistic Head
1975 – 1981
Nimmons was appointed artistic head and in 1975 extended the summer program to two
weeks, with seven guest faculty. Through his seven-year tenure as artistic head, ending
in 1981, Nimmons refined his ideas about jazz education and established the workshop
as a unique Canadian training program. He emphasised the development of ensemble and
improvisational skills through the study and performance of established jazz
repertoire.
In 1980 a Pilot Project in improvisational composition was organised, in collaboration

with the Creative Music Studio of Woodstock, New York, under the direction of Karl
Berger,
Dave Holland as Artistic Head 1982-1990
In the summer of 1981 the Workshop began incorporating some of the ideas introduced
in the pilot project. Karl Berger and Phil Nimmons shared the role of artistic head and
the faculty shifted from all-Canadian to strongly international. In 1982 the leadership
was taken up by a team of three musicians: Dave Holland, Don Thompson and Kenny
Wheeler, who continued to expand the roster of international faculty and to explore
new musical styles and improvisational techniques.
In 1983 Holland took over as sole artistic head and over the next seven years led the
workshop into its second phase of development. He maintained Nimmons’ emphasis on a
knowledge of traditional repertoire and structure and opened up the workshop to new
ideas in jazz and improvisational technique by recruiting as faculty some of the world’s
leading experimenters in the jazz idiom. Holland established a role for a composer-in-
residence in the workshop and stressed composition as an important element in the
evolution of jazz. He also insisted on retaining strong links to the African roots of the
music and in 1986 began bringing Abraham Adzenyah, a fifth generation master
drummer from Ghana, to run workshops in African drumming and rhythm.
By the end of the 1980’s the workshop was again looking for fresh ideas and in 1989
Holland turned over the leadership to Steve Coleman who encouraged participants to
explore the creative possibilities of synthesizers, computers, musical instrument digital
interface technology and audio engineering.
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Hugh Fraser as Head of Summer Workshop 1991 – 1998 and
Jazz Orchestra Workshops
In 1991 Hugh Fraser was appointed program head. Hugh had been associated with the
summer jazz program since 1984 when he attended with members of the band he
founded - Vancouver Ensemble of Jazz Improvisation, and from 1988 to 1990 he
returned to the program as faculty.
In January 1993 Hugh led the first Banff Jazz Orchestra Workshop, with guest Muhal
Richard Abrams and subsequent Jazz Orchestras in 1994, with Slide Hampton and
Maynard Ferguson, 2001 and 2002 with Maria Schneider, 2003 with Rufus Reid, 2004
with Kenny Wheeler, 2005 with Muhal Richard Abrams and 2006 with Chucho Valdes. In
2005 the Jazz Composers Workshop was established by Hugh and in 2006 the first
Denis Jackson scholarship was awarded to a pianist/composer attending. Hugh
brought to the summer workshop a holistic synthesis of all the previous elements and
influences in that workshop, celebrating the diversity of the music and of the
individuals who make that music, making it the very best the world of jazz education
could offer
In the Fall of 1995 a program review took place with a committee comprised of Marc
Vasey, Jazz Festival Society, Edmonton; Hugh Fraser, Head of Jazz Program; Tim
Brady, electric guitar, Montreal; Jay Clayton, vocalist, Seattle, and Charles Ellison,
trumpet, Montreal. The goal was to learn from the members what they considered to be
strong points of the Jazz Workshop; where each thought jazz was headed in the world
of music, especially in Canada; what kind of jazz programming Banff should offer to be
relevant to the needs of jazz musicians and how the program could best continue to act
as a leader in the field. One strong recommendation coming from the review was for
special focus workshops for specific groups or instruments. As a result, in May 1996,
the first of several Vocal Jazz Workshops was held, led by Jay Clayton and Sheila
Jordan.
In 1998 the twenty fifth anniversary of the program was celebrated with the return of
visiting artists Phil Nimmons, Dave Holland and Dave Liebman, amongst others.
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Kenny Werner as Artist-in-Residence, Summer Workshop,
1999-2002
In 1999, New York pianist/composer Kenny Werner was appointed Artist-in-Residence

and he brought to the workshop such internationally known jazz musicians as:
Joe Lovano and Chris Potter (saxophones), Dave Douglas (trumpet), Joey Baron and Jim
Black(drums), Mark Feldman (violin). In 2002 he introduced British jazz
composer/instrumentalist Django Bates to the Workshop. Kenny’s focus for the
Workshop was on the integration of diverse musical elements: musicality, motivation,
world vision and awareness, and their impact on composing and band-leading. Networking
and community building, and development of long-term projects were also emphasised.
Kenny also introduced the idea of three tiers of visiting artists to work with
participants: the “star” guests, coaches and senior artists. With financial support from
the Herb Alpert Foundation in 1999 and 2000, some scholarship was available to
participants. With music selected from the 1999 summer program and some
commentary by Kenny Werner, National Pubic Radio in the USA broadcast a series of
programs during the Fall of that year.
Dave Douglas as Artist-in-Residence and Director 2002 –
In the Fall of 2002 Dave Douglas was appointed Artist-in-Residence, bringing a focus on
facilitating the creation of original music. To reflect this focus, the workshop name was
eventually changed to the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music.
Taking a broad look at great music of the past, visiting artists encouraged the
participants in fresh ways of thinking about music and music making. Visiting artists
addressed composition, improvisation, ear training, rhythm studies, instrumental
technique, and band leading. They talked about their own music and how it is made;
about life, the road, and the music business. A rigorous focus on musical techniques was
combined with an emphasis on real world experience. In a non-competitive environment,
visiting artists and participants explored their common passions for music, examining
the tradition to find an individual approach to new music--looking at the past to create
the future.
From 2003 – 2006, the generous financial support of The Jordan Family Foundation
allowed the program to offer more scholarships to participants and Dave to bring to
Banff such artists as: Mark Turner, Mike Murley, Greg Osby, saxophones; Don Byron,
clarinet; Bill Frisell, John Abercrombie, guitar; Jason Moran, piano; James Genus, Mark
Dresser, Andrew Downing, bass; Clarence Penn, Dylan van der Schyff, drums; Peggy Lee,
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cello; Brad Turner, trumpet; George Lewis, trombone. (2006 artists?) French
clarinetist/composer Louis Sclavis visited in 2003, with the assistance of the French
Consulate in Vancouver, and recorded a cd in The Banff Centre’s world class facilities.
In 2004 and 2005 members of the Dutch group, the Instant Composers Pool were
introduced to Banff.
Jazz in the Fall/Winter Residencies
Jazz musicians have always been part of the Fall and Winter Residencies, benefiting
from working with such visiting artists as Tommy Banks, John Stetch, Joshua Roseman
and Kenny Aronoff.
The Banff International Workshop for Jazz &

Creative Music
http://www.banffcentre.ca/
364
International Jazz Workshop Faculty
1974 – 2006
Artistic Heads
1974-81 Phil Nimmons
1981 Karl Berger, Phil Nimmons
1982 Dave Holland, Kenny Wheeler, Don Thompson
1983-89 Dave Holland
1990 Steve Coleman
1991-98 Hugh Fraser
1999-2002 Kenny Werner
2002- Dave Douglas
African Drumming
1986-93, 95, 96 Abraham Adzenyah
Audio Recording
1991-95 Rick Kilburn
Bass
1974 Dave Young
1975-80 Dave Field
1981-89 Dave Holland
1990-91 Rufus Reid (2003 Jazz Orchestra Workshop)
1992 Reggie Workman, Don Thompson
1993, 94 John Clayton, Don Thompson
1995-98 Don Thompson
1996 John Taylor (Vocal Jazz Workshop)
1997-2000 Michael Lent (Vocal Jazz Workshop)
1998 Ray Drummond, Don Thompson
1999 Michael Lent, Dave Holland, Johannes Weidenmueller
2000 Johannes Weidenmueller, Chuck Deardorf
2001 Jim Vivian (Vocal Jazz Workshop)
Don Thompson, Ronan Guilfoyle
2002 Johannes Weidenmueller
2003, 04 James Genus
2004 Andre Lachance
2005 Mark Dresser, Andrew Downing, Ernst Glerum
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2006 Scott Colley, Brad Jones, James Genus
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Clarinet
1974-81, 98 Phil Nimmons
2003 Louis Sclavis
2005 Don Byron
Composers
1983, 92 Anthony Braxton
1985 Cecil Taylor
1986, 94, Muhal Richard Abrams (2005 with Jazz Orchestra)
1987 George Russell
1988 Anthony Davis
1989 Roscoe Mitchell
1993 Chucho Valdes (2006 with Jazz Orchestra)
1995 Graham Collier
2001, 02 Maria Schneider (Jazz Orchestra)
2003 Rufus Reid (Jazz Orchestra)
2004 Kenny Wheeler (Jazz Orchestra)
2005, 06 John Korsrud (Jazz Composers Workshop)
Drums
1974 Stan Perry
1975 Rob McLaren
1976-80 Stan Perry
1981-82 Ed Blackwell
1983-84 Eddie Marshall
1985-90 Marvin “Smitty” Smith
1991-94, 98 Keith Copeland
1995-97 Joe Labarbera
1996-2001 Owen Howard (+Vocal Jazz Workshop)
1999, 2002 Ari Hoenig
2000 Joey Baron
2001, 02 Jim Black
2003, 04, 05 Dylan Van der Schyff,
2003, 04 Clarence Penn
2005 Susie Ibarra
2006 Gerald Cleaver, Gene Lake, Clarence Penn
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Guitar
1976-77 Gene Bertoncini
1976-78 Ed Bickert
1982-87, 2003 John Abercrombie
1988-90 Kevin Eubanks
1991 Ted Dunbar
1992,93 Mick Goodrick
1994 Jim Hall
1999 Ted Quinlan
2000 Ben Monder, Rick Peckham
2001 Rick Peckham, Mark Boling
2004 Bill Frisell
2005 Jeffrey Parker
2006 Lionel Loueke
Percussion
1998 Juan Gutierrez
2004, 05 Han Bennink
2005 Roberto Rodriguez,
Piano
1974 OscarPeterson, Gary Gross
1975-80 Gary Williamson
1981 Karl Berger
1986 Richie Beirach, Don Thompson
1987-89 Muhal Richard Abrams, Don Thompson
1990 Stanley Cowell
1993 Muhal Richard Abrams (Jazz Orchestra), Chucho Valdes
Ellen Rowe
1995-97 Ellen Rowe, Bill Emes (Vocal Jazz)
1998 Kenny Werner
1998, 99 Randy Halberstadt, Miles Black (Vocal Jazz)
Kenny Werner, Hugh Fraser
2000 Randy Halberstadt (Vocal Jazz), Kenny Werner, Angie Sanchez,
David Restivo (plus Vocal Jazz)
2001 Randy Halberstadt (Vocal Jazz), Maria Schneider (Jazz
Orchestra) ,Kenny Werner, Don Thompson, Dave Restivo,
Phil De Greg
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2002 Kenny Werner, Maria Schneider (Jazz Orchestra)
2003, 04 James Moran
2005 Muhal Richard Abrams (Jazz Orchestra)
Vijay Iyer, Mishal Mengelberg
2006 Marilyn Crispell, Adam Benjamin, Deron Johnson
Saxophones
1975, 76 Paul Horn
1977 Eddie Daniels
1978-80, 87,88,92-96 Pat Labarbera
1981, 82 Lee Konitz
1983-86, 98 David Liebman
1985-87, 89-91 Steve Coleman
1991 Vernice “Bunky” Green
1994 Maynard Ferguson (Jazz Orchestra)
1999 -2001 Joe Lovano, David Schroeder
1999, 2000 Dave Pietro, Tony Malaby
2000 Joakim Milder
2001 Quinsin Nachoff, Remi Bolduc
2002 Chris Potter, Remi Bolduc
2003, 04 Mike Murley, Mark Turner
2005 Greg Osby, Mike Zilber
2006 Greg Osby, Marcus Strickland, Donny McCaslin
Sound Artists
2006 DJ Olive
Strings
2003 Peggy Lee (cello)
2000, 04 Mark Feldman (violin)
Trombone
1977 Frank Rosolino
1978 Rob McConnell
1982, 83 Albert Mangelsdorff
1984, 85 Julian Priester
1986, 2004 George Lewis
1987-89 Julian Priester
1989-99, 2001- Hugh Fraser
!990-94 Robin Eubanks
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1994, 97 Slide Hampton
1999, 2000 Christophe Schweizer
Trumpet
1975-78 Don Clark
1981-98 Kenny Wheeler
1990-92 Mark Ledford
1999, 2001- Dave Douglas
2000 Gordon Vernick, Dave Ballou
2002 Django Bates
2003, 04 Brad Turner
2002- Michael Herriott (Jazz Orchestra)
Vocals
1975-84 Big Miller
1984-87, 93 94-2001 Jay Clayton (Vocal Jazz Workshop 96-01)
1990-92 Mark Ledford
1993,94,96 Norma Winstone
1996-2001 Sheila Jordan (Vocal Jazz Workshop)
1999-2001 Judi Silvano
2000-01 Vivianne Cardinal (Vocal Jazz Workshop)
2002 Orville Heyn
Program Coordinators
1974-76 Brian Wark
1977-80 Marc Vasey
1981-83 Michael Century
1984, 85 Don Stein
1986, 87 Claude Schryer
1988-90 Don Stein
1991-98 Brad Muirhead
1999-2001 Craig Day
2002 Christopher Nordstrom
2003- Michael Bates
Sound Technician
1997-2001 Patrick Strain
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The Banff International Workshop for Jazz &
Creative Music
http://www.banffcentre.ca/
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As jazz scholarship increasingly gains a foothold in university curriculums, such rigours of
the academic community as “publish or perish” accompany its scholarly entrenchment. In
this article, I examine creative scholarship in Canadian jazz. I organize my article in three
parts. First, I briefly summarize the state of the research on jazz (more broadly) and
Canadian jazz (specifically). Secondly, I discuss what I see are the “issues” facing scholars
working within Canadian jazz history. Here, I focus twofold on the challenges of oral based
research and the problem of “lost histories.” Thirdly, I present a discussion about the
future of Canadian jazz scholarship, offering what I hope are pragmatic suggestions for
publishing and research opportunities in the field.
State of the Research
Initial attempts at jazz criticism occurred in Europe. The writing of Charles Delaunay
(who published the first jazz discography in 1936), Hugues Panassie (The Real Jazz)
and Andre Hodeir--particularly his 1954 book Jazz: Its Evolution and Essence--
demonstrated that jazz music, its community and culture could be mined for worthwhile
scholarship. Considering the hostile treatment jazz was encountering in the United
States at approximately the same time, these attempts to thoughtfully examine jazz
stand out. As Ross Russell notes, “the reception given jazzmen in Europe was far
different from that prevailing in America. The music was taken seriously, not as mere
entertainment. The critics who covered the festival for the Paris papers were the
same critics who reviewed important recitals, symphony concerts, and operas” (271).
By highlighting the perceived hierarchical division between “serious” music and “mere
entertainment,” Russell’s comments (although meant as complimentary) expose the
prejudice that western art music is the superior musical form. Hodeir’s desire for jazz
to be taken seriously meant the wholesale transfer of the tools, language, analytical
methodology--and as a result, semiotic baggage--of western art music onto jazz. For
example, his analysis of Duke Ellington’s “Concerto for Cootie,” while an important first
step for jazz musicology, was largely a grafting of western classical ideals onto an
Ellington composition and a Cootie Williams blues solo without any consideration of
Creative Scholarship in Jazz Education by Andrew Scott
370
cultural context. As Robert Walser points out, “along with the academic terminology
and theoretical concepts, however, came a set of values that is rarely acknowledged
openly…To call a recording a ‘masterpiece’ is a way of gaining prestige for a piece of
music and its composer, but that label may also deflect our attention away from the
meanings that its performances have had for specific audiences” (199).
Despite these criticisms, Hodeir’s work helped set the tone for numerous future jazz
scholars. Gunther Schuller and Martin Williams, for example, openly acknowledge their
admiration for Hodeir. Interestingly, both Schuller and Williams have similarly been
accused of using western art music paradigms to “elevate” jazz: Schuller through his
examination of thematic development in the playing of tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins
and Williams through his employment of canonical models to convey jazz “greatness.”
Their work, while clearly not beyond reproach, remains important.
More recently, such scholars as Ingrid Monson, Scott DeVeaux, Paul Berliner and in
particular David Ake have produced creative jazz scholarship by focusing a pluralistic
lens on their subject matter. Theirs is a scholarship simultaneously indebted to
anthropology, ethnography, linguistic studies and gender studies (among other
disciplines) as musicology. By casting a wider methodological net, these scholars are
able to simultaneously treat jazz on its own terms and generate a rich, varied and
creative body of work.
Canadian Jazz Scholarship
As Grover Sales (Jazz: America’s Classical Music), Ken Burns and Geoffrey Ward (Jazz:
A History of America’s Music) repeatedly remind us, there is a vested interest in
keeping jazz linked to the United States. Although more appreciated in Europe and
Japan then at home, jazz completes the trifecta of baseball and cowboy movies as
America’s cultural contributions to the world.
Discographically it was a contribution that began in 1917. That year the novelty piece
“Livery Stable Blues” with its flipside “Dixie Jass Band One Step” by the Original
Dixieland Jazz Band did much to disseminate jazz when released by the Victor Talking
Machine Company. Although recorded in New York, the sound captured on these two
recordings was essentially a New Orleans vernacular music that was being performed by
numerous ensembles in and around the southern United States. And while the New
York audiences that flocked to hear ODJB at Reisenweber’s Café in 1917 were
delighted by the newness of the sounds they pronounced as being “straight from New
Orleans,” the reality was that jazz music already had a history of travel and
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dissemination. Many New Orleans ensembles (Bill Johnson’s Original Creole Orchestra,
Clarence Williams, Jelly Roll Morton and even ODJB themselves) left New Orleans for
either the West Coast or Chicago, Illinois. And as Mark Miller points out, as early as
1914 jazz had traveled to Winnipeg.
Mark Miller
Miller initiated the scholarly discourse on the history of Canadian jazz and jazz in
Canada. As critic for the Globe and Mail from 1978-2005, Miller’s newspaper columns
(numbering more than 5000), articles for Coda, Saturday Night and Downbeat, and his
five books have charted not only the Canadian visits of American jazz people, but also
the lives and music of such lesser-known Canadian players as saxophonists Ron Park and
Brian Barley, guitarists Nelson Symonds and Sonny Greenwich and pianists Chris Gage
and Tony Collacott. Miller’s work remains important not only for initiating the
discourse, but for “writing” these names and lives into the history books. A rigorous
researcher, Miller couples his research with interview, often enabling the artist’s voice
and agency to be heard in his work.
Coda Magazine
Like all scholars of Canadian jazz, Miller gleans much of his research from the pages of
Coda magazine. Started by John Norris in May 1958 as the newsletter for the
traditional jazz club of Toronto (although they would soon expand their coverage), Coda
featured club listings and an “Around the World” section with commentary on Toronto
(by Norris) and Montreal (by Leonard Dobbin) that is a valuable research tool for any
Canadian jazz scholar.
Although Coda remains the pre-eminent Canadian jazz magazine, Carol Robertson’s
Planet Jazz and Bill King and Greg Sutherland’s The Jazz Report continue a tradition of
Canadian jazz journalism that includes Ad Lib (Toronto 1944-1947) and Jazz Panorama
(Toronto 1946-1948).

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John Gilmore
While Miller’s writing looks more or less evenly at Canadian jazz, John Gilmore’s work
focuses specifically on jazz in Montreal. Gilmore’s two books: 1988’s Swinging in
Paradise: The Story of Jazz in Montreal and 1989’s Who’s Who of Jazz in Montreal:
Ragtime to 1970 offer excellent examples of community minded scholarship that
demonstrates the importance of localized reputations.
CBC Archives
It should be noted that with lots of lead time, most Canadians are free to peruse the
CBC archives (located on Front Street in Toronto) for both recorded and video
interviews and performances. A valuable jazz resource.
Other Voices
Clearly there are other voices writing about Canadian jazz. Jack Litchfield’s The
Canadian Jazz Discography 1916-1980 is valuable for any Canadian jazz scholar; Bill
Smith’s postmodern pictorial Imagine the Sound features American and Canadian jazz
players; Stanley Péan’s 1999 book Tout la ville en Jazz begins the dialogue in French;
the Hamilton-born Gene Lees’s Jazz Lives: 100 Portraits in Jazz documents numerous
musicians, some Canadian, while his 2001 book Friends Along the Way: A Journey
Through Jazz includes a chapter on multi-instrumentalist Don Thompson (“The man
from Powell River: Don Thompson); Eric Koch’s biography of the Hambourg brothers has
an excellent section on Toronto’s House of Hambourg and the jazz community that
congregated here; Jack Chambers’s work in Coda and the Globe and Mail furthers the
dialogue of jazz in Canada; and my own writing in the Canadian University Music Review,
the Jazz Educators Journal and Downbeat on Canadian subjects continues this
discourse. Suffice it to say, however, that research opportunities outnumber the
scholars doing the work.
Issues
In this next section, I problematize the issues facing scholars of Canadian jazz. I
focus specifically on the challenges of relying on oral based research and the problems
of “lost histories.” My goal here is to not only flag these issues as potential roadblocks
373
towards creative scholarship but to demonstrate how scholars have successfully dealt
with them.
Oral Research
With the exception of the aforementioned Coda magazine, there is not much secondary
source material consistently documenting the history of Canadian jazz until Miller’s
arrival on the national scene in 1978. While the Globe and Mail covered jazz
sporadically before Miller’s tenure (Alex Barris, Jack Batten, Helen Palmer, Patrick
Scott), the focus was largely on visiting American artists. Because of the paucity of
investigative material, Canadian scholars relied (and continue to rely) on oral research.
Interviewing musicians to compile research “facts” can be a simultaneously daunting and

illuminating affair. From the moment the researcher initiates that first conversation
with their subject, a series of power negotiations are enacted. When such
anthropologically influenced ideologies as the emic vs. etic perspective (insider vs.
outsider) entered the discipline, it was assumed the researcher could coolly “observe”
without influencing the proceedings with their involvement or presence--the all-seeing
yet detached “fly on the wall.” This approach has since been maligned and such
ethnographic scholars as Anthony Seeger, John Blacking and Stephen Feld have done
smart work by embracing their “place” in the research.
For the jazz scholar, the first concern is how to present oneself to the interview
subject. Ingrid Monson discusses this idea in her introduction to Saying Something:
Jazz Improvisation and Interaction. Aware that many jazz musicians are wary of jazz
journalists (often out of fear of being misquoted or having their agency usurped),
Monson struggles with how best to “frame” herself when embarking ethnomusicological
ethnography. As she articulates, “I was, at first, extremely uncomfortable about
presenting myself as an academic since hardly any musician I had encountered in my
many years as a performer had very much respect for what had been written about
jazz improvisation, including me” (11). Monson concludes that it is through her past
experiences as a trumpet student at Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music and
the connections she made there with such musicians as Jacki Byard, Don Byron and
Cecil McBee that best put her in a position to talk to musicians. In short, scholars who
remain musically active can use this shared musical connection to facilitate camaraderie
within the jazz culture.
Once the question of “framing” has been answered, the jazz scholar should determine
the best interview method. I suggest the “face to face” interview is preferable to the
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telephone. Taking a cue from musical discourse, Steve Stern summarizes the “ebb and
flow” of the interview process accordingly,
“At its best, the method in semistructured yet open-ended interviews is a bit like
playing jazz with a partner. One must be attentive and sensitive to the place one’s
partner wants to go and must therefore improvise…One welcomes and adjusts to the
unexpected flow or riff. At the same time, one bears in mind a leitmotif—the basic
research questions and a sequence of themes for discussion (227).”
Stern’s points are well-taken. Just as a jazz players performance is nuanced by body
language, posture, gesture and expression, so too do interviews benefit from non-verbal
communication. Accordingly, “face to face” interviews are often far richer than
telephone conversations. As a result, interviewers should be prepared to allow the
discussion to move in directions they failed to predict. Sherrie Tucker in her book
Swing Shift admits that she approached her research with a host of assumptions. For
example, Tucker set out to demonstrate that such 1940s “girl bands” as The Darlings of
Rhythm and The International Sweethearts of Rhythm were as musically competent as
the better-known male bands of the day and that their historical marginalization was
simply the result of the lack of a gender meritocracy. Tucker’s ethnographic research
revealed, however, that many of the women musicians who played in these so-called “girl
bands” preferred working in male ensembles. “Almost immediately, interviews took
unexpected twists that did not fit into my plotline. Some narrators announced that
they preferred playing with men’s bands rather than ‘all-girl’ bands because men’s bands
had better musicians or because men did not bicker as much” (Tucker 2). Tucker was
confronted head on with the very stereotype she was hoping to quash with her book.
As Tucker well knew, the idea that women were more emotional and therefore unstable
then men was a gender biased assumption that had long been the bane of women
musicians having to prove themselves capable in the face of male hegemony. And here
was someone of her own gender and in the profession she was researching making
exactly the same argument. I should point out that this discovery does not undermine
Tucker’s conclusions or her project, but rather pushes her research in a direction she
had not yet imagined. Interviewers should be equipped for such diversions.
A second potential problem facing jazz scholars is finding a method for checking the
veracity of oral based research. Although listening to a legendary musician confidently
discuss the past can easily adopt a sacrosanct air, not only are memories imperfect, but
interviewee motivations may be politically nuanced. That said, apart from confirming
accuracy through additional interviews, there are few alternatives for scholars working
with Canadian jazz history. As Miller told Chambers, “I don't think we’re talking about
an exact science here, but I think you have to bring a lot of discretion and integrity to

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it. Yes, there are all sorts of pitfalls in relying only on what musicians remember, or
choose to remember, because we are talking about a kind of selective history. And it is
a doubly troubling thing with Canadian research, because you can't really fall back on
anything else. You can’t go in with a stack of clippings and pin someone down when you
are talking with them, and say, ‘in 1953, you were at this place,’ because we don't have
that. So I'm aware of the problems, but I don't think that is any reason not to use the
interview format. It’s really the only one we have available to us in this country.” 1
Armed with this knowledge, researchers working within Canadian jazz history should
appreciate that they are not writing a “fixed-in-print” history, but rather a malleable
tale with many versions, truths and storylines. Similar to Roland Barthes’s edict that
the (theoretical) “death of the author” gave way to the birth of the reader, Canadian
jazz history invites many readings. If all of this sounds too postmodern, keep in mind
Ake’s well-grounded argument that the choices musicians make both musically and
historically (in terms of their place within the legacy of this music) reflect “competing
claims to jazz ‘authenticity’” which, rightly or wrongly, are indexed to financial stability
(147).
One positive result of working directly with a musician’s words and memories when
documenting history is that additional characters are written into the story. While
only a handful of individuals garner the majority of media attention, any musical
community consists of countless people (often unsung) working in a variety of
capacities. All are important to the survival of that scene. Often it is these
individuals--Biddy Fleet for Charlie Parker, Connie Maynard for Sonny Greenwich, Daisy
Peterson for Oscar Peterson, Tony Braden for Ed Bickert and Bob Erlandson for Lenny
Breau--who exert influence on the community level, even though their own musical
output of recordings, live performances and media attention is perhaps limited.
Accordingly, I suggest that some jazz history texts fall short because their authors
place more importance on media coverage and discographical output than community
discourse. By writing these characters into the history of Canadian jazz, scholars give
a historical voice where no voice existed previously.
1
Quoted at [http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~chambers/jazz%20res.html], December 2005.
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Lost Histories
Recently there has been valuable and creative scholarship written on “lost” jazz
histories. Sherrie Tucker’s aforementioned work on the “underecorded,
underdocumented, and underacknowledged” contributions of The International
Sweethearts of Rhythm and other “all-girl” big bands, challenges scholars to consider
how “sexism, racism…” has affected our understanding of jazz history and our shaping
of the jazz canon (200-201). Similarly, the privileging of harmony over rhythm in
musicological discourse has perhaps resulted in jazz scholarship that focuses unevenly
on the soloist’s contributions while ignoring the role the rhythm section plays in jazz
improvisation. Accordingly, Monson’s 1996 work, Saying Something addresses the “lost”
history of the jazz rhythm section, suggesting improvisational interaction between the
guitar, piano, bass and drums can be as inventive and important as the contributions of
the soloist.
Using the work of Monson and Tucker as both an inspiration and one methodological
springboard, I suggest that exclusion from the jazz canon can also be an issue of
nationality. By doing musicological work on marginalized Canadian figures, scholars have
the opportunity to not only correct an historical omission, but also counter nationalistic
notions of who constitutes an authentic jazz subject.
The Future of Scholarship
Despite the aforementioned challenges facing researchers, it is currently an exciting

time for creative jazz scholarship. In addition to the obvious American publications
(the Annual Review of Jazz Studies, Jazz Education Journal, Downbeat, American
Music and Black Music Research Journal), such Canadian publications as Coda, the
Canadian University Music Review, the Journal of Canadian Studies and Topia (among
others) are willing to publish well crafted articles on a Canadian jazz subject. And
although less now than in years previous, research grants are available to aid scholars
from both SOCAN and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
In this next section, I divide jazz scholarship threefold: discographic, historical and
transcriptive/musicological.

377
Discographic
Litchfield’s discography stands as the last authoritative work documenting recorded

Canadian jazz. Stopping in 1980, Litchfield’s book is over nine hundred pages with
thousands of entries. While individual discographies have appeared in book chapters
(Miller’s Jazz in Canada for example) and on “fan” and musician websites, no one has
taken up where Litchfield left off. The challenges facing the scholar who adopts this
task are considerable. First, the plethora of home recording equipment now available
has rendered prohibitively expensive recordings a thing of the past. While jazz
recordings were once the sole province of musicians signed to a record label,
contemporary musicians are easily able to record, produce and disseminate their work.
As a result, Canadian jazz recordings have flooded the national market.
Secondly, with such schools as Saint Francis Xavier, University of Manitoba, Malaspina
College, Brandon University, McGill University, York University, the University of
Toronto, Humber College and Mohawk College (among others) producing many talented
young jazz musicians, there are simply more musicians (and their work) to document.
Historical
While archival work is perhaps the least glamorous aspect of research, there are many
Canadian jazz histories yet to write. Miller is still actively penning jazz books (perhaps
more so now that he has left the Globe); Ron Forbes-Roberts has a recent tome on the
Maine-born, Canadian-adopted guitarist Lenny Breau (One Long Tune: The Life and
Music of Lenny Breau); and Paul Bley and David Lee collaborated on the excellent
Stopping Time: Paul Bley and the Transformation of Jazz in 1999. Still, there is plenty
of exciting subject matter left--from community informed scholarship (an ethnography
of the Tuesday night Rex Hotel jam session perhaps) to a biography on such Canadian
jazz ambassadors as Diana Krall and Maynard Ferguson. There is no shortage of music,
issues or characters left to document.

378
Musicological/Transcriptive
There is a scarcity of transcribed and analyzed improvisations from Canadian jazz

players. While the occasional solo appears on a fan website (see Dan Cross’s Central
Park North, for example) 2 there is no Andrew White for our Canadian Coltrane’s or
Thomas Owens for our Parker’s. 3 More work in this field is clearly necessary as
transcriptions illuminate valuable aspects of an artist’s improvisatory style.
Conclusion
During my dissertation research on Sonny Greenwich, I was confronted with how

complicated his national status had become. As an English speaking, Ontario-born,
African-Canadian living in the largely Francophone areas of Boucherville and Vaudreuil-
Dorion, Quebec, Greenwich’s personal “identity” has become nearly as multifaceted as
the reactions to his music. In some ways, as Canadians playing and researching a
marginalized and much maligned American musical form we have all adopted a “minority
within a minority” status. Perhaps it is this distance that tightens our scholarly gaze.
In this article, I have argued that despite the rich contributions of past scholars,
there is much creative work left to be done on Canadian jazz. I hope the dialogue will
continue.
2
See for example, [http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/5580/newp5.html], January 2006.
3
My PhD dissertation on Sonny Greenwich (“The Life, Music and Improvisational Style of Herbert
Lawrence “Sonny” Greenwich) has three analytic chapters and includes twenty Greenwich transcriptions
and one Ed Bickert improvisation.
379
Works Cited
Adam, James. “End of an era: Farewell, Mr. Miller.” The Globe and Mail (Wednesday
December 28, 2005), pp. R1.
Ake, David. Jazz Cultures. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
Barthes, Roland. “The Death of the Author.” Image-Music-Text. New York: Hill and
Wang, 1977.
Berliner, Paul F. Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation. Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1994.
Blacking, John. “The Problem of Musical Description.” Music, Culture, and Experience:
Selected Papers of John Blacking. Edited with an introduction by Reginald Byron. With
a preface by Bruno Nettl. Series: (CSE) Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology, 1995.
Bley, Paul and David Lee. Stopping Time: Paul Bley and the Transformation of Jazz.
Montreal: Vehicule Press, 1999.
Burns, Ken and Geoffrey Ward. Jazz: A History of America’s Music. Alfred A. Knopf,
2000.
Delaunay, Charles. Hot Discography. France, 1936.
DeVeaux, Scott. The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History. Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1997.
Feld, Stephen. Sound and Sentiment: Birds, Weeping, Poetics, and Song in Kaluli
Expression. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990.
Forbes-Roberts, Ron. One Long Tune: The Life and Music of Lenny Breau. University of
North Texas Press, 2006.
Gilmore, John. Swinging in Paradise: The Story of Jazz in Montreal. Montreal: Vehicule
Press, 1988.
Who’s Who of Jazz in Montreal: Ragtime to 1970. Montreal: Vehicule Press, 1989.

380
Hodier, André. Jazz: Its Evolution and Essence. New York: Grove Press, 1956.
Koch, Eric. The Brothers Hambourg. Robin Brass Studio, 1997.
Lees, Gene. Friends Along the Way: A Journey Through Jazz. Yale University Press,
2003.
Jazz Lives: 100 Portraits in Jazz. Stewart House, 1994.
Litchfield, Jack. Canadian Jazz Discography 1916-1980. University of Toronto Press,

1982.
Miller, Mark. Boogie Pete and the Senator. Toronto: Nightwood Editions, 1987.
Jazz in Canada: Fourteen Lives. Toronto: Nightwood Editions, 1988.
The Miller Companion to Jazz in Canada and Canadians in Jazz. Toronto: The Mercury
Press, 2001.
Cool Blues: Charlie Parker in Canada. Nightwood Editions, 1953.
Such Melodious Racket: The Lost History of Jazz in Canada 1914-1949. Toronto: The
Mercury Press, 1997.
Monson, Ingrid. Saying Something: Jazz Improvisation and Interaction. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press, 1996.
Panassie, Hugues. The Real Jazz. New York: A.S. Barnes & Company, Inc., 1960.
Péan, Stanley. Toute la ville en jazz. Montreal: Éditions Trait d'union, 1999.
Russell, Ross. Bird Lives!: The Highlife and Hard Times of Charlie (Yardbird) Parker. Da
Capo Press, 1996.
Sales, Grover. Jazz: America’s Classical Music. Da Capo Press, 1984.
Schuller, Gunther. The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz 1930-1945. New York and

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Sonny Rollins and the Challenge of Thematic Improvisation,” in Musings: The Musical
Worlds of Gunther Schuller. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986, pp. 86-97.
Seeger, Anthony. “The Sound of Music: Suya Song Structure and Experience.” Cultural
Survival 20/4 (1997): 23-28.
Seeger, Anthony. Why Suya Sing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
Smith, Bill. Imagine the Sound No. 5 The Book. Toronto: Nightwood Editions, 1985.
Stern, Steve J. Remembering Pinochet’s Chilie: On the Eve of London 1998. Duke
University Press, 2004.
Tucker, Sherrie. Swing Shift: All Girl Bands of the 1940s. Duke University Press, 2001.
Walser, Robert. Keeping Time: Reading in Jazz History. Oxford University Press, 1999.
Williams, Martin. The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz. CD, 1992.
Andrew Scott can be reached at

Andrewjacobscott@hotmail.com

382
I have some advice about adjudicating. Many of the ensembles that you will hear at a
festival rehearse co-curricularly. Some as infrequently as once per week. (Jazz
studies programs are rare at the high school level.) Students will often have a director
that knows more about Concert Band than Jazz Band.
Sometimes the teacher will be insecure about their skills and, when provoked, quite
defensive. BE POSITIVE! Be an advocate for the art form. Do not patronize or be
sarcastic. Share your knowledge and expertise in an enthusiastic, energetic and honest
manner. Your twenty minutes with a group of young people can significantly influence
them and their artistic careers or how they perceive art and creativity for the rest of
their lives. However, don’t let being nice change your grade. An ensemble that has
earned a 75% is still a 75% ensemble. The ensemble deserves a great clinic from you
and deserve to know how to become an 85% band. But, today they are a 75%.
This is a serious tight-rope on which to walk. To reinforce the aforementioned, I

employ two more rules: for every negative I find a positive (that is, when I criticize
something, I have to also say something I liked about their performance); when I
criticize something about their performance, I have to show them how to fix it. With
some ensembles this is very easy and with some it can be a challenge. But if I try and
balance the positives and the negatives it tends to lead to more learning and jazz
advocacy. I also include a handout to each group which tries to explain some of the
things I’m listening for (my frame of reference.)
Lastly, when you are at the adjudicating table please be discreet – you are in full view
of the parents, teachers, performers, school administrators, chaperones, and the press.
In these situations context is everything. Your body language can be interpreted
positively or negatively. Don’t tell the joke about the Siamese twins and the trombone
player because if you laugh, the honoured guests and the students may think you’re
laughing at their performance. Context is everything. Be professional, be discreet, and
remember what it was like when you were on the other side of the table. Save all that
for the “hang” after.
Adjudicating a Jazz Performance by Brian Lillos

383
I have enclosed the handout I use when adjudicating. You may find it helpful to develop
your own criteria. I’ve also enclosed adjudication forms from our National Festival.
Please make 10 copies of each. When we attend the regional festivals in February and
March you will be expected to do 10 adjudications for the instrumental jazz festival
and 10 for the vocal jazz festival.
Lastly, when adjudicating, make it a positive “vibe”. The days are usually long. You are
hired because you have magical ears and are a respected professional performer,
composer, and educator. Hearing 10 hours of sound can exhaust you. The ensembles
you’ll hear are in a developmental stage and hearing that much development can be
exhausting. Keep it positive!

384
Dear Colleague:
Please find attached a list of criteria I use when listening to a jazz ensemble (Big
Band). While it is by no means complete it should provide my frame of reference and
place my comments in a better context.
I enjoyed hearing your group and hope you gained something worthwhile from my
adjudication. If I can be of further assistance explaining my adjudication, please don’t
hesitate to contact me at brianlillos.com
Sincerely,
Brian Lillos, Professor

Jazz Studies
Humber College, Toronto, Canada

385
ADJUDICATION CRITERIA
Ensemble
1. Quality of Sound
• tone (level of development and maturity)
2. Balance
• overall
• within sections (horns)
• within rhythm section
• between sections
• between R.S. and horns
• concept of ∆
• are extreme dimensions of ensemble audible and in tune?
• are inside voices of ensemble audible and in tune?
• are the players staying inside the dimensions of band’s ∆

• does the balance stay intact or is it distorted when moved through different
volume levels?
• concept of ensemble “sparkle”
ff
pp
3. Blend
• match sounds
• section “Ring”
4. Intonation
• individual
• by section
• full ensemble
• at different dynamic levels
• unison/octaves/chords
386
5. Dynamics - musical use of dynamics re: shaping phrases, climax of chart contrasting
sections
• are dynamics misused: overdone, beyond context of piece, superficially
imposed rather than musically enhance?
• shading, expression, sensitivity behind soloist
• energy level of band at different dynamic levels
• time of band at different dynamic levels
6. Precision
• attacks
• releases +, -
• articulation
• rhythmic figures
7. Technique
• facility (individual)
• facility (ensemble)
• level of development
8. Is the Ensemble Listening to One Another?
9. Is the Ensemble Sound (∆) Understood?
10. Control
Interpretation of Style
1. Phrasing –
• concept of style: does it swing, bop, rock, funk, bossa, etc. (is the jazz
language understood?)
• are phrases connected?
• are phrases smooth and flowing? Ei, a concept of forward motion is place
• are phrases stiff and vertical?
2. Time
• rushing
• dragging

387
3. Rhythm Section - drum feel
• drum support, preparation and fills
• guitar and piano fills and punctuation
• bass kicks, punctuation, turnarounds
• R.S. punctuation
• R.S. energy behind band
• R.S. energy behind solos
• R.S. communication with horns
• R.S. communication with one another
• Horns playing off R.S.
• Textures
• R.S. Musical Leadership
4. Shape of ensemble Pyramid
• does shape of ∆ suit composer’s style

5. Musical Emotion
• feel
• groove
• intensity
• energy
• spontaneity
• is the soul or spirit of the music understood?
Soloists
• style
• tone quality
• rhythmic drive and energy
• projection
• musical confidence
• written solo
• improvised solo
• inside changes
• quality of melodic/motivic development
• quality of rhythmic/motivic development
• level of harmonic understanding
• Structure : cadence points; climax; tells a story

388
• emotion (mood)
• energy level
• spontaneity
• excitement
• communication with audience
• communication and interaction with R.S.
Musical Confidence and Presentation
• body language
• smiles
• can the band visually display some of its musical emotion (energy)
• and heighten the musical excitement
Summary of Synthesis
Ensemble precision Musical emotion

(must interact)
• Usually a band is technically correct (notes) or emotionally correct (jazz spirit).

Seldom does an ensemble do both, even at the PROFESSIONAL LEVEL.
• Seldom does an entire band become one (an organism) and get far enough past the
notes to express its musical emotion artistically.

389
390
391
392
100 Historically Significant Recordings
A
Adderley, Cannonball – Cannonball & Coltrane
Adderley, Cannonball – Something Else
Ammond, Gene – Boss Tenors
B
Basie, Count – Kansas City 7
Blakey, Art – A Night at Birdland Volume I
Blakey, Art – A Night at Birdland Volume II
Blakey, Art – Moanin
Blakey, Art – Ugetsu
Brown, Clifford – Study in Brown
Brown, Clifford – Brown Roach Inc.
Brown, Clifford – More Study in Brown
Brubeck, David – Time Out
Burrel, Kenny – Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane
C
Christy, June – The Misty Miss Christy
Christy, June – Something Cool
Clark, Sonny – Leapin’ and Lopin’
Coltrane, John – Blue Train
Coltrane, John – Giant Steps
Coltrane, John – A Love Supreme
Coltrane, John – Ballads
Coltrane, John – John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman
Coltrane, John – Mainstream 1958
Corea, Chick – Now He Sings Now He Sobs
D
Davis, Miles – Kind of Blue
Davis, Miles – Cookin’
Davis, Miles – Milestones
Davis, Miles – Relaxin’ With Miles
Davis, Miles – Rond About Midnight
Davis, Miles – Steamin’ With Miles Davis
Dolphy, Eric – Out to Lunch
393
Dorham, Kenny – Una Mas
E
Elington, Duke – Money Jungle
Evans, Bill – Intermodulation
Evans, Bill – Sunday at The Village Vanguard
Evans, Bill – Undercurrent
Evans, Bill – Waltz For Debby
F
Farmer, Art – Modern Art
Fitzgerald, Ella – At The Opera House
Fontana, Carl – 5 Star Ed
Fontana, Carl – The Great Fontana
G
Garland, Red – Groovy
Garner, Erroll – Concert by the Sea
Getz, Stan – For Musician’s Only
Getz, Stan – Stan Getz & Bill Evans
Gillespie, Dizzy – Duets
Gillespie, Dizzy – Groovin High
Gillespie, Dizzy – Jazz At Massey Hall
Gillespie, Dizzy – Sony Side Up
Golson, Benny – New York Scene
Gordon, Dexter – Ballads
Green, Grant – Idle Moments
Green, Grant – Born to be Blue
Green, Grant – Feelin’ the Spirit
Griffin, Johnny – A Brown Session
Griffin, Johnny – Introducing
H/I
Hampton, Slide – World of Trombones
Hancock, Herbie – Maiden Voyage
Hartman, Johnny – I just Dropped By To Say Hello
Henderson, Joe – Inner Urge
Henderson, Joe – In ‘n Out
Henderson, Joe – Lush Life, The Music of Billy Strayhorn

394
Henderson, Joe – Mode For Joe
Henderson, Joe – Page One
Herman, Woody – Keeper of the Flame
Hubbard, Freddie – Hub Tones
Hubbard, Freddie – Red Clay
J
Jackson, Milt – Bags Meets Wes
Johnson, J.J. – The Eminent J.J. Johnson Volume I
K /L
Kenton, Stan – Duet
Konitz, Lee – Subconsscious – Lee
M
Mitchell, Blue – The Thing To Do
Mobley, Hank – Soul Station
Mobley, Hank – The Turnaround
Mon, Thelonious – With John Coltrane
Montgomery, Wes – Smokin at the Half Note
Montgomery, Wes – Full House
Montgomery, Wes – Incredible Jazz Guitar
Morgan, Lee – Cornbread
Morgan, Lee – The Sidewinder
N/O
Nelson, Oliver – Blues and the Abstract Truth
P/Q
Parker, Charlie – Bird & Diz
Parker, Charlie – Now’s The Time
Peterson, Oscar – Plays Cont Basie
Powell, Bud – The Amazing Volume I
Powell, Bud – The Genius Of
R
Rollins, Sonny – Plus Four
Rollins, Sonny – Saxophone Collossus
Rollins, Sonny – Tenor Madness
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Rosolino, Frank – Free For All
S
Shorter, Wayne – Speak No Evil
Silver, Horace – Song for My Father
Silver, Horace – Blowin’ The Blues Away
Smith, Johnny – Moonlight in Vermont
Smith, Johnny – Back The Chicken Shack
Stitt, Sonny – Constellation
Stitt, Sonny – Stitt/Powell/Johnson
T/U/V
Turrentine, Stanley – Sugar
Tyner, McCoy – The Real McCoy
W/X
Wilson, Nancy – With Cannonball Adderley
Y/Z
Young, Lester – The President Plays With The Oscar Peterson Trio

BrianLillos.com

396
A jazz clinician is a content expert. Students come to his/her clinics because they
want knowledge. As a clinician, you will have the most interested and motivated
students in front of you that you are ever likely to have in a teaching situation.
Whether you are doing a rhythm sectional for a junior high school jazz band in
“Lookout” Saskatchewan, or presenting a workshop on slash chords at the Paris
Conservatoire, you must have content mastery and be able to demonstrate all the
concepts you are trying to explain. Typically, students will drive hundreds of miles to
take in one of your sessions.
Here are some things that helped me in my clinic presentations. Attend some clinics
presented by “world class” jazz artists, before you venture on your own. There are a
great many artists today that are “world class” clinicians. Attend a session with Dave
Liebmann on “Contemporary Improvisational Techniques”, watch a video of Joe Allard on
“Sound Concept”, attend a session with Jerry Coker on “Solo Construction”, watch Pat
LaBarbera explain “Slash Chords”, attend a session with Barry Harris on “Be-Bop Chord
Voicings”, watch Jerry Bergonzi present a clinic on “Pentatonics”; observe Maria
Schneider in a clinic on “Orchestration Techniques”; listen to Ingrid Jensen as she
articulates “Improvisational Process”; attend a session with Jamey Aebersold on
“Beginning Imrovisation”; watch Reene Rosnes explain “Contemporary Compositional
Techniques”; listen to David Baker explain “The Bop Line, watch Steve Houghton take
the mystery out of “drum feels”. The list can go on and on. Watch them in person.
Watch their videos. Then, watch their videos again! These people are content experts
with great presentation skills. And while their clinics are more about content than
people, their passion is infectious. The context allows them to deal with a subject they
really know about and want to share. Watch them, copy them, watch different video
footage of great clinicians (there are some amazing materials available to rhythm
section players, especially bass and drums), and learn how to package your expertise
into a 55 minute “world class” clinic. It is the same as presenting a jazz concert. You
have to know what good is and you have to practise getting good at it.
Presenting a Jazz Clinic by Brian Lillos 397

Being an outstanding jazz clinician is one of the highest places on the jazz “food chain”
today. Clinics usually go hand in hand with concerts and instrument company
sponsorships. Typically you can play a concert (for a reasonable fee) and sell your C.D.’s
. The next morning you can present a clinic (for a reasonable fee) and sell your
instructional texts or videos at the clinic before you head off to your next engagement
(where the process is repeated). Portions of your costs will be covered by your
sponsors. This really helps the concert promoter with his costs and makes you less
expensive to book. The jazz clinic business can be very lucrative.

BrianLillos.com
Presenting a Jazz Clinic by Brian Lillos 398

“The rise of the stage-band movement in Canadian schools in the early 1970s led to
both a growing audience and a new supply of musicians for big bands (with which stage
bands share the same instrumentation and repertoire). The Canadian Stage Band
Festival (MusicFest Canada) has been the focus for this activity, and Humber College in
Toronto initially its academic centre; three Humber bands - the 'A' and 'B' bands and
Ron Collier's Humber Extension - though essentially student ensembles, were among the
leading big bands in Canada of the late 1970s, rivaled by bands from several other
schools during the 1980s.” (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)
The Roots – U.S.A 1960’s
To understand the establishment and evolution of Musicfest Canada as a major

contributor to music education, one must consider the roots of jazz education.
In particular to a number of key developments that took place in the United States
during the 1960’s.
In the United States, jazz was an accepted and mature art form by 1960. Conversely, it
was also marginalized in terms of recognition as a legitimate component of the
mainstream music education system. During the period of the 60’s, the number of
college big bands grew from 30 to approximately 450 while high school jazz bands
(called “stage bands” to help overcome the jazz stigma) from 5,000 to 15,000.
Throughout this same period, college bands became faculty directed as professional
jazz musicians were increasingly assimilated in the music education system. Berklee
School of Music (later College of Music) offered their first jazz degree in 1966. The
National Association of Jazz Educators was formed in 1968 (later IAJE) in protest to
the MENC. At the beginning of the decade, Stan Kenton created the National Stage
Band Camps (which eventually morphed into the Aebersold Camps).
Anticipating the value of an educational based performance venue for the burgeoning
jazz ensembles, Notre Dame in 1960 established what became the oldest ongoing
collegiate Jazz Festival in the U.S., namely the “Collegiate Jazz Festival”. During the
Music Fest Canada by Jim Howard
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1960’s, this Festival grew in size, quality and stature eventually rising to become the
model for many jazz Festivals in the United States, and paradigm for the future
Canadian Stage Band Festival.
The Roots – Canada 1970’s
“Other important bands in this period have been led by Hugh Fraser, Bob Hales, Doug
Parker, and Fred Stride (Westcoast Jazz Orchestra) in Vancouver; Tommy Banks and
Bob Stroup in Edmonton; Eric Friedenberg (Saturday Pro Band) in Calgary; Kerry Kluner
and Ron Paley in Winnipeg, Jim Ahrens (Tribal Unit), Shelly Berger, Jim Galloway (Wee
Big Band), Jim Howard, Russ Little, Rob McConnell (Boss Brass), Dave McMurdo, Ted
Moses, Brigham Phillips, and Fred Stone in Toronto; and Denny Christianson, Vic Vogel,
and Andrew Homzy in Montreal.” (Encyclopedia of Canadian Music).
Canadian jazz education followed much the same relative growth pattern as the U.S.,
except a decade later, namely the 1970’s. Because of the abject deficiency of Canadian
Universities offering credited jazz study programs in the 60’s, there was a significant
migration of talented and educationally starving jazz musicians to the U.S., most
notably to Boston, MA (Berklee) and Denton, TX (North Texas State). Many returned
to Canada during the 1970’s armed with a strong jazz education and took their places as
professional musicians and music educators.
In the Toronto area alone, Berklee educated musicians could be found teaching and
influencing curriculum at Humber College, Mohawk College, McMaster University, York
University and Wilfred Laurier University. In addition, by the end of the decade, many
of the big band directors noted in the above quote were also prominent jazz educators
as well as big band directors in their respective geographic locations.
Because of the massive growth of Jazz Education in the United States during the 60’s
and 70’s, there was virtually unlimited access to information and jazz educational
resources for the Canadians wishing to pursue jazz at any level. To understand the
extent of this growth and the resources, by 1980 there were more then 500,000 U.S.
high school and college students involved in jazz activities; 500 colleges offering jazz-
related credit courses; 21,000 junior and senior high schools with 1 or more jazz
ensembles, 250 school jazz festivals and an annual convention hosted by the National
Association of Jazz Educators.

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The Canadian Stage Band Festival – 1970’s
“Instrumental music programs were aided by an expansion of the music festival

movement. Kiwanis and other service clubs not only established new competitions but
also rejuvenated a number of older ones. Beginning in the late 1960s, an expanding
range of performance opportunities has reinforced the work in individual schools:
provincial and city-wide youth orchestras, bands, and choirs; summer camps; and special
courses organized by post-secondary institutions and community arts organizations. A
growing interest in stage bands was fuelled by the Canadian Stage Band Festival and in
the 1980s by its successor MusicFest Canada, an organization which has prospered
mightily from its corporate sponsors.” (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada).
The Canadian Stage Band Festival was conceived in 1972 and formally incorporated as a
not for profit organization on June 26, 1973. Supported by Yamaha Canada Music
Limited, it was in the beginning, little more then an annual band review. A number of
Toronto high school big bands assembling to listen to one another, with a professional
musician hired to evaluate their performance and provide constructive criticism.
However, a few enlightening foray’s to U.S. Jazz Festivals by the Festival founders
soon fashioned the competitive model that propelled the Canadian Stage Band Festival
into the mid 1980’s. By 1977, there were bands from high schools and Colleges alike, and
from all over Ontario competing at Seneca College for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. This was
promoted as the “Provincial Finals” (not dissimilar to State Finals in the U.S.). In 1978,
the first “National Final” was held in Winnipeg, followed by Vancouver in 1979. By the
end of the decade, the Canadian Stage Band Festival had grown to be recognized as the
national competition for jazz bands and combos.
In spite of the extraordinary growth during this period, jazz education still faced two
major problems. Firstly, the seemingly ageless competition that exists between arts
and sports in the education system, and for that matter in society in general.
Secondly, the schism between jazz (incorrectly categorized as “popular music”) and
“legitimate” (Western European) music. The philosophy of the Canadian Stage Band
Festival was to promote jazz performance and jazz education as an art form. The
Festival was patterned after the U.S. based Notre Dame model whereby head to head
competition encouraged excellence, ostensively to establish a degree of legitimacy in an
education system dominated by Western European Music. However, the Canadian Stage
Band Festival was also committed to promote and/or create a Canadian jazz identity.

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Owing to the unique support of Yamaha, the roots of the regional network were planted.
The Canadian Stage Band Festival had become a catalyst and was aggressively seeding
Festivals in Ontario. By utilizing the national connections inherent in the Yamaha Canada
dealer network, the Festival was simultaneously promoting and forming alliances with
Festivals in other provinces including Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta
and British Columbia. It was the beginning of what would eventually become the largest
national festival network in North America.
The Growth Years – 1980’s
By the mid 1980’s and to the chagrin of many, jazz education was firmly entrenched on
the Canadian music education scene. Canada no longer was forced to look to the United
States for 100% of its educational resources. Canada was now developing it’s own jazz
education system, musicians, teachers and standards. Humber College had become the
Mecca for jazz musicians and the Humber College Jazz Band was renowned throughout
the jazz world. Colleges throughout the country were offering credit courses in jazz.
Many in order to stem the stream of outstanding young musicians from Canada to the
U.S., as well as from the rest of Canada to Toronto. The rivalry between the various
colleges and Universities was intense….Humber, U of T, Mohawk College, CEGEP Vanier,
CEGEP St-Laurent, Grant MacEwan College, U of Alberta, U of Calgary, U of Manitoba….
Regional Festivals were no longer relegated to the large cities and operated primarily
by service clubs. New jazz festivals were being created in the less populated areas of
the country, and schools and school boards were providing support and in some case
administrating these events. Moreover, as the number of regional festivals grew, so did
the number of bands attending those regionals. It was an avalanche effect. At the
centre of this activity was the Canadian Stage Band Festival.
In order to promote a higher standard, the Festival recommended and in many cases
sponsored adjudicators to judge at the regional festivals. Outstanding Canadian players
and writers like Nimmons, Banks, Hales, Stride, Perry and Stroup worked side by side
with educators like Michalek, Christianson and Cooper and established the standard
across the country. Thousands of young musicians from every corner of Canada
attended the national finals and were exposed to the best jazz musicians in
Canada….Oscar Peterson, Rob McConnel, Hugh Fraser, UZEB, Ian McDougall, Moe
Koffman and the list goes on.

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In 1981 Moffat Communications and CKY TV Winnipeg (CTV affiliate) became a major
sponsor of the Canadian Stage Band Festival and in conjunction with the Festival
produced an annual television show for network broadcast. For over a decade, each
show featured the 1st place bands in each category of the Festival. This served to
further fuel the competition to win and receive the national prestige (and publicity) for
the band and the respective school. Coincidently, this coincided with a period where the
CRTC was requiring more and more Canadian content from Canadian Broadcasters….and
the Festival was the perfect vehicle. It was promoting Canadian talent and Canadian
music at all levels of the education system.
In late 1984 the Festival was contacted by the long-term events planning team for the
World Exposition, Expo 86, partially because of the exposure the Festival had received
on national television. The result was a partnership whereby the Festival held the 1986
National Finals on the Expo Site, featured as one of the opening events. Both the
Festival and the Canadian ensembles received publicity on an international level.
Downbeat Magazine covered the Festival and furnished Canadian ensembles an
extensive U.S. profile. Ensembles from Canada were invited to perform at NAJE
Conventions and as far away as the Montreux Jazz Festival.
Following the Expo 86’ event, the Festival continued to expand exponentially. General
Motors contacted the Festival (they had been exposed to the event at Expo ’86). This
resulted in an unprecedented 5 years sponsorship agreement. Chicago’s Downbeat
Magazine became the “official magazine” and numerous U.S. companies from the music
industry became involved in seeding the Musicfest Canada Scholarship program. NAJE
and the Festival agreed to promote one another in their respective countries.
Education vs Elitism
“By 1990, MusicFest had broadened its realm of activity to include concert bands and
choral groups, especially jazz or swing choirs.” (Encyclopedia of Canadian Music)
By 1984 the Board of Directors was examining the Festival in a brand new light. Not
only was it a catalyst and advocate for jazz education in Canada, it was quickly emerging
as a media event, a vehicle for Canadian content, a source of talent to perform
internationally and it was the fastest growing national network of festivals in North
America.
Pressure was building from both inside and outside of the Festival. There was a growing
sense within the education community in general that the Festival was starting to

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promote a form of elitism. At the nationals, everyone was competing to win a spot on
the television show. Even at many of the regional festivals, it was a commonly held
position that only the large schools could successfully win an invitation to the Nationals.
Furthermore, the elitism was creeping into the classroom and music students were
competing for a seat in the stage band.
The Board felt they needed to consult with experts with extensive educational
experience and expertise to evaluate and design a long-term strategy for the Festival.
The newly appointed Executive Director met with every regional coordinator and their
regional committees. In Quebec City, the Festival held an intense 2-day closed summit,
which was attended by all of the regional festival coordinators from across Canada. It
was becoming increasingly clear that there was considerable disparity between the
various geographic and cultural regions of Canada in terms of music education in general
and jazz in particular. Furthermore, it was also abundantly clear that the onus was on
the Canadian Stage Band Festival as an organization to diversify and refocus on the
education mandate if it was going to continue to promote music education in Canada.
Over the next year, the Board realized it would not be able to exclusively promote jazz
education without, over a long period, alienating the other mainstream idioms (choral
and concert band). If the Festival were to continue to grow and at its then present rate
(1970’s, early 80’s), it would theoretically drive a wedge into the music education
system and could potentially become a destructive rather then a constructive force.
Realizing that the change would take time, the Festival began to experiment with
diversification. In 1985 the Board created a Concert Band component, which was
restricted to just those schools whose jazz bands had won an invitation to the Festival.
Although there was rather loud resistance from some of the jazz aficionados, the
response from the education community in general was positive. This was to some
degree expedient. It now presented the opportunity of having both their outstanding
Concert Bands and winning Jazz Ensembles receiving a much-coveted invitation to
perform at Expo ’86.
Following months of meetings, in 1986 the Board created two separate and distinct
divisions and provided Keith Mann (Chairman pro tem) significant autonomy to develop a
Concert Band Festival that would do for concert band education what the Festival had
done for the jazz education. This was immediately followed by a 3rd and distinct
Choral/Vocal Festival.

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1987 – The New Era
The year 1987 was the most significant since the Festival’s inception. The Board
reviewed an extensive strategic plan, which consisted of a relatively short-term plan (5
years) in conjunction with a long-term plan that would set the stage for the Festival’s
entry into the 21st Century.
• In order to ensure that the focus of the Festival was education, the Board of
Directors voted Al Michalek (Chairman of Music, Humber College) President.
• Each of the Festival Divisional Chairmen were given extensive responsibility to

develop standards and operational procedures for their respective divisions,
independent of one another. This permitted each Division to set unique rules and
regulations, organize committees, engage adjudicators and clinicians and host
evening concerts.
• An Executive Committee consisting of the chairman and vice chairman of each

division, as well as production and administrative personnel was created to oversee
overall policies and procedures to guarantee strict adherence to the educational
mission of the Festival.
• Guidelines regarding the affiliation of Concert Band and Choral Festivals into the
Festival network were adopted. The Executive Committee was mandated to contact
and review existing festivals throughout Canada and in some cases provide seed
money to start new regional festivals where needed. The objective was to triple the
size of the national network of Festivals by the year 1992.
• The Board adopted a non-competitive approach to the Festival. Groups would be

evaluated based on their level of performance of the music, not how they
performed against each other. The emphasis was switched from straight out
competition to providing constructive criticism, workshops and models through
evening concerts.
• The Board renamed the Festival “Musicfest Canada” to better reflect the
increased musical scope of the Festival and to slightly de-emphasize (but not
undermine) the jazz component. It was felt that jazz had reached the point where
it was able to stand on it’s own merits and no longer needed extraordinary
consideration.

405
• The Board approved a new “Mission Statement” focused on the development of
music education and music as an art form.
At the same time, General Motors became a major corporate sponsor and provided a
generous infusion of cash into the scholarship program while underwriting many of the
new educational initiatives. The initiatives included written, audio and video
evaluations, clinics, workshops and concerts. Although the technology has changed and
the methods of delivery have improved over the years, the basic educational objectives
have remained constant.
Over the next 15 years, through the 90’s and into the new century, each Division
evolved and created unique educational programs. The Festival as a whole faced and
overcame extraordinary challenges. These included a major recession in the 90’s, 5
years of teacher strikes throughout Ontario, 9/11 and SARS. In spite of these
challenges, the Festival continued to grow.
The Jazz Division – 33 Years of Growth
Since it’s inception in 1971 as the Canadian Stage Band Festival to present, the Jazz
Division of Musicfest Canada has grown from 0 to 27 regional jazz festivals, exclusively
in Toronto to now serving virtually every corner of Canada. The Yamaha All-Star Band
attracts the finest young players in Canada to a week of intense training through
rehearsals, concerts and clinics. The Scholarship Program provides tens of thousands of
dollars in bursaries and scholarships to ensure that the most outstanding young jazz
musicians are able to continue their education. The week is packed with clinics and
workshops all designed to improve the individual skills of each of the thousands of
participants.
The list of Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the Jazz Division includes Canada’s finest
educators and performers including Senator Tommy Banks, Paul Read, Gordon Foote,
Bryan Stovell and Brian Lillos. Under their watchful eyes, a generation of young
adjudicators have developed their skills and have assumed leadership positions in
colleges, universities, classrooms and bands throughout Canada.
The regionals festivals have continued to grow and proactively promote and encourage
jazz education focusing increasingly on middle and elementary schools. The list of young
musicians who have performed at regionals and the nationals now represents some of
Canada’ most prominent world-class jazz talent. That includes Diana Krall, Ingrid

406
Jensen, Al Kay, Alex Dean, Kevin Turcotte, Steve McDade, Seamus Blake, Brad Turner,
and Reene Rosnes to name a few.
Commencing in 2006 the National Arts Centre becomes the host of Musicfest Canada.
All of the invited jazz ensembles will have the honour of performing at the National
Arts Centre (4th Stage). As Musicfest integrates its technology with that of the NAC,
the performances will be Webcast and along with the workshops and clinics, archived in
a teachers reference and resource library available throughout the world on the Net.
As the Encyclopedia of Music In Canada so astutely noted, the Canadian Stage Band
Festival was the “fuel” for jazz ensembles when the movement was in its infancy. Today,
Musicfest Canada continues to set the standard and assume an integral position in the
future development of this unique art form in Canada’s education system.
Music Fest Website

www.musicfestcanada.ca
Jim Howard can be reached at

Jim.Howard@MusicFest.Ca

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It is no secret Jazz is a relatively young art form. With a tumultuous beginning, not
being widely accepted in American upper-class society and its associations with
brothels and speak-easies, Jazz education took a while to get off the ground. Starting
in the 1940s, few universities offered credited courses in jazz studies and the
euphemism of the ‘stage band’ kept the ‘morality police’ at bay. The emergence of the
National Stage Band Camp and high-school band festivals further exposed young
students to jazz in the schools. As the music became a favorite for young students,
Universities began to see a market for a Jazz Studies program in their music schools.
Artists began teaching in institutions and into the 70s honorary doctorates were
awarded to artists that did not have access to a prestigious higher education in Jazz.
And so, what was missing from Jazz education was a way for teachers and artists and
students to connect and learn more about their treasured art form.
The National Association of Jazz Educators was founded in 1968. It was brought on by
the desire of jazz educators to further the teaching of jazz and foster jazz
appreciation. As the association grew to encompass more than the United States, the
name was changed to the International Association of Jazz Educators, and as the new
association grew to benefit more than teachers and artists but the music industry as
well, its name is now the International Association of Jazz Education.
Its goal is still the same but its network is massive. With a wide range of programs, the
association is the strongest connector of teachers and students to artists and industry
today. It boasts a membership of 8,000 in forty countries. This voluntary non-profit
organization provides educators with a nearly inexhaustible source of curriculum
material and resources to ensure that jazz education is alive and well.
One of the most anticipated events of the IAJE is the Annual International
Conference. In its thirty-third year, this massive four-day jazz extravaganza is where
teachers, students, artists, and industry gather to promote, sell, buy, and, of course,
educate. With 7,00 plus attendees from thirty countries; 100 or more performances
from students and artists; fifty clinics, workshops, panel discussion, research
presentations; and 50,000 square feet of music industry exhibitions, the conference is
an exciting, albeit tiring, time to meet renowned educators and artists to benefit a
I.A.J.E. by Alexis Marsh

408
schools music program. Held in a major city in North America, the site of the
conference has been in New Orleans, Washington, Toronto, Los Angeles, and New York.
Recently, New York City has become the favored conference destination. Known as the
‘capitol city’ of jazz, the conference blows into town stirring up a lucrative time for
jazz club owners for even when the festival is ‘closed’ (sometime after the 12:30 a.m.
concert), jam sessions that extend into the early hours are packed with attendees.
Also, while there is no time for it, taking time to see the city provides added incentive
for members to attend.
There is something for everyone at this conference from educators interested in

learning how to teach African rhythms to the jazz novice that simply needs to hear live
music, to the scholar researching to connection between Mozart and Ellington. It is at
the conference that many young students who have benefited from one of the IAJE’s
talent recognition programs, have an opportunity to play with other students as well as
established professionals. High schools and universities around the world are flown in to
play a concert, having been selected by the association for their unique playing or
educational element. In honoring the history of Jazz, the conference is the setting
whereby the National Endowment for the Arts recognizes and awards musicians that
have been nominated by their peers to become part of the NEA Jazz Masters.
While the conference is a culmination of the IAJE’s efforts, the whole year is
dedicated to the advancement of jazz and jazz education through a number of
programs run by the IAJE. Below is a brief profile of each:
Artist Outreach
The Artist Outreach is a database of artists and venues geared at connecting touring
artists with the schools in the area where they will be playing. Teachers may search the
database for artists or venues and apply for assistance from the IAJE so that a
musician may spend some time with the students and teach them about improvisation
and jazz styles. A benefit to artists and students, a member can register their touring
schedule to be available and so make themselves available for workshops during their
stay. The funding is made possible through the Black Education Television (BET) Jazz
Education Grant.

409
IAJE Festival Support
Specifically geared towards schools that hold jazz festivals, a school that is qualified
to become an IAJE-approved festival (qualifications are listed on their website:
www.iaje.org) can be listed in the Jazz Educators Journal and may also receive two
$150 scholarships for students in the festival.
Awards
The IAJE has six awards for educators and musicians that have contributed a
significant amount in the area specified by the award. Awards available are IAJE
President's Award, Hall of Fame, Humanitarian Award, Lawrence Berk Leadership
Award, IAJE Jazz Ambassador Award, Lil Hardin Armstrong Jazz Heritage Award.
NEA Jazz Masters
Mentioned briefly before, this award recognizes the men and women who have put jazz
in the forefront of American music. Started in 1982, over eighty musicians have been
honored by the NEA and IAJE. It is difficult to list even a few of the recipients
because all of them are of equal significance. For a list see the IAJE website.
Research
This program was established to assist in the research of topics that explore the
significance of jazz, jazz artists, and jazz education in conjunction with a variety of
subjects from history to sociology and everything in between. Twenty to thirty papers
are presented at the conference each year and are also published in the IAJE Jazz
Research Proceedings Yearbook. The IAJE website also hosts over 450 articles in its
database.

410
Resource Team
This ‘heartbeat’ of the association provides information to members as it relates to

jazz. It is to this team that questions are thrown, and valuable advice is dispensed.
These are the people that educator’s turn to when they have questions about anything
from curriculum to world music. The website’s Q & A is a useful resource as well.
Talent Recognition
Composed of ten competitions, IAJE’s talent recognition program works to expose

young artists and encourage healthy competition. Each competition is focused on a
different demographic and in awarding participants from all over the world, they bring
together young musicians to meet and play at the annual conference. Listed below are
the names of the competitions:
Sisters In Jazz, Clifford Brown/Stan Getz All-Stars, Gil Evans Commission, ASCAP
Commission, IJFO International Jazz Award, Community College All-Stars,
AAJC/HBCU Student All-star Big Band ®, North Sea Jazz Festival, GRAMMY®
High School Jazz Ensembles, Montreux Competition.
Teaching Training Institute
This two and a half day mini-conference is for teachers eager to learn more about
teaching jazz or for teachers with little to no experience in teaching jazz. Partnered
with the National Association for Music Education (MENC), each TTI features
instrumental, vocal, and general music workshops to satisfy all of the educational needs.
There is also a specialized workshop unique to each institute and the topics can range
from strings to Latin percussion. Held in various cities to accommodate the many
regions of the United States, these courses are packed with interact ional and
educational seminars and workshops that not only show the teachers how to teach jazz
but also how to play jazz.
As has been mentioned at various times during this article, the website is a great tool
for finding out more about the IAJE and the programs and services they offer. The
website offers a history of the organization along with an interesting video about the
association featuring past-presidents and musicians that have been involved with the
IAJE in the past. Their goal for the website was to take the environment of the annual

411
conference and transfer it into the virtual world of the internet. As a result, the
website connects educators to themselves and other musicians in an efficient way. On
the website, one may find applications for their various competitions and programs as
well as descriptions of and deadlines for the competitions. With links to a number of
related websites, merchandise, an on-line version of the Jazz Education Journal,
discussion panels and more, the IAJE website can turn a couple minutes of web-surfing
into an educational and productive hour. Membership is also available on the website
which gives members a chance to list their school or organization on their data-base, a
hard copy of the Jazz Education Journal, and access to advice from their resource
team.
The Journal itself is published six times a year. It is more of a magazine that features
articles on top jazz artists, pedagogical techniques, educational material reviews (text
books, play-along CDs and software, equipment, etc.), as well as news about the annual
conference, applications, and in certain issues, directories of member schools, artists,
and associations. Though full of advertising for different music paraphernalia and gear,
it is a good resource for finding out about the new teaching material, or clinicians that
are available. The issue that features a list of universities and colleges that offer
courses in jazz studies would be very useful to high school teachers with students
interested in further education in jazz.
Robert Klotman wrote, in his preface to the 1979 version of David Baker’s pedagogy
book,
“In spite of the proliferation and growth that has occurred in the past decade
in jazz instruction and stage bands in the schools, very little exists in the way of
texts or method books that would provide basic instruction for music educators
on how to organize, develop, teach, and conduct a jazz education program in
their school music departments.” 1
Over twenty-five years later, this is no longer a concern for educators thanks in part to
organizations like the IAJE. Their network has spread internationally with chapters in
Canada and Australia and their goal is to keep expanding and exposing educators to the
power of jazz music. On the informational video about the IAJE, past-president Ron
McCurdy explains that what musicians say in jazz, they are really saying about life. The
music is an art form that transcends language and racial barriers and exposes itself to
being together anyone with enough passion to feel the music. “As we teach about
music,” he says, “we are also teaching about life.” 2
1 David N. Baker, Jazz Pedagogy (Chicago: Maher Publications, 1979), preface.

2 IAJE, prod. Bill McFarlane, Karen Chester. 13:13 min., IAJE, 2001.
412
Bibliography
Dunscomb, Richard and Dr. Willie Hill Jr.. Jazz Pedagogy: The Jazz Handbook &
Resource Guide. Warner Bros. Publications, 2002.
Baker, David N. Jazz Pedagogy. Chicago, Illinois: Maher Publications, 1979.
Bash, Lee and Brad Madsen. “The International Association of Jazz Education.” In The
New Grove Jazz Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Edited by
______________________, 2:327.
International Association of Jazz Education. Homepage. 29 January 2006.

http://iaje.org.
The Canadian Chapter of the IAJE can be reached

at
www.iajecanada.ca

413
The International Association of Schools of Jazz, while it has similar goals, is quite
unlike the International Association of Jazz Education. That is exactly how the IASJ
likes it. The brainchild of renowned saxophonist, Dave Liebman, the association was
brought about by Liebman’s desire to see jazz be used as a peace-promoting,
communication tool all over the world. Based in The Hague, The Netherlands, the IASJ
brings to the jazz community a decidedly different perspective as a global, cross-
cultured network. While Liebman was touring in Europe he noticed that the top players
in one country, say, Germany, had no knowledge of the top players in a country right
beside it. With this information he started calling around to find a group of people that
would realize his dream of an association devoted to jazz education on a global scale.
On April 22, 1989, a meeting was held in Rottenburg, Germany with representatives
from thirteen schools from 10 countries. With the interest from these schools and a
sincere desire to make the Liebaman’s dream a reality. The first meeting of the IASJ
was held in 1990 and the association was officially founded in 1991 and the membership
today consists of teachers from forty countries. Taken from the association’s website
is an excerpt from their charter:
1. It is the goal of the association to promote collaboration between schools of

jazz anywhere in the world.
2. This goal will be reached by:
• Establishing and enlarging a network of schools of jazz in order to

promote the exchange of students, teachers, representatives, ideas and
materials;
• A newsletter;
• Organizing an annual meeting of students, teachers and representatives
jazz schools that are members;
• The establishment of a service bureau;
• Doing any other things that will be to the benefit of jazz education. 1
1
International Association of Schools of Jazz, January 29, 2006. www.iasj.com
I.A.S.J. by Alexis Marsh

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The network, though growing, is still small in comparison to the IAJE. Still its unique
vision separates it from comparison to other associations focused on jazz education.
The Newsletters
The newsletter is mailed out to members at least four times a year. It is an eight-page
letter featuring a greeting from Dave Liebman, artistic director, and Walter
Turkenburg, editor and IASJ executive director. With no commercial advertising, the
letter is full of reports as to how the IASJ is working. The chairman, Karlheinz Miklin,
writes a column to explain where the IASJ has been meeting and who they have been
collaborating with. The Collaborations and Affiliations section of the letter is an
insightful look into how many associations are active in Europe and in this way, acts as a
network for its members to learn about different ways to be involved in the global
music scene. The IASJ Daily Board section provides information about upcoming
assemblies such as the IAJE annual conference. Membership information is also
available in each letter.
The Meetings
The annual meeting is a small gathering of 100 to 150 members. Purposely kept to a
small number, the idea behind the meeting is to have students and teachers from all
over the world come together and have a chance to play together and learn from each
other. The teachers attend to discuss pedagogical matters, and everyone has a chance
to network. Regardless of what musical background the attendees come from, the
intention is that each player be treated equally. Within a short amount of time,
students with little to no knowledge of one another’s language must learn to
communicate their ideas through music. Liebman enjoys the ‘evolution of camaraderie’
that occurs as the musicians communicate solely through one language, jazz. The
association is proud that the intimate setting can provide a chance to hear quality music
in small numbers.
The Concept
Their pedagogical concept avoids the teacher-student hierarchy, so what the

organizers seek in their workshops is a level of interaction between all participants that
supersedes a basic comprehension of a jazz concept. This type of jazz education gives
way to an exchange of ideas between the instructors and students; not coincidentally, a
group of musicians in a jazz combo function in the same manner. And this is the
emphasis of every meeting.

415
The Ongoing Dialogues
For the instructors unoccupied with an ensemble, there is an open dialogue meeting with
a special representative of the IASJ. These meetings present attendees with an
opportunity to discuss pedagogical methods. Because these methods may differ from
school to school, this is an interesting way to spend time with other educators.
Teachers are encouraged to present their educational material so that others may
benefit from another’s successful tools. These dialogues are recorded to be included in
one of the newsletters.
Locations
The locations of the meetings is an added bonus as the venues change every year and,
for North Americans anyway, offer a chance to visit a different country and
experience a different culture. This also is a great benefit to the music as when the
students learn from each other, they take home their experience and share it within
their community. The meeting acts as a globalizing tool to build bridges and promote
brotherhood (and sisterhood) within the jazz world. Past meetings have been held in:
The Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, Italy, USA, Israel, Denmark, Germany, Spain,
France, Finland, and Poland.
The IASJ is slowly making its presence known in the jazz education market though they
are slow to move onto a commercial platform and with good reason. Their advantage lies
in their humble approach, and they are able to clearly outline what their goals in jazz
education. Each association affiliated with jazz serves a useful function so it is with an
eager and curious anticipation that educators may want to further explore the IASJ.
Bibliography
The International Association of Schools of Jazz. www.iasj.com, January, 30, 2006.
Guidelines for IASJ Meetings. IASJ Service Bureau. The Netherlands, 2001-2003.
The IASJ can be reached at

www.IASJ.com
416
417
www.jazzbooks.com
www.IAJE.org
www.IASJ.com
www.MusicFest.ca
www.HumberCollegeMusic.ca
www.kendormusic.com
www.halleonard.com
www/2.warnerbros
www.uncjazzpress.com
www.music44.com
www.jazzatlincolncenter.org
www.kjos.com
www.emimusic.ca
www.southernmusic.com
www.FJHmusic.com
www.schirmer.com
www.wlarusmusic.com
www.2ndfloormusic.com
www.sierramusic.com
www.baysidepress.com
www.tonosmusic.com
www.phddissertations.com
www.iaje.org/iaje.aspx?pid=50 (IAJE Research Papers)
www.banffcentre.ca
Websites
419
I remember having a poignant composition lesson with Jim McNeely in 2000. We were
discussing the creative process in composition, and the approaches that could be taken to the
finale of a piece. We both laughed, agreeing that one of the most effective ways to work
through the process was with the added pressure of a deadline. He played me his CD “Lickety
Split” featuring the Village Vanguard Orchestra and reminisced about the FedEx guy arriving
at his door while he wrote out the final bars of the title piece, containing only ensemble
rhythms to be played by the orchestra, with a vague allusion to the melody. He ended up with a
Grammy nominated recording. While this sounds like a rushed ending, it was really an example
of making decisions with a large palette of options at hand through his extensive research in
the art of composition.
The beginning composer needs to attain a firm foothold of basic theoretical skills in order to
compile a palette of colours from which they are able to extract original ideas. There are so
many choices to make regarding the textures within a composition, including a plethora of
rhythmic and harmonic options. Therefore they should have knowledge of western classical and
jazz theory and history, as well as jazz improvisation. It is also to their advantage to explore
popular and world music, especially in its harmonic and rhythmic diversity.
Steve Swallow commented: “Composing for improvisers differs from writing music which is
entirely notated. You don’t deal with the development as Beethoven did, because the
development is done by the improviser…in jazz, improvisation is primary, composition is
secondary”.1
Swallow's comment is valid. However, larger works for the jazz chamber orchestra or big band
require that some development be written into the piece. Going back to Swallow’s comment,
this leads to the fact that if it is a piece that will contain a bulk of improvisation, some of the
form will be repeated for the majority of the tune. Therefore, in a small group setting, the
compositional material should be well thought out and constructed, as the form will most likely
be played in a repeated manner.
Wayne Shorter -“I'd say composing is improvisation slowed down.”2
Composition in jazz historically has had a tendency to take the back seat to the performance
by the improviser. As the improviser is an artist in the moment, he or she tends to get the
much-deserved accolades for technical mastery and interpretation. There is a parallel between
the jazz composer to the visual artist in that it takes years to develop a large repertoire of
An Introduction by Christine Jensen 420

music that leads to recognition. This has changed over the past thirty years as the improviser
has taken on the necessary dual role of composer and player.
The jazz artist is continually shifting, exploring and merging other streams in music into jazz
composition in order to create contemporary sounds. Successful contemporary composing
improvisers who write the bulk of their material include Dave Holland, Dave Douglas, Bill
Frisell, Jim Hall, Ralph Towner, Carla Bley, Pat Metheny, and of course the torch-bearer of the
new millennium, Wayne Shorter.
The History of Formal Jazz Composition
Jazz is still a relatively new style of music born in America, with original formal jazz
composition (i.e.: written and recorded) being even younger. Duke Ellington could be considered
to be at the roots of this family tree of formal jazz composition. He is among the first
generation of jazz composers, subsequently influencing every generation after him with his
diverse and timeless repertoire. His music has held sway through the use of strong melody,
harmony, form and rhythm. Billy Strayhorn, his prodigy and partner in composition and
arranging, was heavily influenced and well-versed in Ellington's works, becoming a catalyst of
Ellington’s unique use of harmony, rhythm and form.
“Ellington holds a privileged position in the history of jazz. He was it’s first composer in the
strict sense of the term, and for a long time he was it’s only composer…A composer is a
musician who makes full use of a capacity which neither the tune writer nor, with very few
exceptions, the arranger possesses, a capacity which might be defined as that of endowing
jazz with additional dimension. This dimension, which gives a work new depth and greater
possibilities for development, is form…Ellington created form in jazz.”3
Here are three eras of the history of jazz composition, listing composers who have made a
deep impact on formal composition from the 1930's to the present. All of them deserve a close
look in terms of formal analysis:
Group I- Duke Ellington & Thelonious Monk (30's, 40's, 50's)

The most influential composer in jazz history after Ellington could be considered to be
Thelonious Monk. He wrote some masterfully crafted compositions full of his individualism,
which have stood the test of time and still sound fresh and new to this day. His use of riff
development made him stand out as a composer. Other composers following their lead with
small groups at the time include Benny Golson, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie,
Gerry Mulligan and Horace Silver. Lennie Tristano also pushed harmonic and rhythmic
boundaries.
Group II Modal Composers (50's onward)

These composers used a more modal approach, as opposed to traditional diatonic harmony.
They include Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Ornette Coleman,
Wayne Shorter, Bill Evans and Woody Shaw. Tom Harrell could be considered a later example

of this style of writing. Gil Evans could also be considered an influential composer. His
compositions were few, but his orchestrations at the time were exploring the use of modality,
thus shaping the new direction in the sound of jazz in the '50's and onward.
Group III Post-Modal Composers

Some major post-modal, or contemporary jazz composers who break further from traditional
form include Pat Metheny, Kenny Wheeler, Keith Jarrett, Carla Bley, Ralph Towner, Steve
Swallow, Dave Holland, Joe Zawinul, Ornette Coleman, Steve Coleman, and Chick Corea. They
have tendencies to refer to folk or world music through melody and rhythm, with reference to
the use of pentatonics especially. Steve Coleman and Dave Holland are now influencing a
current generation of players and composers who explore odd-meter time signatures.
Group IIIA-The Modern Large Ensemble Composers

The large ensemble composer has placed the original material with written development for the
ensemble in the foreground. For the most part the soloist is presented secondary to the
development of the form. These composers include Thad Jones, Bob Brookmeyer, Don Ellis,
Gunther Schuller, Gil Evans, Oliver Nelson, Jim McNeely, and Maria Schneider. They have gone
on to influence a whole school of composers who focus on developing the piece in a the jazz
orchestra setting. They also draw on classical orchestral devices in the development of
compositions and arranging techniques. Emerging composers could also include John
Hollenbeck, Darcy James Argue and Django Bates.
Exercises in studying composition
Listening and Transcription
An integral step in the growth of a composer is to assimilate the compositions of the Master’s.
This can be done through listening, playing lead sheets, score analysis, or through the use of
transcription. Transcription is the most valuable tool for the student, as the more engaged
they are in ear training, the more they will learn and retain. It challenges the beginning
composer to map out the form, as well as practice the use of music notation.
Listening to as many resources as possible opens the composer’s ears to varied techniques, no
matter what style of music. A valuable exercise for the student to understand the roots of
jazz composition is to transcribe one of Ellington’s works from his ‘30’s period. For example,
Ellington's piece "Jack the Bear" clearly delineates the symbiotic relationship in his
counterpoint (independent harmonies played as melody by each member of his orchestra). In
this exercise, the transcription should be performed in class, with each student taking on one
of the roles in Ellington's orchestra.
The Writing Process
There is no singular formula in the process of composition. The dedicated jazz musician who is

also a composer tends to have to multitask at best in order to make a living. Established
players are constantly trying to find a balance between touring, recording, practicing their
instrument, rehearsing as well as fulfilling their duties as teacher. Therefore, the composition
process can easily get sidelined. In fact most of the tasks mentioned, including recording,
touring, rehearsing and practicing actually are a staple of the creative process, lending
themselves to the practice of composition.
Documenting and editing works is an integral step in the works of the composer. Some
musicians use recorders or multi-track devices in order to work through their initial ideas.
Others transcribe their ideas directly to the paper. Some musicians are able to compose
without using a chord instrument, while many view the piano or guitar as an integral tool in
composition. Paul Bley has been known to envision an ensemble with no written material, yet he
is a composer upon review of his discography and reputation. He has been successful with his
philosophy of blurring the lines between composition and improvisation. Jimmy Heath gave
some advice in spending time on sound: “[I] get ideas at any time, “but they usually flash and go
away. So I keep a tape recorder handy, a Walkman type. I think that’s the only way to keep the
stuff. The ideas come and go. Some [ideas] take longer to write than others; some of them I
mess around with for a long time. When you’re trying to create something that’s a little
different and you really have the time, I think that’s better than having to create on demand,
as I’m doing now- which is to complete four big band arrangements by next Wednesday! I can’t
spend much time mulling over ideas. I have to settle sooner.”4
Gerry Mulligan reinforces Heath’s ideas. “It just requires time concentration, continuity of
time so that you can follow through on ideas. It’s good to work at the piano and then, for
various reasons, to get away from the piano for a while to try to avoid the trap of the
keyboard…”5
Mulligan explained that the piano has limitations as a composing tool in that “ a lot of times you
find yourself restricting yourself to what your fingers can do and what they fall into naturally,
and when you’re dealing with orchestration and specific instruments, there are things that are
particular to an instrument and to a section that, away from the keyboard, you’re more likely to
think about.” 6
Mulligan had no interest in using a recording device in order to catalogue his ideas, and
preferred to notate the music directly. Composers with highly developed ears, including those
with perfect pitch are more inclined to compose without the aid of a chord instrument.
Upon studying the writing process with established composers, it becomes clear that each
person uses their own methodology in coming up with an idea. Composing takes time. Gil Evans
would sit at the piano for days playing the same chord over and over, immersing himself in the
entire quality of it, before moving on to the next chord. He would carefully examine every
direction of the voices leading between the two chords before making a final decision. His
music and use of rhythm and harmony in his orchestrations was a major influence on so many
composers who preceded him. His influence can be found in the harmonies of Herbie Hancock,
Bill Evans, Maria Schneider, Jim McNeely, and Gil Goldstein. Evans could be considered a huge,

transparent branch of the jazz composition tree that contains the roots of modal composition.
Rayburn Wright interviewed Bob Brookmeyer, and asked him for some advice for emerging
composers. Bob’s reply matched Gil Evans methods.“[They should] spend a lot of time playing at
the piano and listening to what it really sounds like, rather than just getting through situations
in order to finish a piece. I think that time spent reflecting is the time that counts in
writing.”7
Brookmeyer refers to composition as problem solving over time. His student, Maria Schneider
expands on this idea of problem solving. “ There are a lot of different levels and things that
you go through when you write apiece…when I’m first coming up with an idea, sometimes I find
some little sound that I like. But it’s kind of like chaos, you just throw something out there,
and I’m always looking for something, some spark that has personality. Something that makes
me interested. I believe that any note or any sound that you throw out there has a potential
life for personality. But which one interests me enough to really go through the process that I
need to discover what it is. When I find it, I’ll play with that idea and I’ll actually sit and
improvise on piano a lot. Just play and feel in the natural flow, where it takes me. And then I
back up, and start to look at it and see what’s the DNA inside of this thing? I really believe if
you come up with some spontaneous thing that you like, this little idea or whatever, there’s
bound to be something inside of it – a mathematical thing or some kind of consistency or
intervallic thing, like a DNA, and you have to get inside and find what it is. Then you can start
building, looking for possibilities and really taking control of this thing and start to search for
where it might go. Then it’s the process of ‘ahead and behind’. Sometimes you discover
something you can do with it that’s really intense, but it’s something that has to be set up by a
long journey. You have to work your way back and through. 8
Schneider discusses harmony in composition as a three-dimensional being. “ I really think of

music very much in terms of math, geometry, parallel things, things in contrary motions, chunks
that cross and weave, and I think that much of what we perceive and understand in music is
really kind of aural, multi-dimensional geometry: kind of flying in the air.” 9
It cannot be underestimated how important it is for the composer to have the music
rehearsed, then edited. A regular composing schedule should include time for rehearsal and
editing deadlines, with the end result being that the finished composition be performed and
recorded.
The Melodic Statement
The melodic statement might be the most delicate and personal aspect of a composition. It will
give the composition its structure through its use of space. On the surface, it is just a row of
intervals put together, but its construction is the heart of any piece of music. Melody is the
most important element of a composition.
“A melodic source is the pitch organization of a motif, phrase, section, or any area of a melody

that shows musical unity.” 10
It is integral that the composer study different writing techniques in composition in order to
express their own personality through the use of their melodic statement. Resources to study
include the music of Romantic, Impressionist and 20th Century classical composers. Their
scores resonate with ideas that the student can grasp through extensive listening and analysis.
For instance, Schoenberg used and developed the 12-tone method, Bartok took folk music and
his axial system of twelve-tone music, and Copland combined simplicity by weaving together
simple folk, cowboy and hymn-like melodies with twelve-note technique. Going back further,
Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann and Schubert have put melodic development as a priority
in their writings, making for memorable music that has stood the test of time.
“Although jazz harmony has a direct reference to European art music, its rhythmic
development...[and] melodic materials have strong important ties to folk music [including
Africa, Brazil, the British Isles, the Balkans etc.].”11
It is also important for the student to research the category of world music, as thereis a rich
source of rhythm, harmony and melody to draw upon.
Form and Style
The contemporary jazz composer John Hollenbeck describes his writing process.
“Some composers find some sort of code, some sort of system, and they write a series of
pieces following that system. I respect that but I've never been attracted to that method. I
really try to make each piece its own thing, its own universe. I think I'm pretty successful at
that, but even if I weren't, it's more important that the process of each piece be
different.”12
Hollenbeck’s method of approach for each composition is similar to Schneider’s, which

includes searching and identifying an original theme for each piece in order for it to take on a
life of it’s own. Upon looking at a successful composer’s body of work, it is key that there is
something new in each piece that grabs the listener and the player.
Miles Davis and Bill Evans’ song “Blue in Green” is an important example of form that breaks
away from the traditional AABA or AB forms. It is a 10-measure piece that circles around,
blurring the lines between the top and bottom of the form. Bill Evans made from a priority in
his compositions.“You make a lot of decisions on a purely structural, theoretical, common sense,
or emotional basis…A lot of it can be analytical, but ultimately the judgement seems to be made
on a musically intuitive basis – of being able to encompass the totality of what you’re doing and
to make judgements based on being able to see it all in one glimpse…Also of great importance,
even perhaps the fundamental determinant, is a feeling for what fulfills perfect form in the
piece involved.” 13

Evans views his piece ‘Turn Out the Stars’ as a perfect form. The form of the piece
is A/B/C/D/E =8/8/8/8/8 ( in measure amounts). It contains many of his trademarks in
sculpting of the phrasing, as the melody ascends through the A and B section. C is the
transitional section. D and E have the melody descending.
“Each eight measure section has an individual melodic content…The function of each section is
important. A is the opening statement. B is a partial repeat of the opening statement, but the
function is to lead to the entrance of C. C is a bridge, not a transition. It is an architectural
bridge between the AB and DE sections.” 14
Form is what makes a composition breathe in phrases and this piece is a wonderful example.
The Chord-Scale Relationship- The Post-Modal Years
Besides rhythm and melody, the chord-scale relationship is integral to the cohesiveness of the
composition outside of free form. In Ron Miller's book Modal Jazz Composition and Harmony,
Volume 1, he classifies the compositional styles into three categories that include tonal, modal,
and avant-garde. In terms of where the emerging composer is at in this new millennium, it is
most relevant to focus on the modal style of composition once tonal jazz composition has been
explored and understood. Modal composition (sometimes referred to as "college chords")
sounds resonate well with the contemporary composer, and easily bridge jazz with influences
from world and popular music. Some key composers and players adding to the origins of this
movement include John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter and Herbie
Hancock. Composers such as Wayne Shorter, Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, Dave Liebman,
Richie Bierach, Kenny Wheeler and Ralph Towner are a few examples of the use of a non-
diatonic path, while at times paying homage to more traditional uses of tonality and rhythm.
The use of modality stems from the modes within scales. The most common include unaltered
and altered Lydian, Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian, Locrian, Hungarian Major, Hungarian Minor,
Harmonic Minor, and Spanish Phrygian scales. The modes from these scales give the composer
a wonderful tool to sustain a quality of non-resolution. In working with modal composition,
tension and release is at the forefront, and finding a balance between the two is of
importance. The composer’s use of space with chord movement will control the tension and
release.
Slash-chords or upper structure terminology tend to create more ease in the translation of
chord-scale relationships for the performer. Examples with the use of C7:
D/C7=C7#11,13
Ab/C7=C7#9,b13
D-Maj7/C7=C7 b9,9,11,13
AbMaj7/C7=C7#9,b13
There is a parallel in sound between the modal composers mentioned and the contemporary
Canadian jazz sound. Through the use of learning these chord/scale relationships at post-

secondary jazz education institutions (including Banff, McGill University, University of
Toronto, New England Conservatory, Berklee College, and Humber College), many wonderful
composers have created a new contemporary Canadian sound by using these techniques. These
jazz artists include Jeff Johnston, Steve Amirault, Joel Miller, Nancy Walker, Roy Patterson,
Quinsin Nachoff, Hugh Fraser, Francois Bourrassa, and Brad Turner. Kenny Wheeler, who was a
mainstay at Banff in the 1990’s could be attributed as a major influence in most of these
composers works.
Composition –A Basic Formula
Whether a composition is a basis for an improvised setting or not, there must be a premise
that is memorized or written down for the musician. First there is the initial idea or material.
This idea will be labeled A*. Once A has been established, the composer must move on to one
of the following choices:
1. Repeat A
2. Variation on A
3.Introduce new material B
Bill Evans’ “Turn Out the Stars” could be analyzed using this formula.
Conclusion
The contemporary jazz artist should be able to make a complete personal statement through
his or her playing and composition. Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Bill Evans and
even John Coltrane and Charlie Parker had their own individual styles that were explored and
expressed cohesively between their improvisations and compositions.
Bill Evans comments on the complete jazz musician as a composer: “I believe in things that are
developed through hard work. I always like people who have developed long and hard, especially
through introspection and a lot of dedication. I thank that where they arrive at is usually a
much deeper and more beautiful thing than the person who seems to have that ability and
fluidity from the beginning.”15
Joanne Brackeen elaborates on the role of player as a composer. “ If you write your own tunes,
you write from the nature of the sound that’s in you, so that even makes it closer. It’s like the
way a poet remembers his own poetry, as opposed to almost anyone else’s. There might be
someone else’s he would feel close to, but his own is a living thing to him. That’s how the
memory of music ought to be for everyone, because that gives him or her the freedom of
playing.
It gives you a freedom in your improvisation that you wouldn’t otherwise have.”16
Once the improvising composer has embarked on the life-long journey of presenting an original
statement through the use of their repertoire, it will be integral to spend as much time as
possible composing, as the more it is explored, the more choices there are to make. The end

result will be a jazz artist full of a very personal sound, which will hopefully continue to grow
and become more refined and original throughout their career. Jazz, when played with a
certain level of consciousness will transport the listener to a place of enjoyment. All of the
composers mentioned have been able to engage their audience and musicians in this way.
Recommended readings on lessons in composition, include the series “ Modal Jazz: Composition
and Harmony” Volumes 1 & 2 by Ron Miller. These books contain valuable theory lessons as well
as techniques for the contemporary composer. With study and practice, composition can be
used to the jazz artists advantage in the long term in order to express one's personal voice at
its highest and most creative level.
1. Goldstein, Gil The Jazz Composers Companion, Rottenburg N.: Advance Music, 1993
p. 107
2. Wayne Shorter Interview: The Saxophone Journal Volume 16, Number 4
January/February 1992 written by Mel Martin
3. Hodeir, Andre “Why did Ellington “remake’ his Masterpiece?” Reading Jazz, edited by
Robert Gottlieb p.893
4. W. Royal Stokes, living the Jazz Life p. 140
5 IBID p.142
6 IBID p.142
7 Rayburn Wright Inside the Score, p.181
8 Maria Schneider Interview The Green Mountain Messenger p12, p.34
9 IBID p.10
10 Ron Miller, Modal Jazz: Composition and Harmony, Vol. 2, p.12
11 IBID, p.10
12 John Hollenbeck-interview from All About Jazz. www.allaboutjazz.com
13 Gil Goldstein –interview with Bill Evans Jazz Composers Companion p. 93
14 IBID p.93
15 IBID p. 94
16 W. Royal Stokes Living the Jazz Life p.148-149
Bibliography
Dobbins, Bill Jazz Arranging and Composing: A Linear Approach, Rottenburg

N.: Advance Music, 1986
Goldstein, Gil The Jazz Composers Companion, Rottenburg N.: Advance
Music, 1993
Liebman, David A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody,
Rottenburg N.: Advance Music, 1991
Miller, Ron Modal Jazz: Composition and Harmony, Vol.1, Rottenburg N.:
Advance Music, 1992
Miller, Ron Modal Jazz: Composition and Harmony, Vol.2, Tubingen: Advance
Music, 1997
Stokes, W. Royal Living the Jazz Life New York: Oxford University Press,

2000
Wright, Rayburn Inside the Score New York: Kendor Music Inc., 1982
Articles
Glasgo, Don Maria Schneider: A Striking Composition: The Green Mountain
Messenger Vol.2 #4 March/April 1999, written by Don Glasgo
Martin, Mel Wayne Shorter Interview: The Saxophone Journal Volume 16,
Number 4 January/February 1992
John Hollenbeck ‘All About Jazz’ Interview: www.allaboutjazz.com
Christine Jensen can be reached at

Littlechrissy@gmail.com

Jazz has been influential in practically all aspects of modern music. From contemporary
Rock, Latin to even the new forms of Flamenco music, jazz has been a part of modern
music in some form or another.
In this article I will be talking about some basic concepts of contemporary jazz
composition and some personal experiences that have help me in writing contemporary
music.
1. Listening To Music
As human beings, we grow and evolve out of past experience. In much the same
way, creating music evolves out of experience listening to music. In particular
with contemporary music, it’s listening to a variety of music that carries the
most impact.
Igor Stravinsky, a Russian composer, is quoted as saying, “Lesser artists

borrow, great artists steal”. That being said, all great songs, if heard closely,
will resemble someone else’s song for a split second or will have a very similar
melodic line to something that you’ve heard before. For example, did you know
that most of ABBA’s songs were inspired by Swedish folk songs.
For me, composing has a lot to do with reaching into my being and grabbing past
melodies that I’ve heard before. Anything from South American folk songs to
North American jazz to Spanish Flamenco to East Indian melodies. All is fair
game. The magic comes when you blend these ideas to create a new idea. Always
keeping in mind not to directly copy someone else’s work as this would get into
copyright infringements and most importantly would be disrespectful to the
composer of the original work. But I think you get the general idea.
When listening to music, I don’t worry about the time signatures or the
technical aspects of the song yet. This comes later when you are putting
everything together but we’ll get to this later on.
I may be listening to a Flamenco Buleria type rhythm, which is based on a 6/8
time signature, to a Peruvian Waltz in ¾ time to contemporary rock and all of a
sudden an incredible melody will make its way into my subconscious.
Personal Strategies by Esteban Figureoa 430

Therefore make a point in listening and expanding your taste of music. Listen to
some classical, ethnic folk music from around the world, contemporary or
whatever it doesn’t matter. What matters most is exposure.
2. Emotional Content
“What force is more potent than love?” – Igor Stravinski
All music is an expression. It is sometimes a description of ones most intimate

emotions, connections to places, people, and circumstances in the past and
present. It can be, more often than not, a window into ones own emotional state.
When creating music, emotion has a lot to do in making a great song. One has to
connect with the listener and usually a successful connection more often than
not involves related emotions with your listener.
Case in point; A love song will have a connection in some form or another with a
listener because most of us can relate to love. Whether it be losing someone,
finding someone, paternal/fraternal love etc., it’s a powerful emotion but its an
emotion that most of us can understand. I’m sure you can come up with a few
examples of these yourselves.
One of the songs written by Flamenco Caravan in the Alchemy CD is called “Mi
Amor”. It’s a song about reassurance of one’s devotion to a loved one. The music
is based on a bolero rhythm which is a predominant rhythm in Central America
usually associated with love lyrics. People seem to get drawn to its words as it
strikes a chord with their emotions. Lyrical expressions are by far the most
conducive form of connecting to the listener. When you try to do the same thing
with an instrumental piece, it gets much trickier because there are no words to
reference what you are trying to say.
In my instrumental CD “Calma”, in particular the title track, I had to do just

that. Convey what I was feeling, the emotions at that time and find a musical
way of expression. I wanted to create a song with real feeling so I looked into
my bag of real good melodies. Again this brings us to point one discussed above.
One particular song that really had the feel that I was looking for was Phil
Collins song titled “If Leaving Me Is Easy” on his Face Value album. The song
starts on a minor 7th chord and teeters between minor 7th and major 7th chords.
The feel of the rhythm was particularly well suited for what I was trying to say.
So this particular structure of chords was what I was looking for in creating a
sense of emotional warmth. Later I dug further to past recollections and came
upon a Brazilian sound track called “Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands”, music
written by Chico Buarque de Hollanda. This song is a bossa nova but with a little
adjustment to the chord structure, mainly using a minor 9th progression was able

to make sense of the minor/major 7th chorus. These chord structures were very
conducive in soloing over. It made for an easy expression of what I wanted to
say.
Again, this song in particular brings up the concept of past experience with
emotional content.
3. Rhythm
“Everything in the universe has rhythm. Everything dances” - Maya Angelou
One of the most important aspects of a good song, especially contemporary

songs, is a good sense of rhythm and timing. Without rhythm, the body can’t
move, the feet can’t tap, the fingers can’t snap.
Every good recording has to have a good meter and an established sense of
rhythm. Even in “free style” pieces such as “Bahia Del Recuerdo” on my Calma CD
where this song is played in a Rondeña form; this form although a free style
form will have its internal rhythm. It helps the listener again with referencing
something that is familiar with him/her therefore assisting in making the
desired connection with the listener.
Every culture on this planet has rhythm. Every human being is made to
experience frequency. Whether appealing or not is strictly of personal opinion.
Nonetheless a good groove or Rhythm is essential in conveying the rollercoaster
ride of emotions.
Take for example the following songs that really drive rhythm:
Count Basie – Moten Swing: Listen how the rhythm settles down into a
fundamental groove that drives the entire band.
Paco De Lucia – Zyriab: Listen how Paco is able to provide a 2/2 feel on the
guitar. Listen to the percussion how, although he appears to be accenting other
beats within the 2/2 feel, it settles into an easy groove that makes your body
move.
Flamenco Caravan – Vermouth Bianco: The beginning of the song has a well
defined groove settling down to provide the listener with a solid jazz feel. At
the end of the song we hit the tag. Here we switch it up to feel more like a
Steve Gad rhythm.
So as you can see from the examples above, if you can establish a well founded
groove in your music it will carry the song. In contemporary music I find that

you must have a solid rhythm. It will help you in accentuating feel; it will support
the emotions you want to express and will provide a comfortable medium in
which to add your creative solos.
4. Make It Interesting
“To retain my fascination with chemistry, I have had to change my research

fields about every 10 years.” - Donald Cram
Like everything else in life, in order to keep it interesting one has to change it
up a bit. This being said, one has to wonder how much change is good change in
music. I suppose its all in perspective and relevance to what you are trying to do.
If you listen to a song that has no change in either tempo, dynamics or color it
tends to get pretty boring. In good contemporary music, you have this wonderful
world to draw from. With technology these days, a click of the mouse will
transport you anywhere in the world. Good ideas come from listening a lot about
everything. Try using Youtube.com as a tool to get ideas.
Some of the things I incorporate into my music are different rhythms within
the same song. A sample of this is given below.
Let’s take a Flamenco rhythm that is based on 6/8:
In flamenco, the count usually starts on the 12 beat. Therefore the accents are
placed on the 12 and 3rd beat of the count. F = foot stomping and the ^ =
accents.
Again in this same type of song you can add a change of count such as the
following ¾ count:
Therefore combining these 2 types of rhythms it would look something like this:

Already by just adjusting the sense of timing you make the rhythm more
interesting. A good example of this is on my album Calma on track no. 5
“Buscando Paraiso”. You can hear the buleria start with a ¾ time signature
before going into 6/8 time signature. I do it a couple of times throughout the
song.
Another really good strategy is adding color and a lot of it in strategic places of
the song. This will greatly improve texture and make things very interesting. As
an example in the same song described above, I used a djembe to make lower
percussive tones as well as the clapping to give a sense of count. I also
incorporated my knuckles striking a table at the start and middle of the song as
well. Be creative and don’t hold back. Remember that your listener wants to see
color in your music.
Dynamics go a long way to make things interesting. In Flamenco Caravans CD

“Love’s Philosophy” you can get a good sense of dynamic change in track no. 10
called “Grace”. At the end of the song we had a crescendo develop to a final
climax. It really spices the song up because, again, you are trying to make it
interesting by keeping your listeners on their toes.
In Closing
Contemporary music is just that, music of the present time. The music of our
time has crossed many borders and genres. Contemporary music requires that
we as musicians explore many rhythms, many cultures. The world has shrunk in
size and it seems that when talking about contemporary music, one must talk
about a whole myriad of things.
Take a close look at what’s out there. You will soon realize that a song is not only
comprised of one particular genre but of many. Everything from jazz, latin,
flamenco, middle eastern, and everything under the sun.
The topics described here are really the tip of the iceberg but in no means the
last say. Therefore keep forging ahead. It’s a big world with many opportunities
for you to discover.

Finding your own “sound” is one of the central missions in jazz. Your sound is a
combination of your tone quality, the types of lines you tend to play, and the expressive
devices you tend to use. We tend to think of someone’s sound in relation to their
improvisations, however this idea of personal sound applies equally to your style of
composition. Compositions reflect your tone (mood), as well as your musical character
by way of melodic and harmonic statements that you tend to hear as satisfying.
Even though improvisation is composition-on-the-fly, there are important differences

between the two:
1) Composition allows you to control all the musical elements. You are able to
consider your work more carefully, and to choose the most appropriate melodies,
harmonies, and rhythmic relationships to reflect your musical mind. Thanks to
the luxury of time, you don’t have to be a virtuoso to create a piece that makes
a statement and reflects your musical personality.
2) Improvisation depends on having developed reaction times and a thorough
connection with your instrument. To truly “say” on an instrument what you
think/feel/hear requires a substantial amount of time – years – to get to the
point where a sound heard in your head instantly translates to a “feel” on your
instrument and in all muscles used to produce sound on your instrument.
Improvisation is usually performed with other players and you cannot always
control where the “conversation” will lead.
It is my opinion that composition can help you to find your own voice by giving you a
framework to explore those aspects of music that fascinate you the most at any given
time in your development. Every time you craft a piece, you learn a little more about
how you like to put music together. This knowledge allows you to improvise with
confidence from your own unique perspective.
The notion of finding your own voice inherently involves some discussion of originality.
To be original when improvising, it’s not enough to spit out Parker and Coltrane licks, no
matter how convincingly you do it, because it’s already been done. Similarly, if you only
ever interpret other people’s tunes, it can be difficult to establish your own character
because you are partially speaking someone else’s language by the very act of playing
their music. Paradoxically, you may not be taken seriously or seen as part of the
tradition if you don’t play the standards or reference some of the developed language
Finding Your Own Voice Through Composition by Bill Prouten 435

of jazz, the “licks” as they say. The fact is that it is unavoidable that you will display
your musical lineage in this oral tradition; you will sound like an amalgam of your biggest
influences. However, the part of the mix that is uniquely you can be brought to the
foreground through composition, because you have the time to address musical
problems in a number of ways, to decide on solutions that you find appealing, and then
develop language that reflects those solutions.
One thing that took me a long time to recognize is that my musical heroes did not just
play great lines on the standards of the American songbook; when they added their own
groundbreaking tunes to the repertoire - often with a killer solo to match - it was their
composition that dictated the direction of their solo, or their style, or the types of
patterns played.
For example, most aficionados are aware that Coltrane created Giant Steps based upon
the bridge to Have You Met Miss Jones?, and Countdown based upon Miles Davis’ Tune
Up. Anyone who has learned to play these tunes knows that playing Giant Steps or
Countdown takes more mental (and intestinal!) fortitude than the pieces that inspired
them, not because those antecedents aren’t great tunes, but because Giant Steps and
Countdown force a player into a certain channel that is difficult to navigate without
disaster! When you listen to Coltrane’s solos in the period following Giant Steps, you
can hear him superimposing patterns that he developed on these difficult bebop tunes
onto standards and modal pieces alike; in other words, the modes of hearing and playing
that he developed through his compositions became his vocabulary. Through his
compositions, Coltrane pushed playing into a different direction and anyone who studies
those tunes can follow those lessons.
This is just one example, but I believe it is true of most of the great players. To play
Monk is a different adventure than playing Bird or Trane, Mingus is different from
Miles, and the list goes on and on. To compose is to lay out your musical thought
process on paper, and when we examine the compositions from our favourite players we
find that the language they tend to speak when improvising is largely informed by the
thought processes outlined in their compositions. So, composing is a way of helping to
refine your musical direction.
Composition was one of my favourite classes at school, and I feel privileged to have
studied with Jan Jarcyk at McGill and Shelton Berg at the University of Southern
California. What I remember most from studying with Jan was his pushing us to write
forms that were non-traditional; for example, instead of AABA or ABAC, he’d have us
write ABCD. He would limit us in our source materials, too; for example, the A section
would have to be Lydian, and then the B section would have to be Locrian, and so forth.
The important thing was imposing limits in order to force our mental energies in a
different direction.

With Shelly Berg, we analyzed jazz standards, identified the tendencies of each
composer, and also made note of the different ways of getting from point A to point B.
For example, jazz standards often move to the key of the subdominant, so we looked at
different ways of modulating from I to IV and back.
By thinking in these ways, music becomes a bit like a puzzle to be solved and which has
an infinite number of possible outcomes. How you tackle the problem mentally will
determine your solutions, and therefore the way you play, and thusly help to define your
“sound”.
When I compose, I usually work with a particular chord or melodic fragment that
intrigues me and see where that takes me. It doesn’t usually take too long before I
determine a theme or “hook” around which I base the tune, or create my “logic”.
Another thing I tend to do is write at the piano. Once I’ve fleshed something out, then
I’ll play it on my horn. I force myself to play in whatever key I heard on the piano, no
matter how poorly it lays on the horn. In this way, I have ended up forcing myself to
navigate in keys that are often avoided. It definitely changes the types of lines I play.
The following lead sheets are examples of tunes that I either wrote to address a
specific “problem”, or which posed an unexpected musical challenge upon completion.
Either way, they sound like me and forced me to play in a new way. Some of the tunes
are featured on my cd, Low-down, No-good..., and you can listen to them on my
website, www.billprouten.com. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to
email me.

Briefly:
Goddess is a tune I wrote when I wanted to work with melodies that reflect
consecutive 4ths and 2nds.

Parallel Bars turned out to be about navigating slash chords, pedal points, and unusual
phrase lengths.

Four Keys is a modal tune featuring the division of the octave by the diminished 7th
chord.

Giant Like is sort of an homage to Giant Steps, where I explore the division of the
octave by the augmented triad.

Unbalanced is the result of my challenging myself to write something in 5/4.

I realize that there are already many tunes composed by the greats that feature these
same musical puzzles. However, their compositions reflect only their particular solution
to the puzzle, and not my own. Worthy of study, to be sure, but there are a number of
traits in my compositions that represent my musical personality; solutions to the
problems that are my own, and which may only make sense to me. I think your
uniqueness as a player has to do with your understanding of the music. That
understanding does not need to be the same as everyone else’s, but it needs to make
sense to you in order for you to play in a relaxed, sincere, and committed way.

Contemporary jazz artists are composing their own works more and more. Historically, jazz
performers such as Wayne Shorter, Duke Ellington, and Mary Lou Williams have left lasting
marks on the face of jazz with their unique compositions. Nowadays, most jazz artists
include some original works on their CDs and live sets. Composing gives a performer a
chance to express their own experience in a unique and fulfilling way.
Stimulating Inspiration
I used to find jazz composition to be a very mysterious process. I would sit at the
piano all day hoping that inspiration would hit me, and occasionally it would. I completed
a few tunes in this manner over the course of a few years. When I moved to New York
in 2000, I studied with master teacher Garry Dial, who had me composing a tune every
week. Suddenly my compositional prowess took off! No longer was I trying to piece
together small ideas, but I was composing larger scale tunes that had a great deal more
unity and fluidity. In the two years I studied with Garry at the graduate program at
Manhattan School of Music, I composed nearly 100 new tunes, many which I have
performed and recorded.
Writing From A “Hook”
Some of the best loved and most played jazz compositions have a bass line, melodic
pattern or groove that engages the listener and draws them in. Think about the bass
line on So What, the groove on Take Five or the piano figure on Adam’s Apple. These
figures or “hooks” are commonly used in pop or rock music and I find them an excellent
starting point for composing jazz tunes.
The hook might be a guitar line, a chorus, or a groove that makes the song more
memorable. I feel that music with this kind of element is more engaging to listen to,
giving the listener something to hold on to. Often the “hook” can be brought back at
various points during the composition, which gives the audience a familiar sounding,
giving shape to the performance. I find it is a useful tool for both simple and complex
compositions.
Hands on Approach by Brenda Earle 448

A Few Lines (Ex. 1) – This is a complex piece of music that moves through many
different key centers and time signatures. The hook is this four bar phrase, that acts
as an introduction and also as a “chorus” that is repeated at the middle and end of the
piece. This phrase gives shape to the overall composition.

Solemn Landscapes (Ex.2) – The inspiration for this tune came out of the piano line,
which opens and closes the piece. It has an unusual and melancholy sound, which gives
the piece unity and sets up the solemn mood.
October Rains (Ex.3)– This entire song grew out of this two measure hook, which is just
a simple pattern of chords arranged in this rhythm. This is the starting point for the
entire tune and grows in intensity through the piece. It also acts as a vamp for the solo
section.

Raven (Ex.4) – groovy bass line. Raven is a fast and intense composition that has a lot
of rhythmic complexity and an angular line. The repetitive bass line has a Latin feel and
creates a vamp section for the soloist to open up.

Compositional Exercises
Another great source of inspiration is to get inside one sound and explore the music
that can come from it. For example, in my composition City Lights (Ex. 5), I explore the
sound of minor 7 chords. This came out of a series of etudes I made up for myself so
that I could better play on the Dorian sound. I practiced playing minor seventh chords
ascending and descending through the 12 keys chromatically and by whole steps. I then
moved them around by minor thirds, major thirds and through the cycle of fifths.
Through mixing and matching, I created more complex and intriguing sequences of
chords.
For an improvisation class, each member of the group was assigned one chord quality
and then given a random order of keys. (C#, B, A, Ab, C#, C, Bb, Eb) We were then
asked to write a piece of music based on our assigned chord quality. In order to
prepare for this assignment, I made up a series of etudes using modes, voicings and an
intervals to explore the sound of a minor seventh chord.
When I sat down to work on the writing portion of the assignment, I had already
developed a large pool of resources to draw from. Out of this exercise, my composition
City Lights (Ex. 5) grew organically. I incorporated some chords outside of the initial
exercise, which help to balance the harmony and add interest. The melancholy sound of
the minor seventh chords inspired the lyrics, which describe the ghosts of love lost
that center around an urban setting.

Steps to Try
1. Select one chord quality for study. At first, select a simpler sound, such as minor
seventh, major seventh or dominant chords.
2. Explore the sound of the chord quality first on piano, then on your instrument. Play
the scales/modes that work on that chord. Move the chord quality through the twelve
keys through the cycle of 5ths/4ths, up/down major/minor 3rds, chromatic and whole
tone scales.
3. Explore different time signatures and grooves as you move through key centers.
4. Decide on a chord progression that you like and then write an appropriate melody
line over top. Utilize melodic tools such as sequences and repetitive phrases to create
unity in your line.
5. Choose a groove, compose an introduction and orchestrate it for an ensemble.
The more times you complete this exercise, the more fluent you will become in both the
sounds you are exploring and in composing music in general. Use it as a starting point
and watch your ability to compose improve. After completing this exercise a few times
for “simple” chords, try the exercise on more complex sounds such as diminished
chords, altered dominant and half diminished chords. Also, start to substitute other
chord qualities into your finished product.
LISTEN TO AND STUDY GREAT MUSIC
Jazz and Great American Songbook Composers
The best way to be inspired is to be familiar with a lot of different artists’ sounds.
Any good composer knows the music of the great jazz composers: Ellington, Shorter,
Mary Lou Williams, Monk, Joe Henderson, Thad Jones; as well as composers of what is
known as the Great American Songbook – Gershwin, Porter, etc. I find that
transcribing tunes, rather than learning them from a fake book, is the best way to
connect and get inside the material. Big band scores of the great works are also readily
available – check out as many as you can.
Popular Music
While it is important to be knowledgeable in the complete history and lineage of jazz

composition, it is also important to be aware of other styles of music. I believe that it
is important to be aware of the pop, funk, blues and rock sounds of many different eras
of American music. I achieved my greatest insight into songwriting and composition
while working as a piano bar entertainer on a cruise ship. I had a hands-on experience
with the great songs that have been loved by generations of people. I learned a lot

about pop chords, song forms and also the numerous ways that pop artists use a limited
palette of chords and make them into timeless and memorable classics.
Music of Other Cultures
A great deal of inspiration can be drawn by exposing your ear to the music of other
cultures. When I first moved to New York, I started going out to hear Brazilian music,
which I absolutely love. The study of this music has had a strong influence on my
writing and is apparent in many of my compositions. Other artists I know have studied
Indian singing, African percussion and Middle Eastern music, which has led to some
wonderful compositions. Open your mind and let your ear guide you into discovering
some new sounds!
Classical Music
Classical music is also an important element that requires a great deal of study.
Everyone should study the works of the great masters and be fluent in the
fundamentals of classical theory. I have composed and arranged a large dossier of
vocal music, which has led me to study some of the great choral writing by Bach,
Beethoven, Brahms, R. Murray Schaefer and Eric Whittaker. There are endless
resources available!
MORE COMPOSITION ADVICE
Always finish what you start.
I made it a rule to always finish every composition I started and it increased the
volume of work that I was creating. It takes a lot of discipline to finish what you start,
but in my experience it leads to a much greater yield of material. A piece, once
completed can be played, altered and edited, but it you have an unfinished fragment, it
might never leave your notebook.
Don’t edit yourself too soon.
Something might feel contrived, clichéd or stupid, but you should muscle through and do
your best not to judge it too quickly. You might lose your best ideas!
Reading Sessions.
Bring your charts to a jam session, rehearsal or have a reading session. It is important
to hear live musicians playing your music, and very valuable to hear the musical input
that you might get from them. Bring a recording device with you and listen to the way
the piece evolves over time.

I frequently have reading sessions of my vocal music with a group of professional
vocalists, who have given me excellent suggestions on how to make a line smoother, how
to fix range issues and adjust the textures. I call cellists about bowings, bassists
about ranges and trumpet players about articulation. Engage the expertise of the
musicians around you – their answers are often better than those you would read in a
textbook.
Consult with other musicians.
Consult with the instrumentalists/vocalists for whom you are writing. Have the bass
player show you what your bass line sounds like up/down the octave. Does the drummer
have some suggestions for a different groove? Would something sit better in a
different octave?
I frequently consult with composers I admire to help me with my craft. This past year
I was commissioned to write a few arrangements for chamber orchestra, which I found
a bit intimidating. When I completed a draft of the piece, I called my good friend
Darcy James Argue, who is an outstanding and experienced composer of large ensemble
works. We sat down with my scores and he helped me to fine tune my arrangements
using his more advanced expertise. It was so helpful, that I have consulted with him on
many occasions before I submit the final draft of my score.
Learning is a lifelong process.
The more I learn about music, the more I realize that I don’t know. I try to use every
new musical experience as an opportunity to grow as an artist. For example, last
Christmas I was asked to write some arrangements for brass quintet, an ensemble that
I have no experience writing for. I took scores and recordings out of the library, called
my brass player friends to ask questions, dusted off my Samuel Adler Art of
Orchestration textbook and went to work. I emailed drafts of the scores to members
of the group and asked their opinion. It was a great experience for me and has lead to
my writing more music for the group. As an artist, I strive to learn more, study more
and understand the language of music more. It is an endless process and one that is
exciting to pursue!
Final Note
I had a teacher once who told me that every great song had already been written. This
statement is both discouraging and completely false! Performers who write often have a
deeper connection to their own voice as an artist and push their creativity to deeper
levels. It takes courage to put your music out there, but I have found it to be the most

engaging part of my musical life. I believe that everyone has a song inside of them –
they just need to go looking for it!
Composition Examples
Ex. 1: A Few Lines – By Brenda Earle. © Allsheneeds Music 2008 (SOCAN). To be
recorded on new CD “With Strings Attached” in 2008.
Ex.2: Solemn Landscapes – By Brenda Earle. © Allsheneeds Music 2004 (SOCAN). Not
yet recorded.
Ex. 3: October Rains – By Brenda Earle. © Allsheneeds Music 2005 (SOCAN).
Recorded on CD “Happening” (2005).
Ex. 4: Raven – By Brenda Earle. © Allsheneeds Music 2005 (SOCAN). Not yet
recorded.
Ex. 5: City Lights – By Brenda Earle. © Allsheneeds Music 2004 (SOCAN). Recorded on
CD “Happening” (2005).
To purchase CDs, or for more information visit www.brendaearle.com or email

allsheneeds@hotmail.com.

How I Became A Jazz Composer:
I started writing music as a way to explain jazz harmony to myself. I was fortunate to
have encountered great composers and interacted with some very knowledgeable people
early in my development as a jazz composer and improviser. The music I listened to for
inspiration included (and still does) jazz composers Tom Harrell, Eberhard Weber, Ken
Wheeler, Carla Bley, Ornette Coleman, Bob Graettinger, Tim Hagans and Thad Jones. I
also find the music of pop bands like “The Smiths” and “They Might Be Giants”
interesting. I also draw inspiration from my friends who are jazz composers; people like
Bobby Selvaggio, Aaron Lington, Ashley Summers, Kevin Brunkhorst, Noel Johnston, and
David Braid have all inspired me.
During 1995-1998 I sent time studying harmony with Bret Zvacek, his harmonic sense
made a big impact on me. He also introduced me to countless recordings of jazz
composers and encouraged me to attend the 1997 Lake Placid jazz summer workshop.
During that workshop I spent time playing in bands led by Bob Brookmeyer and Jim
McNeely, playing their music. I had a similar experience in Kingston with Greg Runions
and Kenny Wheeler during that summer also.
During 1996 I spent a good part of a year living in Sweden attending the
Musikhögskolan i Piteå. Here I really started writing. I composed many pieces for big
band and many pieces for small group. These were mostly exercises to explain jazz
harmony to myself. I spent time studying arranging and listening to jazz from a
compositional view. It was here met Tim Hagans who stressed the importance of
improvisation being sped up composition. This idea has become an important aspect in
my composing.
As a Composer:
When I was younger I notices two types of composers. Composer A who spend a lot of
time perfecting one piece of music, and Composer B who, in that same about of time,
may write 3 pieces and one of them would be on the same aesthetic level as the one
piece written by composer A.
My Creative Process in Contemporary Jazz Composition by Paul Tynan 458

I identified with composer B more easily and wrote a lot (and I still do). As soon as I
started writing, I started putting bands together to play the music. I believe that a
new work is not finished until you hear it. It can be more of an issue to get large
ensemble music played. This is one of the reason I started writing for mostly chamber
jazz groups.
Unless I have a deadline I write when the urge comes, which is normally extremely
often but useful results come in spurts. I follow a timetable when I receive a
commission or when I am writing new music for an up coming concert. I make sure I
have at least 4 writing session during the week and more if inspired. I find other art
can have profound impact on the process, normally speeding it up. For some reason
reading Kurt Vonnegut, paintings by Mark Rothko, or films by Terry Gilliam make me
want to write. There are others too. I often write pieces for or about people, because I
find them intriguing. I recently composed a seven-movement suite entitled “The Story
of Langston” that is a reflection on people in my life; all of whom are good friends and
had impact on the direction my musical life has taken. The Canada Councial for the Arts
supported the creation of suite. The world premier was in Kingston, Ontario and was
performed by the Greg Runions Group. SOCAN supported workshops and visits to the
schools there.
How I prepare to write a new piece depends on a few factors. The first question is the
instrumentation. Knowing this answers many questions, one of the most important being,
how long will this take me to write? Next question is, what level is the band ? The level
of the band determines what limitations you have to impose on the music. Range, style,
tempo, rhythm all come into question if you are writing for a high school level band or
younger. The ability of college bands varies widely from year to year. If it is a band I
am not acquainted with I ask the director to send a recording of a rehearsal and a
concert. This tells me their learning style and recent ability level. Other factors
include how long or short does the new piece need to be, is it a multi-movement or single
movement work? And finally how much time do I have to write this. I always ask when
the rehearsals on the new work starts. I get the work to the director at least a week
before rehearsal starts. I recently wrote the a piece entitled “The Ogham Stone” (See
Example 1. Lead Sheet “The Ogham Stone”) for small group and later arranged it for a
college in California (See example 2. it’s large ensemble arrangement) when I was asked
to be a guest soloist with the ensemble.
The ensembles I like to write for the best are the ones with my friends in them. I know
their abilities and I know what they can make sound the best. I also know they trust
me. I also know how to exploit their strengths and weaknesses. This is important for a
composer. It creates a playing field where the most creative chances can be taken.

Creating Dots:
My good friend (also a wonderful composer) Kevin Brunkhorst, refers to writing music
as putting dots on the page. I like this. I think it describes how simple composing can be
before any asthetic value is added. It also keeps my overly self-critical nature in
check. I have often found that if I am having trouble coming up with worthy ideas and
am getting frustrated I remember that all I am doing is putting dots on the page, and
really that is not too hard. I find this attitude to be stimulating and really greases the
wheels when needed. If this dose not work; I’ll go spend time out of doors and give the
music some space. I once wrote a composition for small jazz group where the melody
couture was based on the mountain range peak couture that surrounds the Banff Centre
for the Arts (See Example 3. lead sheet “The Big”)
I find that I spend much time considering melody and harmony. In particular what kind
of reaction is created by the interval between melody and the bass note. By reaction I
mean emotional response or energy generated by that interval. This sets the overall
feeling of the work. As in improvisation the factors to increase intensity are: range,
speed, rhythm, volume, and harmonic tension/release. These are also taken into
consideration when thinking about the emotional identity of a piece. These factors can
also be used to manipulate the kind of energy a work will give.
As a composer the greatest joy I find is in the ability to make people feel something.
That is why I write.

Example 1. Lead Sheet “The Ogham Stone”

Example 2. Large ensemble arrangement “The Ogham Stone”

Example 3. Lead Sheet “The Big”

I did not choose teaching. That said, I would not begin to minimize its value by saying
some egotistical cliché like “teaching chose me” or one of the many other lines I seem
to hear from other professionals in the music world. I simply wish to make it clear that
for me, a love of music and a system for sharing that love with others is as complete a
package for a life of fulfillment as I can imagine. Jazz music is one of the most social
of all art forms, and “stumbling” upon this wonderful marriage of teaching and
performance simply makes it that much more rewarding.
In the following paragraphs, I hope that sharing the somewhat unorthodox experiences
I have had will contribute to the development of Jazz pedagogy and highlight its
importance to the future of musical and artistic thought. It is the overall mission of
this book which I find so refreshing: a broad based resource compiled of individual
cases meant not as a “how to” but more as a “what if” for educators and musicians
wanting to maximize the rewards of a jazz inspired curriculum.
Some background
I find it fascinating that for many musicians there is a certain pride in understanding
how they got to where they are in life. There is almost a code of honour in discussing
influences and tracking ones development through diverse sources. Take for example a
monumental recording discovered at an early age, a chance encounter with an idol at a
club, that first taste of truly connecting with an audience or, last but never least, a
teacher. Not just any teacher, but the kind of person who not only shows you how, but
implants some addictive seed pushing you to question what you want and how to get
there. With this in place, growth becomes a pure and simple organic process.
I take great pride in my own influences and am reminded to be humbly thankful for
them everyday. My upbringing was full of music including parents with great taste in
albums from folk to classical, a mother who sang to me every day and a father who was
an amazing force in his own right as an early advocate for jazz education. I was very
fortunate to end up with a succession of wonderful music programs and school teachers
throughout my (and I say this with the utmost passion) public education. This was
followed by a fantastic environment of networking and artistic inspiration during my
four years in the University of Toronto’s Jazz Performance program. Every teacher,
from grade 6 band to my private trombone teacher, the late Jerry Johnson, seemed to
understand the true importance of student development: don’t teach to turn kids into
Empowering Originality A case study of Jazz Pedagogy by Andrew Jones 466

musicians, teach to turn young musicians into human beings. It is with this principle
that I approach every day, and every class. I love the idea that music helps people find
their identity, self esteem, values and discipline systems and does it all in an arena of
creativity and collaboration.
After working as a freelance player and composer/arranger in the Toronto area, a

succession of big bands, jobbing gigs and cruise ship stints, I was off to teacher’s
college on a quest for stability. Since then, I have taught seven years of secondary
school in the public system and traveled the world amassing a body of teaching, playing
and writing work of which I am very proud. All I am really trying to do is keep that
seed growing.
Composition and the Teenage mind
My system seems to be a well oiled machine these days, but it was never intended to be
a system at all. My first year of teaching found me north of Toronto in a small, but
dedicated public music program. I had been hired largely on my prior knowledge of jazz
and was to take over the senior jazz course and band. At the time, I was writing
regularly for a few professional bands in the city and was trying to establishing my
name in community bands and college/university programs as a composer/arranger. I
had written for younger players before, but suddenly I was in front of a group of keen
yet inexperienced students that were going to be representing me. Perhaps that
sounds arrogant, but suddenly everything looked different. I wanted my band to
reflect my understanding and command of the art form no matter what level they were
previously achieving. I found myself caught. If I aimed too low, I’d risk boring the
students and compromising my artistic vision. Too high and I’d come off pompous and
end up alienating them. Turning to the music library was very little help. Good, reliable
resources are still a bit of a rarity which left me with shelves of “cookie cutter” stock
charts and an endless supply of uninspiring sampler CD’s from music publishers.
I can still remember the pivotal moment. It started as a jam session. I was sitting at
the piano feeding a simple repetitive bass line motif to my young bassist when someone
asked “hey, that’s cool, what tune is that?”
“I don’t know,” I replied, “we just sort of made it up”. In another half hour we had a
groove and a bit of a melody going. I can still remember the excitement on the drive
home, mentally shaping out the remainder of the chart. I wrote it out on my computer,
made a few changes and even went back to a couple of the kids for some feedback when
I was on the fence about two ideas. I knew that this was one of those epic moments
that would define the future of my teaching. I realized that everything from its basic
conception to its refinements in rehearsal…. even the title, contained a little bit of each
of them. The students’ focus and approach to rehearsals was instantly different and
the relationships within the band were significantly strengthened due to a new found
trust and understanding.

In May of my second year at the school, my band played a set of all original music at
the Musicfest Nationals winning a Gold standing and a sense of true accomplishment in
doing something original and purely creative. Every one of them contributed in a truly
unique way, and isn’t that really what this art form is supposed to be about?
Building the “right” repertoire
I have always felt that no matter what type of ensemble or style of music is being
studied the choice of repertoire is paramount in the success of that learning. So much
potential success is established before the ensemble even plays a note. I think that
band instructors too often follow a somewhat self-directed path of tunes that we liked
as kids or that “someone told me had worked really well for their band”. I am not
suggesting that as teachers we should let students have a totally democratic power of
music selection, but more that we allow them into our heads during the selection
process. Personally, I love the open discussion forum. “Hey guys, what kind of chart do
you think we need to contrast these ones?” “What made that chart fun for you and the
audience?”. Every year I am blown away by the depth and insight that comes out of
these high school brains. It allows me to step out of my own agenda and try something
unexpected as well as providing a constant flow of new inspiration and composition fuel.
During those first months of experimentation the results were staggering. I realized
on a practical level, that the right kind of chart can turn drummers and guitar players
into musicians who actually want to read the charts. It can give a young sax soloist who
has just discovered “this guy named John Coltrane” a reason to practice and apply those
pentatonic exercises. And best of all, the right chart can make a keen band of average
players sound like a great band.
Some strategies
I apply the following strategies when building up chart ideas for each coming year.
Whether I am composing something original for them, arranging an existing standard or
when I’m buying a chart from a publisher these things are always in my mind:
a) Range
In that first year, after that first experience, the charts that followed were dictated
to the level and personalities in the band. I had a very weak trumpet section, so ranges
were adjusted accordingly, however, always careful not to sacrifice excitement just
because the lead trumpet player couldn’t hit a “hi Q#”. This continues to be one of my
biggest frustrations in developing big band music. Why do high notes have to define
the climax of tunes? It seems many writers run out of ideas musically, and instead of
some kind of dramatic growth or change of mood in the piece they just write a fff and
ask the brass players to perform super-human feats. Maybe I’ve had bad luck with
trumpet sections at the high-school level, but in my experience taking the general

“accepted high range” down a third or so and focusing on a more creative approach to
form gives me more consistency, originality and (most importantly) a feeling of success
for the students. I hate the thought that the entire ensemble is crossing their fingers
hoping little Susie Brown will hit that “high D”. When she doesn’t, the ensemble has a
clear audible symbol of failure and Susie feels directly responsible. How is this
educationally sound, especially considering I picked that chart despite Susie never
getting above a “B” with any consistency? I am not advocating giving kids an “easy ride”,
but suggest that we be a bit more reasonable in that initial tune selection. I always try
to talk to my players and include a range assessment exercise as part of the audition
process.
b) Mood & Style
Clearly I had realized the secret was to empower the band by understanding their
strengths, but I also wanted to be careful to cover the full range of the art form:
swing, ballads, Latin, contemporary and rock grooves etc. This is just good common
sense if I want students to fully appreciate the depth of jazz. Every year, the CD’s of
new charts would come in the mail and I found myself bored with the lack of risk taken
by the writers. Of course there were some very well written charts, but anything at
that grade 3 level and below (young high school) was a formulaic carbon copy of a million
others I’d heard. I would hear Count Basie rip-offs, straight ahead Bossa-Novas or
rock grooves with very little depth, perhaps some ballads, but nothing fresh and useful.
Worst of all was the frustrating realization that so many tunes contradicted the basic
fundamentals of learning jazz: articulations or rhythms that seemed forced and
awkward, bizarre chord progressions and form that seemed like nothing more than a
succession of weak ideas strung together.
I began by addressing style. I had almost never heard anyone write medium level
charts in a 6/8 or 12/8 Latin groove, so, I wrote a basic modal progression and set it in
an “Afro-Cuban” style groove, careful to sit down with my drummer, let him hear some
examples and see if he could pull it off.
           
Basic Afro-Cuban concept  

  
      
       
 


   
                 
Expanded groove    

                



It was like nothing he had ever played before, but after a few rehearsals it started to
feel very natural for him and we had a piece that sounded totally different, yet was
still straight forward and playable.
This led to other adventures in meter and style: 6/4 “back-beat” grooves, swing tunes
with some odd-meter transitions, and even some “hard-rock” inspired grooves. I was
not abandoning the essence of jazz, just trying to connect kids better by exploring
fundamentals with some risk and vulnerability. Never underestimate the lasting effect
of a distortion guitar on a group of teenagers.
c) Harmony and improvisation
I think most of us who have sat through a high school big band festival can remember
an example or two of a great sounding band that blows you away with their ensemble
playing and musicality and then seems to die as an inexperienced soloist tries to survive
over a difficult chord progression. It’s a very common occurrence. The chart might be
fascinating, but loses its luster when no one in the band can make the changes. Once
again, I am not suggesting kids should be spoon fed jazz, but to acknowledge that until
you’ve got a few years of improv under your belt and can handle basic scales and the
blues, perhaps we should hold off expecting them to improvise over “Have You Met Miss
Jones” at mm=200!
Harmonically I tried to give a good balance between “cheat scale” improv sections (using
just one scale or mode for the entire form) and beginning chord progressions where the
tune might go through two or three keys. This allowed my young players to explore
their own basic development of melody before introducing concepts of counting,
following the form and changing chord scales at the right moment. This is a difficult
task for them, however, starting with fewer keys brought out far more pedagogically
sound solos and better confidence in original ideas. A refreshing change from being
overwhelmed by rapidly changing harmony.
Gmi9
 Fadd9
 Ebmaj9
 D7[äÆ]

 
 • 
 





• “Where it all began”. This is the main solo progression from one of my
first successful high school charts. At the time it seemed so simple; it
sounded hip and modern, but a young student could sound great
improvising over it with nothing more than the Bb major scale.
There is no better feeling than seeing that young, shy, self-conscious trumpet player
nail some great ideas on a tune in front of his peers for the first time. Not only does

your band’s performance get a boost, but you can bet you’ll have no shortage of
volunteers when the next solo is up for grabs.
d) Flow throughout the year
Resting on one’s laurels is a dangerous thing in this high school setting. We all know
what attention spans are like these days and finding that nice mix of difficulties, styles
and good concert programming is an essential skill for the job. I had no wish in making
my band a billboard for my own work and made sure I had a good mix of different
writers. I contacted other writers and friends to break up the dependence on common
published music. Approaching the year with a long term goal in mind proved very
valuable. A concept on one chart would then lead to a more difficult application of the
same skill on the next one. This could be in ensemble articulation, improvisation,
rhythm section skills like comping and time development or in whatever direction the
first rehearsals of the year took me. I’d use that first month to just try things. Not
polish anything yet, but read, read and then do a bit more reading. This gave me direct
indications of the group's level, who the dependable players were going to be and most
importantly, the “personality” this band was going to take on. To this day, I have never
had a year where the band has not exceeded my expectations of development. By the
end of the year I’d pull something out and say “this is quite difficult, let’s see if you can
handle it” and the students would see this as a challenge, not a deterrent. The “We’ll
show him” attitude that emerges is a very powerful thing.
e) Listening, listening and then more listening
There is no better “catch-all” in music education. Everything I have said to this point
and everything I will continue to say for the rest of my days can be made clearer, more
personal, more inspiring and accessible on any level by regular listening exercises.
Every discussion I would have with my band about a “new direction” for a chart can be
illuminated by a short musical example of something they otherwise would not listen to
on their own. Let’s face it. Most teenagers will not normally have Cannonball Adderley
and Nancy Wilson on their “IPod’s”, however, after a few engaging, positive
performance experiences in my band I like to think that some of them will.
The direct benefits are obvious: solo ideas, articulation examples, ensemble playing,
tuning and pitch, greater stylistic appreciation and understanding. But it is the things
we as teachers don’t anticipate coming out of a listening session that really seals the
deal: discussion, questions, and those “lightbulb” moments of sheer fascination and
excitement. “Imagine if we could sound like that!?”. I make my listening sessions
formal. I write the players names, tune and album on the board and insist on no talking
throughout. Sometimes I’ll prep them with something specific to listen for, other times
I want them to figure it out on their own. The key is to teach disciplined listening
skills, and get rid of that habitual “background music” approach. Each year I give my
band a Jazz Players You Should Know sheet listing hundreds of players by instrument.
If there is a course curriculum aspect to the ensemble I will assign CD reviews and get

them to listen outside of their comfort zone, or, at a more advanced level, introduce
the concept of solo transcription and “lifting”. All of these ideas drill into them the
importance I place on listening and learning from the best.
Teacher as student
The relationship and trust between me and my students is probably what I am proudest
of throughout the growth of this “system”. I believe that the students recognize and
respect the vulnerability implicit in putting something original in front of them.
Inevitably this creates a feeling of mutual trust. This comes in very handy when trying
to convince some new “green” players that they should get up and try to improvise for
the first time.
A piece of written music in front of a student seems to act as a security blanket. It

acts as a safety net, if you will, in terms of how they are seen by their peers. When
performing a Chopin prelude, the student feels the audience is judging both the piece
itself and his/her particular performance. As soon as that same student enters the
improvisation arena, there is a feeling that the audience is judging the individual alone.
Getting a young, inexperienced player to take that kind of a risk is a challenge, but a
challenge that is made much easier when a sense of trust has already been established
in the ensemble. As a player and regular performer myself, I feel I can make an even
deeper connection. I often bring my horn to rehearsals, talking about solo theory with
the horn or even leading some simple “call and response” exercises. I am never afraid
to laugh at myself, admit when an idea really doesn’t work, either on the horn or in the
chart. Above all, I make sure they don’t think I have all the answers.
Students today seem to be in a great rush to get everywhere. Speed and convenience
have replaced patience and quality. The most meaningful message we can implant in
them is that, in jazz, nobody ever really “gets there”. It is the journey towards
continual improvement that truly forms the artist. Many of the complaints I hear
about University and College programs is that the players don’t know how to work hard
or don’t realize how much hard work is required to be successful. Jazz educators need
to inspire that desire to work, to help them discover the magic and inherent value of
applying ones self with discipline and a good work ethic. Once that student discovers
for themselves that hard work can lead to an amazing sense of accomplishment, they
will be more inclined to continue that work ethic. A big part of my job seems to be
facilitating that self discovery.
If teachers have the skills and foresight to lead by example, to face vulnerability and
the inevitable swallowing of pride, students will follow suit, for they see that we too are
on the same journey.

Coming full circle
In the years since those early discoveries, I am proud to say that I have been able to
expand and refine my ideas, compositions and role as an educator. Today I teach at an
Arts high school just outside of Toronto where every day I am lucky to work with
auditioned students who are in my class wanting to learn. The curriculum has a major
emphasis on non-performance theory and analysis work and teaches the students (and
teachers!) to be well rounded and disciplined in their artistic pursuits. I have found
myself branching out personally as an artist, continuing to perform as a leader or
sideman and staying connected to my roots as a player. Composition continues to be a
major part of my life connecting with music directors of secondary and post secondary
schools and working in the downtown professional scene. A recent highlight for me was
being the recipient of the 2008 SOCAN Emerging Composer Award from the
International Association of Jazz Educators. I was commissioned to write a new piece
which was premiered by a fantastic band at the 2008 conference. This wonderful
honour once again connected my professional and teaching careers as a group of my
students were in attendance for the concert and presentation given by Phil Nimmons; a
man who, to this day, remains one of the most powerful influences on me (and thousands
like me) as a composer, artist and teacher. He showed me, from a very young age what
passionate teaching and empowering originality was all about.
What gets me most excited about what I do is interpretation within this social art
form. I love hearing other musicians put their personality into my compositions and
take them somewhere totally new. This seems just as effective when a director is
interpreting my work with their band. I’ve heard concerts of other bands performing
my tunes at differing tempos, or shifting elements of the groove around bringing new
life and a fresh sound to the piece (not to mention some amazing soloists single-
handedly changing the mood!). These elements seem to bring the entire
composition/education process full circle, for it is in these intricate social connections
that real growth occurs and real art is created.
Andrew Jones
May 2008
Being a teacher who teaches with pride seems to be a revolutionary act these days. I
would like to thank the following teachers who not only showed me how to do it, but why
I should be doing it in my own way:
Ken Jones Betty Taylor

John Collett Kevin Anderson
Andrew Slonetsky
Paul Read
Jerry Johnson
Phil Nimmons

"In fifteen seconds, the difference between composition and improvisation is that in
composition, you have all the time you want to decide what to say in fifteen seconds,
while in improvisation you have fifteen seconds." -- Steve Lacy
Much of a Jazz musician’s time is spent learning how to handle those fifteen seconds on
the fly, where as preparing music for those fifteen seconds is another venture entirely.
I believe that composition is a unique process that varies from artist to artist. Exactly
how music gets from my head to the score involves stages of improvisation and
experimentation. In this article, I’ve attempted to explain my approach and explore one
of my new compositions, giving a glimpse into how one aspiring jazz writer decides what
to say in those fifteen seconds.
Unexpected Skills
I have always considered myself a trombone player before a writer. In fact, I

stumbled into composition while a performance student at Humber College when I took
my first arranging class. I started arranging for trombone ensembles, which usually
feature five trombones with a rhythm section. With such an intimate knowledge of a
trombone’s range and capabilities, it was a comfortable springboard for me to develop
basic arranging skills and learn how to write for the rhythm section. Through day-to-
day classroom life, I soon discovered that I was quick at completing score assignments
and that people also enjoyed my compositions. Over my Humber years, I performed in a
variety of ensembles and I took the opportunity to write at least one tune for each
group. I worked to improve my composition skills and learn how to write for other
instruments whenever I could.
Now as a performer, practicing writer, and ensemble leader in the Toronto jazz scene,
composition is still a practical tool for me. Sometimes there’s just too many swing
tunes in my set and I need something in a different style. Yet composition has also
become a means of personal expression. Composing is a way to explore or reflect upon a
significant event, experience or person in my life. It allows me to capture emotional
reactions or try to express my frame of mind musically.
I believe that the Jazz genre also embraces advanced harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic
complexities that give the artist endless possibilities with which to capture these
emotions. That is, emotions are rarely as straightforward as happy or sad but are a
complex mix occurring at once. For example, a Cmaj chord on the piano might evoke
Creating Fifteen Seconds: One Composer's Approach by Christian Overton 474

thoughts of happiness. Yet if I expand the harmony to Cmaj9#11, I hear sounds which
also suggest feelings of contentment, nostalgia and hopefulness. Jazz composition
communicates these nuances of emotions in sound.
Notation technology is an important part of my writing method as well. Just as learning

to improvise changed with the advancement of Aebersold and play along recordings,
composition has similarly changed with the invention of notation software. Unlike earlier
generations of writers, today’s instant playback technology makes the copying and
editing stages of composition substantially faster and easier.
Finally, the use of improvisation is critical to jazz composition. The improviser reacts
to the setting the composer creates with the chord changes, bassline, and possible
background figures. In these improvised sections, the soloist is firmly in charge of
exactly how the piece will be realized. Personally, I enjoy improvising as a musician and
prefer to keep a balance between improvised- and through-composed sections.
The Method
My compositions generally begin with an improvisational session at the piano. In truth,

I’m not the greatest piano player—but I can hear my way through standards and work
melodies in the right hand with some basic voicings in the left. First, I play songs I
know or I’m learning just to get my fingers and my ears working. With unlimited options
of where to start a composition, creating something new can be overwhelming. Setting
simple parameters helps keep me focused at this point. I usually try to avoid common
melodic structures or harmonic movements I’ve used previously or I’ll focus on a
particular musical style. For example, I might need a funk tune for my repertoire, so I
start improvising in that style. When one of my funky improvisations catches my ear—
usually the bassline develops first in funk—that musical idea becomes the starting point
which then suggests other parts of the music. I continue to jam, trying different parts
on top of the first idea and building it with more material. When the idea isn’t going
new places, I stop and put it in the back of my mind for another session later. Over the
next few days or weeks, I pound out that musical idea any time I see a piano to hear
where it goes.
The progress of this musical idea is entirely at my own discretion and to my personal
satisfaction. These early stages of the tune are about capturing my inspiration in its
roughest, most basic character. There’s never a set time limit or much thought to such
details as instrumentation or dynamics. And if ideas are good enough to stay in my
head, then I try to develop them. If I forget one, then it probably wasn’t that good
anyway!
Over these development sessions, I eventually solidify a skeleton melody and the basic
changes to create a basic leadsheet. The leadsheet only includes chord extensions or
arranging ideas if they are integral to the tune. If the tune is for a small group, the

composition process generally ends with this leadsheet. I may add an introduction or
interlude, but I prefer to let the musicians expand the arrangement from the leadsheet
at the performance. If, however, this piece is for a big band, the leadsheet is the seed
to the larger composition. (I always keep a copy of this leadsheet format for a future
reference of the original idea too.)
For big band arrangements, the leadsheet cultivates in my mind for a while longer. I
often know the treatment of the melody before I know how to organize the
arrangement, which takes more than one session to complete. I try to fit in an hour or
two of work whenever possible. In fact, as a full-time musician in Toronto, I’m always
on the subway or the streetcar, going to the next rehearsal, gig, or to teach. This
commuting time is my chance to create an overall compositional plan in my mind. I even
wear my headphones without any music playing and mentally work the arrangement to
the dull noises of my transit surroundings.
The plan outlines the basic form and structure of the piece. I organize parts such as
the length of the introduction, rhythmic sections, what the A or B sections are or
where instruments will enter. Once I’m satisfied with this plan, I write it down on lined
paper—nothing formal and no staff paper yet. While the final composition never ends
up being exactly like the plan, this outline maintains the sense of the composition as a
whole since sections tend to come together in pieces.
The next step is taking this compositional plan from rough outline to formal score. To
make charts quickly and exactly to my preferences—with details such as font sizes and
where bar numbers appear—I have my own Sibelius big band template. Using the plan
as my guide, I create the number of bars needed in particular sections and transfer-in
the melody and changes from the leadsheet accordingly. I also include the changes in
the piano part as a helpful reference for voicing the horns afterwards: I can see what
changes are used when voicing the horns down from the lead line.
With all the voicings and inner parts entered, the playback function becomes an
important compositional tool. I use playback extensively to not only find all my wrong
notes, but it also lets me sing or visualize what the next section of the piece might be.
I can easily listen to my work again and again until I find something that fits. Some
writers also hide the basslines and drum parts in the score so they can be heard during
playback. I prefer, however, to imagine what these musicians will play. Nevertheless,
no matter how playback is used, this feature helps ensure the sections flow together to
maintain the cohesiveness of the tune.
The actual process of writing music is finished after the band shots are decided and I
compose the rhythm section and the drum parts last. The final step is then notating
the treatment of the composition with dynamics and articulation. Below every bar is a
bar number and the codas, dynamics and repeats are explicitly marked. Although this
stage might seem obvious, I believe it’s important to be meticulous with these

instructions. I may begin writing with an idea of who will perform the chart, but I
often re-use material in different formats and with various musicians. Since I don’t
always know who the musicians are or their individual strengths, my general rule is to
write out every instruction in the greatest detail possible. I also notate where
musicians are alone on a part and tape the parts together for the musicians’ practical
ease. In my experience, being clear with even the smallest organizational details
garners a musician’s respect and ultimately, a more accurate performance of my
composition.
“Never Let Them”

“Never Let Them” is a piece inspired by the ideas and music of Dave Douglas. It
features much of the openness and forward-looking spirit that characterizes Dave’s
music but with a bit more jazz angst. I was reading the short, rather poetic liner notes
in Dave’s record, Freak In, when the single quote, “... and don’t let them stop you”
caught my attention. In these early stages of my career, I’m working to create
meaningful music while still surviving as a musician. It’s inspiring to know that someone
even as prolific as Dave Douglas has experienced similar struggles and it encourages me
to continue in music despite the industry’s challenges.
I was also inspired by the use of audio samples in DJ sets and DJ techniques for this
piece. I wanted to capture the way DJs manipulate and build layers of these samples in
the jazz format and for a large ensemble. Fitting this technique in with the big band
was an interesting experiment and produced some hip results.1
Sample A and B in the opening sequence represent the DJ sampling technique (“Never
Let Them,” 1, 0:00). Each sample is four beats long and becomes shorter as each
1
See example score for reference. Timecode _______ refers to a recent Humber College Studio Jazz
Ensemble recording of “Never Let Them.”

repeats, becoming three beats, then one and a half beats, one beat and finally, ending
at half a beat. This technique is not the traditional use of diminution but actually
emulates the sound of samples being clipped at the end, as if pressing play on
alternating tracks. After the groove and melody are established, sample A and B
return in a lower volume and in a smaller group of instruments (“Never,” 5, 1:18). The
samples alternate verbatim to the first eight bars of the tune and play on top of the
established melody and groove. The diminution of the samples continues and the
intensity builds rapidly to a four beat rest across all parts. This drop-out is also
inspired by the DJ technique commonly referred to as beats and breaks.
The composition continues through a relatively free improvised trumpet solo with
backgrounds entering to build intensity with the soloist. A single bass clarinet line
immediately follows the climax of the solo section, marking a woodwind groove and a
new set of samples. In this section, I use record skips in the samples and create
abrupt texture changes to imitate the soundboard filters a DJ might use (“Never,” 11-
12, 3:30). The open “skip” section is followed by the restated sample with groove
returning in the bassline and the drums, leading into the drum solo section (“Never,” 14,
4:34). After the drum solo builds, a d.s. delivers the piece back to the melody again.
At last, the coda and a bar of fortissimo ad lib notes for the horns closes the
composition with a powerful, catastrophic bang.
The Future Approaches
Whether or not this DJ sampling, post-modern approach to writing has a future in jazz
composition, I believe it’s a technique that reflects the long-standing traditions of jazz
experimentation. For decades, jazz composers have been inspired by and borrowing
from other genres to create their own unique interpretations. In my opinion, the use of
interpolation will keep jazz evolving. The big band, in fact, has truly become the jazz
orchestra. Its instrumentation will continue to be expanded upon, while its basic
structure will remain a foundation of the Jazz world.
From the TTC to the score, the way I create music is a personal endeavor. At times,
composing is frustrating, but I consider it a unique and fulfilling privilege to be able to
express my thoughts and experiences through jazz. It may only be fifteen seconds,
but those passing moments are mine to shape.

Introduction
The study of jazz composition, like the study of improvisation, requires a student to
obtain a firm grasp of the tradition. This is best accomplished through an in-depth
examination of the works of significant composers throughout jazz history. Active
listening, transcription and performance will significantly enhance the student’s
understanding in this area.
How, then, can the student assimilate style characteristics of these composers into his
or her own compositions? In this study, I will discuss some of my most significant
musical influences, both as a composer and as an improviser, using examples of my own
compositions which attempt to assimilate the style characteristics of these composers
in a motivic way.
Part I: A Course of Study
For the new jazz composer, the task of composition can be a daunting one. As with the
study of improvisation, composition can best be approached by encouraging the student
to write within a set of defined parameters, allowing for creativity within a given
framework. Many of my students begin their writing projects with a simple 12-bar
blues progression, with melodies that are to be constructed motivically, using repetition
and variation between stanzas. Assuming that the student is familiar with the basics of
jazz harmony, including blues progressions and ii-V-Is, my one-semester course in
composition typically focuses on three or four different styles or composers. Each unit
listed below includes assignments which require the student to create compositions
using listed style features. For example:
Unit 1: The Great American Songbook (e.g. Cole Porter, George Gershwin, etc.)
Tasks: a) Examine common diatonic chord progressions
b) Examine functional chord substitutions, modulation, and some chromatic
harmony
b) Understand basic formal constructions (e.g. AABA, ABAC, verse/chorus)
c) Examine relationships of text to written music
Unit 2: Duke Ellington / Billy Strayhorn

a) Examine features of advanced tonal chromaticism
b) New formal ideas, extended forms
Contemporary Jazz Composition by Shirantha Bedagge 481

Unit 3: Dizzy Gillespie / Charlie Parker
a) Examine bebop vocabulary and tonal chromatic language in melodic writing and
harmonic progressions
b) Examine contrafacts (new melodies over existing chord progressions), and
discuss melodic and harmonic relationships of bebop tunes vs. the tunes that
they were derived from
c) In the case of Gillespie, examine Afro-Cuban influences
Unit 4: John Coltrane

a) Examine modal harmonic progressions
b) Examine Giant Steps harmonic progression, using the tune “Giant Steps” and
the many other contrafacts that he constructed using this progression
A more advanced two-semester course would include the study of several of the
following composers:
Lennie Tristano / Lee Konitz

Chick Corea
Bill Evans
Joe Henderson
Kenny Wheeler
and many, many other possibilities...
Part II: Compositional Concepts
Example 1: “Turrentrane”; motivic writing with blues and modal influences
“Turrentrane” (Appendix A), a composition dedicated to John Coltrane and Stanley

Turrentine, employs both a modal and a blues influence, in two separate sections of the
work
Form and harmony:
In writing “Turrentrane”, I set out to compose a blues-influenced piece within the

formal structure of an extended blues form, such as John Coltrane’s “Locomotion”
(AABA form, where each A section is a 12-bar blues, and the B section mirrors
Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” with tritone substitutions). The result of my brainstorming
was a somewhat hybridized form, where the initial 16 measures are akin to the first
two stanzas of a 12-bar blues; mm. 1-8 are a tonic area (B Minor), and mm. 9-16 are a
subdominant to tonic area (E Minor to B Minor).
Instead of concluding the tune with the last 8 measures of a blues form (i.e. the
“turnaround”), I extended the form to create a harmonic progression using diatonic and

chromatic ii-V progressions, creating a 16-bar section that eventually leads back to the
beginning of the form without ever truly reaching tonic. Notice that successive ii-V
progressions in mm. 17-24 are connected with stepwise motion in the bass, whereas
they are connected by direct stepwise transposition in mm. 25-32. In addition, each
time the C#-F# ii-V progression appears, the chords have different qualities. This
further obscures the logical ii-V-I progression, which never actually occurs.
Melody and rhythm:

To further delineate sections of the form, the first section of the tune is performed
with a “rolling” triplet feel, similar to the style of Elvin Jones, who was the primary
inspiration for this piece. To punctuate this style, the bass and piano play an open fifth
ostinato, based around a 3/8 cross-rhythm. The second half of the form is in a walking
4 swing feel.
The melody in the first half is largely based on the minor pentatonic scale, a scale
which Coltrane himself favored in many of his modal works. To add another layer of
rhythmic activity, the accent structure in mm. 9-12 is based around triplet groups of 4.
Notice the basic repetition of ideas in the two 8-bar sections. In mm. 13-24, the
melody is based around a 4-bar diatonic blues-influenced motive. This motive
undergoes a diminution in mm. 25-32, becoming a 2-bar motive. The melody in the
second half of the tune is inspired by Stanley Turrentine’s “Sugar”, a piece which uses a
minor pentatonic based melody over a moving, blues-influenced harmonic progression.
Example 2: “Pyramid Scheme”: Singular Motive, with Limited Harmonic Movement
“Pyramid Scheme” (Appendix B), is based on a small motivic melodic fragment that is
altered only by its underlying harmonic progression, which moves largely in thirds and
half-steps.
Form and harmony:

The form of this piece is divided into two sections, with each section containing
harmonic movements which descend by thirds and half-steps. In order to obscure the
feeling of tonicization in the first half of the piece, there are no ii-Vs or V-I cadences.
To connect the two sections of the form, however, there is V-I motion from mm. 16-17,
providing a tonicization of D Minor in measure 17. (Notice that this is a half-step above
the original tonic.) The last 8 measures of the piece serve to slowly increase tension by
using increasingly dissonant chords. The final measure contains a D7alt, which serves
as a tritone substitution leading to m. 1.
Melody and rhythm:

The melodic motive is comprised of an active 2-measure section, which places accents in
the beginning and the middle of the measure. This is followed by a 2-bar hold, where
the rhythm section carries the rhythmic intensity. The melodic content is comprised of
small intervals (seconds and thirds) almost exclusively.

Example 3: “RSVP”: Multiple motives with reharmonization
An effective way to practice composition is to write a new melody over an existing

chord progression, or a contrafact. “RSVP” (Appendix C), is a contrafact on Bronislau
Kaper’s “Invitation”, but with a twist; the performance of the head not only contains a
new melody over an existing chord progression, but a reharmonization of the new
melody as well. The solo changes contain a more functional reharmonization.
Form, harmony and melody:

The solo form of “RSVP” is identical to that of “Invitation”; it is an ABA’ form, where
each section is 32 measures long. The reharmonization lies in the B section
(specifically, mm. 17-28 of the solos), where the ii-V-I progressions are reharmonized
in order to resolve to their relative major keys. (I borrowed this technique from Joe
Henderson’s performance of “Invitation” on his recording “In Pursuit of Blackness”).
Original Kaper progression, mm. 17-20: | Dbmin7 | Gb7 | Bmin7 | Bmin7 |

“RSVP” progression, mm. 17-20: | Dbmin7 | Gb7 | Emin7 A7 | DMaj7 |
I composed the main melody over the reharmonized chord changes, as seen in the solo
section. At this point, in order to obscure the chord progression during the initial
statement of the melody, I reharmonized the chord progression once again, using
parallel harmony to mirror the new melody. The overall chord structure of “Invitation”
is partially intact, but the angular phrasing and use of extended drum breaks over the
phrase line help to create tension and ambiguity.
Parallel chords are used to coincide with melodic phrasing. At mm. 12, 26-27, and 35-
39, the reharmonization features parallel dominant seventh chords, chromatic to the
original “Invitation” progression, but diatonic to the new melody. At mm. 20-21, the
Emin7 chord, which would normally serve as ii of DMaj7, is now part of a parallel
progression, back and forth between Fmin7. The rhythm in this section matches the
3/8 cross-rhythm of the melody. As an answer to this, the melody and harmony act in a
downward parallel progression in mm. 24-25, only this time with Lydian sonorities.
The main melody of RSVP has two contrasting motives which continually transform
throughout the piece. The first motive, in the pickup to m. 2, is a reversal of the
melodic contour of the original motive in “Invitation”. Large intervallic leaps downward
are generally answered with similar leaps upward, in subsequent phrases. In mm. 10-11,
the original motive is transformed into a 5/4 cross-rhythm. The second major motive
of piece occurs before the B section of the harmonic progression would normally occur,
in m. 15. This serves to further obscure the harmonic origin of the piece. Cross-
rhythms introduced in m. 20 are re-introduced and transformed in subsequent phrases
in this section. The original motive, now extended, re-introduces itself in m. 35, with
more emphasis on the harmonic landmarks of the “Invitation” for the final A’ section.

To close out this section, the tune ends with a diatonic harmonic progression to prepare
the listener for the solos in the key of C Minor.
Summary
The three compositions described above contain many contrasting influences;

“Turrentrane” displays elements of blues and modality, “Pyramid Scheme” utilizes an
interval-based chord progression, and “RSVP” is a reharmonized contrafact on a jazz
standard. The common element between all three tunes, however, is motivic unity.
Melodic, harmonic and rhythmic motives help to create continuity and balance in
compositions. In addition to studying the melodic, harmonic, formal and rhythmic
structures of selected historical works, I strongly students to incorporate motivic
writing into their own works as they continue in their endeavours to master jazz
composition.
Thanks to Bill Dobbins at the Eastman School of Music, whose direction and guidance
were a tremendous influence on me as I began my study of composition.
Note: “Turrentrane” and “RSVP” may be found on Shirantha Beddage’s album “Roots and
Branches”, available at http://www.jazzexcursionrecords.com

What is Composition?
Whether it be a novel or poem, a painting or sculpture, a dance routine or a skit, or a

musical composition, there is always a starting point for the creative process. For me,
the compositional process begins with the improvisatory process. Sometimes it’s a
melody (all my ballads start this way), sometimes it’s a chord progression, and
sometimes it’s more of a “feel” (a rhythmic foundation). Once I solidify the initial
themes/ideas/motives, the development then becomes more of a technical process, in
which I make a series of choices that result in structural decisions, instrumentation
decisions, etc. What has captured the imagination of musicians and non-musicians alike
through the centuries has been the nature of the initial creation of a musical idea;
where did it come from? Random performance? Divine intervention? Experimentation?
The only insight I can provide is that, for me, many ideas come from images or
emotions. I’ve enjoyed writing commissioned works, because in most cases there are
specific parameters or inspirations for the commissions; they are in honour of a
particular person or event. That specificity provides me with an emotional focus that
has been very helpful in generating the creative process. Other inspirations are
specific events, particularly ones that have had a personal and emotional connection for
me. I wrote “With Fond Remembrance” in honour of Karen Silverthorn, a Grade 10
student of mine at Earl of March Secondary School in Kanata, Ontario. Karen was
struck by an automobile and killed in March 1996. It was a challenging time for all of us
at the school, and writing the piece helped me deal with my emotions. I would like to
think it helped others as well; we recorded the piece the following year, and many of
Karen’s friends were in the band that performed the work. Other compositions have
been inspired by happier times. My son Dean was performing in a church Christmas
concert when he was 4 or 5 years old. All the other children were standing stiffly,
singing the carols. Dean was bouncing around, clearly enjoying and feeling the music.
His Aunt Julie leaned over from the pew behind me and commented that “wouldn’t you
like to live in Dean’s World”! A week later, “Dean’s World” was completed, reflecting
the joy and simple exuberance of Dean as a young child. I’ve written four pieces based
on kernels of emotional inspiration about my now-deceased wife Cathy. A Day At
Stanhope was written in the mid 1990’s, following our trip to Prince Edward Island.
Cathy’s Army was written to honour the tremendous cadre of friends and family that
provided encouragement and support through her long battle with cancer. The
introspective ballad “Finding Peace” was begun a couple of years before her death in
Composition: A Personal Perspective by Neil Yorke-Slader 486

December 2006, and ultimately completed a couple of weeks after she died. Written in
late 2007, “Gossamer Wings” portrays a more uplifting and optimistic tone.
The Creative Juices: When Did They Start?
I provide the following personal story to illustrate what I believe to be the basis for
my compositional nature. At the age of seven, I began piano lessons in Pointe Claire,
Quebec with Paul DeMarky. At the time, Mr. DeMarky was about 70 years old and frail,
with failing sight. He lived in a tiny apartment in the second floor of a private home in a
suburban neighbourhood. The entrance to his apartment was from the ground floor
through a narrow hallway to a set of stairs. His piano was against the wall in the narrow
hallway – that is where my lessons took place. As a point of interest, Mr. DeMarky was
Oscar Peterson’s first piano teacher when he was growing up in Montreal in the 1940’s.
While I did have a conversation with Oscar Peterson about Mr. DeMarky a few years
before Oscar’s death, I regret not asking him about Mr. DeMarky’s influence (if any) on
his compositional development. For me, Mr. DeMarky’s approach laid the foundation on
which all of my composing began.
At my very first lesson, Mr. DeMarky taught me the C major scale. He instructed me
to return for my second lesson having (a) learned the scale, and (b) made up a tune
based on the scale. Returning the second week, I proudly performed the scale. When
he asked me to play the piece I was to have made up, I made something up on the spot,
having forgotten (or neglected) to follow his second instruction from the first lesson.
He listened intently, and responded with “play it again”! When I was clearly
unsuccessful at duplicating my first effort, I received a short and (as recall) insistent
rebuke that this was important, and that he wanted me to try. I studied with Mr.
DeMarky for the first four years of my piano training, and every week of those four
years of lessons included him listening to whatever new composition I had created for
that week’s lesson. I rarely recall him giving specific directions or suggestions, but
always affirming what I had created.
My family moved to Ottawa when I was 10, and several months went by before a
suitable piano teacher could be found. I say suitable, because I “auditioned” for several
potential teachers over the months, with each inevitably remarking that I would have to
basically start from the beginning, that my technical skills were undisciplined, my
approach not at all what they would want. As we were leaving one such encounter, I
remember begging my mother not to send me to that particular teacher. She indicated
that she agreed that the match would not be a good one! Eventually, we came upon a
wonderful lady named Wynn Canty. As well as teaching piano students, Miss Canty
performed piano for the yearly Minto Skating Club performances, and (perhaps more
importantly for my continued compositional development) composed and performed all
the incidental music for a CBC children’s television show “Hi Diddle Day”. It was a
critical transition to another piano teacher who supported my continued
experimentation with composing. By the time I went off to university, I had written

two pieces for concert band, both with little or no form (actually, more like ABCDEFG
form……a whole lot of connected but unrelated themes!) and unbelievably unrealistic
orchestration (in terms of ranges and technical demands of certain instruments)…but
my move towards larger ensemble composition had begun.
Keeping the Window Open
If you were to ask a 3-year old to draw a picture of a horse, it is quite likely that (a)
they would engage in the process with confidence, and (b) feel good about their
product. If you were to ask an adolescent or adult to perform the same task, many
would demur, indicating some lack of skill, talent, confidence, etc. And yet, it is not
unreasonable to suggest that the quality of the product they could produce (if cajoled
into it) would be significantly higher than that of the 3-year old. The problem lies in
the expectation of a particular quality of product; beyond childhood, we put
expectations upon ourselves. Most music students I studied with at university did not
feel comfortable even picking out O Canada on the piano by ear, never mind composing
something. The barometer for their composing was the level of the playing they could
perform. I believe that the “window” of creativity needs to be kept open as children
learn to play music (on whatever instrument that may be), so the quality of their
creative product develops at the same time as they are learning to perform existing
literature. It’s not that adults can’t compose; it’s that they are not satisfied (or proud)
of what they compose.
Making it Real
The job I had for the first eight years of my teaching career was at Meadowlands
Middle School in Ottawa, teaching winds and strings to students in Grades 6-8. To
promote the string program (which was a constant challenge, since most students
seemed to prefer playing a wind instrument), I used to arrange the pop tunes “of the
day” (pause for a moment to fondly recall Billie Jean, Theme from “The Young and the
Restless”, On Broadway, etc.!) for orchestra so the kids could play “cool” tunes in
addition to the standard orchestral literature that was within the grasp of young
musicians.
My second job was teaching winds and vocal at a high school. I began arranging tunes
for jazz ensemble, initially to come up with ballads that fit the strengths of the players
I had. In 1994, a teaching colleague of mine (Greg Prest, currently teaching music at
Brookfield High School in Ottawa) asked me if he could commission me to write a work
for his jazz ensemble. I replied that “I had absolutely no idea”, but that I was willing
to try. That was the fork in the road that took me from arranging to composing. Over
time, I would like to think that I have developed a better awareness of technical issues
as they relate to specific instruments, voicings that work well (and those that do not!),
and other elements of composition for jazz ensemble. Being on “the inside” (having
played in university and semi-professional jazz ensembles over the last 30 years, and

running jazz ensembles of various levels for the past 25 years) has also exposed me to
a wide variety of big band literature from which I have been able to learn much about
the art of composing for jazz ensemble. For someone without those performing
opportunities, I’d suggest lots of listening and score study to really get at what works
and what doesn’t. It’s really important to develop a sense of what something will sound
like with a particular instrumentation or voicing. What may sound good on piano may not
translate at all into a successful voicing or orchestration. On the other hand, some
things that sound quite ordinary on piano may come to life when orchestrated in a
particular way. For example, the use of unisons has been something I’ve been quite slow
to embrace, but have realized add great power and clarity to arrangements. As I’ve
done more writing for younger ensembles, it’s been important to constantly consider
where along the accessible/interesting continuum is best. If the piece is too easy, it
may be so at the expense of some of the basic elements that define the style, resulting
in a piece with little interest or musical integrity. I’ve sometimes gone back to my
initial draft of a piece and looked at it through an elementary school music teacher’s
lens to see what tricky technical spots can be simplified without losing the essence of
the style.
The Better Mousetrap
I take all my compositions to my band as “drafts”; this has been an effective strategy
to ensure that what ends up on the manuscript is what I have “in my head”. If the band
has trouble achieving my vision of the piece, it is usually because I haven’t written
something in an effective manner.
One of the most interesting elements of being a composer is hearing one’s works
performed by ensembles other than your own. When I made the decision to make my
pieces available to other directors and ensembles, I did so with the recognition that it
would involve a release of responsibility and control. Every director (whether they
realize it or not!) has their own “sound” in their head of what they want their jazz
ensemble to sound like. This has implications for decisions made about volume, tone
quality, strength of articulation, balance, etc. As a result, when I hear my compositions
performed by other ensembles, they inevitably have a different interpretation than
what I might choose. This has been a very illuminating experience for me, because I
have often heard elements of those performances that intrigue me. This is what I
believe to be the “better mousetrap” philosophy. When I was arranging (as opposed to
composing) other people’s works for jazz ensemble, I always tried to come up with a
fresh interpretation through orchestration or through the choice of a different style
(ie. arranging a swing tune in a latin style). Now that I’m on the other side of the
equation, it has been fascinating to hear what are often (in my view) interpretive
improvements made by music directors on what I’ve provided in print. It’s made me
more aware of my own tendencies and preferences as a composer and as a band
director, and (to some degree) opened my mind to other possibilities to be explored in
my compositions.

Composer in the Classroom
It has been my experience that having the composer available to the band is a
profoundly enriching experience for students. Perhaps less so for my band since they
see me regularly, but I am constantly reminded when I rehearse one of my compositions
with someone else’s band how students want to know the reasons why, be it what the
inspiration was for the piece, or more specific detail related to orchestration decisions.
It seems to make the rehearsal and performance experiences more vivid for them. For
that reason, I believe that music directors should consider commissioning a work for
their ensemble and/or finding a way to have a composer come in and work one of their
pieces with the ensemble. It adds a completely new layer of interest, relevance, focus
and artistry to the music education process.

I hope that this article will give some insight into my creative process as a composer
and the 'composing by ear' approach. I have long felt compelled to express myself
artistically both in playing trumpet and in composition. I compose specifically for
myself and my bands, and have always found it thrilling to both play and hear others
play my music. I also highly value being an integral member of bands whose mandate it
is to play original music and where compositions are designed for specific players, or
inversely, where specific players and combinations of players are carefully chosen to
help realize the music.
I grew up listening to jazz on the radio, in my dad's record collection, and at concerts,
so jazz was in my ear from very early on. I started playing trumpet at age 10 and soon
began to admire the great jazz players and composers whom I recognized as having
strong original voices and concepts, amongst them Miles, Monk, Ornette, Wayne
Shorter, and many others. I knew that I wanted to go in the same direction as my
heroes and try to develop my own voice in that same rich spirit of creativity and
originality. I memorized melodies and transcribed solos, whilst developing a strong
inclination to improvise mostly by ear. I only really learned theory and harmony later on
while studying jazz at college and university, at which point I also started composing in
earnest.
I still rely heavily on my ear for both playing and composing, and I constantly try to
balance this out with knowledge that I gain by rote or study. Most of my compositional
ideas are at first conceptual and are organized in my mind in an abstract way as
opposed to specific harmony, meter or other organized structures. It is only after the
fact that I label and analyze the music in a more formal way so as to notate it in a
conventional manner, i.e., chord symbols, time signatures, etc. Because my creative
process is such an organic one and lacks any kind of structured theoretical, technical,
functional, or specific methodical approach, I like to think of it as 'composing by ear'.
My main drive as a composer is to fulfill a desire to play music that is written

specifically for me and is a vehicle for my voice and my concepts. I always have a
specific goal in mind when composing: to write an interesting, artistic and original piece
of music that is different from other pieces I've already written and something that I
work on until it feels like it is truly mine. I always challenge myself to find new ways of
expressing myself, as I want to continue to grow and develop artistically.
Conceptually, I am particularly interested in an open style of composition that lends
Composing by Ear by Lina Allemano 491

itself readily to improvisation, interplay, and spontaneous musical decisions that can
change the shape of a piece from performance to performance. Compositionally, one of
my main interests is in the potential complexity of rhythms that push and pull, moving in
unexpected ways while interacting with other rhythms in a natural and flowing way.
Another main interest is in contrapuntal melodies - layers of linear melodies that work
together to create implied harmony, or clusters of notes that imply harmony. My
tendency is to write music where the written material contains all the necessary
skeletal harmonic information within the multi-layered melodies, including the bass
(without necessarily having to play the chords).
I do not use midi or a computer program; I compose the old-fashioned way, i.e., pencil,
paper, singing out loud and in my head, and the piano. Occasionally I use the trumpet to
guide me, as it can sometimes help me to focus or refine an idea. I usually write in
concentrated bursts; I don't practice composing daily, so once I decide to compose, it
is all-consuming and generally not something I can find time and energy for during busy
performance periods.
In order to get started, I first need to get the creative juices flowing by allowing
myself to enter a state of intense concentration. To get to this space, I need to
immerse myself in the act of composing often for days until ideas start to flow freely
and the music becomes strong in my head. I play the piano for many hours each day, for
as many days in a row as possible. Each time I start this process, I feel hopeless and
desperate for days thinking that it won't work, but inevitably it always does.
Once ideas start to flow, I work for hours on end. I generally start from scratch every
time, starting from nothing and slowly developing seeds that I work on over a period of
days or weeks. Sometimes I start with seeds from other attempts; I keep sheets of
manuscript with melodic or rhythmic fragments and ideas that I come up with
periodically during compositional bouts. This can help get things started, so as not to
get completely overwhelmed by the blank page.
Sometimes I work on one piece at a time, or sometimes on several pieces at once, going
from one to the other. My self-taught skills on the piano are somewhat limited, so I
spend a lot of time singing the parts out loud while playing the piano, or at other times
hearing all the parts simultaneously in my head. I fill many pages up while writing one
piece as it gets worked over and starts to take shape.
I usually have ideas that develop into a section, but will then need a contrasting section
or two in order to be finished. Sometimes the sections develop in sequence, but other
times I attach or morph sections together that didn't necessarily evolve in
chronological order. A piece generally never just appears to me in its entirety, it only
gets completed after much labouring.
Because the music is written for a specific group where improvisation is heavily

featured, I like to involve the group in the finishing stages of the piece by
workshopping it as an ensemble. Often details such as form get tweaked during and
after rehearsals, and the band members give their input and put creative ideas on the
table. I record the rehearsals and go home to listen and analyze, continue to work on
any new ideas, and make revisions that I feel make the piece stronger before finally
producing a finished chart.
Throughout the whole compositional process, I make my musical decisions and

judgments based solely on what my ear and artistic aesthetic tell me. This is also my
approach to playing music in general, and it is my hope that my compositions too are
part of an ever-evolving expression and discovery of my unique voice as an artist.
Notes for 'Pinkeye' [Lina Allemano Four - Pinkeye (2006)]

This composition is what I consider to be a straight-ahead 'blowing tune'. The upper
melody pushes and pulls over the bar lines and interlocks rhythmically with the melodic
bass part. Both parts are equally important melodically and rhythmically to the piece
and the different sections contrast with each other in terms of openness and density.
Rhythmic patterns shift in various spots, for example, the subtle shift from a 2-2-3
pattern to a longer 2-3-2 / 2-2-3 in 'B'.
Notes for 'Gridjam' [Lina Allemano Four - Gridjam (2008)]

This is a more open-ended tune with a lot of room for improvisation. The written
material sets up a long 20 beat rhythmic groove that has the melody in the bass with
dissonant clusters superimposed over top. This is followed by a somewhat esoteric
head section that shifts rhythmically to create tension, the syncopated melody split
between both the lower and upper lines. Harmonically, the composition is quite open and
hence the bracketed chord symbols.
Notes for 'The Hayride' [Lina Allemano Four - Gridjam (2008)]

This piece has a very open concept and is designed to be developed in performance
through group improvisation. In the first section, three melodic fragments are played
freely and layered at will, the musicians improvising with and around the material. The
second section surfaces gradually, and at some point, the three parts are played
together as written. Although there is implied harmony, there are no chords indicated,
leaving it more open. There is even a possibility of layering some parts of the first and
second sections together if desired.
Lina's compositions can be heard on the following albums:

Lina Allemano Four - Gridjam (Lumo Records 2008)
Lina Allemano Four - Pinkeye (Lumo Records 2006)
Lina Allemano Four - Concentric (Lumo Records 2003)
William Carn / Lina Allemano - Old Souls (Independent 1998)
Please visit Lina's website: www.linaallemano.com

The most important advice I got from my mentor, the great Kansas City-born composer
Bob Brookmeyer, is this: “Tell me a story.” Implicit in this phrase was an unspoken
admonition: “Don’t leave me hanging.” Bob would stab his finger at a phrase in my score
and ask, “What about that? What happens to that?” I’d protest that I was done with
that particular idea and had moved on to the next one, and Bob would scold me: “But I
wasn’t done with it!”
Most composers, especially young composers, do not lack for ideas. What they lack —
what I lacked, when I first began studying with Brookmeyer in 2000 — was the ability
to sustain and develop ideas over time. As a young jazz improviser, you generally cut
your teeth on song forms, mostly 32-bar AABA tunes and their variants, played in a
familiar head-solos-head format. However, contemporary jazz musicians are
increasingly moving away from traditional song structure and embracing longer, non-
cyclical forms and through-composed musical narratives, where composition and
improvisation might be intertwined throughout. At the same time, original compositions
have become integrally linked to a jazz artist’s success. It’s not enough to sound great
on standards — people want to hear you play your music.
Unfortunately, though, many jazz musicians who attempt to write longer forms have no
idea how to approach this challenge. Sustaining a coherent, continuously evolving ten-
minute composition, without losing the thread or losing our interest, is a completely
different skill than writing a catchy line or a fun tune to blow over. Good ideas and good
musical instincts will only get you so far. Without the skills to extend, transform, and
develop your initial ideas in a coherent way, your attempted long-form epic will end up a
hodgepodge of unconnected ideas clumsily stitched together, a failed Frankenstein’s
monster that will never come alive, no matter how much electricity you pump through its
misshapen body.
Listening Like a Listener
How do you learn to develop your ideas? The first and most important skill you need to
learn is the ability to hear your work from the listener’s perspective. Over the course
of writing a piece of music, you’ve probably spent a lot of time with your musical
materials. You know your melodies and harmonies and rhythms and bass lines and
counterpoint and orchestration inside out. To the listener, this stuff is all brand new,
and they need time to get acquainted with it. As the composer, you always know what’s
coming up next in your piece. The listener does not. You know how all the various parts
Storyville:Jazz Composition and the Art of Narrative by Darcy Argue 498

of your multi-section work connect and relate to one another. The listener needs you to
make these relationships audible. You know what the story arc of your piece is supposed
to be, where the points of tension and release fall, where the climax occurs, how the
denouement plays out, and so on. The listener has no idea how your piece will unfold
until they hear it. This is not to say that you should assume the listener is a total moron
— after all, they (presumably) exhibited enough musical curiosity and sophistication to
seek out your music of their own free will — but you shouldn’t assume they can read
your mind, either. Try to imagine how you would react to your music if you hadn’t
written it, and were in the audience, experiencing it for the first time. Of course, it’s
not possible for you to actually forget what you have written and listen with completely
fresh, objective ears (short of a lobotomy), but it’s definitely worth trying to make
that imaginative leap.
Once I started trying to listen to my work from the listener’s perspective, it quickly
became apparent that my biggest problem — a problem that is, I think, shared by the
vast majority of composers — was that I had no patience. I kept trying to cram too
many ideas into too small a space, leaving no room for the music to breathe. I was
throwing the kitchen sink at the listener instead of introducing and transforming ideas
at a comprehensible pace. My music had no momentum — climaxes arrived too soon and
peaked too early, with too much directionless meandering in between. New ideas weren’t
adequately prepared, and transitions between sections were jarring and unconvincing.
The problem wasn’t that I lacked craft, or that my ideas were not creative or
compelling. The problem was that I had no idea how to tell a story.
I would argue that the biggest difference between great contemporary long-form
composers like Maria Schneider, Jim McNeely, and John Hollenbeck (all Brookmeyer
disciples) versus most of the rest of the field is that the composers I named tell the
best stories.
Storytelling and Narrative
The ability to craft a compelling musical narrative can seem mysterious and elusive to a
lot of jazz composers. If you want some insight into Maria Schneider’s colorful
orchestration or John Hollenbeck’s time-twisting rhythmic contusions, all you really
need to do is examine one of their scores. But how do you learn the art of storytelling?
Can it be learned? Maybe it’s some kind of innate talent or gift — either you have it or
you don’t.
I believe musical storytelling is something that can be taught and learned. Bob
Brookmeyer makes it a priority in his teaching, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that
many of the best narrative-builders on the scene today have studied with him. The
biggest obstacle to good storytelling is most often a simple lack of awareness.
Composers are often so focused on the micro-level details of harmony, voice-leading,
orchestration, counterpoint, and so on that they forget to take a step back and survey

the entire canvas. But once you get into the habit of paying attention to the big-picture
elements — form, shape, structure, pacing, development, transitions, rising and falling
action, and the like — a piece’s narrative structure begins to come into sharper focus.
Jim McNeely frequently likens his musical ideas to characters in a play. In his view, it’s
the interaction and conflict between characters that drives a piece forward. If you are
interested in learning more about how artists in other fields attack the problem of
structuring a real-time narrative, you may want to investigate books like Syd Field’s
Screenplay, which is generally considered the screenwriter’s bible. Obviously, the issues
in a screenplay are somewhat different than the issues we must contend with in an
abstract, nonrepresentational art like music, but it can be worthwhile to learn how
playwrights and screenwriters think about narrative. With a little imagination, you can
easily find musical analogues for concepts like setup, sequence, confrontation,
resolution, and so on, as well as techniques like foreshadowing, cross-cutting, montage,
nonlinear editing, etc.
White Note Piece
The first exercise Brookmeyer assigns to all his new students is the White Note Piece.
The instructions couldn’t be simpler:
• write a singable, coherent melody — the longer the better, but it should be at
least 64 bars long.
• use only the white notes on the piano, limited to a one-octave range — from
middle C to the C an octave above.
• 4/4 or 3/4, medium tempo. Keep the time! There should not be any rubato.
• no supporting harmony allowed, but you can accompany the melody with a C
pedal in the bass, piano left hand, or similar.
The point of these very limited parameters is to force you to focus on the basics of
strong melody-writing and clear melodic development. If you already have good melodic
instincts, the exercise helps you learn to extend your ideas and link them together. If
melody isn’t your strong suit, this is an excellent way to improve your melodic writing.
When your White Note Piece is complete, record it and listen back. Or, if you can, get
someone else to play it for you — pairing up with another composer and playing each
other’s pieces is highly recommended! Try to listen like a listener. Does one phrase lead
into the next in a seamless, logical way? Are the melodies tuneful, or clumsy? Is the
phrasing fluid and organic, sometimes flowing across barlines or stretching over an
irregular number of measures? Or is it constrained to predictable 2- and 4-bar
phrases? Where are the implied cadences? Is the melodic line too busy? Too sparse?
Does it sound like one coherent piece, or a collection of unrelated diatonic phrases?
What is the overall shape of the piece? Does it build towards a single climactic

moment? If so, how does that buildup take place? Does it tell a story? If so, how does
that story unfold?
What’s most important about the White Note Piece is that you listen to your work
critically. Then go back and try to revise it in a way that will make your piece sound like
more of a musical narrative. Then go back and listen again, and revise again, always
trying to refine what you have by improving the narrative flow. More often than not,
this involves adding more space (rests or long tones), stretching out phrases, developing
and transforming your best ideas, and — especially — taking things out that don’t
belong. The limited parameters reduce your options and keep you focused on creating
something simple, but effective and memorable.
You should try to write several of these White Note Pieces, each with its own distinct
character. If you keep at it, I guarantee that you will find that a one-octave C major
scale offers many more possibilities than you’d previously considered. And you will start
to develop a better sense of how to spin a simple diatonic melody into a true musical
narrative.
Here is a fragment of melody from one of my compositions, Drift, that has its roots in
these White Note Pieces:
     

   


    
  

        


   
  


   

      
 
(This excerpt can be heard in context by downloading the recording from my website,
http://secretsociety.typepad.com.)
The Transformational Toolkit
Writing White Note Pieces can be an enjoyable, intuitive way to work on your
storytelling skills, but there are times when intuition alone won’t cut it. When listening
critically to your compositions, you might sense that certain sections require more
extensive fleshing-out, or that a particular transition is too klunky and abrupt — but
you’re not sure how to fix it. There are certain fundamental techniques that can help
you sustain your ideas and write your way out of problem spots, by opening you up to
transformations of your thematic material that you might not find by intuition alone.

Simply being aware of all of the techniques at your disposal can help you unlock hidden
possibilities in your existing motives, melodies, harmonies, rhythms, etc. Brookmeyer
would insist on an exhaustive exploration of your basic thematic material before
launching into the compositional process in earnest — he called it “pre-compositional
work.”
Composers with some classical background will most likely be well-versed in this stuff,
but jazz improvisers who are new to long-form composition may not have all of these
transformational techniques in their toolkit yet.
First, let’s take this excerpt from a familiar melody:
                  
Here are some of the ways we can transform this melody:
Transposition — moving a melody up or down; can be diatonic or chromatic:
Diatonic
                 
Chromatic
                 
Inversion — flipping a melody upside down; can be diatonic or chromatic:
Diatonic
                
Chromatic
                    

Retrograde — reversing a melody’s note order:
 
          
    
Rotation — moving the last note of the melody to the beginning, or the first note to
the end; can rotate just pitches, just rhythms, or pitches with rhythms (otherwise
known as rhythmic displacement):
Pitch Rotation (last to first)
   
    
       

Rhythmic Rotation (first to last)
  
    
      
 

Rhythmic Displacement (first to last)
                

Isorhythm — plugging a sequence of pitches into a repeating rhythmic pattern, where

the number of pitches in the sequence is not the same as the number of notes in the
rhythmic pattern.
Isorhythm with 6 pitches and a 13-note rhythmic pattern
        
      


      


     
 

     
 
     
  


Canon/Phasing — overlapping rhythmic displacement against the original. Small
displacements resulting in close canons, like those found in the music of Steve Reich, is
sometimes called phasing:
               

  

   
           
         
Mode Shift — transposing the melody to a different mode:
Major (Ionian) to Phrygian
                     
Rhythmic Diminution/Expansion — shortening (diminution) or lengthening (expansion)

the notes and rests:
Diminution, then Expansion
  



 
  

      
Polymetric Phrasing — figures that imply the superimposition of a different time

signature; often created by shortening (truncating) or lengthening (prolonging) phrases:
Truncation creating implied 7/4 (shown vs. explicit 7/4)
        

         
         

        

Prolongation creating implied 5/4 (shown vs. explicit 5/4)
  
   
           
    
  
          
 
Converting Pitch to Rhythm/Converting Rhythm to Pitch — there are many methods

of doing this. For instance, in a diatonic or modal system, you might decide that the
first scale degree will last one eighth note, the second scale degree will last for two
eighth notes (i.e., a quarter note), the third will last for three eighth notes (i.e., a
dotted quarter), and so on. Here are the results if we use that method to alter the
rhythm of our melody:
Pitch to Rhythm
 
 


 

    


   

  

  

 



  
Alternately, we could take the original rhythm and use it to generate new pitches:
Rhythm to Pitch
   

  
        


Construction/Deconstruction — gradually replacing rests with notes (construction), or
replacing notes with rests (deconstruction):
Construction
 
 

     

      

 

 
 

     

     

 

 
 

    

      


 
 

     

      


 
 
      

      


 
 
      

       


 
 
      
         


 

                


These are only a few of the basic tools you’ll want in your toolkit as a composer. Even if
you are already familiar with some or all of these techniques, it is always worthwhile to
remind yourself what your options are, especially during the all-important pre-
compositional work. Brookmeyer never misses an opportunity to stress how critical it is
to thoroughly investigate your basic musical materials, to take them apart so you can
see what makes them tick. After all, it’s hard to craft a strong narrative unless you
have a vivid understanding of your characters and their potential for development.

Beyond the Toolkit
The preceding techniques are designed to help you craft a more coherent musical
narrative by opening up possibilities for you, showing you methods to transform and
develop your basic musical materials in a way that is audible to the listener. I don’t
mean that people in the audience will literally think to themselves, “Oh that’s a
retrograde inversion, followed by an isorhythmic displacement!” I mean that they are
able to sense — consciously or unconsciously — that the material they are hearing is not
random, that it relates to and builds upon what they have already heard. Remember, if
your transformations go too far afield too quickly, we in the audience will lose the
narrative thread, and once that happens you’ve lost us for good.
I’m not saying you can’t surprise us with some devious twists and turns — surprises are
great! But in order for musical surprises to be effective, we need to have some
expectation of where we think you are headed. If we can’t follow your narrative, we
can’t be surprised. Also, the most meaningful surprises are the ones that, in retrospect,
feel like they were inevitable — that we should have seen them coming.
It’s also important to keep in mind that the toolkit techniques are not some magic
formula for good writing. When used wisely, they are designed to help you build a
narrative, but they are merely tools, not ends in themselves. They do not guarantee a
good result. You can use them to construct a piece of music that is impeccably tight,
logical, clever, well-crafted, flows easily from moment to moment, and is still a complete
failure. Not all of the transformational possibilities you will find are good ones. Not all
of them will help you tell your story. The last thing we as an audience want to hear is an
exhaustive survey of all the different ways you found to develop your thematic
material. The pre-compositional work is not the piece!
Once you know what the possibilities are, you need to zero in on the infinitesimal subset
of choices that will help you further the narrative. Make sure that everything in your
piece has a reason to be there. If you’re not sure whether a passage is contributing to
the narrative, take it out! You can always put it back in later if turns out you need it.
(When working with music notation software, always make incremental saves!)
The Windup
While the secrets of creating good long-form musical narrative may seem impalpable at
first, the process is really the same as learning any other musical skill — be aware,
check out the masters, listen critically to your own work, sharpen your skills, and
practice, practice, practice. I’ve outlined some of the basic techniques I’ve found useful
in helping me hone my storytelling skills, but I’ve only just barely scratched the
surface. You may find that a different set of tools works best for you — if so, great!
Any method that helps you spin a better story is a good one.

Secrets Revealed
By way of postscript, I’m going to include a few select real-world instances of the
transformational toolkit as used in my own compositions for my 18-piece band, Secret
Society.
If you want to hear how these excerpts function within the larger narrative, the
recordings (and in some cases, the scores) can be downloaded from my website,
http://secretsociety.typepad.com.
Canon, truncation, and transposition in Desolation Sound
Just before the beginning of the soprano sax improv in Desolation Sound, the trumpets
play a 5-part close canon. In the last three measures of this section, the canonic phrase
is truncated — the first half is lopped off so the players go from playing an up-and-
down figure to playing just the ascending part of the phrase. This figure is also
extended upwards by taking the first four ascending pitches — E, F, Ab, Bb — and
transposing them up a tritone — Bb, B, D, E. (The Bb serves as a pivot note and is not
repeated).
In the final measure before the double bar, the full ascending sequence — E, F, Ab, Bb,
B, D, E — is transposed again, this time up a minor sixth: C, Db, E, F#, G, Bb, C. Only the
lead trumpet completes the full sequence before the arrival of the next section — at
the double bar, the other trumpets sustain whatever note they happen to arrive on.


              
              
  
     
             

           

  
             

             


          
  
             


              

            



         

           


  
 
          

            



  
            

       
  
  


            

            




         
  
             


   
       

 
  
 
  
  
       
     
 
  
   
  
            
   
 
  
   
  
            
 
       

    
  
           
 

   
   

   
  
         
Isorhythm, Displacement, and Polymetric Phrasing in Zeno
Zeno is notated in 3/2, but the first thing you hear is a guitar pattern that implies 5/4.
This pattern is isorhythmic because the 5/4 figure does not coincide with the harmonic
rhythm, which alternates between two chords, each lasting for one measure of 3/2
(give or take a few anticipations). The 5/4 rhythm loops every five measures, but when
the loop begins again in measure 6, we are at a different spot in the harmonic pattern.
It takes a total of 10 measures for the combined harmonic and rhythmic cycles to loop
back to the point where they began. This isorhythmic disconnect between the rhythmic

cycle and the harmonic cycle makes the harmonic rhythm sound irregular and
unpredictable, even though it’s really just one chord per bar.
    


 
   
 
  
       
     

    

 
 
 
    

      

             


 
 
 
 

  

 

 

    
  
 

   

 
 


         
      
 
       
    

  
 
 
 


 
       

            
 
 
 

Retrograde, Pitch to Rhythm, Polymetric Phrasing, Rhythmic Displacement in Habeas

Corpus
Early in Habeas Corpus, the piano plays this descending figure:
  
       


   
Much later in the piece, the retrograde of this figure (minus the B natural) becomes
the bass line. The rhythm for this bass line is determined by associating each pitch
with a specific duration, using the following system: C# = sixteenth note, D = eighth
note, Eb = dotted eighth note, E = quarter note, and so on. This creates a phrase that is
12.75 beats long, implying a complex polymeter against the notated 3/4. The bass
pattern repeats four times at four different rhythmic displacements before cycling
back to its original position, resulting in a 17-bar phrase structure. This is an example
of how a simple descending quarter-note figure can be transformed into something
dramatically more complex!

     

              

                     

 
      

           



 
               

  
 

—
A rising bandleader on the New York jazz scene, Darcy James Argue directs Secret
Society, a dynamic 18-piece band featuring his original works. The group includes fiery
soloists like trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, saxophonist Erica vonKleist, and trombonist Ryan
Keberle. Secret Society is a cutting-edge group, in the lineage of the Maria Schneider
Orchestra and the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, but also evokes the cinematic
sweep of indie bands like Tortoise and TV On The Radio, and the rogue spirit of new
music groups like Anti-Social Music. Secret Society perform regularly at a variety of
NYC venues including the Jazz Gallery, (Le) Poisson Rouge, the Living Theatre, Makor,
Union Hall, Flux Factory, the Bowery Poetry Club, and the late CBGB. They also
appeared at the 2008 IAJE Conference in Toronto.
Ben Ratliff of the NYT has said some very nice things about Darcy’s music: "A big,
broad musical vocabulary came together easily, without jump-cutting or wrenching
shifts of style. Mr. Argue made all these elements belong together naturally."
You can find out more about Darcy, download scores and recordings, and read his
thoughts about the NYC music scene at http://secretsociety.typepad.com. He can be
reached at secretsocietymusic@mac.com.

For me, jazz composition is the process of creating musical works for performers to
improvise on and to interact with. Besides the basic expressive need to write music, the
stimulus for my compositions generally comes from one of three areas. I write pieces
for my own ensembles (in either professional or educational contexts), pieces for other
groups or pieces for individuals. Although the bulk of my compositions have been in the
jazz idiom, the influence of jazz is detectable in my non-jazz pieces as well.
My interest in being a musician began with the desire to be a composer. As a child, I

was primarily attracted to classical music - from Bach to Stravinsky - and I felt that
being a composer was my calling. My discovery of jazz made me want to become a
performer. In the music of Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke and King Oliver, I
realized that one could perform and compose at the same time! My taste in jazz ranges
from King Oliver to Kenny Werner and I’ve found inspiration in every era and style of
jazz as well as in music outside the jazz realm.
Although the compositional process is always on-going for me (I see the practice of
improvisation as a form of composition), I find it easiest and most inspiring to write
when I know that the piece will be performed soon or in the near future. Along with
writing new pieces for the professional jazz groups I play with (which range from a trio
to a big band) I also write lots of music for the college ensembles I coach. I don’t
usually write much for the “desk drawer”, so to speak, but there have been times where
the period between the sketching of a piece and its completion has been several years.
Ideas may take a while to “percolate” and I don’t always know how a composition is going
to end.
Like my idol, Duke Ellington, I really find inspiration in writing for musicians I know.
This really informs my writing and the direction of the composition or arrangement.
When I can imagine a given musicians’ sound in my “inner ear”, the writing process is a
lot more rewarding, flowing and exciting. Knowing what will work well for a given player
and keeping in mind that player’s approach, sound and overall musical abilities makes the
task of writing that much more compelling. I have written a few things for groups or
players that I don’t know, but this has been the exception.
Besides the influence of Duke Ellington, other sources of inspiration and influence for
me in the area of composition are: Billy Strayhorn, Charles Mingus, Bix Beiderbecke,
Wayne Shorter, Woody Shaw, Brad Turner, Phil Nimmons, Ralph Burns, Gil Evans, John
Carisi, Gerry Mulligan, Maria Schneider, Norman Symonds, Paul Ruhland and Ron Collier.
Jazz Composition by Alan Matheson 512

As for classical music influences, I must include: Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy,
Maurice Ravel, Jan Sibelius and Eduard Tubin.
My first effort in jazz composition was writing my own “be-bop” style melody over the
chord changes of Victor Young’s “Sweet Sue, Just You”. I did alter the chords slightly
but retained the form of the original tune. At the time, I found this a good way to get
started with jazz composition and at the same time, learned a great deal about how to
create an interesting melody over someone else’s chord progression. An interesting
effect of this was that it improved my abilities as an improviser. Often, I would simply
write a tune based on some chord progressions I needed to work on and the process of
having to create what felt was a strong rhythmic melody definitely improved my playing
overall.
(I recommend to my students that they try this approach when they are having a hard
time improvising over a set of unfamiliar chord changes. The process of trying to write
what they feel is a memorable melody over a pre-existent set of chord changes can
show them what they really “hear” as opposed to what their fingers can “play”).
Over the years, I found myself alternating between composing “contrafacts” (using
chord progressions from standard tunes with some alterations) and tunes that used my
own chord progressions. For a while, the chord progressions often came to me first, but
in general, I tend to write the melody and the harmony at the same time. Like a lot of
improvisers, I find that melodic ideas for compositions (and solos) often come to me in
a rhythmic form first and the overall shape of the composition reveals itself via the
process of writing. It is certainly the rhythmic impulse that helps me write longer
pieces or arrangements. I want the right balance of rhythmic contrast and continuity in
the piece. Here the model for me is players like Lester Young, Armstrong or Coleman
Hawkins who were such masters in “telling a story” in their solos as well as (once again)
the music of Ellington, Strayhorn and Charles Mingus, who balanced written and
improvised elements so well in their compositions.
I learned a great deal about composition from writing arrangements of other people’s
music. This was especially true when creating transitional material to link sections of
the arrangement together as well as writing backgrounds for soloists and singers and
composing “shout” choruses. The task of creating melodic and harmonic variations on a
song that you did not write and very possibly in a style not your own was and is an
invaluable learning experience. The line between composition and arranging is a very
fine one and some of my favourite arrangers, while perhaps not known as much for their
compositional abilities, showed themselves to be really great composers in their many
arrangements. Some names I’d like to mention in this connection are: Bill Challis, Benny
Carter, Bill Finegan, Eddie Sauter, Artie Shaw, Sy Oliver and Mary Lou Williams.
Of course, Ellington and Strayhorn were masters at disguising and altering song forms
as well and provided a great model in terms of how they wrote highly interactive
backgrounds for soloists.

In writing for small jazz ensembles, I have found that the relationship between the
form of the melodic material and the areas for improvisation has changed for me over
the years. When I used to write mostly symmetrical melodies (12,16 and 32 bar forms),
I tended to retain the form of the melody for the solo sections. As I tend not to write
as many melodies in symmetrical forms these days, I will usually give the soloists a
fairly straightforward solo form to improvise on, rather than simply repeating the
form and chord changes of the theme. So while the tune may have an odd numbered
shape (i.e. 33 bars), the “blowing changes” will reflect the theme harmonically, but
within an even number of bars. This type of form is easier to memorize and I feel that
most musicians play more freely on a form that they’ve been able to internalize.
At the same time, I feel it’s important to compose and perform songs with “regular”
forms to provide some balance and variety for both the players and the listeners.
Besides, it’s fun to see what can be done with the 12-bar blues in the twenty-first
century!
I have written jazz compositions for secondary school groups from time to time and the
above approach can work very well. The written material for the jazz ensemble can be
relatively challenging in terms of form and harmony, while the solo sections can be
something that a young musician will pick up easily.
Above all, I want what I compose to “communicate”. The first point of communication
for me is with the musicians that I am writing for. I want to provide something
challenging and interesting for each musician and at the same time create something
that is fun to play and fun to improvise on. The story of Billy Strayhorn asking the
members of the Ellington band whether or not they liked their melodies when he
brought out a new composition (regardless of whether that musician was playing first
trumpet or third trombone) comes to mind. Strayhorn’s beautiful sense of melody in all
his arrangements has been a great model to live up to. Musicians are more engaged as
performers when their instrumental or vocal parts are composed and arranged to be
more than purely “functional” (especially if that part is a supportive harmony part).
They, in turn, can more easily communicate that feeling of engagement to the audience.
As well, I feel that jazz should communicate a variety of emotions to the listener,
including the excitement and risk of improvisation as well as the moods created by the
composer and the players.

This material is based on experience gained, and strategies implemented, while teaching
the Jazz Studies Class in the Jazz Academy at Wellington Secondary School in
Nanaimo B.C.. The students were all in grade 11 or 12, and had a minimum of two years
of Jazz Combo and Big Band experience, and about one third were also taking private
lessons with a jazz specialist. The program also consisted of Ear Training, Jazz Theory,
Jazz History, and Combo Jazz Performance scheduled in 5 - 80 minute classes per
week.
Basic General Knowledge
In the Jazz Academy program students had been introduced to:

1. Playing and learning tunes by ear, including blues, rhythm changes,
standards, and jazz tunes.
2. Ear recognition of: intervals, major and minor scales, major modes,
7th chords including major 7, minor 7, dominant 7, minor 7b5, and
diminished 7.
3. Transcription of rhythm ideas consisting mainly of 1/8th notes and
rests of various durations played on one note.
4. Transcription of simple, diatonic melodies with no interval leaps and
gradually progressing to more complex melodies.
5. A theoretical understanding of major and minor key harmony and
chord/scales, blues scales, major and minor ii-v-1 progressions, and
modulation.
6. Tunes from historical eras including, Early New Orleans and Chicago,
Swing, Bebop, Cool, Hard Bop-Funky, Modal, 60’s Jazz, Bossa Nova.
Material specific to composition
One of the goals of the composition component was for the students to acquire some
skills in music literacy, whether using pencil and paper or software writing programs.
These include:
1. Writing a lead sheet
- key signatures
- time signatures
- tempo and feel marking
- form, 1st and 2nd endings, sign and coda
Introducing Composition to a Secondary School Jazz Studies Class by Steve Jones 515
- spacing and symmetry
2. Writing idiomatic jazz notation in 4/4.

Except for simple notation which includes whole, dotted half, half, and
quarter notes and rests, the following rules apply to writing with 1/8th
notes and triplets.
- The third beat of a measure should always be visible. A measure of 4/4
should always be viewed as having an imaginary bar-line in the center.
- Dotted quarter notes can only begin on beat 1 or the “and” of 1, and
beat 3 or the “and” of 3.
- Beam even groups of 1/8th notes wherever possible, starting on the
beat, in groups of 2 or 4. Do not beam across the middle of the
measure....”See rule 1”. Do not beam uneven groups.
- 1/8th note triplets begin only on the beat within any measure.
- 1/4 note triplets begin only on beats 1 or 3 within any measure.
- Reduce the amount of symbols. While not absolutely essential, this
will produce an uncluttered part and promotes more accurate reading.
- Account for both halves of a beat except when writing cliché rhythms.
- do not write single 1/8th notes on the beat, use a short 1/4 note instead.
3. Using accents to produce appropriate jazz sounds

- accent – a full value note is stressed - may be used on any value
- marcato – the strongest accent - shortens a note to about 2/3rds of its
value - used on 1/4 notes or less - sounds like “bap” or “daht”
- staccato – short, light, and detached – used on 1/4 notes or less - sounds
like “dit”
- legato – full value note with no accent – may be used on any value
4. Instrument ranges and transposition. This material can be found in

arranging texts.
- The students will be writing for instruments that are part of the class, therefore,
instruct the students about transposing intervals for only those instruments. An
explanation of concert scores and transposed parts is useful here.
- While the key signatures, chord symbols, and notes must be transposed for each
instrument, students should be instructed on how to write parts that put instruments in
the best range. It is assumed that parts will be in unison or octaves.
General Guidelines
1. Reduce the parameters for the students so that choices will be more easily made.
Given no restrictions, students will be overwhelmed with the range of possibilities and
may never commit to an idea.
2. The teacher should introduce the students to composition by first having them write
a melody to a given chord progression or, having them create a progression and then
write a melody. The harmonization of melodies is more complex and should not be dealt
with in an introduction to composition.
3. Advise the students that the method for writing is largely their choice and these
options are available:
- using the piano if the student has reasonable piano skills
- using their instrument and an accompaniment – this can be done by:
a. recording a pianist or guitarist playing the chord progression
b. recording a combo playing the progression
c. using a program like “Band in a Box” to create the accompaniment
Composition: #1 Modal
Introductory activities
- Listen to recordings of modal compositions such as “So What” and
“Impressions” and play these tunes in class, preferably by ear
- review the concepts of available tensions and avoid notes
- review chord/scale relationships
major7 – major scale or Lydian mode
minor 7 – dorian mode
dominant 7 – mixolydian or Lydian b7
- discuss the concept of sequential melody writing
Parameters
- the composition will be in 4/4
- the composition will be 8, or 16 measures in length divided so that each
chord has a duration of half of the composition
- it will use only two chords, chosen from major 7, minor 7, or dominant 7
- the interval of the root motion between the 2 chords will be up or down a
half step, a whole step, a minor third, a major third, a perfect fourth, a
tritone, or a perfect fifth
- the chord progression will be submitted for approval from the teacher
- the melody will consist of primarily 1/8th notes and may include one 1/8th
note or one 1/4 note triplet
- the melody will consist of one or, at most, two ideas and should be
transposed to the new chord
- the rhythm can be swing or straight 1/8ths
- it must contain rests
- the concert score will be submitted for approval
- parts will be created using the transposition and range information
- the score and parts will include tempo and style indications
- the piece will be titled
- the parts will be submitted for approval
- the composition is rehearsed and performed
See Example 1 – “Wrangler Ribs” written by Richard Chisholm
(used with permission)
Composition #2: Simple 12 Bar Blues
Introductory material and activities

- Listen to recordings of blues such as “C Jam Blues”, “Sonny Moon for Two”
and play these tunes in class, preferably by ear - Discuss the concept of
blues that contain 3 four measure phrases without variation and use
elements of the blues scale
- provide a simple blues progression with a few variations – for example
Bb7 (Eb7) Bb7 Bb7
//// //// //// ////
Eb7 Eb7 Bb7 Bb7
//// //// //// ////
Cmi7 F7 Bb7 F7
//// //// //// ////
- the melody will consist of one 4 measure phrase repeated 3 times
- the rhythm can be straight or swing 1/8ths
Composition #3: More Complex 12 Bar Blues
Introductory material and activities

- Listen to recordings of blues such as “Now’s the Time”, “Billie’s Bounce”,
“Au Privave” and play these tunes in class, preferably by ear
- Discuss the concept of blues that contain 2 or more motives that are
developed and modulated to reflect a more complex set of chord changes
- provide several variations of bebop style chord progressions – for example
Bb7 Eb7 Bb7 Fmi7 Bb7
//// //// //// // //
Eb7 Edim7 Dmi7 G7
//// //// //// ////
Cmi7 F7 Bb7 G7 Cmi7F7
//// //// // // // //
or:
Bb7 Eb7 Bb7 Fmi7 Bb7
//// //// //// // //
Eb7 Ebmi7 Ab7 Dmi7 G7 Dbmi7 Gb7
//// //// // // // //
Cmi7 F7 Dmi7 Db7 Cmi7 B7
//// //// // / / // //
- refer to recordings, fake books, or theory texts for many variations
Parameters
- the melody will consist of 3 melodic ideas and these will be altered to
reflect the chord changes
See example 2 – “Bird Bop” written by Ted Littlemore
(used with permission)
Composition #4: Minor 12 Bar Blues
Introductory Material and activities

- Listen to recordings of minor blues such as “Mr. P.C.” and “Eqinox” and play
these tunes in class preferably by ear
- provide a minor blues chord progression as below, or use the progression
from the suggested tunes
Cmi7 Cmi7 Cmi7 Cmi7
//// //// //// ////
Fmi7 Fmi7 Cmi7 Cmi7
//// //// //// ////
Ab7 G7#9 Cmi7 G7#9
//// //// //// ////
- refer to recordings, fake books, or theory texts for many variations
Parameters
- the melody will consist of one or two main ideas with development
Composition #5: Using a 32 Bar Standard
Introductory Material and activities

- discuss the historical background of standard songwriting versus jazz
composition
- show the relationship between jazz compositions and the standard chord
progressions on which they were written – for example, “ I’ve Got Rhythm”
becomes many jazz compositions including “Anthropology”, “Shaw ‘Nuff”,
and “Moose the Mooche”, “Back Home Again in Indiana” becomes “Donna
Lee”, “How High the Moon “ becomes “Ornithology”, “Whispering” becomes
“Groovin’ High” and listen to the recordings
- play these tunes in class preferably by ear but this may be more difficult
than playing blues or modal tunes
- discuss 2 approaches to composing on a standard progression
1. Write a standard type melody which has these characteristics
- it is mostly in the key of the piece with a few accidentals
that reflect modulation
- it uses much scale-wise motion
- it uses sequencing of melodic phrases
- made largely of whole, half, and quarter notes with the possibility of a
few 1/8th notes
Parameters
- the composition may be in 4/4 or 3/4
- the melody will consist of primarily 1/4 notes and may include one 1/8th
- the melody will consist of one or two main ideas with development
2. Write a bebop style line which has these characteristics

- follows the chord changes more closely and uses extensions and
alterations
- uses virtually any intervals
- while sequencing is an available technique, much less is required
- made largely of 1/8th notes and triplets
Parameters
- the melody will consist of several main ideas with development
The above compositions will be more than enough work for a semester of jazz studies.
A second semester of more advanced assignments might include:
- writing a melody and then harmonizing it
- creating a bass line and a comping pattern and then creating a related
melody
- the introduction of voicing
- the introduction of arranging including introductions, solo backgrounds,
shout choruses, solis, and endings
- writing in time signatures other than 4/4 or 3/4
The idea of the “rhythm section” as an entity is something that did not exist prior to
the early 1900’s and indeed actually came into being as a key byproduct of the birth of
jazz. It was within the framework of this uniquely American art form that the drum set
was invented (ingeniously allowing the various layered rhythms which traveled from
west Africa and blended with the European marching band tradition in New Orleans to
be performed by a single player) and the double bass reinvented, played mostly
pizzicato, with the fingers, rather than arco, with the bow, and given a timekeeping role
shared with the drums in addition to its traditional harmonic function of playing the
bottom note of the chord.
I always tell my students that in reality the “rhythm section” should consist of
everyone in the group, as we are all equally responsible for making the music feel good
and playing good time. I have had many experiences playing with very strong, swinging
horn players and singers (Mike Murley, Joe Lovano, Mel Tormé, Jon Hendricks, and
Kevin Mahogany are some examples that spring to mind) who have such a great time feel
that they actually make the rhythm section swing harder. Having said that, there is a
special quality that a great rhythm section can have that elevates the music, makes it
dance, giving it a feeling of weightlessness and at the same time of relentless,
infectious forward motion.
Jazz music, as we know, descended from a marriage of European harmonic language and
African rhythmic language. While the harmonic component is indeed important and, as a
pianist, is certainly a very compelling aspect for me, it is often emphasized in the jazz
education setting to the point where it can overshadow the importance of a strong
relationship with rhythm and the more abstract concept of “time”. Only in African-
derived musics, such as jazz, funk, rock, blues, R&B, and the various Latin American and
Caribbean traditions, do we find it necessary to coin colloquial terms such as “groove”,
“swing”, or “in the pocket”. What do these terms mean exactly? The truth is, they can
not be defined in any satisfactory way. I have heard young groups play with time that is
entirely respectable in the metronomic sense, and yet the music is completely static.
there is no “pop”, no sense of that “rolling” forward motion. On the other hand, it’s easy
to find examples of iconic recordings of artists that we revere that slightly speed up or
even slow down, yet there is that mysterious feeling that makes even those of us of
European heritage want to “shake our booty”!
This is not something that can be intellectualized. It has to be a physical relationship-

the rhythm must literally be in your body, dancing through you. One can not think, “OK,
The Rhythm Section in Jazz by Dave Restivo 542

now I will groove”! It’s as though one must find a way to tap into the cosmic heartbeat,
which reverberates through the universe and through all of life and nature and let it
carry us. It’s as though, as bassist Stanley Clarke has said, each of us, regardless of
our ethnic background, must find our own relationship with mother Africa. What we call
“swing” rhythm is really an abstraction of west African 6/8 or 12/8 time. African music
is generally said to exist either in 2 (4) or 3 (6), but in reality the overlapping
polyrhythms often create the feeling that both are always happening simultaneously. In
Afro-Cuban music, which arguably preserves west African rhythms in a purer form than
any other American musical tradition, it is very common to shift between 4/4 and 12/8
or 6/8, and since one is always, to some degree, feeling both, it is an easy transition.
While swing-based jazz employs a looser, less literal interpretation of this concept, the
essence of this 2-against-3 feeling is at the heart of it nonetheless.
It also has to do with syncopation, which involves the relationship of the “upbeat” (the
“and”) to the downbeat. The bassist in a jazz group (whose conventional role is to “walk”
quarter notes) is the keeper of the downbeat, which I like to think of as the engine, the
heartbeat. The upbeat is like the coal that fuels the engine. The more the bass player
feels the upbeat (keeping in mind that in “swing” rhythm the upbeat is really the third
in a series of 8th note triplets rather than a true 8th note) and the rolling triplet
subdivision (as opposed to a 16th note subdivision) the more his playing will have that
bounce to it, or as my friend, the great bassist and director of Jazz Studies at the
University of Manitoba Steve Kirby, calls it, “the hump”. I like to use the “basketball”
analogy. If you think of dribbling a basketball, the ball hitting the ground is like the
downbeat; the hand pushing the ball is the upbeat, not forcing or slapping the ball to
the ground but nudging it along in a conversational fashion, creating an intimate
action/reaction relationship between the hand (with the energy emanating from the
shoulder, much like playing the bass) and the rebound from the floor.
One of the simplest illustrations of the upbeat/downbeat relationship (syncopation) is

the “Charleston” rhythm, named after a song written by stride pianist James P. Johnson
which became a popular dance in the late 1920s. The rhythm (which is also associated
with the song Sweet Georgia Brown) is basically “1, ‘and’ of 2”- a downbeat followed by
an upbeat. It can be counted thus: ONE two AND three four. A good exercise for
pianists and players of other instruments who are trying to learn piano is to play the
melody of a tune or improvise on the changes while keeping the Charleston going with
the left hand voicings. It’s harder than it sounds! There’s also a natural tendency for
syncopated rhythms to rush, so if you can imagine that the upbeats are big fat pillowy
notes and lay back on them a bit you can curb that tendency somewhat. Once you are
comfortable with that, try displacing the rhythm by half a beat (one AND two THREE
four), then another (one TWO three AND four; one two AND three FOUR; etc.). The
further you displace this deceptively simple pattern the trickier it gets, and eventually
you will start crossing the barline. By the way, these rhythms can also be effectively
applied to drums (e.g. play time on the ride cymbal and 2 and 4 on the high hat; play the
Charleston and variants with the left hand on the snare drum, with the right foot on

the bass drum, or between snare and bass drum) or bass (“walk” quarter notes; accent
the downbeat in the Charleston pattern and play a skip beat or pull off the string with
the left hand for the upbeat).
In terms of conventional roles, it is the bass player in a jazz group more than the
drummer even who is the primary timekeeper, the backbone of the band. It can be a
thankless job. I’ve often been in situations where the soloist is playing chorus after
chorus, each one more intense than the last, the drummer is going nuts, and the bassist
ends up having to be the voice of reason, the one who keeps everything from going awry!
Once I was at the Blue Note in New York listening to Herbie Hancock’s trio with Dave
Holland on bass and drummer Gene Jackson. Herbie was always pushing the envelope,
stretching the harmony and time in thrilling fashion, and once in a while he would go just
one harmonic superimposition or rhythmic modulation too far and would lose his place
(yay! He’s human after all!). In these rare instances, it was Holland rather than Jackson
who Hancock would look to. Dave would play a big fat downbeat, he and Herbie would
share a grin, and off they’d go again. Sometimes I imagine the bassist wearing a striped
shirt and a whistle! Fortunately, bass players tend to be relatively laid back individuals!
If the bassist is effectively the heartbeat of the band, the drummer is the conductor,
often instigating shifts in feel, density, and dynamics. He/she keeps the engine rolling
by reinforcing the bass player’s downbeat pulse while simultaneously abstracting it,
stoking the fire by layering syncopations and polyrhythms. A good drummer will swing
and have good time but a great drummer can generate an inexplicable kind of magic that
lifts the music to a higher level. The work of Canadian genius Claude Ranger has that
quality; ditto both “Papa” Jo and “Philly” Joe Jones, Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, Ben Riley,
Jimmy Cobb, Tony Williams, Joe Chambers, Brian Blade, Joey Baron, Jeff “Tain” Watts,
Steve Gadd, Bernard Purdie, Vinny Collaiuta, Eric Harland, and Led Zeppelin’s John
Bonham, among many others.
While the term “rhythm section” can easily refer simply to the bass and drums, the
piano and guitar are often thought of as being part of the section as well. Indeed, these
instruments sort of create a bridge between the more linear instruments like horns and
voice and the “rhythm” instruments, the bass and drums. The pianist or guitarist
“comps”, or plays chord voicings in a rhythmic fashion which more or less mirrors the
kinds of rhythmic ideas the drummer plays, for example, with his left hand on the snare
drum. He/she is therefore functioning both as a “rhythm” instrument (bouncing off of
the drums and helping to create forward motion and spur the soloist on) and a
“harmony” instrument, providing a sense of the chordal structure of a tune. When
pianists ask about how to become better at comping, I tell them three things: first, do
the Charleston exercises with a metronome set to click on “2” and “4”, somewhere
between 50 and 70 bpm to the half note (I suggest playing them with two handed
voicings as though comping for an imaginary soloist, and also with left hand voicings,
with the right hand improvising or playing the melody of a standard or bop tune).
Second, listen to great compers like Wynton Kelly, Herbie Hancock, and Jim Hall and
transcribe a few choruses of their comping (if you can’t get all the voicings exactly, at

least grab the rhythms) and play along with the records; think about really sitting in
the “pocket”, and observe how the comping relates to everything else that’s going on-
the soloist, bass and drums, etc. And finally, listen to and play with great drummers and
steal some of their ideas!
As a pianist, there is a particular challenge in working with guitarists. It is good to have

a few different strategies for dealing with this issue, as certain approaches will work
with one guitarist and not another, depending on their harmonic and sonic approach. For
example, when I worked with the legendary Ed Bickert in the Boss Brass we usually
alternated comping for soloists, rarely playing at the same time except during the head
or if it was a Latin or blues type of feel, or a Count Basie vibe where the guitar played
Freddie Green-style four-to-the-bar strumming. I would comp for Ed’s solos of course,
but I’d keep my ears open in case he started into a chord solo approach, in which case
I’d back off. On the other hand, working with another great Canadian guitarist, Ted
Quinlan, in a more open small group setting, we are often able to comp together. Ted
tends toward a more contemporary approach to sound, a la John Abercombie, Mike
Stern, Bill Frisell or John Scofield, and can, using various effects pedals, generate
different colours, almost like synthesizer pads, while I comp in a more conventional
fashion. Finally, I once played for a week in a trio setting with guitarist Gene Bertoncini
and bassist Dave Young. I found that, with the particular brand of mid-register voicings
that Gene played, if I played my voicings an octave higher than I would normally play
them it created a very rich, full sound.
The relationship to rhythm and time in European classical music is quite different than
in jazz; there are parallels, though. Mozart was quoted as saying, regarding the correct
interpretation of his piano music, that “the left hand should be in strict time and the
right hand should be rubato”. It is easy to relate this to jazz. My more generalized
translation of that statement is that the stronger and more intimate one’s relationship
is with the pulse, the heartbeat, the freer one can be in one’s interpretation of the
beat. A perfect illustration of what Mozart is talking about in a jazz context is the
pianist Erroll Garner. I always tell students who want to understand groove and swing to
listen to Garner, with the exhilarating Concert by the Sea album being a great place to
start. Garner plays like the entire Count Basie Orchestra, with his right hand playing
the part of the horn sections (utilizing thick block chords) as well as inserting single
note horn-like solo lines and minimalist Basie-esque piano interjections, all against the
backdrop of a left hand that mimics the never wavering, rightdown-the-middle quarter
note strumming of Basie’s rhythm guitarist, Freddie Green. Garner creates incredible
momentum and tension and release by sometimes playing right down the middle of the
beat with the right hand and other times backphrasing and playing essentially rubato
against the light yet relentless four-to the-bar pulse of the left hand. This approach is
especially pronounced on slow-medium tunes like Teach Me Tonight. The contributions
of bassist Eddie Calhoun and drummer Denzil Best, despite the fact that they are often
difficult to hear on this live recording, are nonetheless significant in a very minimalist

way. They float along effortlessly and provide a spacious, swinging canvas for Garner to
paint his masterful improvisations on.
It is interesting to note that it was often horn players, like Louis Armstrong and
Charlie Parker, who were the harbingers of new innovative movements within jazz. In
the case of both Armstrong in the 1920s and Parker two decades later, it took bassists
and drummers a few years to catch up to the new levels of freedom these giants
introduced. Arguably the first truly great, swinging rhythm section was that of the
original Count Basie orchestra, which evolved out of the Bennie Moten band in 1930s
Kansas City. Jo Jones’ elegantly swinging drums, relaxed yet driving, and the solid, full-
bodied bass of Walter Page created the foundation, given further momentum by the
constant “chunk” of Green’s rhythm guitar. Bill Basie himself studied with Fats Waller
and was an accomplished stride pianist, but he developed a very sparse signature style
that consisted of short single note melodic tinkles and high-register chordal splashes
that acted as understated commentary against the roar of the band and the chug of
Green, Page and Jones. The classic recordings of this band with tenor soloist Lester
Young, tunes like Dickie’s Dream, Tickle Toe and Lester Leaps In (which can be found on
the Mosaic box set The Lester Young/Count Basie Sessions 1936-1940) are timeless.
Later editions of the Basie band, with Green and Basie joined by other bass/drum
combinations, such as Eddie Jones and Sonny Payne, continued the tradition on classics
like Atomic Basie and Sinatra at the Sands (which features Old Blue Eyes and the Basie
band at their live best, with rrangements by a young Quincy Jones!).
The peak of the rhythm section’s evolution was probably in the 1950s and ‘60s. The art
of straight ahead, swinging groove playing was consolidated in groups like the Oscar
Peterson Trio (with bassist Ray Brown and first guitarist Herb Ellis, later replaced by
drummer Ed Thigpen); Miles Davis’ groups with Wynton Kelly or Red Garland on piano,
Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones or Jimmy Cobb, drums; and the hard bop
organizations of Horace Silver and Art Blakey.
Meanwhile, pianist Bill Evans, along with his musical soul mate, bassist Scott LaFaro, and
drummer Paul Motian, pioneered a fresh approach to the piano trio in which the pulse
was still felt strongly but was interpreted in a more loose, “floaty” fashion, with LaFaro
often eschewing the conventional “walking” bass in favor of a more broken, melodic
approach. As opposed to a “soloist/accompaniment” type of relationship, it was more
like three equal contrapuntal voices, arguably a less “African”, more “European”
approach, which effectively laid the groundwork for later trios like those of Keith
Jarrett and Brad Meldau, as well as much of the music associated with the German ECM
label. Also, so-called “free jazz” was emerging as a powerful influence. Some artists,
like Ornette Coleman, were opening things up by removing harmonic restrictions while
maintaining a semblance of conventional swing rhythm. Others, like Cecil Taylor,
eventually let strict time go altogether in favor of a more abstract type of forward
motion, almost like ocean waves.

Jazz, too, was cross pollinating with some of its Afro-European cousins from other
parts of the Americas. As far back as the mid 1940s, Dizzy Gillespie (with conguero
Chano Pozo) and Machito led big bands which introduced the Afro-Cuban influence to
the jazz lexicon, and by the ‘60s these early seeds had blossomed into the vibrant New
York Salsa and Latin jazz scene. This was also the decade that Americans discovered
Brazil, thanks mainly to saxophonist Stan Getz’ compelling collaborations with
singer/guitarist Joao Gilberto and composer Antonio Carlos “Tom” Jobim, sometimes
referred to as the “Gershwin of Brazil”. Today, some understanding of the rhythmic
languages of Brazil and Cuba is expected of the well-rounded rhythm section player,
and many musicians are exploring other related traditions, such as Colombian Cumbia
and Afro-Peruvian music.
Drummer Max Roach and pianist Dave Brubeck, meanwhile, began exploring less common
time signatures, such as 7/4, 5/4, 11/8 and 9/8. These innovations, seen as novel at the
time, are now part of the language, and artists such as Dave Holland, Steve Coleman,
Dave Douglas, Andy Milne, Vijay Iyer, and others continue to take them to new heights,
often borrowing rhythmic concepts from Indian, North African, and Slavic cultures
(among others) where so-called “odd meters” are more commonplace.
Finally, by the late 1950s the hard bop esthetic had embraced a “funky” element, drawn
from the influence of black church music and rhythm and blues. This element became a
key ingredient in the music of Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderly, Herbie Hancock, and
Wes Montgomery among others. Eventually, this went even further as jazz musicians,
led by Miles Davis, came to appreciate the improvisational blues-rock of Jimi Hendrix
and Cream, the funk and soul of James Brown and Sly Stone, and the melodic pop of the
Beatles. The integration of rock and funk rhythms into the jazz language through Davis’
groundbreaking albums In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew provided the blueprint for
“fusion”, and musicians who participated in those sessions, such as Wayne Shorter, Joe
Zawinul, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, and Billy Cobham went on to form bands such as
Return to Forever, Mahivishnu Orchestra, and possibly the most influential of all,
Weather Report. Cofounded by Zawinul, Shorter and bassist Miroslav Vitous, they went
through a steady stream of stellar drummers, including Alphonse Mouzon, Eric Gravatt,
Alex Acuna, Peter Erskine, and Omar Hakim. Vitous was replaced first by Alphonso
Johnson, then by the great Jaco Pastorius. Pastorius was perhaps the first “true”
electric bassist, in the sense that he was not a guitarist or acoustic bassist who
switched or doubled, and he almost singlehandedly turned it into a virtuoso instrument,
combining a strong R&B sensibility borrowed from James Jamerson and Jerry Jermott
with a sophisticated harmonic vocabulary and deep understanding of swing. His special
relationship with Erskine created one of the great rhythm pairings of all time.
Two rhythm sections that came into prominence in the 1960s deserve special mention,
as each made an inestimable contribution to the modern rhythm section approach. John
Coltrane’s classic quartet pioneered an aggressive form of modal jazz. While the music
was often harmonically static (being based not on dense chord progressions but on one

or two modal areas on top of which one could superimpose all kinds of other harmonic
and melodic structures), Coltrane nonetheless made it known to pianist McCoy Tyner
that he still wanted the impression of chord movement. Tyner’s solution was to devise a
series of voicings built in fourths which could be moved in parallel fashion through a
given scale or mode, and also “sidestepped” in and out of the key centre. The sheer
power of his style developed in response to the driving, rolling, polyrhythmic roar of
Elvin Jones, one of the most influential drummers of all time. The massive foundation
provided by Jimmy Garrison’s bass was the final piece of the puzzle.
Meanwhile, Coltrane’s former boss, Miles Davis, formed an equally important group,
fueled by brilliant teenage sparkplug Tony Williams on drums. While Jones had a big,
wide swing that tended to sit on the back end of the beat, Williams had a spikier, more
“on top” feel, coming perhaps out of Roy Haynes. His cleanly articulated ride cymbal
contrasted with Jones’ washier approach, and he was a great orchestrator as well as
technician. Bassist Ron Carter redefined the melodic possibilities of the walking bass
line. And pianist Herbie Hancock combined a highly evolved rhythmic sensibility with an
incredibly sophisticated, impressionistic harmonic vocabulary. As a group (influenced
greatly by the presence of composer/saxophonist Wayne Shorter), they blurred lines
between freedom and form, and were one of the first jazz ensembles to experiment
with “metric modulation” (which consists of isolating a secondary pulse within the
primary tempo and then making that the “new” tempo), a device which was later
expanded on further by Wynton Marsalis’ 1980s quintet on albums like Live at Blues
Alley and Standard Time, Vol. 1, and even further by bassist Johannes Weidenmuller
and drummer Ari Honig with the trios of Kenny Werner and Jean-Michel Pilc.
What follows is a very selective and biased discography. There is no shortage of lists of
essential jazz recordings, so what I’m presenting is a list of recordings that have
influenced me personally, specifically in terms of how to function in a rhythm section.
They are indicative of my personal musical journey. There are some obvious choices, as
well as some that will be less familiar.
Nat “King” Cole- Best of the Nat King Cole Trio (Various volumes)
(Cole, p; Oscar Moore, g; Johnny Miller, b)
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong- Ella and Louis
(Oscar Peterson, p; Ray Brown, b; Buddy Rich, d)
Dizzy Gillespie- Sonny Side Up
(Ray Bryant, p; Tommy Bryant, b; Charlie Persip, d)
Oscar Peterson- Night Train
(Peterson, p; Ray Brown, b; Ed Thigpen, d)
Sonny Stitt- ...Sits in with the Oscar Peterson Trio
(same as above)
Phineas Newborn, Jr.- The Great Jazz Piano of...
(Newborn, p; Leroy Vinnegar, Sam Jones, b; Milt Turner, Louis Hayes, d)
- A World of Piano

(Paul Chambers, b; “Philly” Joe Jones, d)
Don Byas and Bud Powell- A Tribute to Cannonball
(Powell, p; Pierre Michelot, b; Kenny Clarke, d)
Bud Powell- The Amazing Bud Powell
(George Duvivier, Curly Russell, b; Art Taylor, Max Roach, d)
Thelonious Monk- Monk’s Dream
(John Ore, b; Frankie Dunlop, d)
Wes Montgomery- Smokin’ at the Half Note
(Montgomery, g; Wynton Kelly, p; Paul Chambers, b; Jimmy Cobb,d)
Cannonball Adderly- Somethin’ Else
(Hank Jones, p; Sam Jones,b;Art Blakey, d)
- Country Preacher
(Joe Zawinul, p; Walter Booker, b; Roy McCurdy, d)
Hank Mobley- Soul Station
(Kelly, p; Chambers, b; Art Blakey, d)
Sonny Rollins- The Bridge
(Jim Hall, g; Bob Cranshaw, b; Ben Riley, d)
- Alfie
(Roger Kellaway, p; Kenny Burrell, g; Walter Booker, b; Frankie Dunlop, d)
Vince Guaraldi- A Charlie Brown Christmas
- Cast Your Fate to the Wind
(Guaraldi, p; Monty Budwig, b; Colin Bailey, d)
Donald Byrd/Pepper Adams- Out of this World- The Complete Warwick Sessions
(Herbie Hancock, p; Laymon Jackson, b; Jimmy Cobb, d)
Charles Mingus- Mingus Ah Um
(Horace Parlan, p; Mingus, b; Dannie Richmond, d)
Clifford Brown- A Study in Brown
(Richie Powell, p; George Morrow, b; Max Roach, d)
Art Blakey- Free for All
(Cedar Walton, p; Reggie Workman, b; Blakey, d)
Nancy Wilson- But Beautiful
(Gene Bertoncini, g; Hank Jones, p;Ron Carter, b; Grady Tate, d)
- ...and Cannonball Adderly (Joe Zawinul, p; Sam
Jones, b; Louis Hayes, d)
Ernestine Anderson- Never Make Your Move Too Soon
(Monty Alexander, p; Ray Brown, b; Frank Gant, d)
Miles Davis- Milestones
(Red Garland, p; Paul Chambers, b; “Philly” Joe Jones, d)
- Kind of Blue
(Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, p; Chambers,b; Jimmy Cobb, d)
- The Sorcerer
- No Blues
(Herbie Hancock, p; Ron Carter, b; Tony Williams, d)
John Coltrane- Blue Train

(Kenny Drew, p; Paul Chambers, b; “Philly” Joe Jones, d)
- A Love Supreme
- The European Concert
(McCoy Tyner, p; Jimmy Garrison, b; Elvin Jones, d)
Bill Evans- New Jazz Conceptions
(Evans, p; Teddy Kotick, b; Paul Motian, d)
- The Complete Village Vanguard Sessions, 1961
(Evans,p; Scott LaFaro, b; Motian, d)
- You Must Believe In Spring
(Evans, p; Eddie Gomez, b;Elliot Zigmund, d)
Wayne Shorter- Juju
(McCoy Tyner, p; Ron Carter, b; Elvin Jones, d)
- Etcetera
(Herbie Hancock, p; Cecil McBee, b; Joe Chambers, d)
- Beyond the Sound Barrier
(Danillo Perez, p; John Pattitucci, b; Brian Blade, d)
McCoy Tyner- Tender Moments
(Tyner, p; Herbie Lewis, b; Joe Chambers, d)
- Supertrios
(Tyner, p; Ron Carter, Eddie Gomez, b;Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, d)
Cedar Walton Quartet- Second Set
(Walton, p; Sam Jones, b;Billy Higgins, d)
Herbie Hancock- Emperean Isles
(Hancock, p; Ron Carter, b; Tony Williams, d)
- V.S.O.P. The Quintet (same)
- Thrust
(Hancock, keyboards; Paul Jackson, Jr.,b; Mike Clark, d)
Chick Corea- Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
(Corea, p; Miroslav Vitous, b; Roy Haynes, d)
- Three Quartets
(Corea, p; Eddie Gomez, b; Steve Gadd, d)
Keith Jarrett- My Song
(Jarrett, p; Palle Danielson, b; Jon Christiensen, d)
- Still Live
(Jarrett, p; Gary Peacock, b; Jack DeJohnette, d)
Ornette Coleman- The Shape of Jazz to Come
(Charlie Haden, b;Billy Higgins, d)
Woody Shaw- Little Red’s Fantasy
(Ronnie Matthews, p; Stafford James, b; Eddie Moore, d)
Hal Galper- Children of the Night
(Galper, p; Wayne Dockery, b; Bob Moses, d)
Wynton Marsalis- Marsalis Standard Time, vol.1
(Marcus Roberts,p; Bob Hurst, b; Jeff “Tain” Watts, d)
Branford Marsalis- Crazy People Music

(Kenny Kirkland, p; Hurst,b; Watts, d)
- Requiem (same but Eric Revis for Hurst)
Pat Metheny- Bright Size Life
(Metheny, g; Jaco Pastorius, b;Bob Moses, d)
Weather Report- Heavy Weather
(Joe Zawinul, k; Pastorius, b;Alex Acuna, d; Manolo Badrena, perc.)
- 8:30 (Zawinul, k; Pastorius, b; Peter Erskine, d)
Michael Brecker- Michael Brecker
(Pat Metheny, g; Kenny Kirkland, p; Charlie Haden, b; Jack De Johnette,d)
Kenny Barron- Scratch
(Barron, p; Dave Holland, b; Daniel Humair,d)
Dave Liebman- Pendulum
(Richie Beirach, p; Frank Tusa, b; Al Foster, d)
Quest- N.Y. Nights
(Beirach, p; Ron McClure, b; Billy Hart, d)
Dave Holland- Seeds of Time
(Holland, b; Marvin “Smitty” Smith,d)
- Extensions
(Kevin Eubanks, g; Holland, b; Smith, d)
- Not For Nothin’
(Steve Nelson, vibes; Holland, b; Billy Kilson, d)
Steve Coleman- Sine Die
(James Weidman, Geri Allen, k; David Gilmore, g; Kevin Bruce Harris, Lonnie
Plaxico,b;“Smitty” Smith, d)
Alan Holdsworth- Metal Fatigue
(Holdsworth, g; Alan Pasqua, k;Jimmy Johnson, Gary Willis, b; Chad Wackerman,
Gary Husband, Mac Hine, d)
Kenny Wheeler- Double Double You
(John Taylor, p; Dave Holland,b; Jack DeJohnette, d)
Dave Douglas- Stargazer
(Uri Caine, p; James Genus, b; Joey Baron, d)
Chris Potter- Gratitude
(Kevin Hays, p; Larry Grenadier, b; Brian Blade, d)
Jeff “Tain” Watts- Bar Talk
(Joey Calderazzo, p; James Genus, Eric Revis, b; Watts, d)
Peter Erskine- Sweet Soul
(Kenny Werner, p; Marc Johnson, b;Erskine, d)
- You Never Know
(John Taylor, p; Palle Danielson, b;Erskine, d)
Dianne Reeves- I Remember
(Bobby Hutcherson, vibes; Kevin Eubanks, g; Billy Childs, Mulgrew Miller, Donald
Brown, Charles Mims, p; Charnett Moffett, Chris Severn, b; “Smitty” Smith, Terri Lynn
Carrington, Billy Kilson, d Ron Powell, Bill Summers, Luis Conte, perc.)
Pancho Sanchez- La Famillia

(Charlie Otwell, p; Tony Banda, b;Sanchez, Ramon Banda, David Romero, perc.)
Eddie Palmieri- Molasses
(Palmieri, p; David Perez, b; Manny Oquendo, Tommy Lopez, perc.)
Milton Nascimento- Miltons
(Herbie Hancock, k; Nana Vasconcelos, perc.)
Brad Meldau- Art of the Trio
(various volumes) (Meldau, p; Larry Grenadier, b; Jorge Rossy, d)
Vijay Iyer- Reimagining
(Iyer, p; Stephan Crumb, b; Marcus Gilmore, d)
For general study of groove, rhythm, time and various rhythm section approaches
outside of the jazz realm, I also recommend checking out: James Brown; Steely Dan;
Stevie Wonder; Donny Hathaway; Tower of Power; Aretha Franklin; The Band; The
Meters; Professor Longhair; Chuck Berry; Dr. John; The Neville Brothers; Led Zeppelin;
Cream; Genesis; Yes; Rush; The Who; The Beatles; The Jimi Hendrix Experience/Band
of Gypsies; The Rolling Stones; Parliament/Funkadelic; Sly and the Family Stone;
Sting/The Police; Bob Marley and the Wailers; Sly and Robbie; Booker T and the MG’s;
Motown; Busta Rhymes; various world musics, especially African, Brazillian, Afro-Cuban,
Afro-Peruvian, other Afro-Carribean traditions (Merengue, Calypso, Cumbia), Indian,
Arabic, Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian, etc. etc.

Contents:
An Introduction to Latin Bass Lines
Cuba – Clave
-Bass Tumbao
-Cha cha cha
-Afro-Cuban 6/8
-Bolero
Dominican – Merengue
Brazil – Samba
-Partido Alto
-Bossa Nova
Cuban Music Discography
Brazilian Music Discography
An Introduction to Latin Bass Lines by Will Jarvis 553

Here’s a great four-against-three idea that I heard Bill Stewart play while trading eights
on the tune (Go) Get It on the Pat Metheny CD entitled Trio 99 —> 00 :
TRACK 75
While the idea itself is pretty simple, it’s the accents that create the real fouragainst-
three phrase. When a phrase is that strong, it’s really easy to lose your relationship with
the underlying time, so as always I recommend being able to count the 4/4 pulse while
you’re playing it. Since this is meant to be played at a fairly brisk tempo, I find it’s easier
to count in cut time: one 2, two 2, three 2, four 2, etc. Eventually you’ll be able to feel it
without having to count.
Multi meter Excerpts for Drummers by Paul DeLong 566

Now we’ll substitute four sixteenths for every quarter note of the quarter note triplets.
Start by playing them as single strokes with a strong accent like this:
Then practice moving the sixteenths around the drums like this:
Try leading with the left hand as well.
Another concept is to keep the left hand on the snare and move the right hand around the
drums:
Multi meter Excerpts for Drummers by Paul DeLong 567

A study guide for the beginner, intermediate and advanced player
Improvising on the drums in the jazz medium is often approached with hesitancy and lack
of guidance in the realm of jazz education. There aren’t often clear systems and technical
guidelines to teach a student how to effectively communicate their musical ideas. This may
seem strange at first glance due to the fact that drumming in essence is based on rhythmic
play without the complication of melody or harmony. Why can a drummer hold great time
while playing a groove but struggles when given the opportunity to branch off from
conventional patterns? Does a drummer not possess the musical prowess of other
instrumentalists? Must they submit to the ancient prejudice and segregate themselves into
a less intellectual race of musicians? The answer to this question lies in the relationship
between what the listener and the player value in not just a drum solo, but any instrumental
solo. There are key strategic functions of music which create motion, tension, release and
excitement that need to be exploited and applied when a player is given a chance to be
heard above the blend of the ensemble. Drummers are not exempt from this rule and it
should hold a priority when playing a solo. The following will outline a plan to introduce
beginner drummers to fundamental concepts of soloing while expand on certain ideas for
intermediate and advanced players. A reference discography will be included to
demonstrate the concepts and how they are applied at a professional standard.
The Beginner Drum Soloist

Fundamental concepts of the drum solo
1. Time- Time is essential to effectively play a drum solo. It should be the highest priority
when playing a solo and should never be compromised. That is not intended to be so strict
and rigid to suggest that it should always remain an unchangeable constant. Some of the
best soloists use the concept of time extremely effectively by pushing, pulling and
modulating it to create tension, release and forward motion. These concepts are more
geared towards the advanced player but should never be dismissed as a musical
opportunity. For the purposes of this section, time feel should remain as consistent as
possible.
2. Feel- Feel is what separates drummers from drum machines. It is a culmination of every
aspect of playing that defines an individual player’s particular sound. Feel comes from the
basic need and desire of a musician to create music. It is the metaphysical link between
emotion and the physical properties of sound.
Jazz Improvisation for the Drum Kit by Neil MacIntosh 568

3. Rhythmic Complexity- A drum solo is more often than not built on rhythmic phrasing
and complexity. Creating interesting patterns that create tension and release against the
pulse of the song. It is the medium through which drummers communicate musical ideas.
4. Tone - Tone is often overlooked as a fundamental concept of drumming. Over the

evolution of North American music the tone of the overall drum set has evolved along with
the myriad of styles. A jazz drummer may prefer a lighter sounding kit capable of
exploiting subtle nuances while a death metal drummer may prefer a bottom heavy loud kit
capable of projecting extreme virtuous speed and intensity.
Soloing style: Jazz
Jazz is an extremely ambiguous title for a type of music that encompasses many different
styles and feels. For the purpose of introducing a student to improvising on the drums in
the jazz medium the following will highlight some common concepts such as trading, and
soloing over a form.
1. Trading
Trading is a common concept in jazz improvisation that allows a drummer to interact and
engage in a musical conversation with another soloist. It is a relatively easy beginner
approach to soloing because it provides a limited amount of space to work with and keeps
track on the form of the tune being played. The way it works is a melodic soloist (horn,
piano, bass) will start off the first section (typically 4 bar lengths, but this can vary) with a
solo and then stop for an equal length of bars to allow the drummer to solo (the drummer
maintains time keeping during the other player’s solo). Trading in 4 bar groupings is the
most common approach but it can vary at the whim of the initial soloist. It is common place
to choose an even bar grouping to line up with the top of the form of a tune.
Ex: soloing over a 32 bar tune

16 sax - 16 drums = once through a 32 bar form
8 sax - 8 drums - 8 sax - 8 drums = once through a 32 bar form
4 sax - 4 drums - 4 sax - 4 drums - 4 sax - 4 drums - 4 sax - 4 drums = once through 32 bar
form
Ex: soloing over a 12 bar tune (blues)

8 sax - 8 drums - 8 sax = twice through a 12 bar form
4 sax - 4 drums - 4sax - 4 drums - 4 sax - 4 drums = twice through a 12 bar form
Trading over the form of a blues in groupings of 4 can be deceiving because the top of the
form reverses the order of the soloists. It is helpful to remember that after two times
through a 12 bar blues form while trading 4's is when the cycle repeats itself. Trading is
also an effective means of initiating a call and response relationship with the other soloist.
When a drummer repeats certain rhythms that he or she hears in the other soloists ideas
it makes for a more congruous sound between the two.

The following is meant when referring to time:
To elaborate on the concept of call and response here is an example of 4 bars of a melodic
pattern followed by the response on the drums.
This example shows a call and response example where the drums mimic the rhythmic and
tonal properties of the previous melodic line. A good exercise to practice this technique
would be to play time and sing 4 bars of a repetitive melody and then take 4 bars and try to
play that same melody on the drums with close attention to rhythm, feel and tone. Try
extending the length of the repetitive phrase to 8-12-16-32 bars and copy it onto the drum
kit. A good example of trading would be ‘four’ (track 5) from Sonny Rollins’ ‘A night at the
Village Vanguard: vol 1' recorded under the Bluenote label on November 3rd 1957 with Pete
La roca on drums trading with the legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins.
(Catalogue #46517, UPC # 077774651721)

2. Soloing over a form
Soloing over the form of a 32 bar standard or a 12 bar blues can be a tough challenge for
beginner jazz drummers. There are many different aspects beyond the actual solo itself
that need to be controlled in order to properly execute the solo. Keeping the time steady is
fundamental because it ensures that the rest of the ensemble will know where they are in
the form (assuming they can count). A good technique that beginner drummers can apply is
singing the tune in your head as you play over the form. Mimicking the melody on the drums
is also very helpful in keeping the form together and also because it is very interesting for
the listener. Providing an alternate take on the tune by expressing it purely through rhythm
and tonal structure gives the listener and non-drummer a better chance to relate to the
solo. In a afternoon clinic in the percussion room at Humber, Cuban drummer Dafnus Prieto
demonstrated this technique by playing the entire head to Charlie Parker’s Confirmation on
the drums. His expertise in using the drum kit to mimic the phrasing and pitch of the tune
was exemplified when he pressed on a drum head with one stick to change the pitch of the
drum and hit the drum with the other free stick. A great example is from the live
recording of Lester Young’s Quartet “Live at Birdland” featuring a solo by Papa Jo Jones
(catalogue #4039 ESP disk ltd, UPC # 825481040396)
Soloing Style: Rock
Rock is a the pre-dominant popular style in the modern musical industry. It has many
different sub-styles but can be simplified in terms of drum kit playing to certain
attributes such as a heavy back beat, a straight 8th note feel, and a deeper bottom end
sound. Soloing on drums in the rock medium is more a show of technical prowess then of
artistic flair. It is a chance for the drummer to let loose from the rock steady groove he
or she has been maintaining throughout a show. Rock drum solos can be short fill-like
breaks or can be long extended solos that showcase the drummer. A perfect example would
be Led Zeppelin’s ‘Moby Dick’ (Led Zeppelin II) where John Bonham displays his unique
abilities through an extended solo. Recorded on the Atlantic label in 1969 this remains one
of rock’s most famous drum solo’s. (catalogue # SD-8236, UPC # 075678263323). A
signature John Bonham lick that is incorporated into the Moby Dick solo is the triplet
hand/foot combination like this:
Soloing Style: Fusion
Fusion is a style that incorporates aspects from rock, jazz, latin and other exotic forms of
music. In terms of soloing on the drums in fusion music, it demands the technical prowess
and finesse of jazz with the intensity and showmanship of rock. It is normally a style that

highlights technical virtuosity and especially so in the rhythm section where the players are
constantly faced with odd time signatures, difficult phrasing and maintaining a degree of
authenticity to the styles being fused. A great example of a fusion solo would be track 5
from Chick Corea’s 1976 album ‘The Leprechaun’ featuring a solo by the one and only Steve
Gadd. (Polygram, catalogue #519798, UPC #73145979828)Steve plays an interesting lick
that is similar to that of the transcribed John Bonham lick above but instead of playing
that 3 note grouping in 8th note triplets he plays them as 16th notes.
Soloing Style: Latin
Latin music is deeply rooted with drumming and percussion and is the base in which the
music is built off. Latin jazz is a fusion of these percussive roots with melody and harmony.
The percussion section in latin music is composed of claves, timbales, congas, bongos,
shakers, cowbells and other various auxiliary percussive instruments. Bands who wished to
play latin inspired pieces looked to the lone drummer to re-create the feel of a percussion
section of 3-4 players. Drummers ended up transferring patterns from each particular
instrument to a corresponding limb like moving the clave to the snare drum, the cascara
pattern to the cymbal, and the underlying drum pulse to the bass drum. A great example
for the beginner soloist to hear the essence of this music would be from Dizzy Gillespie’s
“Rhythmstick” where track 1 “Caribe” features Tito Puente on Timbales. (1992 CTI,
catalogue # R2-79477)
Intermediate Listening Guide

Jazz: Max Roach “Blues for Big Sid” from the album Blue (Atlantic AMCY 1043)
Fusion: Billy Cobham’s “Stratus” from Spectrum (1990 Atlantic release # 7268)
Latin: Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez “Free Latin” from Italuba (Universal Latin catalogue
#360612)
Rock: Bill Bruford of King Crimson, track 5 from Thrak “b’Boom” (Virgin catalogue #40313)
Funk: Ziggaboo Modeliste of The Meters track 7 from Cissy Strut “Cissy strut” (Island
catalogue #9250)
Advanced Listening Guide

Jazz: Bill Stewart from John Schofield’s Enroute Live track 8 “Travel John” (Verve
catalogue #000169902)
Fusion: Billy Cobham from The Mahivishnu Orchestra’s album The Inner Mounting Flame,
track 5, “Vital Transformation” (Columbia catalogue #31067)
Latin: Dafnis Prieto from his album About the Monks track 1 “About the Monks” (Zoho
catalogue # 200502)

Rock: Danny Carey from Tool’s Salival DVD/VHS, track 5 Merkaba (Volcano catalogue
#31158)
Funk: David Garibaldi from Tower of Power’s Back to Oakland track 5 “Squib Cakes”
(Warner Bros. Catalogue #46282)
The Intermediate to Advanced drum Soloist
Along with the fundamentals discussed in the beginner section, the following will elaborate
on some more complex concepts that the advanced player should include in his or her solo
playing. Time, feel, tone and rhythmic complexity are all essential concepts to be in control
of during a solo but only form a cohesive musical idea with the application of one key
concept, phrasing. Phrasing is what binds musical ideas together and it defines the shape
and structure of the sound. It is the organization and application of the fundamental
drumming concepts discussed earlier, in a musical manner. Whereas melodic instruments
have tonic and dominant structures to weave their spontaneous solo melodies through,
drummers have (although not limited to) rhythmic structure. Phrasing is where a rhythmic
structure starts and resolves, how it is articulated and how it relates to the rhythmic
canvass it is being played over. Here is a simple example of rhythmic phrase resolution.
What is the most predictable rhythm for the second bar of this phrase?
The second bar of this phrase resolves most commonly by two quarter notes falling on
beats 2 and 3. It is a lick based on the following melodic line and demonstrates that
rhythmic phrasing is an essential part of tension resolution in soloing.
Now that it’s understood that people have preconceived notions of where rhythmic
resolution is going to happen, this can be taken advantage of during a solo to build tension
and stretch out rhythmic phrasing. This next example is from Max Roach’s solo “Blues for
Big Sid” recorded on his Drums Unlimited album. In this solo, Max plays a Sid Catlett lick
that resolves after 4 bars with an interesting twist on the phrasing.

Notice how the third grouping of the lick happens on beat 4 implying a sense of 3/4
resolving to the two quarter notes on beats 1 and 2 of bar 4. This 4 bar phrase becomes
the main theme of the solo and is repeated and developed throughout the piece. Implying
different meters within a phrase is a popular way to develop solo ideas. It helps create
tension and build energy to explode out of the end of a phrase. Grouping rhythms together
to contrast the pulse of the song have great phrasing potential as their resolution can
stretched over the bar line and away from conventional points of rhythmic resolution.
These next examples show how rhythmic groupings of 4 1/8th note triplets can stretch
over beats and bar lengths and create a 3 against 4 feel.
This next example shows groupings of 5 1/8th notes resolving to the beginning of the group
in five bars.
The next example shows a grouping of 5 triplet 1/8th notes resolving in 5 bars.

Sometimes I find it helpful to use a formula to figure out how many bars it takes to resolve
phrases so that the first note of the phrase falls on beat 1. One method I use works like
this:
For groupings of 5 1/8th notes:

8 (1/8th notes) / bar x 5 (1/8th notes) / phrase = 40 (1/8th notes)  8 (1/8th notes) / bar =
5 bars
For groupings of 5 triplets 1/8 notes:
12 (1/8th trip) / bar x 5 (1/8th trip) / phrase = 60 (1/8th trip)  12 (1/8th trip) / bar = 5
bars
For groupings of 3 1/8th notes:
8 (1/8th notes) / bar x 3 (1/8th notes) / phrase = 24 (1/8th notes)  8 (1/8th notes) / bar =
3 bars
This simple math can help figure out longer and more complicated phrases that cross the
barline.
Keeping 2 and 4 on the hihat throughout these odd groupings can relate the phrasing to the
pulse of the tune and create a strong sense of polyrhythmic activity and tension. Phrases
that don’t resolve within the barline generate a sense of freedom from the structure of a
song and are particularly helpful in creating interesting tension and resolution within solos.
Developing and practicing different combinations of 2 and 3 note phrases in triplets, 1/8th
and 1/16th notes is an effective way to apply this concept to soloing on the drums.
Accenting is also a key part in phrasing drum soloing ideas. Changing the accent pattern
while playing the same rhythm is an excellent way to develop and expand on a particular
motif. Rhythmic phrasing is an essential part of improvisation for any instrument but
especially for drums to re-interpret melodic ideas with percussive sounds. Bill Stewart is a
master of melodic rhythmic phrasing in his drum solos. He creates repetitive structures of
odd groupings that flow smoothly over the barline and with this rhythmic contrast and the

effective use of accenting and dynamics, he generates amazing amounts of tension and
release in his solos.
Soloing over shots
Soloing over a shot section in a song can be a daunting task for drummers because it
requires that he or she keep steady time to keep the band together while trying to develop
solo ideas at the same time. A good way to approach this dilemma is to try and make the
shots correspond to rhythmic ideas in your solo. Here is an example of Brian Blade’s tune
Sweet Nasty from Joshua Redman’s album Momentum. The solo starts at 5:17 on the track.
This solo presents an interesting dilemma because it reflects the main groove of the piece
but it is fragmented into shots. Take for example the first off beat 1/16th note of the
first bar; this can be exploited to maximize the resolution of the previous section and lead
into the solo. You can create great ideas by displacing a simple groove by just one 1/16th
note to hit the shot and therefore it make it easier to maintain time throughout the empty
bars. This way helps prevent the band from getting lost and supports the context of the
tune. Drum solos don’t always have to be random assortments of fills! They should be
supportive of the melody whether it is being played or not. The next set of shots that fall
on the last two 1/16th’s of beat 2 can be used as the resolution of the first 4 bars by
playing 2 bars of 1/16th notes in the shots. By plotting out a solo like this and looking
forward into a shot section you can develop longer phrases and make sense of a section.
Bars 10-11 and 14-15 of this solo are particularly challenging on first glance but can be

sorted out if you build an idea into it and use the shots as a resolution or a starting point.
Take for example bar 10 and 11. If you were to take those 1/16th notes and turn them into
an odd phrasing group of 5 it would be an effective way to justify the shots (The Delong
way).

One of the more memorable musical experiences I have had is the day that I first
witnessed an Indian tabla concert. I had the good fortune of getting to watch the
legendary Zakir Hussain play a concert roughly five years ago in Calgary, Alberta. The
virtuosity I witnessed that night is something that I will probably never forget. After
watching that show, I became interested in the music of India and always kept it in the
back of my head that I would later try to learn more about this music. After moving to
Toronto, this interest was even further sparked after watching New York based jazz
drummer Dan Weiss perform. Initially I didn’t really understand his style of playing, I just
thought that it was incredibly unique and was a fresh sound and approach to playing. Later
I discovered that Dan is an incredibly dedicated student of the tabla. He has studied tabla
intensely with his guru Samir Chatterjee and performs tabla concerts regularly. After
discovering that Dan Weiss was an intense student of tabla, I began to understand more
his style and sound on the drums. I began to realize that he approaches the drums the way
he would approach playing the tabla. This is where I believe his unique sound originates.
Dan Weiss has released an album called “Tintal Drumset Solo” where he has translated
traditional tabla solos onto the drum set. After listening to this album, I began to hear
where a lot of his drum set ideas come from…again, I believe he approaches the drums
thinking more like tabla player than drum set player. My interest in Dan’s playing stems
back to witnessing my first tabla concert five years ago and realizing that a lot of these
concepts can be applied to my instrument, the drums. In this paper, my goal is to present
some information pertaining to Dan Weiss, analyze some of his playing style, and to present
some information about the tabla in general.
Biography (taken from danweiss.net)
Dan Weiss began playing drums at six years of age and studied regularly with Jeff Krause.
He also studied piano and composition in high school. He later attended the Manhattan
school of music studying drums with legendary jazz educator John Riley and composition
with David Noon. Dan has also studied frame drums with Jamey Haddad. Dan has an
impressive list of performance and recording credits having performed with Dave Binney,
Lee Konitz, Dave Liebman, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Vijay Iyer, Miguel Zenon, Wayne Krantz,
Kenny Werner, Ritchie Beirach, Ben Monder, Uri Caine, Village Vanguard Orchestra, Ravi
Coltrane, Rez Abbasi, and many others. He is an incredibly well traveled drummer having
toured extensively in North America, Europe, South America, and Asia. As mentioned Dan
has an extensive list of recording credits having recorded for Omnitone, Fresh
Sounds/New Talent, Arabesque, Pi, Criss Cross, Between the Lines, Act, Hat Hut, and
Dan Weiss and the Tabla by Carlos Aguilera 578

Auand record labels. Dan has studied tabla under the guidance of his guru Pandit Samir
Chatterjee. He has performed classical Indian music in India and the USA with the likes
of Ramesh Mishra, Mandirs Lahiri, Subra Guha, Anoushka Shankar, Joyas Biswas, KV
Mahabala, and Steve Gorn. Dan has two of his own recordings. The first, as already
mentioned, is called “Tintal Drumset Solo” which features traditional tabla solos translated
to the drum set. He also has a trio album featuring his own compositions. Dan is an
incredibly versatile drummer, also playing with a metal band called “Bloody Panda”, and
playing a drum duo project with New York drummer Ari Hoenig. Dan is also involved in
education having given clinics all over Canada, the United States, and Europe. He also
teaches privately in New York and while on the road. (for more info on recordings,
projects, etc. visit danweiss.net or myspace.com/danweissdanweisstrio)
The Tabla (info from my personal interview with Ritesh Das)
Since Dan Weiss’s drumming style is so influenced by his study of the tabla, I am going to
present some information on the tabla. A couple of months ago, for an assignment in a
World Music class, I had the opportunity to interview a local tabla player by the name of
Ritesh Das. Ritesh runs the Toronto Tabla Ensemble and conducts tabla lessons at his
studio.
The tabla is an instrument from North India that dates back 500years to the time of
Akbar, the Mogul king. There was a poet in his court by the name of Amir Khusro who is
thought to have invented the instrument. It consists of two drums: a smaller, high-pitched
drum (Dahina) and a larger, low-pitched drum (Bayan). The Dahina can be tuned, but the
Bayan cannot. However, due to its loose head, different pitches can be attained on the
Bayan simply by applying pressure on the head. Bayan literally means “left” and it sits on
the left hand side. Dahina translates to “right” and is sits on the right hand side.
The tabla is taught through an oral tradition. The repertoire is passed on and memorized
through a series of syllables and rhythmic phrases referred to as “bols”. The term bol
comes from the word “bolna” which means to speak. Every bol or syllable translates to a
specific sound on the tabla. Compositions are initially learned through the use of bols.
Once the composition can be recited, it is then applied to the tabla. Typically, tabla
repertoire is passed down from guru to student. The guru/student relationship is a very
special one. In this culture, teachers are referred to as Pandit (in the Hindu religion) or
Ustad (in the Muslim religion). Pandit/Ustad is someone who is a scholar, teacher, or
someone who is an expert in a given field. For example when referring to his guru, Dan
Weiss calls him Pandit Samir Chatterjee. As I mentioned, a guru is not just a teacher.
There is a large responsibility factor in being a guru. When I interviewed Ritesh Das he
told me that a guru is not just a teacher, but also a father, brother, and friend. A guru is
someone who takes care of you, loves you, guides you, and “kicks your ass when you need it”.
When asked about his guru, Dan Weiss always speaks of the large impact that his guru has
had on his life.

The tabla was traditionally used to accompany dance, vocalists, or dancers. Solo tabla
repertoire began roughly 120 years ago and has since found itself in many different styles
of music. There is a large amount of improvisation involved in playing the tabla, but there
are also compositions. Some examples of compositions are kaida, rela, chakradar, dat,
tukra, gat, peshkar, etc. Each type of composition has its own characteristics (how to play,
when you play, the speed, the number of cycles, etc). Tabla compositions/improvisations
involve a certain tal (rhythmic cycle). A 16 beat cycle (called tintal) is equivalent to our 4/4
time. There are 108 major tals of which a 16 beat cycle is the most common.
There are different school or styles of tabla playing referred to as gharanas. There are
six major schools. They are Delhi, Ajrada, Lucknow, Farukhabad, Benares, and Punjab.
Each school has its own repertoire, techniques, phrases, etc.
Interview (from Modern Drummer Magazine)
Evidence that Dan Weiss’s unique style of playing is gaining some recognition can be found
in a recent interview he did for Modern Drummer Magazine, the world’s largest drumming
publication. To paraphrase some of the interview, Dan states that he got interested in the
tabla at an early age after hearing a Ravi Shankar album. Later on, while studying frame
drums with Jamey Haddad, he got put in touch with his now guru Samir Chatterjee. Dan
states that he spends most his time during the day practicing the tabla, and most his time
at night playing gigs on the drums. An interesting point he makes is that even though he
spends most of his time practicing tabla, a lot of the concepts involved in playing tabla can
be applied to the drum set. Some of these include discipline, development, variation,
restraint, respect, sound production, and obviously the rhythms and musical concepts of
the tabla repertoire.
One of the things that brought Dan to the attention of the jazz world is his fierce tabla-
driven drumming style. In the interview he states that he has spent a lot of time figuring
out how to apply tabla rhythms to the drum set and that his goal is to one day be able to
play all his tabla repertoire on the drums. Referring back to his “Tintal Drumset Solo” CD,
he states that he wanted to do a drum solo in the way that a tabla player plays a classical
tabla solo, with all the same structural and compositional elements intact.
At one point in the interview, Dan was asked about his approach to transferring tabla
repertoire to the drum set. He said that firstly, he keeps all of the rhythms of the
composition the same, and that he tries to maintain all of the high and low points. Also, he
says that he tries to keep the sound of resonant/non-resonant strokes. He states that
there are some phrases that will translate the same way to the drums, regardless of
whether it’s played in different compositions.
When asked about how playing tabla has influenced his drum set playing, Dan states that
his playing has been transformed both musically and spiritually from long hours of tabla
practice. He mentions that sometimes him and his guru would practice all through the night

taking only a couple of short breaks. Because of this intense practice regimen, he says
that he feels more grounded and that there’s more strength, clarity and focus when he
plays the drums. He mentions that it’s easier for him to focus through an entire gig now
because he had to focus for much longer periods of time during his intense tabla study.
Dan also states that his study of tabla has taught him to develop his internal time. When
compositions are recited, you wave and clap to delineate the beat cycle and this got him
accustomed to being able to play rhythmically complex patterns while maintaining a
grounded pulse.
When asked about developing listening skills required to play improvised music at a high
level, Dan stressed the importance of listening to as many records as possible and to focus
on different things. For example, trying to focus on the bass player or how certain
instruments are interacting. Dan also states the importance of listening to others when
you play and not just always listening to yourself. He says it’s important to put the
emphasis on others and to try to make yourself an extension of them and what they are
trying to do.
To practice improvisation, Dan suggests picking a theme and seeing how far you can get just
playing with one idea. Another suggestion is to try playing in the style of some of your
favorite musicians, or to try to play different situations. For example, trying to play an
argument or a game of basketball on the drums. He says the key is to try to hear how
those situations would unfold on the drums.
Dan Weiss is also very interested in philosophy and states that his study of philosophy has
taught him to play in the present and to not be concerned about the past or future. He
tries to play what he feels the music needs at that specific moment without having a
reference point.
One thing that really stands out to me from this interview is when Dan Weiss lists some of
his favorite recordings. He has an incredibly diverse taste in music. His favorite albums
included recordings is numerous genres including jazz, rock, progressive rock, all kinds of
world music, r&b, classical music, and even some heavy metal albums. I guess this goes back
to what he said in the interview about listening to as many different albums as possible.

Transcription #1 (from Modern Drummer Magazine)
For this first transcription, I have included a transcription that was featured in Dan
Weiss’s interview with Modern Drummer Magazine. I have also paraphrased the
explanation of the transcription that Dan included in the article. The transcription
features a tabla composition called a Tukra. The piece was composed by Nattu Khan of the
Delhi Gharana, and takes place over a 16 beat cycle (called tintal). The composition
features a body, which is 8 bars long, followed by a tehai (a thrice repeated phrase ending
on beat 1), which is also 8 bars long. The body feature two 3-beat phrases, the first
occurring at the start, and the second beginning in bar 5. The tehai is divided as follows :
3/5/5/5. As Dan Weiss plays it, the bell of the cymbal marks the start of each 5-note
phrase. After the first phrase of the tehai, there is a 3-beat fill (beats 2-4 of the third
measure). The second repetition of the phrase starts in bar 4 and the third repetition in
the 7th bar.
Part 1 of the transcription shows the rhythms and the bols of the body section. Part 2
shows the rhythms and bols in the tehai section. Part 3 features the body as Dan Weiss
has applied it to the drum set. Part 4 is the tehai as Dan has applied it to the drum set.
Parts 5-8 feature applications of this composition in jazz and rock settings. Part 5 involves
playing time for 6 bars and using a portion of the tehai to fill out the last 2 bars. Part 6
shows applying the tehai over a 12 bar form. Four bars of time are played followed by then
entire tehai filling out the last 8 bars. Part 7 shows a portion of the tehai applied in a rock
setting. Again, 6 bars of time are played and a portion of the tehai fills out the last 2 bars.
Part 8 occurs over a 16 bar form. Time is played for 8 bars followed by the entire tehai to
fill out the last 8 bars. Part 9 is a way that Dan said he uses to get new ideas. Here he has
isolated the fourth bar of the body of the tukra and he uses it to create a pattern in 10/4.
What he has done is played the entire phrase, and then he knocks off a quarter note on
each repetition. The first repetition involves all 4 beats, the second only 3 beats, the third
only 2 beats, and the last just one beat. So 4+3+2+1 = 10 beats and thus a measure of 10/4.
As I mentioned, this transcription and analysis was featured in Modern Drummer Magazine
and gives clear insight into the way Dan applies tabla compositions to the drum set, then
how he applies them in a musical context, and finally how he takes a composition and gets
new ides from it.

Transcription #2
After conducting my interview with Ritesh Das from the Toronto Tabla Ensemble, I began
studying tabla with him to get first hand insight into this instrument and style of music.
My second transcription involves a composition that I was taught by Ritesh. As I previously
mentioned, this is an oral tradition, and that is how Ritesh has been teaching me. Doing
this transcription is the first time I have tried notating any of the stuff I have been
taught. I am demonstrating a type of composition called a kaida. As with all compositions,
there is a theme, and then variations followed by a tehai. In this particular piece, there
are 8 variations on the theme prior to play the tehai. One interesting thing I noticed is
that the theme and all the variations follow an AABA form. The length of the form varies
in some of the variations, however, it always remains a symmetrical AABA form. The A
sections are called “bhari” which means full. These sections feature fuller open tones. The
B section is called the “khali” and features more muted or non-resonant tones.

Conclusion
With this paper, I have had the opportunity to learn more about a style of music an
instrument, and a drummer that have fascinated me for a very long time. After discovering
Dan Weiss and his playing, I have learned that it is possible to apply concepts from the
tabla and Indian music to the conventional drum set. Now that I am studying tabla, I also
hope to take a lot of what I am learning and apply it to the drum set and see what I can
some up with.
Bibliography
Das, Ritesh. Personal Interview. 21 February, 2008.
Dawson, Michael. “Dan Weiss:A Glimpse of What’s to Come.” Modern Drummer Magazine.
October 2007:140-146.
Weiss, Dan. “The Tukra:Applying Traditional Tabla Music To The Drum set.” Modern
Drummer Magazine. October 2007:147-148.
www.danweiss.net
www.tabla.com/pics/tablaset.jpg

When one embarks on the journey of learning to play jazz we are taught to focus directly
on its originators; Charlie Parker, Max Roach, Kenny Clarke, Thelonious Monk, Charles
Mingus, Dizzy Gilepsie, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Horace Silver. We study their recordings,
and their vocabulary; learning, and repeating the various accents, and inflections that make
each player’s performance their own. This eventually developes into a jazz vocabulary for
ourselves, as beginner players and improvisers. After developing a solid foundation of jazz
vocabulary however, we must begin focusing on more modern players such as Pat Metheny,
Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, and Keith Jarrett, who have taken the same foundation of
jazz vocabulary and expanded it tremendously.
The list below comprises many highly influential rhythm sections of the last 60 years. None
of the groups below would sound the way they do, or did, if their rhythm sections were
different. The interactions between their members are unique to the respective groups,
and elevate the performance to a level of exceptional musicianship. I have included
rhythm sections from the fusion jazz, and funk genres, which have not been explored in-
depth in many music textbooks, but have had profound impact on the way those styles are
played today. Enjoy!
Jazz Combo (1950’s-Modern)
Keith Jarrett Trio
Gary Peacock- Bass

Jack DeJohnette- Drums
Keith Jarrett Trio “Tokyo 96’ (Live)” (CD)
Keith Jarrett Trio “The Out of Towners” (CD)
Wayne Shorter Quintet
John Patitucci-Bass
Brian Blade-Drums
Danilo Perez- Piano
Wayne Shorter Quintet “Footprints: Live” (CD)
Wayne Shorter Quintet “Beyond the Sound Barrier” (CD)
Some Highly Influential Rhythm Sections by Adam Caringi 591

Chick Corea Trios
Avishai Cohen-Bass
Jeff Ballard-Drums
New Chick Corea Trio “Past, Present, and Futures” (CD)
John Pattitucci-Bass
Dave Weckl-Drums
Chick Corea “Acoustic Band” (CD)
Miroslav Vituous-Bass
Roy Haynes-Drums
Chick Corea “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” (CD)
Miles Davis 60’s Quintet
Herbie Hancock-Piano
Ron Carter-Bass
Tony Williams-Drums
Miles Davis “E.S.P.” (CD)
Miles Davis “Nefertiti” (CD)
Miles Davis “Four n’ More” (CD)
Miles Davis 50’s Quintet
Red Garland-Piano
Paul Chambers-Bass
Philly Joe Jones-Drums
Miles Davis “Milestones” (CD)
John Coltrane Quartet
McCoy Tyner-Piano
Jimmy Garrison-Bass
Elvin Jones-Drums
John Coltrane “One Up, One Down: Live at the Half Note” (CD)
John Coltrane “Ballads” (CD)
Bill Evans Trio
Scott LaFaro-Bass
Paul Motian-Drums
The Bill Evans Trio “Sunday At The Village Vanguard” (CD)
The Bill Evans Trio “Waltz For Debby” (CD)

Oscar Peterson Trio
Ray Brown-bass
Ed Thigpen-Drums
The Oscar Peterson Trio “Night Train” (CD)
Jim Hall
Jim Hall-Guitar
Don Thompson-Bass
Terry Clarke-Drums
Jim Hall (Dig) “Live” (CD)
Dave Holland Quintet
Steve Nelson-Vibes
Dave Holland-Bass
Billy Kilson-Drums
Dave Holland Quintet “Live at Birdland” (CD)
Dave Holland Quintet “Point of View” (CD)
Dave Holland Quintet “Not For Nothin’” (CD)
John Scofield Trio
Steve Swallow-Bass
Bill Stewart-Drums
John Scofield Trio “Live: En Route” (CD)
Trio Beyond
John Scofield-Guitar
Larry Goldings-Organ
Jack DeJohnette-Drums
Trio Beyond “Suadades” (CD)
Pat Metheny Group
Lyle Mays-Piano
Steve Rodby-Bass
Antonio Sanchez-Drums
Pat Metheny Group “Speaking of Now” (CD)
Pat Metheny Group “The Way Up” (CD)
Pat Metheny Group “Speaking of Now: Live in Japan” (DVD)
Pat Metheny Group “The Way Up Live” (DVD)

Pat Metheny Trios
Larry Grenadier-Bass
Bill Stewart-Drums
Pat Metheny Trio “99-00” (CD)
Christian McBride-Bass
Antonio Sanchez-Drums
Pat Metheny Trio “Day Trip” (CD)
Dave Holland-Bass
Roy Haynes-Drums
Pat Metheny Trio “Question and Answer” (CD)
Jaco Pastorious-Bass
Bob Moses-Drums
Pat Metheny “Bright Size Life” (CD)
Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau
Jeff Ballard-Drums
Metheny/Mehldau “Quartet” (CD)
Brad Mehldau Trios
Jorge Rossy-Drums
Brad Mehldau “House on Hill” (CD)
Larry Grendaier-Bass
Jeff Ballard-Drums
Brad Mehldau Trio “Day is Done” (CD)
Fusion Jazz;
Weather Report
Joe Zawinul-Piano, Keyboards, Synth

Jaco Pastorious- Bass
Alex Acuna-Drums
Weather Report “Heavy Weather” (CD)
Peter Erskine-Drums
Weather Report “Weather Report” (CD)

Return To Forever
Chick Corea-Piano, Keyboards, Synth

Al Di Meola- Guitar
Stanley Clarke-Bass
Lenny White-Drums
Return To Forever “Romantic Warrior” (CD)
Return To Forever “Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy” (CD)
Chick Corea Elektric Band
Chick Corea-Piano, Keyboards, Synth

John Patitucci-Bass
Dave Weckl-Drums
The Chick Corea Elektric Band “The Chick Corea Elektric Band” (CD)
The Chick Corea Elektric Band “Inside Out” (CD)
The Chick Corea Elektric Band “Beneath The Mask” (CD)
The Brecker Brothers
The Brecker Brothers always had many line up changes in their rhythm sections. Listed
below are some of the most influential members of the band at various points.
George Duke, Don Grolnick-Keyboards

Will Lee, Marcus Miller-Bass
Terry Bozio, Lenny White, Harvey Mason, Dennis Chambers-Drums
The Brecker Brothers “Sneakin’ Up Behind You: The very best of the Brecker Brothers”
(CD)
The Brecker Brothers “Out of the Loop” (CD)
The Brecker Brothers “Heavy Metal Be-Bop” (CD)
Miles Davis
Joe Zawinul- Keyboards

Larry Young-Keyboards
Chick Corea-Keyboards
John McLaughlin-Guitar
Harvey Brooks-Electric Bass
Lenny White-Drums
Jack DeJohnette-Drums
Don Alias-Drums, Percussion
Miles Davis “Bitches Brew” (CD)

Yellowjackets
Russell Ferante- Piano. Keyboards, Synth

Jimmy Haslip- Bass
Will Kennedy-Drums
Yellowjackets “The Millenium Collection” (CD)
Yellowjackets “The Spin” (CD)
Yellowjackets “Club Nocturne” (CD)
Tribal Tech
Scott Henderson-Guitar
Scott Kinsey- Piano, Keyboards, Synth
Gary Willis- Bass
Kirk Covington- Drums
Joey Herredia-Drums
Tribal Tech “Primal Tracks” (CD)
Tribal Tech “Face First” (CD)
Tribal Tech “Rocket Science” (CD)
Mahavishnu Orchestra
John McLaughlin-Guitar
Jan Hammer-Piano
Rick Laird-Bass
Billy Cobham-Drums
Mahavishnu Orchestra “The Inner Mounting Flame” (CD)
Narada Michael Walden-Drums
Mahavishnu Orchestra “Visions of the Emerald Beyond” (CD)
Chris Potter
Wayne Krantz-Guitar
Craig Taborn- Fender Rhodes
Nate Smith- Drums
Chris Potter “Underground” (CD)
Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth-Guitar, Guitar Synth

Jimmy Johnson-Bass
Chad Wackerman- Drums
Allan Holdsworth “Metal Fatigue” (CD)
Allan Holdsworth “Against the Clock” (CD)

Dave Carpenter-Acoustic, Electric Bass
Gary Novak-Drums
Allan Holdsworth “The Sixteen Men of Tain” (CD)
Montuno Police
Gordon Sheard- Piano and Keyboards

Colin Barrett-Bass
Mark Kelso-Drums
Rick “Shadrach” Lazar-Percussion
The Montuno Police “Touch” (CD)
The Montuno Police “Nomads” (CD)
Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock-Piano, Keyboards, Synth

Paul Jackson-Bass
Mike Clark-Drums
Bill Summers-Percussion
Herbie Hancock “Thrust” (CD)
Harvey Mason-Drums
Herbie Hancock “Headhunters” (CD)
Funk:
James Brown
James Brown had many influential rhythm section members throughout his career. Some of
the most influential members are listed below.
Alphonso “Country” Kellum-Guitar

Bernard Odum-Bass
John “Jabo” Starks, Clyde Stubblefield, Melvin Parker-Drums
James Brown “In the Jungle Groove” (CD)
James Brown “Live at the Apollo” (CD)
James Brown “20 All-Time Greatest Hits” (CD)
Tower of Power
Bruce Conte-Guitar
Chester Thompson-Piano, Keyboards
Francis “Rocco” Prestia-Bass
David Garibaldi-Drums
Brent Byars-Congas

Tower of Power “Back to Oakland” (CD)
Tower of Power “In the Slot” (CD)
Tower of Power “Soul Vaccination:Live” (CD)
Tower of Power “Soul Vaccination:Live” (DVD)
Sly and the Family Stone
Sly Stone-Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar

Rosie Stone-Keyboards
Larry Graham-Bass
Greg Errico-Drums
Sly and The Family Stone “The Essential Sly and the Family Stone” (CD)
Sly and The Family Stone “Sly and the Family Stone: Greatest Hits” (CD)
Sly and The Family Stone ‘Stand!” (CD)
The Meters
Art Neville-Keyboards
Leo Nocentelli-Guitar
George Porter Jr.-Bass
Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste-Drums
The Meters “The Very Best of The Meters” (CD)
Soulive
Neal Evans-Hammond Organ, Bass Keys, Clavinet, Piano, Fender Rhodes

Eric Krasno- Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Alan Evans-Drums
Soulive “Doin’ Something” (CD)
Soulive “Turn It Out” (CD)
Soulive “Break Out” (CD)
Parliament “P-Funk”
Has contained many great rhythm section members, which are too vast to list here. Some
drummers include Dennis Chambers, Gary Bronson, and Loonie Green, along with many great
bass players such as Bootsy Collins, and Rodney Curtis.
Parliament “Up for The Down Stroke” (CD)

Parliament “Parliament Live: P-Funk Earth Tour” (CD)
Parliament “Parliament Gold” (CD)

RH Factor
Charles McCampbell, Bobby Sparks-Keyboards

Todd Parsnow-Guitar
Lenny Stallworth, Reggie Washington-Bass
Willie Jones III, Jason “JT” Thomas-Drums
RH Factor “Hard Groove” (CD)
RH Factor “Strength” (CD)
RH Factor “Distractions” (CD)
As far as DVD content on this list of highly influential rhythm sections is concerned, I have
only listed the DVD’s, which I have viewed myself, and are of good educational quality. The
Internet has a wide variety of good quality videos. Websites like “Youtube” provide huge
amounts of videos of all of the different rhythm sections mentioned above. Just type in
the search word, and start checking them out for yourself. For example, to look for video
footage of Tribal Tech, just search “Tribal Tech”, “Scott Henderson”, or “Gary Willis” and
you’ll find tones.
I would like to thank Brian Lillos for providing me with the opportunity to write this article,
and Dan Liberatori for helping me with some of the CD selections, and editing.
If anyone has any comments, or questions feel free to contact me at

caringi_adam@yahoo.ca.

Santería, also known as La Regla de Ocha (the rule of the orisha), is a belief system that
originated in Cuba from the interaction of the traditional religious practices among Yoruba
slaves, other African religious practices in Cuba, and European Roman Catholicism. The
orisha worship of the Yoruba—orisha being the name of their deities—made its way to the
Americas via the transatlantic slave trade, which in the case of the Yoruba was most
intensive in the first half of the nineteenth century.
In the religious ceremonies of Santería, music plays an important role in establishing its
community’s relationships to the sacred and social aspects of its musical and religious
tradition. Santería’s most respected ceremony is the toque de santo, a liturgical festivity
for the orisha, or nature divinities, using the batá de fundamento (consecrated or baptized
drums). This religious party, which features music, can also be referred to as a toque,
tambor, bembe, or güemilere, depending upon the instrumental ensemble being used.
These sacred batá are double-headed, quasi-hourglass-shaped drums, with one cone larger
than the other, both in length and diameter. The drums are generally believed to be
“owned” by the orisha Shango (The batá contour is said to symbolize Shango’s thunder axe).
The Cuban batá ensemble is made up of three drums: iyá (mother drum), itótele (or omelé
enkó, “the one who follows”) and okónkolo (or simply omelé, “the strong child”). The sacred
batá are believed to be an emissarial connection between the earth and heaven, the human
and the divine, the physical and the spiritual. More specifically, these consecrated drums
are believed to communicate with the noumenal realm and facilitate the possession of
devotees by the orisha.
The batá rhythm we will be examining and adapting to the drum-set, iyesá, is derived from
an ethnic group known as the Iyesá people, who maintain their unique religious and musical
traditions predominantly in the port province of Matanzas, located on the northern shores
of the island of Cuba. The Iyesá, who are of African descent––a Yoruba ethnic sub-group
from southwestern Nigeria––over time synchronized their traditions with the Lucumí (In
Cuba the Yoruba came to be known collectively as Lucumí), and the batá drummers
appropriated this 4/4-meter toque (rhythm) known as Iyesá. This generic toque Iyesá,
which accompanies the songs of many orisha, is commonly played during the third phase of
the toque de santo, known as the güemilere or iban balo, and may last several hours. Below
is a transcription of the Iyesá rhythm showing the basic pattern played by each batá drum.
The syllables written below each note are spoken to represent the sounds produced on the
batá.
Afro-Cuban Bata Rhythms Adapted to drum-set by Steve Mancuso 600

Practice Suggestions
Step 1: Clap the clave while singing aloud the basic pattern played by each batá drum. One
of the keys to understanding Afro-Cuban music is to hear, feel and phrase rhythms against
the clave. This exercise will help develop clave independence.
Step 2: Adapt each part to the Drum-set, allocating the low-tones to the bass drum and hi-
tones to the snare drum. The clave will be played on the hi-hat with the corresponding foot,
and the shekere pattern is played on the ride cymbal. Notice the press tone played on the
floor tom.

Step 3:
This example adapts and orchestrates all five voices of the Iyesá rhythm on to the Drum-
set, which gives the impression that the complete batá ensemble is playing. The hi, mid, and
floor tom are utilized to represent the batá trio, while the ride cymbal and hi-hat are
employed for the shekere and clave. Be patient and practice this pattern very slowly at
first. The coordination involved is quite advanced, but with proper practice you will feel
yourself gaining technical command of your limbs, and in due course you will be able to
execute the rhythm comfortably. Also, notice the 2-bar entrance, which is the standard
intro and fill utilized when playing the Iyesá rhythm.
Selected Discography
Listening to Afro-Cuban music and the traditional rhythms of the batá drums is essential in
the development of form, feel, and idiomatic familiarity. This will aid you in presenting the
music with authenticity and authority. Written below is a preferred list of recordings––
enjoy!
Abbilona: Ochún
Cuba: I Am Time: Cuban Invocations (4-disc set)
Julio Davalos and Adrian Coburg: Antologia Yoruba (4-disc set)
Grupo Ilu Aña: Sacred Rhythms

Divine Utterances: Book and CD, written by: Katherine J. Hagedorn.
Bibliography
Amira, John and Steven Cornelius. 1999. The Music of Santería. Gilsum, NH: White Cliffs
Media.
Coburg, Adrian. 2006. Cantos Especiales: Cantos Yoruba, Iyesa y Arara, 2. Adrian Coburg,
CH-3006 Bern, Switzerland.
Cornelius, Steven. 1989. The Convergence of Power: An investigation into the music liturgy
of Santería in New York City. PhD diss., University of California, Los Angeles.
Hagedorn, Katherine J. 2001. Divine Utterances, The Performance of Afro-Cuban Santería.

Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Hagedorn, Katherine J. 2002. Long Day’s Journey to Rincón: From Suffering to Resistance
in the Procession of San Lázaro/Babalú Ayé. British Journal of Ethnomusicology 2, no. 1:43–
69.
Marcuzzi, Michael. 2007. Presentation to the drums: presenting new ideas. Paper presented
at the annual meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Columbus, OH. October 25.
———. 2005. A historical study of the ascendant role of bata drumming in Cuban orisa
worship. PhD diss., York University.
———. 1999. “Dancing with the Divine(r): Batá drumming, Ifá Divination and Orisha Worship
in Cuba.” Canadian University Music Review, 19, no. 2:70–78.
Mason, John. 1992. Orin Orisa Songs: For selected Heads. Brooklyn, New York: Yoruba
Theological Archministry.
Mason, Michael Atwood. 2002. Living Santería: Rituals and Experiences of an Afro-Cuban
Religion. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Murphy, Joseph M. 1988. Santería; An African Religion in America. Boston, MA: Beacon
Press.
Ortiz, Fernando. 1955a-e. Los Instrumentos de la Música Afrocubana: Tomos I-V. Havana:
Ministerio de Educación, Dirección de Cultura (1952, vols. 1-3)/Editoriales Cárdenas y Cáa
(1955, vols. 4-5).

The study and development of rhythm is a primary and fundamental building block of music
pedagogy. Musicians and artists are constantly looking for innovative and creative ways to
expand rhythmical awareness, strengthen command of the pulse and enhance time playing
and groove sense. Since the advent and growth of various media technologies such as
communication satellites and Internet capabilities (i.e. google and you tube) a global village
of existence has been promoted. As a result, more and more western musicians are probing
outside their own musical, cultural and geographical borders in search of new techniques
and approaches to improving their musical skills, especially in the area of improvisation. In
the music field, it is widely accepted that rhythm is an integral part of improvisation, and
for that reason the search for rhythmic knowledge is an important and necessary
responsibility for all serious composers, musicians, and artists alike.
In many world music traditions the use of vocal percussion or oral rhythmic speaking as a
tool for the development and expansion of rhythmic aptitude is clearly prevalent. Case in
point, in Middle Eastern music vocal percussion syllables dom, ma, tek-ka and rek, are
spoken to represent the strokes played on the goblet-shaped doumbek or darbouka; the
most popular drum in the Middle Eastern percussion family. Similarly in West African
music, phonetic syllables gun, dun, go-do, and pa-ta, which are consonants of the Yoruba
dialect in Nigeria, is an African oral percussive language utilized when teaching and
recalling the sounds produced on their numerous drums. In addition, in the music of
Santería, drum vocal syllables ki, la, ko, pa, kling, hli and hip are used in the traditional
religious rhythms of the Afro-Cuban batá drums.
One of the most highly sophisticated rhythmical systems exists in the music of India and is
deemed by many leading jazz-fusion musicians and ethnomusicologists to be unmatched in
its breadth, aim and scope (Sankaran 1994, 14). In the music of India, rhythms are
structured and arranged in a highly complex and comprehensive manner. All the strokes and
sounds produced on the mrdangam, a two-headed barrel-shaped South Indian drum, can be
verbally imitated using a special vocabulary known as solkattu; sol meaning syllables and
kattu meaning bunch or group. Solkattu has been developed over centuries in India and is
employed as method for both memorizing and conveying rhythmic ideas, as well as, to
compose rhythmical motifs and compositions called korvais, from the simplest to the most
intricate (Cormack, 1992, 123–124). Konnakkol, the art of reciting and performing solkattu,
is believed by many music scholars to be the most comprehensive and most highly developed
approach to learning and mastering rhythm. In konnakkol, there exists close to one hundred
and thirty talas (rhythmic cycles or structures shown through claps, finger counts and
The Adaptation on South Indian Concept and Form Including Connakkol to the Drum-set by Steve Mancuso 604
waves), with a vocal language of over forty syllables. Moreover, many contemporary
musicians and artists across the globe have undertaken the study of konnakkol in aims to
elevate their creative and musical skills.
John McLaughlin, a world-beat and jazz-fusion guitarist who made his repute with Miles
Davis on the ground breaking 1969 recording Bitches Brew and who, in the early nineteen
seventies, formed and led the pioneer indo-jazz fusion groups Mahavishnu Orchestra and
Shakti, is regarded by many as one of the most influential and technically gifted guitarists
of all time. He embarked on the study of konnakkol in the late nineteen sixties and has
successfully applied this rhythmical knowledge to the disciplines of jazz, rock, and
flamenco ever since. There have been many other jazz musicians in the past who have
looked to India as a tremendous source of musical and creative inspiration, however most
of the focus and adaptation has been in the realm of melody and form. In the be-bop, post-
bop and jazz fusion eras of the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane, Miles
Davis, Ornette Coleman and Don Ellis, among others, have incorporated Indian modal,
scalier and compositional elements into their music both in a complex and subtle manner.
Before 1970, the musicological study and application of India’s rhythmic system in jazz
performance practice has been comparatively minimal.
Currently on the jazz scene, many leading contemporary artists are intensely exploring the
rhythmic theory and concepts of Indian music and are fervently incorporating these
elements in jazz––bringing the Indo-Jazz genre to the forefront. Artists such as
trumpeter Dave Douglas, drummer Dan Weiss, guitarist Rez Abassi, pianist Jacob Sacks,
and alto saxophonist David Binney, among others, are passionately exploring and applying
Indian rhythmical concepts and principals to jazz and are expanding its rhythmical
language.
The focus of this article is to adapt and transfer South Indian classical percussion
repertoire to the drum-set, from the artistic and aesthetic viewpoint of a jazz drummer.
In this rhythmic transmission, I will draw upon the art of konnakkol, as well as, address the
significant benefits of its method and practice to the art of jazz drumming.
Rhythmic Principals of South Indian Drumming
Hand Gestures for Talas:
The Clap – The symbol ‘X’ is used for the notation. Turn the left hand over with the palm
facing up towards the ceiling. Using the right hand fingers only, strike the palm of your left
hand in a clapping manner.
The Wave – The symbol ‘O’ is used for the notation. Again, turn the left hand over with the
palm facing upwards. Turn your right hand over in a similar manner and using the back of
your right hand, strike the palm of your left hand.
Little Finger – The symbol ‘I’ is used for the notation. Turn the left hand over with the
palm facing upwards. Using the right hand, strike the palm of your left hand as if to clap.
Ensure you only make contact with the fifth finger (baby finger).
Ring Finger – The symbol ‘I’ is used for the notation. Again, use the same procedure as the
“little finger stroke” but only strike and make contact with the fourth finger (ring finger).
Middle Finger – The symbol ‘I’ is used for the notation. Use the same procedure as the
“ring finger stroke” but only make contact with the third finger (middle finger).
Practice Suggestions
Step 1: Combine Adi Tala with Konnakkol: Practice keeping the independence of the hand
gestures with the singing of the syllables. Pay close attention to how the time is kept with
the hands, and how the fingers correspond to each beat. Use a metronome to help keep you
in time and begin at sixty beats per minute. Sing out loud and be sure to pronounce each
solkattu syllable clearly.
Adi Tala: 8-beat cycle
1. Ta Ka Di Mi Ta Ka Jo Nu
8 X I I I X O X O
4
5th- 4th- 3rd-
clap clap wave clap wave
finger finger finger
Step 2: Combine Adi Tala with Konnakkol composition: While keeping the tala with the
hands, practice singing the korvai written below.
Step 3: Adapt Korvai to the Drum-set: Begin playing the composition on the drum-set and
pay attention to how the various drum sounds relate to each solkattu syllable.
Selected Discography
The Gateway To Rhythm: John McLaughlin and S. Ganesh Vinayakram

Laya Vinyas: Trichy Sankaran
Catch 21: Trichy Sankaran
Lotus Signatures: Trichy Sankaran and Dr. N. Ramani
Tabla Duet: Zakir Hussain and Ustad Alla Rakha
Bibliography
Ayyangar, R. Rangaramanuja. 1972. History Of South Indian (Carnatic) Music. Madras:

R. Rangaramanuja
Brown, Robert E. The Mrdanga: a study of drumming in South India. PhD. dissertation,
UCLA.
Chelladurai, P.T. 1991. The Splendor of South Indian Music. Vaigrarai Publishers: Tamilnadu,
South India
Cormack, Josepha, Anne.1992. Svara Kalpana, Melodic/Rhythmic Improvisation in Karnatak

music. PhD. dissertation, Wesleyan University.
Farrell, Gerry. 1988. Reflecting Surfaces: The Use of Elements from Indian Music in
Popular Music and Jazz. Popular Music, Vol. 7, No. 2, The South Asia/West Crossover, May
1988, pp.189-205.
Sankaran, Trichy. 1994. The Rhythmical Principles and Practices of South Indian Drumming.
Toronto: Lalith Publishers.
Often the analogy is used that learning jazz is like learning a spoken language, and it really
is true. If we consider some of the techniques used to grasp fundamental oral
communication skills, we can apply them to teaching students how to start communicating
musically in the language of jazz.
One of the first things most students must overcome when learning to improvise is musical
shyness. At this stage of development many students are afraid of playing wrong notes,
sounding “stupid”, or being laughed at. It is important that students learn that it is okay to
make mistakes and that, through the process of trial and error, they will (hopefully)
develop a sense of what “works” and what does not. They will also (hopefully) develop a
sense of how exciting it can be to take musical chances and explore all sorts of different
sound avenues. Before even getting to this point, however, it is necessary for the student
to develop a grasp of the basic components of a musical sentence, much like the way we
learn to employ subjects, verbs, phrases, and clauses.
A good exercise, from my experience, has been to have students pick random major 7th
chords and play over these for an extended period of time using just the corresponding
major scale. This allows them to play in a single tonality without having to worry about II-
V’s, chord/scale relationships (other than the major key at the moment), and jazz language
(licks). It also affords them the opportunity to practice playing in keys they would
normally tend to avoid and become somewhat comfortable navigating their way through
these awkward keys (the dark forest). After working through these exercises for a while
they are then encouraged to create tunes using four, or eight, bar “chunks”, each made up
of different keys, but still only using major 7th chords. At this point the students can
begin to work on taking simple ideas and transposing them into different keys, a skill that is
extremely important and useful in playing jazz. Of course this is dependant on whether or
not the students have been working on ALL of their major scales. It would be
advantageous for the students to practice playing these scales in 3rds, 4ths, etc.,
ascending as well as descending.
Learning the language of jazz is, like learning any language, developing the ability to arrange
musical words (notes) in a logical order in order to make musical sentences. Many times
students have a lot of notes (words), but have not developed the skill of combining them in
such a way as to make musical sense. Such “random” note placement is not necessarily what
students, while trying to learn the basics of jazz improvisation, should be practicing, and at
this point students should be encouraged to take a few steps back and try to come up with
Learning the Language by Brian O’Kane 609

more logical note arrangements in order to create more palatable musical ideas. Remember
that in order to move fast sometimes we have to move slowly.
Logical in sentence if these put you correctly will a order they create words.
or…
If you put these words in order correctly they will create a logical sentence.
A very effective way of getting students to play is to have them transcribe jazz solos from
recordings. Many students are reluctant to do this, as it is very time consuming and
difficult, especially if they have never done so before (I can never understand this, though.
I used to love doing them and did them all the time!). Have them start with easy
transcriptions that they like and that they will be able to perform on their instruments.
Here is a short list of some classic solos that I would recommend to “beginner”
transcribers.
Miles Davis “So What” (from “Kind of Blue”- Columbia CK 40679)

Chet Baker “Autumn Leaves” (from “She Was Too Good to Me”- CBS ZK 40804)
Blue Mitchell “I’ll Close My Eyes” (from “Blue’s Moods”- Riverside OJCCD 138-2)
Paul Desmond “Autumn Leaves” (from “She Was Too Good to Me”- CBS ZK 40804)
J.J. Johnson “Walkin’” (from Miles Davis All Stars- “Walkin’”- Prestige LP 7076)
Curtis Fuller “Blue Train” (from John Coltrane- “Blue Train”- Blue Note 53428)
This is, of course, the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the amount of material that is
available to us and, being a trumpet player, my list naturally leans more toward that
instrument. There are great solos that are very “transcriber friendly” on every
instrument- have the students explore and find solos they think will be possible to
transcribe/play yet challenging at the same time. Also, you certainly don’t have to go back
to the middle of the last century in order to find great solos that are appropriate for such
a project! I would suggest that the students choose tunes that are of a medium tempo, as
solos with a very fast or a very slow tempo tend to be more of a challenge to transcribe.
It is very important that the students handwrite the solos, as I feel they will internalize
the solo better. Also (and this is something many do not realize), if they are correctly
transcribed the entire process will help the students’ sight reading skills enormously. For
example, students who spend half an hour trying to figure out one small phrase, rhythm, or
combination of notes are not likely to forget what it looks like and are likely to play it
correctly should they happen upon it in a chart.
When playing a transcription it is important that the students try to capture not only the
vocabulary of the artist, but also the sound, phrasing, and nuances of that particular
person. The idea is not to be imitative for the purpose of copying, but for the purpose of
learning how to manipulate sound and be able to add inflections that will enable the player
to be more savvy in the jazz language (i.e. be able to express emotion, soul, and spirit).
Encourage students to imitate their idols. Most of us have learned enormous amounts from

imitation and repetition! Once we become comfortable with the language, we can forget
about doing so and simply focus on playing, and these subtleties will emerge naturally and in
our own individual ways. This is where the real music starts to happen.
One thing that is overlooked too often is the connection between ALL of the different
music classes to which students are exposed over the course of their studies. The
tendency among so many is to finish one class, pack up, and move onto the next class
without taking with them and applying the information they’ve just received. It is a good
idea to try to encourage the students to carry over what they are learning from class to
class, particularly with theory, ear training, improvisation, and private lessons. Try to
encourage the students, for example, to challenge themselves by playing tunes in different
keys BY EAR. Start with simple, easy tunes that everybody knows (nursery tunes work
great), and assign them both by key and/or by starting note (not every tune starts on the
root!). This will help to form a connection between the students’ ears and their
instruments. Again, transposition is an important skill for any musician to have, and this
application is similar to the way classical musicians learn to transpose to any key on sight.
Jazz students are doing the same thing except they are developing the ability to do so by
simply using their ears and intuition.
With all the different tools, computer programs, recordings, and teaching techniques that
are available to us in this day and age, the one thing that remains unchanged and of
paramount importance is the fact that in order for students to learn and become
competent at anything, they must both expose themselves to as much of it as possible and
practice it as much as possible. Listening and applying to the instrument are crucial to
learning any musical skill and the more students are encouraged to do so the more they will
reap the benefits of the time spent doing so. Hopefully their love of music and their
instrument will be enough that it won’t even seem like work to them!

When you study music, you have to make your mind keen to the extreme, to one
phenomenon which is one of the most tremendous, one of the most extraordinary
phenomenon… Listen well. 1
I was at a friend's house and noticed his twelve-year-old brother listening to music. He
was using headphones, listening to Rage Against the Machine as he was fast-forwarding
through to his favorite scenes of a movie. Under one arm, there was a bag of chips he was
nibbling on, and with the other hand he'd occasionally take a sip from a soft drink. He was
also playing with a hand-held video game. Talk about multi tasking! I couldn't manage that.
In our busy society, we rarely focus on one thing at a time. For musicians, though, listening
requires our total concentration. This is because listening to music should be our primary
resource for becoming educated. Ahead, let's examine how to listen, and then what to
listen to. We'll also discuss ways we can apply what we've heard so we can be stronger
musicians.
How to listen
As musicians, we have to listen to music much differently than other people. We can't
listen to music superficially or without thoughtful attention. Many people listen just
enough to determine whether they like the piece of music or not. For musicians, saying "I
dig this!" or "That's not happening" isn't good enough. As learning musicians, we must
dissect and analyze every single thing we hear. Doctors do the same thing with the human
body. Attorneys do the same thing with the law.
Let's start with a simple exercise. Take any piece of music, from 2-6 minutes long, and
listen to it. Turn off your cell phone, television, Internet, or any other distractions. Close
your eyes and listen.
Boulanger, Nadia. “Gabriel Fauré” lecture, Potsdam State Teachers College, Potsdam, NY,
1
December 15, 1945. From the dissertation of Barrett Ashley Johnson, An original
composition, Galleria Armonica, Theme and Variations for Piano, Harpsichord, Harp and
Orchestra; and a comparative study between the pedagogical methodologies of Arnold
Schoenberg and Nadia Boulanger regarding training the composer. (Louisiana State
University, December 2007) 208.
The Importance of Listening by Steve Haines 612

Next, write down one hundred things you noticed about the music. You can write down
anything. For example, "The drummer doesn't seem to be hitting as hard as I would have
thought…the guitarist only plays during the saxophone solo."
This can be difficult at first because we tend to take for granted what we are listening to.
Sometimes it helps to pose questions about the music, and then try to answer these
questions by listening. Some typical questions might be, "Is there an introduction before
the melody, and if so, how long is it? Who plays the melody? What is the form, and is it
constant? How many instruments are playing at each section? Are there key changes?"
More difficult questions might be, "Who influenced these musicians? How and when was
this recorded? How does the orchestration change from section to section?" There are
endless questions you can ask, from the most basic to the more specific.
You might need to go back and listen again a number of times. Sometimes I listen to one
second of music over and over again until I have found the answer to my question.
You'll be amazed at the information you can glean from listening to just one piece of music:
sound, rhythm, melody, harmony, improvisation, recording techniques, instrumentation, time
signatures, voice leading, key changes, bass lines, orchestration etc.
If you are still unsure about anything, ask someone with more experience. Also,
collaborative listening is very powerful and lots of fun. Don't be afraid to ask about
something that you are curious about. You'd be surprised at all the new things you can
learn.
Do this listening exercise many times with different music, until your observations become
habitual. The more experience you have listening, the longer your 'list' will become. You
will be able to extract more and more from the music.
Even listening to music you consider unsuccessful can be a learning experience. In other
words, if you don't like what you are hearing, don't stop listening! Ask why it is successful
or unsuccessful and you'll learn about music in a much deeper way. For example, if a
student group isn't swinging, ask yourself why, and then listen. You might hear that the
bass player plays too many notes, or the drummer is playing the bass drum too loud. By
listening you'll learn about the common problems that all musicians face.
What to listen to
The next step is to expose yourself to anything and everything. Great authors read. Great
painters observe. And great musicians listen. If you are having a conversation with
somebody and a musician's name comes up that it unfamiliar to you, write it down. Then
find some music from this person and listen to it. If someone on the bandstand calls a tune
I don't know, I'll write it down, and then later listen to it and learn it.

Listen to all styles of music. There is no hierarchy of musical styles. Much can be learned
from the wealth of musical styles from all over the world. I've heard people say, "Jazz is a
musician's music," which is pretentious. Then there is the terrible expression, "Close
enough for jazz," which demonstrates the misconception that jazz lacks focus or care.
Both expressions try to categorize the entirety of jazz as either "greater than" or "less
than." It's more important to be familiar with music than be judgmental of it.
Lastly, we must include the creators of jazz in our listening. If Boeing built a new solar
jet, whom would the pilot want to talk to before the first flight?! Naturally, she would talk
to the Boeing creator. Similarly, if we are students of jazz music, we should listen to the
creators of the music.
Listen to Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Sidney Bechet, Billy Holiday and Duke Ellington,
to name a few. Letting their mastery of music seep into your musical memory will build a
strong foundation. These incredible musicians embody the spirit of optimism and swing,
which is found at the root of jazz music. Also, they teach us the importance of the blues.
You will learn the all the fundamentals of jazz: sound, articulation, strength in melody,
creativity, passion, moods, and history.2
Case in point: Nadia Boulanger, the French composer and pedagogue, is considered to be one
of the greatest music teachers. Among her students were Aaron Copeland, Elliot Carter,
Philip Glass, and Quincy Jones. She taught fundamentals: traditional harmony,
counterpoint, Bach (she expected her students to memorize Bach's Well-Tempered
Clavier,) voice leading, etc. Through teaching the fundamentals, they developed their own
personal, unique musical voice.
The same can be said about jazz. The deeper the roots, the higher the tree.
Listed below are some great jazz band albums that might serve as a starting point for
listening:
Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five and Sevens The Hot Fives and
Sevens, CJ 44422
Louis Armstrong, cornet; Johnny Dodds, clarinet; Kid Ory, trombone; Lillian Hardin,
piano; Johnny St. Cyr, banjo; Baby Dodds, drums; also Earl Hines, piano.
The Lester Young Trio The Lester Young Trio, Verve VSP 30
2
Besides, I defy anyone to find eighth notes that sound more rhythmically "modern" than
Louis Armstrong's cadenza on West End Blues, or melodies that are more strong and
striking.

Lester Young, tenor saxophone; Nat "King" Cole, piano; Buddy Rich, drums.
Sidney Bechet and his track: I Know That You Know

New Orleans Feet Warmers Victor, 063824-1 (05/28, 1941)
Sidney Bechet, soprano saxophone; Gus Aiken, trumpet; Sandy Williams, trombone;
Lem Johnson, tenor saxophone; Cliff Jackson, piano; William Myers, bass; Arthur
Herbert, drums.
Ella Fitzgerald Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife,

Verve 731451956423
Ella Fitzgerald, vocals; Jim Hall, guitar; Paul Smith, piano; Wilfred Middlebrooks,
bass; Gus Johnson, drums.
Billy Holiday Lover Man, Zeta 706 and God Bless

the Child, Delta 17013
(Billy Holiday, vocals. Too many orchestras and musicians to list)
Sarah Vaughn Sarah Vaughn with Clifford Brown,

Emarcy 36004
Sarah Vaughn, vocals; Ernie Wilkins, arranger; Clifford Brown, trumpet; Paul
Quinichette, tenor saxophone; Herbie Mann, flute; Jimmy Jones, piano; Joe
Benjamin, bass; Roy Haynes, drums.
The Duke Ellington Orchestra Such Sweet Thunder, Columbia

CL 1033
Duke Ellington, piano; Russell Procope, alto saxophone, clarinet; Johnny Hodges, alto
saxophone; Jimmy Hamilton, tenor saxophone, clarinet; Paul Gonsalves, tenor
saxophone; Harry Carney baritone saxophone; "Cat" Anderson, Ray Nance, Clark
Terry, Willie Cook, trumpets; John Sanders, Britt Woodman, Quentin Jackson,
trombones; Jimmy Woode, bass; Sam Woodyard, drums.
The Duke Ellington Orchestra The Blanton-Webster Band RCA

5659-2RB
Duke Ellington, piano; Barney Bigard, clarinet; Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwick, alto
saxophones; Ben Webster, tenor saxophone; Harry Carney, baritone saxophone;
Wallace Jones, Cootie Williams, trumpets; Rex Stewart, cornet; "Tricky" Sam
Nanton, Lawrence Brown, trombones; Juan Tizol, valve trombone; Jimmy Blanton,
bass, Sonny Greer, drums.

The Count Basie Orchestra Sinatra at the Sands, Reprise
1019-2
Frank Sinatra, vocals; Quincy Jones, conductor; William "Count" Basie, piano;
Marshall Royal, alto saxophone, clarinet; Bobby Plater, alto saxophone, flute; Eddie
"Lockjaw" Davis, tenor saxophone; Eric Dixon, tenor saxophone, flute; Charlie
Fowlkes, baritone saxophone, flute; Al Aarons, George "Sonny" Cohn, Wallace
Davenport, Phil Guilbeau, trumpets; Henderson Chambers, Al Grey, Grover Mitchell,
trombones; Bill Hughes, bass trombone; Freddie Green, guitar; Norman Keenan,
bass; Percival "Sonny" Payne, drums.
Mel Lewis/Thad Jones Orchestra Live at the Village Vanguard,

BN 60438
Mel Lewis, drums; Thad Jones, cornet; Jerome Richardson, flute, clarinet, soprano
and alto saxophones; Jerry Dodgion, flute, alto saxophone; Joe Farrell, flute, tenor
saxophone; Eddie Daniels, clarinet, tenor saxophone; Pepper Adams, baritone
saxophone; Eugene "Snooky" Young, Marvin Stamm, Richard Williams, Jimmy
Nottingham, trumpets; Bobby Brookmeyer, Garnet Brown, trombones; Cliff Heather,
bass trombone; Sam Herman, guitar; Roland Hanna, piano; Richard Davis, bass.
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Moanin', Blue Note 4003
Art Blakey, drums; Lee Morgan, trumpet; Cutis Fuller, trombone; Bobby Timmons,
piano; Benny Golson, tenor saxophone; Jymie Merritt, bass.
The Miles Davis Sextet Kind of Blue, COL 40579
Miles Davis, trumpet; John Coltrane, tenor saxophone; "Cannonball" Julian Adderley,
alto saxophone; Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Jimmy
Cobb, drums.
The Charlie Parker Quintet Jazz at Massey Hall, Prestige

24024
Charlie Parker, alto saxophone; 'Dizzy' Gillespie, trumpet, Bud Powell, piano; Charles
Mingus, bass; Max Roach, drums.
Thelonious Monk Quartet Monk's Dream, CK 6356
Thelonious Monk, piano; Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophone; John Ore, bass, Frankie
Dunlop, drums.

The John Coltrane Quartet A Love Supreme, IMPD8 280
John Coltrane, tenor saxophone; McCoy Tyner, piano; Jimmy Garrison, bass; Elvin
Jones, drums.
The Wes Montgomery Quartet The Incredible Jazz Guitar of

Wes Montgomery, RLP 12-320
Wes Montgomery, guitar; Tommy Flanagan, piano; Percy Heath, bass,

Albert Heath, drums.
The Oscar Peterson Trio Night Train, Verve 68538
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
The Ornette Coleman Quartet The Shape of Jazz to Come, Atlantic

1317
Ornette Coleman, alto saxophone; Don Cherry, cornet; Charlie Haden, bass; Billy
Higgins, drums.
Application
It is critical that we apply the vocabulary of music to our art form. Benjamin Franklin said,
"He was so learned that he could name a horse in nine languages; so ignorant that he bought
a cow to ride on."
For us, this means practicing, rehearsing, performing, and listening all the time. Rather
than use a fakebook to learn a tune, learn it by rote. Rather than read a written solo, learn
one from a recording. Instead of using a play-along, practice with a great record, so you'll
feel everything and imitate what you hear. For arrangers, transcribe each instrument from
music to learn about orchestration. For teachers, rather than introduce jazz nomenclature
from purely a visual point of view, have your students listen to chords in action. For
example, while teaching the dominant 13th chord, have your students listen to Benny
Goldson's Killer Joe3.
For those teachers in middle and high school, don't be afraid to play some music during
your rehearsal. Rather than teach your students "the blues scale" (the antithesis of the
blues,4) have your students imitate the blues with their horns. Muddy Waters, Son House,
Johnny Lee Hooker or B.B. King are good people to listen to. The simplest solo, such as a
3
Golson, Benny, and Art Farmer. Meet the Jazztet. (Blue Note 1568. Originally released February 6, 1960.)
4
Any note can sound like the blues. Listen to Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Hodges, or Ornette Coleman.

repeated note taken from the blues, can be much more effective than a flurry of notes
with no control. Imitation is an extremely effective learning technique.
Another applied listening exercise is to listen to yourself play. You are probably harder on
yourself than anyone around you, so who better to edit your playing? Record and listen to
yourself rehearsing, performing, and even practicing. Try recording yourself playing a tune
first with just a metronome, and then without. Listen back to yourself and fix the problem.
At first this can be a painful process, but it gets better as you improve.
Final Thoughts
When you gain more experience listening to music in this way, you will be able to imagine
the score as you hear it. You'll understand what is happening, why it is happening, and
where it comes from. You'll be able to hear music and take an educated guess about who
the musicians are, and when it was recorded.
The greatest reward will be found in the musical moment with your band. The more active
listening you do, the quicker your musical reflexes will become. You will recognize what you
hear as the music unfolds, which will help you react to whatever the music may call you to
do.
There is nothing wrong with textbooks, teachers and theory, as long as the music comes
first: we are, after all, musicians.

More and more, the professional demand for knowing jazz repertoire is diminishing. Gone
are days of touring professionals with local rhythm sections, and as finances are tighter,
jobbing situations are rarer than ever. The push to play original music is strong. However,
the need for developing players to know tunes still exists, and it should remain high on
their priority lists. Knowing many tunes, and knowing them inside out, has many advantages
including better understanding of harmonic function, the ability to assimilate new tunes and
patterns quickly, and of course, common ground to play with other people.
Performance-based learning and experience
I teach a course at Humber College in the one-year Introduction to Jazz and Commercial
Music Program called Song Materials. It is a performance-based course that uses
repertoire as a foundation for combining elements from courses in the rest of the
program’s curriculum. Students meet for an hour and forty-five minute class once a week.
Classes roughly contain 20 students, usually have 2 or 3 complete rhythm sections (which
rotate throughout the class), and have included the following instrumentation: voice,
woodwinds, brass, guitar, piano, bass, drums, violin and cello.
Tune overview
The year is broken up into 4 sections, roughly dealing with: blues, modal tunes, short form
tunes with II-V and simple progressions, ending with AABA and ABAC tunes. Starting with
the blues enables students to become familiar with chord progressions as opposed to static
harmony. As the blues has many varieties, it allows different harmonic concepts to be
introduced a week-at-a-time and be associated with a melody that mirrors those concepts.
Modal tunes allow for discussions on form and often mirror tunes used in improvisation
class. As the year progresses, getting into functional harmony and longer forms adds to the
students’ palette of musical devices.
Weekly testing
The strongest element of the course is its focus on performance. Students learn a song
each week, often by ear, and must perform it the following week in front of the class with
a rhythm section. This weekly performance allows for continual pressure in a controlled
environment. Each performance is graded, and they’re required to perform the melody and
often some other element (root motion, chord tones, relevant scales, etc), all memorized.
Repertoire Development in the Classroom by Dave Neill 619

They’re given a grade not only on how well they execute the material, but also their sound,
time feel and general musicality. Students quickly become more comfortable performing in
front of others, as well as becoming aware of many nuances of performance, given the
weekly nature of the testing.
Drummers have the option to play mallets, piano, or even sing if they’re brave. Vocalists
sing the tunes every week, including the exercises, in the original key. However, once the
second semester arrives, they become responsible for the lyrics but have the option to
prepare in a key of their choice. Where these students appear to be at an advantage or
disadvantage given the nature of their instrument in this class, things tend to even out over
the course of a year. Drummers can be marked slightly easier on their 2nd instruments, and
they have the benefit of easier testing on the midterm and exam (see below). Vocalists
have an easier time on the short forms without lyrics, but have the challenge of dealing
with a fixed key. Later, they need to learn the lyrics and face more challenging exercises
on longer forms.
Generally speaking, each class is broken into three sections: hearing the current week’s
performances, drill, and learning the following week’s tune.
Drill
While the performance elements give familiarity and experience, lots of learning occurs in
the drill portion of the class. Students are constantly being forced to review the melody,
root motion, arpeggios, guidetones and any other concepts from tunes previously covered in
class. The single biggest challenge in repertoire development isn’t learning the material, but
retention and recall. This weekly reminder over the course of the year creates a long list
of tunes that should stay with the student over a lifetime, if they maintain a disciplined
approach.
Not only does the drill component of the class review the material, it encourages deeper
learning of all the elements of each song. Students have little trouble remembering a given
melody or a root progression once they’ve just played it, but learning how those two
elements work hand-in-hand gives them a truer understanding of form and melody.
Commonly, the students are broken up into groups by walking around the room numbering
people 1 or 2. (This allows for a better instrumental and geographic distribution). Group 1
will be called to play the melody and Group 2 will perform the roots. This allows students to
hear where the changes occur, and the inherent relationships within the tunes. Students
are then asked to switch (by me either yelling “SWITCH!” or by raising/lowered my hand)
to the other part. Initially each switch occurs at the top of a chorus, and as they gain
control and understanding, switches occur mid-section and eventually mid-phrase making
the exercise more challenging. However, given the large number involved, it often holds
together and after a number of choruses becomes ingrained. A similar exercise involves the
whole class playing either the melody or the roots, and switching back and forth on
command.

A variety of other exercises can give familiarity with the chord progressions. Digital
sequences, which can become progressively more challenging, stimulate tune and chord
knowledge. Starting with varieties of 123 on the blues (and many other progressions later),
I will often play a pattern, and get the class to follow along, which has the added benefit of
using swinging rhythms. I’ll generally upgrade the pattern each chorus, unless there’s
significant difficulty. Examples of digital patterns include:
123, 321, 312, 3121, 3213, 1235, 5321, 135, 531, 1b71b7, 123b7, 135b7, b7531
I’ll start with these, push the tempo as needed, and do it in a few keys. It gets them
comfortable with the possibilities, helps improvisation ideas for later, and gives us plenty
of material to drill even if we haven’t learned many songs to date. Numeric patterns can be
layered into the Group 1/Group 2/(Group 3) system of drill, in combination with melody and
roots.
As the year progresses, the tunes become more and more demanding. They are longer, use
more complex harmony and move through a variety of keys. The drill portion of the class
becomes more intense and crucial to thorough internalization of the material.
As the chord progressions start to move around, the introduction of the smooth guidetone
line adds to the harmonic sense of the tune. The guidetones are generally recognized as the
3rd and the 7th of a chord, and have the most weight within that structure. The 3rd
determines the flavour (major or minor) and the 7th is said to determine the function, as a
tonic, dominant or subdominant (resting, moving, or in-between respectively). To perform
the smooth guidetone line (also known as investigating the voice leading), start on either
the 3rd or 7th of the first chord, and play the 3rd or the 7th of the next chord - whichever
one is closer. As the most common root motion is up a 4th, the line has a tendency to flip
between the 3rd and the 7th. As guidetone lines have a tendency to resolve in a downward
motion, when the 3rd or the 7th is roughly the same distance away (often when the chord
moves by third), as a rule of thumb the exercise should go up. This mitigates getting too
low and needing to jump octaves, and it maintains two separate lines throughout the tunes,
useful for practising all the possibilities.
Next week’s tune
Generally, the last 20-30 minutes of each class are spent learning and practising the
material for the following week. Most often the melodies are taught first, and then the
chord progression, but in some weeks the process is reversed. I’ll play (on saxophone) the
given melody. Students have taken to recording it on the their cell phones and iPods (talk
about pressure!), which I’ve grown to appreciate. (I’m also waiting to find videos of myself
on YouTube playing these tunes.) I’ll play it a few times, and depending on the level, will get
them to sing the whole thing before people start noodling and figuring it out. I’ll go bit by
bit, and often break it down numerically to the home key. For example, using numbers, the

first phrase to St. Thomas would be 587656345878. If accidentals occur, we often relate
them to the home key, but if an entire phrase modulates (like in Blue Bossa or Green
Dolphin Street) then we’ll relate it to the key that makes most sense for us to learn.
Once we’ve done significant drill on the melody, and I’m comfortable that they’ll be able to
remember it, we’ll go over the chord progression. Normally I’ll play the root motion,
followed by any exercise I’d like them to learn for the following week. This generally occurs
with another round of electronic devices pointed at me. If there’s time left, we’ll check out
a recording, and play it once more on the way out the door.
Most students have no trouble learning the tune in class, but the issue is remembering it
over the course a week and throughout the term. Review is crucial. The trick to
remembering the new tune is to practise it again the day it was learned, or the next day at
worst. If it gets to a third day, or the sixth day, their odds dramatically decrease. I
strongly suggest to the students that they maintain a list (we do this in the second
semester) and run through all their tunes 2 or 3 times a week. The results are astoundingly
good.
Midterm and exam testing
Instead of continuing with the weekly tests, the big tests ask the students to put what
they’ve learned into practice. They’re placed into independent groups, generally 4 groups
per class (with selected players doubling as necessary), and asked to prepare a
performance. They’re given lists of tunes to choose from, and instructed to create their
own set, including arrangements, without any other guidance. The October midterm is 2
blues-based tunes, 3 tunes in December, getting to 4 and 5 as the year progresses.
Each student is given an individual score and a group score. As music is a group endeavor,
the collective efforts and achievements of the group must be recognized. Categories for
evaluation include melody, time, comping, arrangements, energy and creativity.
Improvisation, while expected, is not evaluated beyond the ability to maintain the form.
Students are made aware that they are all responsible for helping within the group and
achieving a strong performance. However, given that the strong students will be with
weaker students, an individual mark is also awarded and counted for half the grade on any
given test. This mark takes into account the specifics of all the tunes, as well an individual’s
sound, time feel and general musical skill.
Written tests
In the second semester, a weekly written quiz is added to the mix. Each quiz is 10 questions
long, and asks for details about the tunes already learned in class, including starting notes,
chord progressions, form, or anything else discussed in class. Given time considerations, it
is taken up in class and doesn’t count towards the overall grade. However, these short
quizzes prepare the students for a longer written test at the midterm and the final exam.

The written component helps focus the students on the material, and forces them to see
how well they know the details of the tunes. It helps eliminate the constant confusion
relating tune names to the proper melody, and can highlight the unique elements of each
tune. To help keep things clear, a chart is distributed the first week of January with all
the tune names, and columns including: style, number of bars, form, key, 1st chord, chords,
starting note, starting beat, and composer. Students will often fill in this sheet for each
new tune that is learned. Not only is it nice to have all the information in one place, but it
serves as a visual comparison for the specifics involved with each tune.
Special events
Along the way, a few classes touch on skills not otherwise covered in class. The class after
the first midterm, we take a few simple tunes and play them in a variety of keys. Generally,
we use Happy Birthday (because you need to know it on a gig, and if you don’t you look like a
chump!) and O Canada. The tunes are effective because they are mostly diatonic, are
required to know quickly in any key, and are strongly familiar for the ear component of the
exercise. It stresses for the class the importance of accuracy, and how easy it is to make
small errors that are magnified on simple tunes. Also…make sure to mention that Happy
Birthday is in 3/4 time, and that it starts on the 5th!
The final class of the first semester allows for a study of sight-reading, both as a seminar
on the process of quickly assimilating information, and a chance to discuss form and nuance
from new examples.
A class at the end of the year is devoted to an individual test, devoted to a variety of
requirements. They must be prepared to perform all 5 tunes on a list chosen from the
semester’s repertoire, one tune in extra keys, and the smooth guidetone line starting from
either the 3rd or the 7th on selected tunes.
Tune choices
The blues is a great place to start the class, as it allows us to grow our ideas.
Progression #1 Progression #2 Progression #3

Blues In The Closet (F) Bessie’s Blues (Eb) Tenor Madness (Bb)
I7 I7 I7 I7 I7 IV7 I7 I7 I7 IV7 I7 I7
IV7 IV7 I7 I7 IV7 IV7 I7 I7 IV7 IV7 I7 I7
V7 IV7 I7 I7 V7 IV7 I7 V7 iimi7 V7 I7VI7 iimi7V7
These specific tunes work really well, as their melodies imply the given progression, and use
three different keys. Other blues of value include C Jam Blues, Straight, No Chaser, and
The Blues Walk. Now’s The Time is great for introducing the #4 diminished concept in

measure 6. I also introduce VI7b9 in measure 8, most often in conjunction with Tenor
Madness.
Following some study of the blues, the next logical step is to approach the minor blues. Mr.
PC and Equinox are straightforward and effective tunes for the jazz canon.
Imi7 Imi7 Imi7 Imi7

IVmi7 IVmi7 Imi7 Imi7
bVI7 V7 Imi7 Imi7 (also introduce concept of IImi7b5 as a substitute for bVI7)
As we make the transition from blues to modal tunes, jazz compositions like All Blues and
Footprints combine elements of both styles. While both are traditionally considered to be
in 6/8 time, for the purposes of the class they’re considered to be in 3/4 with a doubled
form length. This allows for students to feel the extended sections but still anticipate
subsequent material. All Blues introduces a repeated bass figure, harmony parts and the
interesting V7#9 bVI#9 V7#9 turnaround, while Footprints introduces another cool bass
line and the turnaround starting on #4.
Modal tunes make up the end of the first semester, and are great for enticing students to
listen to each to follow form rather than blindly counting. One of the biggest challenges on
tunes with extended and similar sections is to properly keep the form, which is the biggest
reason that modal tunes are taught after the blues in this course. Most commonly, AABA
tunes become AAB as students remember that they’ve played two A sections and move to
the bridge 8 bars too early. I’ll often get them to speak the form for several choruses
aloud: AABAAABAAABA. Notice that there are in fact 3 A sections in a row: the last one
of a given chorus, followed by two more at the top of the next one. One suggestion, which I
credit to my friend bassist Michael Bates, is for the bassist the use some sort of ostinato
over the last A as a reminder, and to create forward motion with a return to the top of the
form. Impressions, So What, Cantaloupe Island and Little Sunflower all offer certain
challenges and are generally rewarding for the students. Recordame is an interesting
potential choice, as it combines modal elements with II-Vs, but that is a little beyond the
scope of the course at this point.
The second semester brings more complex chord progressions into the mix. AABA and
ABAC forms, as well as 16 bar forms, become the standard. II-V-I is the central concept,
which introduces ideas including key area and chord function. Tunes are selected with a
natural progression of complexity and difficulty, and involving key concepts of jazz. These
tunes provide a workout for the students during the drill portion of each class.
Starting with Take The “A” Train and My Little Suede Shoes, students become familiar
with AABA form. Using mostly diatonic material (Take The “A” Train deviates using II7#11,
and My Little Suede Shoes uses VI7), new root motion is introduced but is relatively easy
for the students to remember as each tune uses 5 and 6 unique chords respectively.
Autumn Leaves is slightly more involved, includes minor material, and is a natural extension

of previous concepts. The Preacher, Blue Bossa and Summertime are all common tunes
which incorporate singable melodies with strong chord progressions. These work well for
the exercises in class, and students are required to work on root motion, arpeggiation, and
guidetone lines.
To end the year, longer and more involved tunes In A Mellow Tone, Long Ago And Far Away,
Oleo, and Green Dolphin Street complete the course work. These tunes each present a
variety of new ideas, and are essential as people commonly call them in performance
situations. A summary of these ideas is given below.
Concepts
As there are so many common elements to jazz tunes, choosing repertoire for study that
includes a varied sampling can accelerate the student experience. Below is a list of
concepts as they occur in the selected repertoire of the course.
Tag ending Mr. PC/Blue Bossa

Repeated bass figure Equinox/Cantaloupe Island/
Footprints/All Blues
Bass melody So What
Interlude All Blues
Dorian mode Mr. PC/Impressions/So What/
Little Sunflower/Cantaloupe Island
Minor to parallel major Little Sunflower
Static melody/changing harmony Cantaloupe Island
Straight 8ths Cantaloupe Island/Little Sunflower/
Blue Bossa/My Little Suede Shoes
Shout chorus Take The “A” Train/Blue Bossa
Stock introduction/ending Take The “A” Train
II7#11 Take The “A” Train
Bridge goes to IV Take The “A” Train/My Little Suede
Shoes
#4 diminished The Preacher/In A Mellow Tone
Melodic motivic development Autumn Leaves/Blue Bossa/
In A Mellow Tone
Minor to relative major Summertime
Melodic (jazz) minor scale Autumn Leaves
Major diatonic harmony/cycles Autumn Leaves
II V I in minor Autumn Leaves/Summertime/Blue Bossa
II V I to IV In A Mellow Tone/Oleo/
Long Ago And Far Away
Modulation (all types: abrupt/prepared/pivot) Long Ago And Far Away
I VI II V Long Ago And Far Away/Oleo
Rhythm Changes and variants Oleo

Dominant 7 cycle Oleo
Slash chords Green Dolphin Street
Pedal point Green Dolphin Street
Style switch: Latin/Swing Green Dolphin Street
Passing bass notes Green Dolphin Street
V7alt (altered) Green Dolphin Street
Integrated curriculum
Song Materials operates at the core of jazz curriculum. It is the one location where
students can apply the skills learned in the other courses: Ear Training is involved in
learning the tunes and hearing the harmony; Theory talks about chords, scales,
progressions and harmony; concepts from Improvisation and Private Lesson are needed for
each term group performance; Listening and Analysis provides insight into form and group
performance. It is a great opportunity to link these concepts, provide a place to play and
formulate the beginnings of a professional repertoire that will serve them throughout their
careers.
Suggested sequence of tunes: Tunes worth discussing:
Blues In The Closet C Jam Blues

Straight, No Chaser Now’s The Time
Bessie’s Blues The Blues Walk
Tenor Madness So What
Mr. PC Recordame
Equinox My Little Suede Shoes
All Blues Happy Birthday
Footprints O Canada
Impressions
Little Sunflower
Cantaloupe Island
Take The “A” Train
The Preacher
Summertime
Autumn Leaves
Blue Bossa
In A Mellow Tone
Long Ago And Far Away
Oleo
Green Dolphin Street

More Learning tunes is becoming a bit of a lost art in the current jazz generation. In fact,
probably the single biggest complaint among established musicians is the lack of tune
knowledge by jazz students and young professionals. While the push for an original voice
through original music is a noble and respected pursuit, being grounded in the jazz tradition
allows for a deeper perspective on the music. Not only that, knowing tunes allows for material
to play on gigs and jam sessions, aids in assimilating new material more quickly, and adds
vocabulary for composition.
Years ago, as a high school aged student, my teacher insisted on memorization of tunes.
While I always believed him, at that age and stage I didn’t fully understand the benefit. I
was able to learn the tunes, but figured if I had to perform them, I would be best served by
having the music in front me; after all, I’d taken to time to thoroughly learn the music
through memorization, but by having the music on hand, it would virtually eliminate the
possibility of making a mistake in performance. Some years after, I had a series of weekly
gigs, and decided to not take charts. Working with a creative trio, and only a small audience
(!) we would often switch tunes at random, and follow each other all over the place. These
gigs helped me realize that listening and communication were the key, and that having a page
in front of me stole my focus away from being open to other ideas. It created an ideal
musical situation.
In a study of learning repertoire, the concepts fit neatly into two categories: how to
approach the work, and how to approach the music.
The work:
1) Find people to play with!
Practising is a joy for some people, and work for others. Learning tunes occurs quickly when
they’re put into practise, and the pressure of playing with others speeds up the process. Try
to find gigs. Call people with similar experience and tune lists for jam sessions. You can even
set up regular sessions and call tunes to learn for that given day. Generally speaking, any
playing is worth your time, and which is compounded once you add in the value of both
repertoire development and networking. Jamey Aebersold Play-a-longs and Band-in-a-Box are
great practise aids, but are no substitute for the real thing.
Repertoire Development for the Individual by Dave Neill 627

2) Make a list of tunes you know
I like lists. Keeping a list allows me to maintain a running tally of tunes I know. I keep it in on
the computer, so it’s easy to update and sort if needed. A list helps keep track of what you
know, which tunes are rusty, and any stylistic gaps. It also comes in handy when you’re on a
gig with new people and you’re trying to find common ground as quickly as possible. Adding
extra columns for key and style adds sorting value. If tunes are in progress, you can keep
track of tunes that you’re working on in varying stages. It’s nice to have a visual, and
somewhat concrete, reminder of what you know, rather than scratching your head for that
tune you like but hasn’t been called in a while.
3) Make a list of tunes you’d like to learn
A tune can creep onto your radar for a variety of reasons. Keep a notebook of tunes that get
called on sessions and gigs, and make sure to get up to speed if you’ve been stumped twice!
Liking a tune from a recording could be enough to make you add it to your list. Lastly, making
sure that you have a varied repertoire is a priority for gigs. Always being aware of the last
few tunes you’ve played, in terms of style, key and tempo, and being prepared to go a
different direction musically is a characteristic of a good leader.
Categories of tunes:
• Standards
• Standards in minor keys
• Ballads
• Waltzes
• Blues
• Rhythm Changes (tunes based on Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm)
• Latin/bossa novas/Antonio Carlos Jobim
• Bebop/Charlie Parker
• Jazz tunes (tunes by jazz composers in the jazz idiom)
including Thelonious Monk/Wayne Shorter/Benny Golson/Duke Ellington
4) Set goals
Depending on your level, learning a tune a week is the minimum. Think about it: in two years,
you’ll know more than 100 tunes! If you have lots of time to practise, two or three tunes a
week is quite possible, including time for review. You’ll find that once you start learning
tunes, it in fact becomes easier to learn more of them. Some people assume that their brain
fills up with tune knowledge, but in reality similarities between tunes make it easier to
process knowledge rather than create confusion. The additional pressure of a gig or a session
can be more beneficial than artificial goals, depending on your personal level of discipline.

5) Review what you know!
While most people can learn tunes relatively quickly, the challenge occurs in keeping them up-
to-speed at all times. In learning a new tune, it’s imperative to play it every day; over time,
that can be reduced as familiarity improves. I’ll try to play a tune every day for the first
week or two, then review it two or three times a week over the next two or three months,
then once a week for the remainder of the year. By this point, playing it once or twice a
month should be enough to feel comfortable if I need to know it on the spot. I used to
marvel at how pros could remember thousands of tunes and pull them out at the drop of a
hat, without having played them for years. Eventually, I realized two things: that their
superior musicianship allowed them to piece things back together, and that they’d more often
than not played the tunes hundreds of times over a professional career, even if it hadn’t
been recently.
Making sure to review tunes can be achieved any number of ways, but using a list to keep
track is a surefire way of being organized. Another simple way is to keep a stack of charts on
your music stand, to give a visual and handy reminder of what needs work.
6) Get away from the music
As with most musical practice, the onus falls upon the student to decide if a given selection
has been learned to its full potential. Typically, people tend to forgive themselves small
errors in performance, and this is one of the most common issues facing students. While
people tend to understand concepts intellectually, they often prefer to see themselves in the
positive and don’t recognize when something isn’t properly underneath their fingers. To solve
this issue, finding ways to test yourself and removing any crutches is the fastest way to be
certain whether the material has been learned properly. Stop staring at a chart and try to
work it through using your ear and your brain, only using a chart as a reminder as a last
resort. It’ll make a big difference.
The music:
1) Play the melody.
And play it again. And then some more.
Learning the melody is the biggest component to repertoire. People underestimate how well
they need to know it before its completely engrained. Practising a given melody 15 or 20
times in a row, daily over the course of a week, ensures a deeper understanding, and allows
for plenty of opportunity for personalization. Once it’s comfortable in the standard key,
moving it around to a variety of keys (optimally all 12!) is both a great ear exercise and a way
of solidifying the intervallic structure.

Another suggestion a teacher of mine had was to play the melody along with a singer. As a
saxophonist, learning to emulate a singer added a depth and nuance to the proceedings.
Playing along with Frank Sinatra gave a great awareness for phrasing and time feel, along
with a sense of style not found in conventional instrumentalists. Again, after learning the
material, repetition over a period of time was the key to successful internalization.
Now play the melody even more!
2) Learn the correct melody and chord changes
As jazz is based on an oral tradition, variations occurred as tunes were passed from musician
to musician. Over time, these variations can cause confusion concerning specific elements of
both melody and harmony of a given tune. Even though it can be frustrating at times, this is
in fact one of the richest components of this music. While it is the responsibility of the
performer to learn as much about a song as possible, knowing absolutely everything is beyond
the scope of expectation.
There are a variety of ways to research a song you’d like to learn. Some people insist on
finding the original sheet music, quite often from the score or a piano reduction from a
musical. Sometimes charts for jazz tunes can be found in the composer’s original handwriting.
For me, I’m generally happiest comparing several versions found in fake books, often trusting
the Chuck Sher publications (The New Real Book family) for accuracy.
Other people insist that learning the tune directly from a recording is the only way to go.
This is a practical approach as it ensures musicality right off the bat, but given extreme
variations in playing the melody, it can often lead to gaps. Perhaps it’s most effective to learn
the original version for a jazz tune, but worth checking several versions on a standard tune.
To clarify, a ‘jazz tune’ is a tune written by a jazz artist with improvisation in mind, whereas
a ‘standard tune’ is considered to be a tune from the Tin Pan Alley era. Jazz tunes, while
from any era, are generally from the 1950s and 60s, and were composed by the likes of
Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter, Benny Golson, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Standard
tunes were from the movies and musicals of the 1930s and 40s, and included composers
Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin and George Gershwin.
Finally, others state that to learn a tune properly, you must be aware of all the lyrics. While
I agree this can lead to a deeper understanding of the composition and has its advantages in
terms of phrasing, it’s lower down on my list of priorities.
3) Learn the chord changes
There are any number of ways to learn the harmony to a tune, and it becomes easier as
students gain experience. Initially, memorizing roots and chord qualities, followed by copious
repetition, is the solution. As one’s repertoire expands, common elements and patterns
emerge, allowing people to understand larger ideas. For those with advanced piano chops,

playing through the tune and getting aurally familiar with the harmony can speed up the
process. Beginner students, once a tune becomes engrained, should learn it in extra keys.
Advanced students should make a point of practicing in 12 keys, at least something, every
day.
Generally speaking, the first step in learning the harmony is to play through it. Get a feel for
the root motion and all the arpeggios. Learn the roots relative to the home key, and look for
any key changes. Knowing the 7 diatonic chords that come from major (Ima7, IImi7, IIImi7,
IVma7, V7, VImi7 and VIImi7b5) proves extremely helpful, as tunes are often based on this
material. Rather than being forced to remember that the next chord is Ami7 (in the key of
G), knowing that it’s simply II saves time. As these 7th chords are so frequent I’ll make a
note if something deviates from the key…all of a sudden, A7 is II7, much more noteworthy
than a regular II chord. Spending the time to memorize the root motion and the
corresponding arpeggios is not only great practice on the tunes, but good ear training as well.
After memorizing the harmony, try to find ways correlating it to the melody. Figure out if
there are keys changes in the melody and relate the corresponding harmony at that point. Be
aware numerically of the melody of all points, not just relative to the home key but also to
the chord of the moment, may it be a 9th, 3rd or #11. A challenging exercise involves trying to
switch back and forth between playing the melody and the root motion, first at the
beginnings of sections and eventually mid-phrase. Generally, we practise the melody only from
the top of the form, so gaining proficiency from all points becomes a worthwhile benefit.
A great way to practise improvisation involves using targets tones. Start by improvising and
trying to land on the root of each chord on (or near) the downbeat of the change. As you gain
familiarity and confidence on all the chords, try the same thing landing on the third
appropriate to the chord. The exercise works well on all degrees, and it especially challenging
once you try the 11th. Remember to use the natural 11 on minor chord, and the #11 on major
and dominant chords. Not only is this a great exercise that uses creativity, it forces the
student to be aware of all the possibilities on all the chords, and often leads to adding to the
improviser’s palette.
Another great exercise involving the specifics of harmony involves playing through the tune
in a scalar motion, making adjustments as the chords change. Pick a starting note, preferably
a low one, and play through the tune using ascending half notes from the appropriate scale.
Play all the best available notes, remembering that you’ll never need to go up more than a
whole step at a time, and keeping in mind that as chords transition, often both half steps and
whole steps are available. Obviously use all the chord tones, and the appropriate 9, 11 (#11 on
major/dominant, natural 11 on minor) and 13 on each chord. When you get to the top of your
range, turn around and come down. Variety can be achieved by starting on different notes at
the beginning of the exercise, and any faster rhythmic grouping (quarter notes or eighth
notes most commonly) adds to the challenge. Again, this exercise makes the student aware
off all the possibilities throughout the tune and aids in smooth transitions between chord
changes.

4) Find similarities between tunes
While at first it seems like there are a million chords and variations out there, after a while
it becomes clear that there are only a few common types, often played in the same key. An
extension of this concept deals with chord progressions, in the sense that many tunes use
the same types of ideas. Learning to recognize these quickly cuts down dramatically on the
memory work. For example, the harmony in first eight bars of Autumn Leaves is: Cmi7, F7,
Bbma7, Ebma7, Ami7b5, D7b9, Gmi7 (2 bars). At first, 7 chords would be difficult to
memorize, but once you see the II-V-I progressions, it becomes easier: II-V-I in major, then
II-V-I in minor. Yes, we left out the IV chord, but that’s easy to account for: think II-V-I-
IV (in major), then II-V-I in minor. This technique actually gets you through the whole tune
(the bridge is reversed!), with the exception of 3 measures in the last section. Once you
learn a tune in broad stokes, the details become easier to separate and more noteworthy to
each tune.
Common elements in tunes
Progression (In C major)

1) I-VI-II-V (Cma7 Ami7 Dmi7 G7) (note: Ami7 and A7 are used interchangeably)
2) II-V-I of IV (Gmi7 C7 Fma7) (note: goes to the subdominant)
3) II-V-I of VI (Bmi7b5 E7b9 Ami7) (note: goes to the relative minor)
4) IVmi7-bVII7-I (Fmi7 Bb7 Cma7) (note: subdominant minor backdoor to I)
5) I-IV-III-VI (Cma7 Fma7 Emi7 A7) (note: Fma7 and F7 are used interchangeably)
6) II7 (D7) (note: often occurs in measure 13 of ABAC tune, as a delayed
return)
Tune Progressions (numbers 1-6 refer to the list from above)

I Got Rhythm/Oleo 1, 2, 4
Long Ago And Far Away 1, 2
I’ve Never Been In Love Before 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
In A Mellow Tone 2, 6
My Romance 2, 3, 4
If I Should Lose You 2, 3, 6
There Will Never Be Another You 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Misty 1, 2, 4, 5
East Of The Sun 3, 4, 5, 6
It Could Happen To You 3, 4, 5, 6
But Not For Me 2, 3, 5, 6
5) Play out of tempo
Playing out of tempo is a great way to familiarize one’s self with the harmony. By eliminating
pulse, extra time to get inside the harmony and possibilities of a given change can open up
the process. Often, while playing at tempo we tend to fall back on our habits and don’t fully

explore all the available options. A similar approach explores playing the melody, then filling
in gaps by improvising on the concurrent harmony. Some people refer to this as ‘accompanying
yourself.’
6) Play for an hour
Practising a tune for an hour is a sure-fire way of gaining extra depth and understanding.
While I was a student, I remember trying this approach, and frantically trying to explain to a
friend why I couldn’t come out of the practise room for another 10 minutes! In that hour I
played 72 consecutive choruses of All Things You Are, and while I knew the tune very well
already, it forced me to explore anything I could think of to keep stretching the creative
process. Target tones, extra keys, exotic possibilities on dominant chords, chromatic
approach notes and the melody were all ideas that I remember getting deeper into that day.
7) Play with recordings
This is another quick way to develop repertoire. It’s great for learning the nuances of the
melody, as well gaining ideas for improvisation on the fly. It’s a great way to develop the ear,
as well as melding into a pre-developed sound. It is often said that the quickest way to
improve is to play with people who are better than you, and for $15 you can buy a CD and play
with the best jazz players in history whenever you’d like!
The List
Here’s a list of 15 tunes that everybody knows and plays, in the order that they came to
mind. If you’re looking to expand your repertoire, this is the place to start. Notice that
almost all the styles and different 10 keys are included in the list!
Tune Key Style Composer

All The Things You Are Ab Standard Kern/Hammerstein
Body And Soul Db Ballad Green/Heyman
Autumn Leaves g- Standard (minor) Mercer/Kosma
Alone Together d- Standard (minor) Dietz/Schwartz
Solar c- Jazz Tune Miles Davis
Summertime d- Standard (minor) Gershwin/Gershwin
Tenor Madness Bb Blues Sonny Rollins
Oleo Bb Rhythm Changes Sonny Rollins
Mr. PC c- Blues (minor) John Coltrane
Green Dolphin Street C/Eb Standard (Latin/Swing) Kaper/Washington
What Is This Thing Called Love? c- Standard (minor) Cole Porter
Recordame a- Jazz Tune Joe Henderson
Stella By Starlight Bb Standard Washington/Young
Footprints c- Jazz Tune (in 3) Wayne Shorter
Someday My Prince Will Come Bb/F Waltz Frank Churchill

The Next 15
Straight, No Chaser F Blues Thelonious Monk
There Will Never Be Another You Eb Standard Warren/Gordon
Blue Bossa c- Bossa Kenny Dorham
Impressions d- Modal Jazz Tune John Coltrane
All Blues G Blues (in 3) Miles Davis
Freddie Freeloader Bb Blues Miles Davis
Bye Bye Blackbird F Standard Dixon/Henderson
Cherokee Bb Standard (up tempo) Ray Noble
Take The “A” Train C Standard Billy Strayhorn
My Funny Valentine c- Ballad (minor) Rodgers/Hart
Invitation c- Latin (minor) Bronislau Kaper
It Could Happen To You Eb/G Standard Jimmy Van Heusen
Softly, As In Morning Sunrise c- Standard (minor) Romberg/Hammerstein
I Thought About You F/Bb Standard Jimmy Van Heusen
Billie’s Bounce F Blues (bebop) Charlie Parker
15 Common Tunes That Professionals Play

Confirmation F Bebop Charlie Parker
Beatrice F Jazz Tune Sam Rivers
You Stepped Out Of A Dream C Standard Brown/Kahn
Wave D Bossa Antonio Carlos Jobim
East Of The Sun G Standard Brooks Bowman
Out Of Nowhere G Standard Green/Heyman
In Your Own Sweet Way Bb Jazz Tune Dave Brubeck
Stablemates Db Jazz Tune Benny Golson
Everything I Love F/Eb Standard Cole Porter
Darn That Dream G Ballad Jimmy Van Heusen
I Hear A Rhapsody Eb Standard Fragos/Baker/Gasperre
Skylark F/Eb Ballad Hoagy Carmichael
How Deep Is The Ocean? c- Standard (minor) Irving Berlin
It’s You Or No One F Standard Cahn/Styne
Emily C Waltz Johnny Mandel

The be-boppers harmonic galaxy is based on the Diminished 7th arpeggio. It is the axis
upon which all is built. For this reason, the first thing I do when I look at a new set of
changes is to look for diminished relations. These relations quickly define key centers,
dominant relationships, and significant harmonic movement. In 30 seconds I am able to
gain the necessary insight for improvisation. However, from an educational standpoint, my
30 second perusal took half a life time to learn. Let me try and retrace my some of my
steps. Remember, you are going to have to “connect some of the dots.” Also remember, if
you move to a new step without understanding the previous one, proceed with caution
because leapfrogging doesn’t work for long.
The beginning of my be-bop study started with be-bop scales. These 8 note, rhythmically
symmetrical scales, served many purposes. The first purpose was to my get chord tones on
the beat, which proved to be an essential part of be-bop playing.
The 8 note, rhythmic symmetrical scale, also facilitated back phrasing which is a very
important element of swing and be-bop phrasing.
Navigating the Be-boppers Harmonic Galaxy by Brian Lillos 635

The be-bop scale also made harmonic anticipation easy to execute. For example,
But, most importantly, the be-bop scale delivered something harmonic. It sounded the “I”
chord and the V7 chord at the same time. For me this was particularly significant.
(I had to think of an inverted, rootless D7b9 to make this work.)
The result of discovering that I and V were in the same scale allowed me to, in the initial
stages of improvisation, harmonically generalize large sections of tunes. It allowed me to
create a “harmonic reduction analysis”, if you will. For example, I made the following
harmonic generalizations in the “A” section of “Loudly, as in an evening Sunset. The original

When reduced, became
While this can’t be considered making the changes, it does allow, through generalization, a
scale to be used which covers the tonality. By using the bop scale built on A-6 the E7b9b13
and the B-7b5 is implied. The A-6 bop scale is as follows:
Another example would be “All Dr. Harris’ Children Got Rhythm”. The original progression,
for the “A” section, was as follows.
My harmonic reduction analysis gave me this:

As my improvisation became more about melodic inventiveness with one scale, it gave me
the time to concentrate on rhythmic groupings and pronunciation (articulation). The
unreduced harmonic progression paralysed me. I felt I had to micro-manage it. With the
be-boppers reduction analysis I found I was looking ahead for a target that required a new
scale and looking for significant chords that were specific to this tune. This is what is
supposed to happen. And beboppers have a hierarchy of chords. In a major tonality they
believe I, V7, IV, and IV- are important chords. In their world they would assign these
chords bigger size fonts on a lead sheet. Everything else is subordinate to I, V7, IV, and
IV-. Look again at the reduction of “All Dr. Harris’ Children Got Rhythm”.
My generalization would put important chords on the beat. Hence, I would be left with the
example mentioned earlier.
When I initially improvised on this tune I would improvise on G major 6 and D7 for four
bars watching carefully for G7 to appear and immediately C major C minor in bar 6. To the
bebopper, G7 is important because it sets up C major. C major is particularly important
because it sets up C minor and C minor is very, very important because it resolves (takes us
back) to G major. Following this type of logic, bars 5 and 6 of “All Dr. Harris Children Got
Rhythm” are significant. The other 6 bars are G major. To prove my point, I ask that you
please consult the Charlie Parker Omnibook and look at several of his solos on Rhythm
Changes. Pay particular attention to his playing on bar 6 of each “A” section.

With the concept of harmonic reduction in mind I started to analyze a great many bop
tunes and jazz standards. I was looking for an abbreviated or more simplified harmonic
progression to which I could apply my bop scales and also any “snags” or “hooks” or
significant harmonic movement I needed to negotiate.
One of my first bop tunes after Rhythm Changes was the bop anthem “Constipation”. The
original chord progression is as follows:

My harmonic reductions looks like this:
What first startled me when I was improvising on my simplified version of “Constipation”

was bar 2 and bars 21 through 24. What commonality was I going to find to handle these
two spots in the tune. Bars 1 and 2 share the same diminished 7th. Bars 17 through 20 and
bars 21 through 24 share the same diminished 7th. This is significant because it means the
dominant 7th chords are related. This is where a deeper level understanding “the
diminished” theory began. If chords share the same diminished arpeggio then they are
related. If they are related then navigation becomes easier.

For example:
In my initial journeys through the galaxy I was looking for I, V7, IV, and IV- and any
modulations. Later, I started looking for significant harmonic movement that was specific
to certain tunes or what I learned later were “tune types”. I became interested in
connecting my be-bop scales. (Be-bop is a lot more than just playing the right bop scale
over a chord.) I became interested in moving from one chord to another in a logical and
melodic fashion. I became interested in chord inversions because my instrument has a
limited range. I became interested in voice leading (ways in which to introduce tension and
resolve it logically). I became interested in the way chords moved from one place to
another and why. My first journey of this nature was to look at bars 3 and 4 as well as
bars 7 and 8 of “Lovers No More”. I learned that the tune actually started on the IV
chord, moved to the flat VII7, then to I, then to flat VI7 and then to V7. Melodically, the
tune enjoyed the sound of the tritone. In my improvisation I had the option of playing bop
scales over the aforementioned bars:

Or using these scales as harmonic anticipation or approaches to targets in my
improvisation:
Or doing the bop thing and looking for the tritone voice lead wherever musically feasible
and doing something like this:

Later, I became interested in the diatonic and non-diatonic microcosm, the thing I initially
had rejected. I was becoming fascinated with it because I understood chord function and
the hierarchy inherent in be-bop harmony. I had learned these concepts through
understanding diminished relations. Here is what I think and play now: Bella by Barlight.
The further one delves into the be-boppers galaxy, the more one realizes that the
diminished 7th is the axis upon which all is built. The diminished arpeggio gives us 2
tritones, 4 related dominants, and I and V7 in the same scale. Further, secondary
dominants are a semi-tone away, altered can be explained as the tritones minor, and
augmented is diatonic to harmonic minor. For the be-bopper, diminished is the axis upon
which all is built. All the best in your travels through the galaxy.
Here are some solos of mine which I believe are an expansion of Charlie Parker’s language:
Try them along with original recordings of Charlie Parker. As well try them against Jamey
Aebersold’s Play Along Series. Volume 6, “All Bird”. You will have to slow down the rhythm
track for Confirmation, and Yardbird Suite however, the Rhythm Changes solo works best
at a fast tempo so track 10 on Volume 6 will suffice. Volume 43, track 4 is acceptible for
the solo on Night in Tunisia but is even better if you can speed up the rhythm track.
Volume 94, “Hot House”, track 7 is fine for the solo on What is this thing Called Love
however, it may also have to be slowed down.

Solo on Confirmation:

Solo on Yardbird Suite:

Solo on Rhythm Changes

Solo on Night in Tunisia

Solo on What Is This Thing Called Love

Brian Lillos can be reached at www.BrianLillos.com

Humans use the powers of consciousness not merely to survive but to understand. We crave
answers. As Aristotle said, we possess the desire to know.1 Present day western society is
attempting to explain, predict and control the economy, human behavior, the weather, our
environment, and even our biology. As educators, we need to look carefully and critically at
this movement toward deterministic answers to educational and societal questions. We
might ask whether or not these “answers” are helpful or even attainable at all. Should we
only pursue rational, quantifiable knowledge? Is that all that there really is? Is “free will”
a fallacy? If we believe not, then our educational practice should reflect that belief.
Determinism is the belief that all knowledge is indeed knowable. It is a philosophical theory
holding that all events are inevitable consequences of antecedent sufficient causes; often
understood as denying the possibility of freewill. When relating determinism to art making,
at first glance, in modern times, it seems contradictory. However, in reality, the prevailing
music education philosophy claims that an experience is musical if it conforms to the
theoretical characteristics of an aesthetic experience and that any meanings, functions or
experiences not directly related to the work’s structural, determined, patterns are deemed
incidental, irrelevant, referential or nonmusical. 2 Due to this dominating music education
philosophy, music is often taught in a way that overly values musical structures and
established patterns and neglects or undervalues the more elusive elements of music such
as emotional, social, and/or spiritual components. The philosophy tends to not value the the
variances within the structures themselves (i.e. the lack of fixed definition for
piano/forte, staccato/legato, allegro/largo, crescendo/decrescendo, etc.). Subsequently,
there is a lack of opportunity for students to explore individual interpretation and
exploration of music. The “expression and interpretation” is reserved for the select few
who have achieved a certain, high level of proficiency. Although there are determined
elements in music, such as pitch, rhythm, meter and form, there is much that is left to
interpretation and perhaps even chance. Despite this, music is often taught as a
determinable subject matter.
Improvisation is an in-the-moment example of how these determined elements

interconnect and interplay with the undetermined. It is a way of experiencing music making
that honors individual self-expression and group cooperation, yet remains rooted in
1
Aristotle. Poetics . Translated by Gerald F. Else. (Ann Arbour : University of Michigan Press, 1967).
2
Bennett Reimer, A Philosophy of Music Education: Advancing the Vision (New Jersey: Pearson
Education Inc., 1989), pp. 103, 120-121.
Musical Improvisation and Determinacy by Jodi Proznick 656

structure. One must ask: What are the determinable elements in music? What are the
indeterminable elements in music? Would improvisation be useful in a music education
environment that acknowledges such indeterminable elements of music? If so, what are the
defining elements of improvisation and how would they be beneficial in the music classroom
that values indeterminacy? In this paper I will explore determinacy and its influence on
contemporary music education practice. I will also discuss how improvisation might be a
valuable activity in a music education curriculum that values expression and cooperation as
well as structure.
Determinism
In order to examine determinism in a music educational context, we must have a clearer

idea of what the term means. The exact meaning of "determinism" has historically been
subject to various interpretations. Some view determinism and free will as mutually
exclusive, whereas others believe that the two ideas can be reconciled. Most of this
disagreement arises from the varied definitions of “determinism” and "free will". Some feel
determinism refers to the metaphysical truth of independent agency, such as “God”,
whereas others simply define it as the feeling of agency that humans experience when they
act. Indeterminism, then, is the idea that things are not precisely determined or
established; not fixed or known in advance. St. Thomas Aquinas argued that all reality is
connected, everything is knowable, including facts and values, and ultimately everything can
be set right.3 In his book, The Limits of Reason: Indeterminacy in Law, Education and
Morality, John Eisenberg explores the perception that through the use of rational
knowledge, social change will result. According to Eisenberg, this assumption that all
reality is neat, determinable and rational is flawed. He argues that the quest to know
and/or control human behavior through law, institutions and science has burdened the
systems and by studying and/or developing the systems, one is, in effect, altering the
system itself. Therefore, the determinable elements are only half-truths. He writes:
These are not the best of times. Neither space shots, genetic engineering, computers,
nuclear reactors, general problem-solving models, television, electronic music, the Beatles,
antibiotics, tranquilizers, supermarkets, capitalism, socialism, glasnost, the “triumph” of
American Democracy.... guarantee(s) good times. Nor do all together guarantee very much.
If anything, the great scientific, social and cultural breakthroughs of our age carry with
them problems that seem to overshadow their benefits. But it is not the breakthroughs in
themselves that create the problems. Rather, it is how we deal with these and other
phenomena, how we view and assimilate them that is more decisive.4
The use of rational, scientific or deterministic answers to the human condition may indeed
have useful benefits. We must be careful, however, not to assume blindly that all
3
John A. Eisenberg, The Limits of Reason: Indeterminacy in Law, Education and Morality (New
Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1992), p. 2.
4
ibid., p. 1.

knowledge is indeed knowable and that everything can be explained though empirical,
quantifiable means. Music and teaching are human practices that are not guided by
universal laws or truths, but are subject to the fluid, changing nature of humanity.
Philosophy of Music Education Perspectives
No matter how much information a composer puts on a score, there will always be unique
interpretations of the work. Just as no two humans are exactly identical, no two
performances of the Bach Unaccompanied Cello Suites will be the same. When one listens
to Yo Yo Ma’s version in comparison to Rostropovich or Casal’s, one realizes quickly how
varied the performance of a written work can be. Music, however, often is taught with the
underlying notion that there is such a thing as a “definitive” version of a work and that
perfection does exist. This would imply that there is such a thing as determinacy in art.
One might argue that this view of art making stems from a continued societal movement
toward a belief in social determinacy - that everything can be controlled. Eisenberg writes
that “rationalism has taken hold of our thinking, where more decisions are made on the
basis of rules, laws. principals and so on, in order to control outcomes.”5 In music, what
follows from this notion, is a quest for and belief in the “perfect” performance, the
“perfect” composition or the “perfect” technique.
The result of this 18th-century idea of determinacy is an aesthetic concept of music

education. The aesthetic concept suggests that there is more value in the perception and
contemplation of things rather than their creation . It values the looking, listening or
reading rather than the making.”6 This aesthetic concept rests on four assumptions:
1) Music is a collection of objects or works.

2) Musical works are listened to in one and only way - aesthetically. This concept leads to a
focus on aesthetic qualities and structural properties: melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre,
dynamics, texture and organization.
3) The value of the work is intrinsic and internal.
4) The value is in the structure alone. 7
Swanwick and Taylor acknowledged that when we organize and separate expression from
structure a false reality forms. They argue that the main objective of all music education
is to enable people to appreciate music and to value music as a life-enhancing experience. 8
The praxial music philosophy argues against the aesthetic view. It counters the absolutism
and universality associated with academic rationalism and the aesthetic concept of music.
5
ibid., pp. 4-5.
6
Ralph A. Smith, The Sense of Art: A Study of Aesthetic Education (New York: Routledge, 1989),
p.4.
7
David J. Elliot, Music Matters (Oxford University Press: 1995) , p.23.
8
Keith Swanwick and Dorothy Taylor (1982): Purpose in Music Education. In The Symbolic Order: A
Contemporary Reader on the Arts Debate, edited by Peter Abs. (London: Falmer Press, 1989), p.
238.

David Elliot writes that determined musical concepts such as theory and history need to be
discussed in relation to ongoing efforts to solve musical problems while actively making
music.9 He writes:
Most musical practices are sufficiently complex that music makers (including teachers and
students) must consult sources of formal music knowledge at various times. Verbal
concepts about music history, music theory, and vocal and instrumental practices can
influence, guide, shape and refine a learner’s thinking-in-action. By itself, however, formal
musical knowledge is inert and unmusical. It must be converted into procedural knowing-in-
action to achieve its potential.10
The prime objective of music educators is not whether or not to make use of formal
musical knowledge (to ignore it would be irresponsible) but to examine when and how to use
this knowledge. Elliot argues that one must teach concepts in the context of real life
performing or conducting situations. This, in turn, enables the learner to understand their
value immediately and artistically. We need to challenge the old, traditional ways of
thinking about “music” conceived as European, classical “works” set off from the social
world, and only available to aesthetic listeners (i.e., people trained by “aesthetic educators”
to focus on “musical elements” alone). The “aesthetic doctrine itself was tied to particular
historical circumstances and thus it cannot survive the many changes of first modernism
and now post-modernism.” 11 This valuing of structure over all else has lead to the
education of generations of music teachers that are unable to incorporate multifaceted
activities, such as improvisation and composition, into the classroom. Improvisation
promotes a flexible musicianship and a “thinking on one’s feet” that hold greater potential
for meeting educational aims than do many status quo music institutional practices.
Another criticism of the aesthetic music education philosophy is that it fails to address
the importance of the social and emotional context when connecting to and learning about
music. This emotional and social connection is vital to musicianship and understanding. It is
vital to a “knowing” music and not just a “knowing about” music. One of the most
remarkable tools available that addresses the interplay between determined structural
elements and undetermined expressive, emotive, social elements is the study and practice
of improvisation. Improvisation is an effective way to get to ‘know’ music at many levels.
Defining Improvisation
Improvisation, by its very nature, is momentary. Subsequently, it is a difficult subject to

study from a historical perspective. Music scholars agree that virtually all music cultures
engage in improvised music. The music historians point out that most musical performances
9
Elliot, Music Matters (1995) , p.61.
10
ibid.
11
Thomas Regelski, “Schooling for Musical Praxis, ” Finish Journal of Music Education, 3. 1 (1998):
p.13.

in classical Greece appear to be improvisations12 and that improvisation has had a steady
role in the practice of western music as far back as the fourth century. In some Western
music, such as the Baroque era and most recently in modern jazz, improvisation was a
cornerstone of musical practice. In certain non Western musical traditions, such as Indian,
Asian, and African, improvisation is central to their musical activities. Musicologists and
historians have begun to discuss musical improvisation at greater length, however, it is not
always clear as to what is being discussed. In order to have a clearer understanding of how
improvisation is useful as an educational tool, we must have a clearer idea of what the term
improvisation means.
The Grove Dictionary of Music defines improvisation as:
...the spontaneous creation of music as it is performed. It may involve the immediate

composition of an entire work by its performers, or the elaboration or other variation of an
existing framework, or anything in between. All the performers in a group, or a soloist, or
any intermediate combination of players may improvise.13
Philip Alperson suggests that musical improvising involves both performing and composing.14
He suggests that the musicians compose, interpret and perform a musical work
spontaneously and simultaneously. The distinguishing characteristic of an improvisation
from a performance is the ability to “compose in real time”.15 In an important sense,
improvisation is not free but rather an effective means of expression when incorporating a
vocabulary, whether understood cognitively or intuitively, common to an individual or a
group. The term “improvisation”, in suggesting a failure to plan ahead or making do with
whatever means are available while playing anything, is an over generalization and
misunderstanding of the process. Perhaps due to this misinterpretation, improvisation
often has been regarded as a lesser form of musical expression. Hanslick, in an attempt to
argue against the view that music “has to do” with the emotions, attempted to advance the
formalist account of the nature of music. Improvisation was seen as a distracting wash of
emotion that resulted in a product void of beauty.16 However, in many of the world’s
musical cultures the ability to improvise is highly valued. In societies such as those of the
Middle East and North India the improvised portions of a performance carry the most
prestige.
There is evidence of improvisation in the European classical tradition. Ernst Ferand

emphasized the importance of improvisation to the development of Western art music from
the Middle Ages until the mid 19th century:
12
Philip Alperson, “On Musical Improvisation,” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. 43.1
(Autumn, 1984): p. 17.
13
Barry Kernfeld: “Improvisation - Jazz”, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 26/07/2005),
<http://www.grovemusic.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca>
14
Alperson, “On Musical Improvisation, ” p. 20.
15
Elliot, Music Matters (1995), p. 169.
16
Eduard Hanslick, The Beautiful in Music (Indianapolis, 1957), pp. 76-77.

There is scarcely a single field in music that has remained unaffected by improvisation,
scarcely a musical technique or form of composition that did not originate in improvisatory
performance or was not essentially influenced by it. The whole history of the development
of [Western art] music is accompanied by manifestations of the drive to improvise.17
Loessor describes Franz Liszt as having a casual attitude towards repertoire. He would
take great liberties while performing Schubert Lieder or Chopin preludes through
reinterpretation and improvisation on the themes.18 In European organ performance during
the Baroque era, one purpose of improvisation was to produce intricate fugues that might
not be distinguishable from the composed canon. In later history, composition and
improvisation represent opposite ends of the musical spectrum. In 19th-century piano music
the concept of improvisation, in composed genres such as impromptu and fantasia, was
drawn upon to explain the departure from formal norms.19 The attempt in 19th-century
Western music practice was to give the romantic illusion of improvisation, however, in
practice the art of improvisation was gradually being lost and devalued. The question now
becomes why improvisation has disappeared from the way western art music is taught and
realized. Perhaps to many, improvisatory expression is threatening, unfamiliar or
undeserving of interest. Society, in is quest to control systems and provide rational
explanations, undervalues activities that are in-the-moment, risky and undetermined.
One of the typical and educationally valuable components of improvisation is that of risk. It
involves moving into potentially unexplored musical territory with the knowledge that some
form of melodic, harmonic or ensemble conclusion will be required. The character of the
risk varies greatly. In the improvisation of a fugue the difficulty is in following the
predetermined form. In a free improvisation situation, the form, harmony and other
constraints are far less obvious or even nonexistent. In most instances audiences evaluate
improvisations by their balancing of essential features against imaginative deviation from
them. Audiences also appreciate exceptional technical and/or intellectual virtuosity and
innovation. The improviser's audience gains access to the composer’s mind at the moment of
musical creation. Perhaps this reality of risk and vulnerability is what deters music
educational practice to fully embrace the value of improvisation. Improvisation directly
challenges the notion of absolute control. This composing “in the moment” and performing
“on the edge” is phenomenally demonstrated and articulated through the jazz tradition.
17
Ernst T. Ferand, Improvisation in Nine Centuries of Western Music: An Anthology With an Historical
Introduction. Series Title: Anthology of Music, ed. K.G. Fellerer. (Koln: Arno Volk Verlag. 1961), p. 5.
18
Arthur Loesser, Men, Women and Pianos: A Social History (New York: Simon and Schuster 1954),
p. 424.
19
Bruno Nettle: “Improvisation: Concepts”, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 26/07/2005),
<http://www.grovemusic.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca>

Improvisation in a Jazz Context
The element of improvisation in jazz is sometimes described in terms of the relationship

between the members of the ensemble. The process of jazz improvisation can be described
as follows:
Generally speaking, attention is concentrated on individual musicians, who, in the succession

of choruses (statements of and variations on a theme) that make up the most common form
of jazz performance, play (or ‘take’) solos; a solo normally consists of a single chorus or a
continuous succession of choruses during which the player improvises on the harmonies
(maybe also to a greater or lesser degree the melody) of the theme, while some or all of
the other musicians provide an accompaniment. The terms ‘solo’, ‘to play a solo’, and ‘soloist’
are therefore often used as synonyms for ‘improvisation’, ‘to improvise’, and ‘improviser’.
This conflation of meanings can, however, be misleading: not all solos are improvised and not
all improvisations are played by soloists. For example, the accompaniment played by some or
all of the ensemble while a soloist improvises may itself to some extent be improvised: in
jazz that contains no element of written arrangement the musicians are restricted, if at
all, only by the fixed chord sequence and metric structure of the theme, and each may
elaborate the harmonies and rhythms at will, as is appropriate to each performer’s role
within the ensemble. In such a context it is the nature of the improvisation – the freedom
of invention, virtuosity and ornamental elaboration allowed by the player’s function – and
not the mere fact of improvising that distinguishes the soloist from the accompanists.20
When an accompaniment is also improvised, a musician learns how to listen closely and
respond sensitively to others, how to take risks in a supportive musical environment and
how to support others cooperatively. The soloist is free to improvise on an existing theme
while the other members of the ensemble have considerable freedom in the choice of
harmonies and rhythms. In modal jazz the confines are those of a scale or a general tonal
area. The characteristics of free jazz are the lack of fixed elements such as tonality,
chord sequences and meter. The use of the term “collective improvisation” in a free jazz
context is related to the concepts of soloist and accompanists, commonly applied in
contexts where some or all members of a group participate in simultaneous improvisation of
equal or comparable weight. In a more traditional or “straight ahead” jazz ensemble
setting, the soloist takes center stage and the accompanying musicians play a more
supportive role. These distinctions, of course, are a spectrum not a dichotomy.
Improvisation by is very nature is not fixed and the potential value in music education is
vast. Improvisation is a synthesis of structural, historical, expressive and communal
aspects of music making. It can be incorporated into a curriculum at any level and has an
innate flexibility that provides open ended potential for use in the curriculum.
20
Barry Kernfeld: “Improvisation: Solo and Collective Improvisation”, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy
(Accessed 26/07/2005), <http://www.grovemusic.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca>

Using Improvisation
This multifaceted potential for “knowing” music through improvisation is remarkable. For
example, I recall a recent teaching situation of mine in which a group of relative beginners
were in in a small jazz combo class. My mandate was to teach jazz, applied theory and some
jazz history in the context of a small performing ensemble. Instead of using written music,
which would have produced a quicker performance result, I decided to teach the students
the melody and chord changes by ear by using a call and response type process. In this way,
I was encouraging and incorporating ear training into a real performance situation. To
introduce historical context of the repertoire, I began each class with the original
recording of the jazz composition. Once the students had mastered the melody, the
rhythm section played through the chord changes. I explained how the functional harmony
of the tune worked. The students began to understand the relevance of the major and
melodic minor scale in relationship to their own creative achievement. They began to
improvise melodies. As Elliot suggests, I incorporated the theory, ear training and history
into a real life performance situation. The result was remarkable. The students started to
internalize, understand and hear the function of the harmony and form. They started to
initiate ideas, such as coming up with backgrounds behind a soloist. They grew to know the
history of the composition, the composer and the context of the music. Through this
communal nature of group improvisation, students began to listen and respond to each
other respectfully. What I began to notice, as a secondary result, was how the musical
cooperation and respect transferred to verbal and nonverbal support for each other. A
phrases like “Nice solo!”, applause or a supportive smile was often directed at the
improviser from the other ensemble members after an improvisation completed.
Subsequently, the environment fostered discussions surrounding respect for others in
their musical journeys. The students used the multifaceted elements of music making as
tools for there own, as David Elliot would call it, “musicing.”21 They were learning leadership
skills and musical skills as they developed the all important respect for each other while
working together towards beautiful, musical outcomes.
Conclusion
Eisenberg argues that intuition, flexibility and common sense are the hallmarks of a mature
theory of knowledge. Music educators need to find ways to encourage students to explore
these important elements of knowing in music making. How stimulating it would be to allow
students the opportunity to explore classical repertoire and other types of music, including
jazz, and then to freely combine them in any way that satisfies them as artists. Until
musicians, historians and music academics accept this idea, improvisation will remain
divorced from Western art music. A deterministic, exacting performance of primarily
seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth court repertoire will remain the cornerstone of
music education. I believe that we can do more.
21
Elliot, Music Matters (1995), p. 50.

Using improvisation as a way to explore the multidimensional forms of thinking (including
emotional and social development) would greatly improve a student’s opportunity to not just
“know about” music but to truly “know” music. The primary values of music education should
be the primary values of music: “self-growth, self knowledge, musical enjoyment, flow and
the happiness that arises from these” 22 while working in cooperation with others. We need
to focus not only on structured, rational thought, but on those indeterminable elements,
fostering an “openness to the unforeseen, comfort with being-in-play (and) improvisatory
quickness”23 which are an important part of what it means to be human. Improvisation
embodies musical creation and interacting via open-ended musical elements. It bridges the
determined and the undetermined.
Bibliography
Alperson, Philip. “On Musical Improvisation.”, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism.
43. 1 (1984): 17-29.
Aristotle. Poetics. Trans. by Gerald F. Else. Ann Arbour : University of Michigan Press,
1967.
Bowman, Wayne. “Educating Musically.” In The New Handbook of Research on Music

Teaching and Learning: A Project of the Music Educators National Conference, Ed. by
Richard Colwell and Carol Richardson. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Eisenberg, John A. The Limits of Reason: Indeterminacy in Law, Education and Morality.
New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1992.
Elliot, David J.. Music Matters. Oxford University Press, 1995.
Ferand, Ernst T.. Improvisation in Nine Centuries of Western Music: An Anthology With an
Historical Introduction. Series Title: Anthology of Music, ed. K.G.
Fellerer. Koln: Arno Volk Verlag, 1961.
Hanslick, Eduard. The Beautiful in Music. Indianapolis, 1957.
Kernfeld, Barry: “Improvisation: Jazz”, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed
26/07/2005), <http://www.grovemusic.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca>.
Kernfeld, Barry: “Improvisation: Solo and Collective Improvisation”, Grove Music Online ed.
L. Macy (Accessed 26/07/2005), <http://www.grovemusic.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca>
22
Ibid., p.308.
23
Wayne Bowman, “Educating Musically,” In The New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching
and Learning:; A Project of the Music Educators National Conference, Ed. by Richard Colwell and
Carol Richardson (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 70.

Loesser, Arthur. Men, Women and Pianos: A Social History. New York: Simon and Schuster,
1954.
Nettle, Bruno : “Improvisation: Concepts”, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed
26/07/2005), <http://www.grovemusic.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca>
Regelski, Thomas. “Schooling for Musical Praxis”, Finish Journal of Music Education, 3.1
(1998): 7-37.
Reimer, Bennett. A Philosophy of Music Education: Advancing the Vision. New Jersey:
Pearson Education Inc., 1989.
Smith, Ralph A.. The Sense of Art: A Study of Aesthetic Education. New York: Routledge,
1989.
Swanwick, Keith and Dorothy Taylor. “Purpose in Music Education”, In The Symbolic Order:
A Contemporary Reader on the Arts Debate, ed. by Peter Abs. London: Falmer Press, 1989.

This is important ... for each of us not only in our capacity as creative
workers, but also as students of creativeness, with a tendency to
deify the one side of the creative process, the enthusiastic, the
great insight, the illumination, the good idea, the moment in the
middle of the night when you get the great inspiration, and of
underplaying the two years of hard and sweaty labor that then are
necessary to make anything useful out of the bright idea.
- Abraham Maslow, The Further Reaches of Human Nature
Introduction
Music education is at a crossroad and questions surrounding creativity and music are at the
heart of the debate. There have been many articles recently written on the subject in an
attempt to illuminate the issues.1 Within the western world and specifically amongst the
music education establishment, great composers of the past, such as Mozart, Beethoven,
and Stravinsky, are held in the highest esteem. They are often described as great, creative
geniuses. Yet, in my experience as a music student and educator, I have found that music
education generally fails to explore the creative problem solving process that results in
creative musical work. I will argue that the notion that a select few have the capability and
talent to make creative products has prevented the proliferation of opportunities within
the music classroom for creative enterprise. Furthermore, this has resulted in a music
culture within educational institutions that offers little opportunity for creative work. I
will examine the many explanations of creativity, ranging from psychological processes to
personality traits to the judgment of a given field and how the notion of creative thinking
as something different from ordinary thinking becomes unhelpful when one believes that all
people are capable of producing creative musical products.
I will discuss the two main concepts of creativity: the romantic and the rationalist. The
romantic notion assumes that the creative process comes from outside the rational, logical
self and involves a different kind of thinking. The rationalist notion comes from the belief
that creative works are a result of skills and knowledge and an ordinary process. I will
explore the various understandings of creativity specifically related to the personality and
1
For instance, there is the collection of essays edited by Canadian music educators, Timothy
Sullivan and Lee Willingham (2002) , Creativity and Music Education (Toronto: Britannia Printers).
Toward Creative Musical Achievement by Jodi Proznick 666

cognitive traits of the creator, the mental process, the environmental conditions
surrounding creative work, and the final creative product.
“Creativity” is challenging to define. The word is used to describe people, processes and
products interchangeably. “Creative” and “creativity” are words that are largely overused
and misunderstood. Like the word “anger” - a blanket term used to describe an emotion
that could be more accurately described as frustrated, lonely, misunderstood, rejected,
conflicted etc. - “creativity” is a word that carries many underlying assumptions. While a
person might be more accurately described as innovative, skilled, imaginative, a forward
thinker, a risk taker, or spontaneous, the description “creative” is used as though the word
had a definitive meaning. Often the romantic notion that creativity comes from an outside,
mysterious or divine source is used implicitly without question. Does every “creative” person
have a list of characteristics or personality traits that would apply universally? Does the
creator have total control of the process or are there unconscious elements (Freud, 1908)
or incubation of ideas (Wallas, 1926) that occur? Do we have a “creative” part in our brain
that can be exercised and developed?
There have been many empirical studies attempting to answer those very questions,
questions that are important for educators to ask if we hope to foster and encourage this
so called creativity in our students. If we take the romantic position that assumes that
creativity is an innate characteristic, we must also assume that there are uncreative
people. However, if we adopt the rationalist position, that creative work comes from an
ordinary process, then that would imply that all people have creative potential. If all people
do have creative potential then how do we unleash this creative process in the music
classroom? I will explore how music educators can provide a framework for creative
products to unfold and how music educators equip themselves with the tools necessary to
guide students towards creative musical ends.
The Creative Person
The romantic notion of the creative person can be traced to Plato when he wrote “...not
from art [skill], then, they make their poetry, but by divine dispensation... ” (p.218). This
notion of a genius artist and creator as a vessel of God continues though out history. In
1950, J. Paul Guilford began a movement of empirical studies that attempted to test for
creative people. He presented a keynote address to the American Psychological Association
which initiated the present day study on the topic of creativity. The spirit and logic of this
work lives on in many conceptions of creativity. His work led to many studies of creativity
as a psychological concern (Torrance, 1962; MacKinnon 1965; Wallach and Kogan, 1972),
including those concerned with creativity and music (Webster, 1992).
As Weisberg (1993) discusses in The Genius Myth, the psychological way of conceptualizing
creativity carries three assumptions: 1) that creativity is a measurable psychological
characteristic, 2) that these personal characteristics, unique to creative individuals, are
causally related to creativity, and 3) that possessing creative genius is assumed to be

permanent. The studies showed that the exact personality traits of a creative person are
hard to pin down and they play a minimal role in creativity. Csikszentmihalyi and Getzels
(1976) found that no standard test of intelligence, cognition or divergent thinking related
to later success. Using character traits as a starting point for understanding creativity is
plagued with problems. There has been no conclusive evidence that a distinct set of
personality traits is vital for the creation of significant work.
The romantic notion of creativity and the creative genius is locked firmly into western
culture. The western preoccupation with the new, the novel, and the creative has had a
profound impact on academic discourse surrounding education. Music educators need to
look closely at where those assumptions come from historically and whether or not this way
of conceptualizing creativity is beneficial in the music classroom. This understanding of
creativity has probably contributed to an environment that focuses overly on the creative
person rather than on creative achievement. It has led to insufficient work on pedagogical
techniques towards quantifiable achievement and excessive emphasis on the psychology and
creative predisposition of students. In practice, students may learn about great creators in
a field but are not always encouraged to create for themselves. The result is that a few
students are given the distinction as being “creative” while others are left with the idea
that they are not creative at all. While there may be a spiritual, unconscious or talent
component to great creative work, the research is inconclusive and the assumptions become
unhelpful when discussing creativity and education. However, if we take the view that all
students have the potential for creative achievement, it puts the power of creative work
back into the hands of the creator. The question now becomes whether or not thinking
creatively differs from ordinary thinking.
The Creative Process
Many great academics have struggled with questions surrounding the creative process and
have developed models of creative thinking that have greatly influenced how some modern
theorists conceptualize creativity. Wallis (1926) described a model for the four stages of
creative thinking as preparation, incubation, illumination and verification. The preparation
stage involves fully conscious thought; incubation happens involuntarily in the unconscious;
the illumination is an instantaneous “flash” of insight; the verification stage is described as
the stage at which the idea is verified and tested. This model is a secular example of the
premise of divine intervention. It relies too heavily on the influence of the unknown
(incubation and illumination). Still, the question remains as to whether or not the creative
process is different than everyday thinking. Is there not preparation, illumination,
incubation and verification on a daily basis while pursuing everyday activities? There is
nothing included in this model that truly distinguishes this creative thinking process from
making any other life decisions. Although studies have attempted to verify this theory
(Patrick, 1937), and many later music education theorists (Webster, 1987) have used these
stages as a model for discussion surrounding the musical creative process, Wallis’s stages
may not be describing a special thought process. Until more conclusive research is done, we

should be careful not to frame our discussion surrounding creativity in education around a
model that may not be describing a distinct thinking process at all.
Freud’s theory of the unconscious offers another way of understanding the creative
process. He talked about the subconscious and unconscious as motivators for many kinds of
action and thought. Freud believed that creative thinking had roots in the primary thought
process. This hypothesis is difficult to test. For the purposes of discussing creativity in
education, Freud’s approach is unhelpful. Bailin (1988) states that an informed participation
of the creator is necessary for creative outcomes and that if we view the creation of
creative works and ideas as unexpected, unforeseen and mysterious it becomes difficult to
explain how and to what degree the creator exercises control in the creation of the work.
This view of the unconscious creative process carries an assumption of luck, chance and
happy accidents, it takes full control of the process out of the hands of the student and
into the unconscious.
De Bono (1971) describes the creative process as involving divergent versus convergent
modes of thinking. His belief that you can “train” creativity stems from the genius view.
He describes a lateral thinking process that involves removing habits of thought; a process
that is provocative rather than analytical, free of the negative, and one that explores the
least likely path. This description of the thinking process does not talk of value or of end
product. In De Bono’s model of divergent/convergent thinking, ordinary thinking is rule-
bound, analytic, non-imaginative and sequential where creative thinking is spontaneous,
irrational, imaginative, and flexible. This dichotomy reflects the image of the creative,
free, spontaneous person that allows the ideas to flow from God. It is a model that does
not acknowledge the rational, thoughtful, careful process that may work towards a creative
end. Again, it takes control away from the creator and ignores the product itself. It
reinforces the stereotype of the crazy, spontaneous, unconstrained, creative person. This
model is quite rigid and overly simplistic and has its roots in the Platonic view of creativity
as outside the rational self.
The difficulty with understanding creativity in this way is in the lack of evidence of a
distinct process or unique way of thinking. De Bono’s theory is unhelpful as it oversimplifies
a complex and multifaceted process. Weisberg (1993), through his analysis of case studies
involving great invention, concluded that there were no radical breaks with tradition, or
with what preceded the creative achievement. Instead, there was a clear, rational process
that occurred to an extraordinary end. Csikszentmihalyi (1988a) adds that there is no way
to get evidence of a creative process taking place in the mind. He argues that the “creative
process” is a construct of a society that values the new, the novel and individual
achievement, therefore the only way to reconcile creativity is through the judgment of a
product by that society.

Social Context
Music education philosopher David Elliot (1990) considers the concept of creativity to
include three dimensions: a producer (person), a product and the activity in which the
product is produced (domain). He then goes on to state that it is incomplete without the
consideration of the context in which the producer works. Elliot’s point is well supported in
the literature (Gardner, 1989; Csikszentmihalyi, 1988b). Csikszentmihalyi writes:
We cannot study creativity by isolating individuals and their work

from the social and historical milieu in which their actions are carried
out. This is because what we call creative is never the result of
individual action alone; it is the product of three main shaping forces;
a set of institutions, or field, that selects from the variations
produced by individuals those that are worth preserving; a stable
cultural domain that will preserve and transmit the selected ideas or
forms to the following generations; and finally the individual, who
brings about some change in the domain, a change that the field will
consider creative. (p. 352)
Therefore, creative musical achievements depend on the relationship between specific

musical practice, prior musical achievement, and the social conditions that give rise to
these products. It is hard to contemplate any musical product that was completely
unrelated to what came before. The idea that originality is vital to a creative work is hard
to justify in light of this continuum. Weisberg (1993) and Bailin (1988) agree that the
development of creative work requires no special mode of thinking because creativity is
rooted in past experience and has its source in the same thoughts that we use daily.
Therefore the requirement for originality in the definition of creativity is misleading.
The Creative Product
Questions surrounding creativity using the romantic notion of an inherently creative person
or process puts certain genius individuals above others by exalting the creative person, and
not the creative product. White (1968) denies that “creative” refers to any inner process.
He claims that individuals create works that may or may not be valued as creative. In the
context of education, without a sound explanation of the person or process that brings
about creative ends, it is more helpful to focus only on the products themselves. They are
the tangible in a sea of intangibles. Aristotle’s central concept for the theory of art
centers around the idea of the role of skill in art. His argument carries the rationalist view
that art and the creative process is a productive activity that obeys natural laws. Aristotle
writes that “ everything that comes to be comes to be by the agency of something and
from something and comes to be something ” (p.791). In other words, nothing comes from
nothing. Original, spontaneous, divergent thought, although it may seem like a flash of
insight, has come from somewhere. Creative products are a result of rational, ordinary
problem solving. Maslow (1968) writes that creativity should be thought of in terms of

products and confined to particular areas of human endeavor. We should leave genius out of
the equation and focus on more of a widespread creativeness that seem to coincide with
psychological health.
As music educators, we need to provide all students with an understanding of skills within a
chosen domain first and then provide opportunities for creative products to unfold.
“Creative”, in this context, involves achievements that are an assimilation of the skill and
knowledge in an interplay with imagination (Bailin, 1988). In order to understand creativity,
we must look at the product.
Even though the term “creativity” is vague, it can serve a purpose in terms or reminding us
of other concepts. For the purposes of discussion we will use the word “creativity” with the
understanding that its meaning is not fully understood or clearly defined. Creativity is a
judgment by a field in a specific domain (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988a). Creativity, in the domain
of education, is a judgment by a teacher.
Magne Espeland (2004) writes that “even if we reach such a definition, it might not be
what music education needs, bearing in mind that diversity in thinking as well as action and
practice seems to be one of the essential aspects all the writers ascribe to creativity” (p.
250). Creativity is a blanket term used to describe a product and/or process that we know
very little about. However, educators need to believe in the students’ ability to be creative
and should value creative work. This will increase the likelihood that “creative” or, highly
skilled and imaginative products, will be produced in the classroom. In order to have a
chance to occur at all, the understanding and practice of creativity in the music education
classroom needs to be explored.
Philosophical View of Creativity in the Music Classroom
One of the most important philosophical writings on creativity as it relates to music

education comes from Bennett Reimer (1989). Reimer emphasizes the distinction between
knowing music and being knowledgeable about music. Knowing music is manifested through
engaging in creative activity such as composing, arranging, performing, improvising, and
analyzing through deep and active listening. Being knowledgeable about music is evidenced
through talking or writing about the art. Reimer believes that knowing music is the ultimate
aim of music teaching and learning and leads straight to the heart of musical creativity. He
suggests four ways to foster children’s musical creativity. One suggestion is to use the
most expressive music possible in learning situations. Another suggestion is to engage
students in the creative act itself, including composition, performance and active listening.
This is the mode in which students can use their skills and knowledge in an interplay with
imagination toward a creative end. The third element, according to Reimer is to stress the
elements of music and their interrelationship. This again, can be achieved through
significant performance, composition, improvisation, arranging and active listening. The
fourth suggestion is that students focus on musical behaviors that heighten the perception
of the artistic qualities of the sound rather than extra-musical objects or techniques.

Through these suggestions, Reimer provides an excellent framework for exploring
creativity in the classroom.
David Elliot (1995) expands on this philosophy by including musical mutil-culturalism into
the framework. He believes that through engaging learners in musical actions, transactions,
and interactions that closely parallel real music cultures, it would, in turn, make the music
classroom a closer representation of viable music-practice situations, or music cultures. He
writes:
The “creative reason” for teaching multi-music is obvious. Students

need opportunities to make and listen to several different kinds of
music as part of their preparation to create their own music and
understand how musicians (past and present) borrow and adapt
musical ideas from different musical style-practices. Much of today’s
music results from fusing or crossing various musical practices to
create new ones. Musicians have done this for centuries. There are
thousands of examples. Think of how Debussy’s compositions fuse
European Romantic traditions with Indonesian influences; think of
Afro-Celtic styles, jazz-rock fusion, and so forth. The list is endless.
Shall we deny our students access to this “raw material” for their
creative work?2
Again, despite the differences in method, both philosophers emphasis the importance of
skill and knowledge, and the opportunity to use those skills toward creative ends. Elliot’s
inclusion of many different genres would just add to the repertoire of musical ideas for
the students. The question now becomes what are the specific skills and knowledge that
music educators need to teach their students in order to achieve creative products? Are
music educators significantly prepared to provide students with exposure to a variety of
music styles and practices?
Implication for the Music Classroom
The big question is whether we should abandon the goal of “fostering” creative students
entirely and focus on more tangible, pedagogical goals that might, perhaps encourage
creative products. We might think about embedding the fostering of creative students
into other more concrete goals; consider it a secondary objective. Music teaching practice
could benefit from open ended opportunities that encourage problem solving, conceptual
activities, aesthetic experience, ethics, intuition, observational analysis, imagination and
experimentation. These are the guides that root creative activity. It is not just a question
2
Elliot, D. Multi-Cultural Music Education. In Praxial Music Education: Reflections and Dialogues. Retreived
from http://education.nyu.edu/music/musicmat/praxialmusic/index.html.

of originality. We need to explore whether or not creative products manifest themselves
out of certain learning environments. More study is needed on this point.
Less focus should be made on creative thinking, per se, and more on just creating. Rather
than concentrate on the ambiguity of the creativity question we could break it down into
more tangible goals. David Perkins (1985) suggests that educators focus on 1) highlighting
the aesthetic dimensions of things, 2) highlighting problem finding as well as problem
solving to engage in formulating worthwhile tasks, 3) fostering flexibility through
straightforward teaching tactics such as brainstorming, use of metaphor and analogies, and
so on, 4) encouraging students to work at the edge of their competence by making it safe
to take risks and by encouraging them to challenge themselves, 5) encouraging self
assessment and techniques for standing back from their product and evaluating themselves
and, 6) encouraging intrinsic motivation and intrinsic interest in the subject area. These
goals seem worthwhile and educationally valuable.
Rather than discussing the ambiguous task of “fostering creativity” in music education, we
could focus more specifically on developing individual solutions to complex problems,
initiating discussion surrounding distinct musical styles, encouraging and generating
questions individually and in collaboration, comparing critiques of music compositions,
encouraging abstract and metaphoric approaches to problem solving and lastly, emphasizing
the values of self-refection (CDEFA website, 2005).3 Creativity may or may not be the
result but in the meantime through perceiving, imagining, comprehending, risk taking and
evaluating in the context of learning musical skills and knowledge, students will develop
strong skills of analysis, interpretation, elaboration and creation. The goal, however, should
be to teach musical skill and knowledge in a social context where the individual is given the
confidence and freedom to create. These suggestions address the potential factors toward
extraordinary ends - acquiring skills and knowledge in an interplay with imagination. Elliot
writes:
... we must help our students learn strategies that will enable them to
apply and extend their musicianship-and-listenership toward
producing creative outcomes, by which I mean original and significant
performances, improvisations, compositions, and so forth. These
strategies include what I and others call generating-and-selecting,
instilling a creative disposition, planning, producing multiple drafts,
risk-taking, opportunity finding, and so forth.4
3
These suggestions were found on the Texas Center for Educator Development in Fine Arts
Website: http://finearts.esc20.net/music/music_strategies/mus_strat_crit.html
4
Elliot, D. Musical Creativity. In Praxial Music Education: Reflections and Dialogues. Retreived from
http://education.nyu.edu/music/musicmat/praxialmusic/index.html.

The Role of the Teacher
In Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue, the argument is made that creativity only flourishes
via a devotion to a particular practice. The first step in the process is to inspire interest
in the specific field of study. Students have to want to learn about the subject area, and
be motivated to become an active participant in the learning process. Designing experiences
that are full of opportunity and inspiration for students to explore and extend their
potential creative outcomes, (such as significant performance, improvisation, compositions,
and arrangements) requires the educators themselves to be comfortable in these domains.
Establishing an environment and music culture during the music teacher’s post secondary
training is imperative for any type of significant change to occur on this front. As Mellers
(1973) writes in his article on priorities in post secondary music education:
...we can still approach music as a human experience, starting from its
relevance to the here and now, seeing the present in relationship to
the past and the past in relationship to the present. ... we must be
brave enough to sacrifice the sacred cow of knowledge as an end to
itself... so training musicians within a university music department
must become a process of self-discovery.... give them some awareness
of what being a musician means and has meant; and to do this is
inevitably to heal the breach between making and doing and knowing.
(p. 246)
In order for our students to heal the breach between making and doing and knowing, it
would be helpful for music educators to have had similar experiences in our own musical
lives. Both Reimer and Elliot believe in the importance of engaging in the creation and
exploration of musical work, the composition, the arrangement, and the improvisation. If
the educators themselves are uncomfortable with and unable to compose and/or improvise,
the students will inevitably have limited opportunities to explore these experiences.
Cohen (2002) describes a course of study for music education students that provides them
with not only the knowledge but also the pedagogical skills to become a guide towards
creative outcomes. The course includes the study of questions surrounding creativity, an
analysis of a supportive, creative environment, peer teaching, student teaching, the
planning of a curriculum towards improvisation and composition, acquaintance with available
literature to support creative work and, most importantly, personal experiences in
composing and improvisation. Music students would benefit from being taught by musicians
who have at least some experience creating works themselves. What might need to be
included in music educator training (and perhaps all music degrees), are opportunities to
learn some basic applied musical skills such as the identification, acquisition and
development of collaborative skills and the ability to apply theory on a chosen instrument
through improvisation, composition, and arranging. Perhaps, music teachers might benefit
from exploring common rhythm patterns from both North American and world music
repertoires. In turn, we could give our students this information, and the framework to use

the information through open ended problem solving. As composer R. Murray Schaefer
wrote on the subject of music education “it need not be imitative... it can be original as it
once was... all it needs are the right teachers to make it happen” (p. 317).
The romantic notion of creativity may be the reason more music educators are not
comfortable creating musical works themselves. They may also believe that the creative
process differs from ordinary thinking and are unaware of how creative products might be
encouraged in the classroom through problem solving, critical thinking and encouraging an
intrinsic motivation to learn. If the understanding of creativity was brought out from the
“guise of mystery” and into the realm of the accessible and ordinary, perhaps more music
educators would be involved in the doing and teaching of creative work. We may need to
focus our attention, not on what a creative personality or process is, but rather, on how to
set up our classrooms in order to maximize creative output and foster an intrinsic
motivation to learn music. This should be a goal of the profession. As David Elliot (1995)
writes:
Music education should be carried out by teachers who are musically
competent themselves. Musicianship and teaching ability (or
educatorship) are interdependent. One without the other is
insufficient. To teach music effectively, we must know our subject:
music. We must embody and exemplify musicianship. This is how
children develop musicianship themselves: through actions,
transactions and interactions with musically proficient teachers.
Becoming an excellent music teacher depends heavily on learning to
reflect in and on one's efforts to bring the musicianship of one's
students into matching relationship with appropriate musical
challenges. For this to occur, novice music teachers require music
education professors who can model musicianship and educatorship
through their own vivid examples. Teacher education programs ought
to be deliberately organized to prepare future artist-teachers
through excellent models of teaching and excellent examples of
diverse musical materials.5
Given the right conditions, creative achievement could be available to all. All it needs are
the dedicated, expert teachers to make it happen.
5
Elliot, David (1995).Teachers. In Music Education: Why? What? and How? Retreived from
http://education.nyu.edu/music/musicmat/musicmat/musiced.htm#tlp

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Netherlands: Klewer Academic Publishers.
Cohen, Veronica (2002). Musical Creativity: A Teacher Training Perspective.

In T. Sullivan and L. Willingham (eds.), Creativity and Music Education. (pp.218-237).
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Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1988a). The Domain of Creativity. In R. Sternberg (ed.),

The Nature of Creativity: Contemporary Psychological Perspectives. (p.210).
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In R. Sternberg (ed.), The Nature of Creativity: Contemporary Psychological Perspectives.
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Why teach art? This is a question art educators must ask themselves. We live in a world
that is governed by economics. It is an environment that values concrete answers and
quantifiable results. At first glance, art education does not fit easily into this atmosphere.
However, art educators know that art is, to paraphrase Iris Murdoch, “good for the soul”
and is worth fighting for. This “knowing” is not enough to convince a bureaucrat that art is
indeed valuable and essential to an education system in the 21st century. Educators need to
ask themselves why art matters and why it should be given high status in an education
system. They are the front line advocates for art in the classroom. In my view, the study
of art is a requirement for a complete and multifaceted education. Educators must lead the
relevancy dialogue with an articulate, informed, and passionate position. In this
deterministic age, artistic pursuit and its advocates are needed more than ever before.
Art advocacy groups often attempt to provide a list in point form to answer questions
surrounding importance and value. Reasons such as, “Art develops critical thinking skills, an
appreciation of the aesthetic, and opportunities for social development, ” are handed out as
a tidy list. While the reasons might be true, this reduction of a difficult question to tidy
sound bites and point form answers is not enough. The real answer is far more complicated
and elusive. Despite this, educators must continue to seek out answers to the questions.
Working towards a clear philosophy is essential to a vital, relevant art program. Art
educators must ponder, not avoid, the question of relevancy. If this is so, the following
questions must be asked: Why is art given such a low status in an academic environment?
When did education became less about educating thinkers and more about training
workers? And, why is art education valuable in a fragmented post modern society? We must
look to history for some insight.
A Brief History of Educational Thought
In the 19th century, during the industrial revolution, educational thought was being
influenced by psychology. Psychologists believed that though scientific method and inquiry,
all aspects of human behavior, intellect and character could be discovered and quantified.
This belief led to the implementation of philosophies and practices that assumed students
to be, as Elliot Eisner (2004) describes, “raw material” and that they could be formed and
shaped through schools that were “effective and efficient manufacturing plants of
workers.” One example of the faith placed in a science of psychology can be found in
Edward L. Thorndike’s 1910 lead article in the Journal of Educational Psychology. He writes:
The Marginalization of Art Education: Why Teach Art? by Jodi Proznick 679
A complete science of psychology would tell every fact about
everyone’s intellect and character and behavior, would tell the cause
of every change inhuman nature, would tell the result of every
educational force - every act of every person that changed any
other or the person himself - would have. It would aid us to use
human beings for the world’s welfare with the same surety of the
result that we now have when we use falling bodies or chemical
elements. In proportion as we get such a science we shall become
the masters of our own souls as we now are masters of heat and
light. Progress toward such a science is being made (p.6).
Not all agreed with Thorndike, however in the end, his view prevailed. The goal of the
education system grew into an attempt to create efficient and effective schools that
valued productivity and measured outcomes above all else.
The valuing of the rational can be traced back even further than the industrial revolution.
St. Thomas Aquinas 1 argued that all reality is connected, everything is knowable, including
facts and values, and ultimately everything can be set right. In his book, The Limits of
Reason: Indeterminacy in Law, Education and Morality, John Eisenberg (1992) challenges
the perception that through the use of rational knowledge, social change will result.
According to Eisenberg, the assumption that all reality is neat, determinable and rational is
flawed. He argues that the quest to know and/or control human behavior through law,
institutions and science has burdened the systems and by studying and/or developing the
systems, one is, in effect, altering the system itself. Therefore, the determinable
elements are only half-truths. He writes:
These are not the best of times. Neither space shots, genetic
engineering, computers, nuclear reactors, general problem-solving
models, television, electronic music, the Beatles, antibiotics,
tranquilizers, supermarkets, capitalism, socialism, glasnost, the
“triumph” of American Democracy.... guarantee(s) good times. Nor do
all together guarantee very much. If anything, the great scientific,
social and cultural breakthroughs of our age carry with them
problems that seem to overshadow their benefits. But it is not the
breakthroughs in themselves that create the problems. Rather, it is
how we deal with these and other phenomena, how we view and
assimilate them that is more decisive (p. 1).
According to Elliot Eisner (2004), the influence of psychology and determinism on

education had another repercussion. Science and art became estranged as dichotomies
1
This reference was found in John Eisenberg (1992) The Limits of Reason: Indeterminacy in Law, Education
and Morality. p. 2.
abounded. Science was viewed as cognitive, teachable and dependable whereas art was
viewed as emotional, talent dependent and unreliable. Art became a fall back position when
there was no science to provide guidance. Currently, science and math are seen as a
measurable, rational subject matters where art is a just a frill, highly subjective and
emotional. This overly simplistic dichotomy fails to recognize the skill and reason required
to practice art as well as, conversely, the mysterious and abstract elements of scientific
and mathematical practice.
There is a great deal of emphasis on measured outcomes and quantifiable data due to the
scientification of educational practice. However, this emphasis on testing and measurement
fails to acknowledge the fluid nature of the human experience. It ignores the importance
of the dynamic relationship between the teacher and student or the student to his peers.
Also, teaching in itself requires a kind of artistry that can not be reduced to a science.
Despite these observations, current educational practice seems to have developed with an
assumption that scientifically grounded knowledge is the best source and that the arts are
a “court of last resort” (Eisner, 2004).
The use of rational, scientific or deterministic answers to the human condition may indeed
have useful benefits. We must be careful, however, not to assume blindly that all
knowledge is indeed knowable and that everything can be explained though empirical,
quantifiable means. Teaching is a human practice that is not guided by universal laws, but is
subject to the fluid, changing nature of humanity. The deterministic approach is a “one size
fits all” approach to education. It ignores the idea that every student is a unique individual.
Methods are imposed independently of context, test upon tests are given, and uniformity is
given great importance. Eisner writes:
What we are doing is creating an industrial culture in our schools, one

whose values are brittle and whose conception of what’s important
narrow. We flirt with payment by results, we pay practically no
attention to the idea that engagement in school can and should
provide intrinsic satisfaction and we exacerbate the importance of
extrinsic rewards by creating policies that encourage children to
become point collectors (p.2).
Modern education, even modern art education, has been reduced to career training. This
can be seen clearly in the curriculum at the college level where, for example, the focus of
training in the study of art history is not how to think about the past, or how to look
critically at one’s own field in interplay with philosophy, history or religion, but rather how
to fit into the profession of art historian. Truth, which might have been central to past
missions of education, has been fragmented by relativism and productivity. Truth has been
replaced by usefulness. Career training is paramount and the carrot offered is the vague
promise of employment. Is career training the purpose of education? Can we do more?
Postmodernism
Ironically, amongst all of this absolute, control driven education, recent postmodernist
thought offers another way of seeing and another way of educating. According to
postmodern theorist Jean-François Lyotard (1984), postmodernity is characterized as an
"incredulity toward metanarratives.” It is a rejection of the grand, universal stories and
paradigms such as religion, conventional philosophy, capitalism and gender that have defined
culture and behavior in the past. Cultural life is organized around a variety of more local
and subcultural ideologies, myths and stories. Postmodernism rejects claims that truth,
ethics, or beauty are rooted in anything other than individual perception and group
construction. Universally applicable truths or aesthetics give way to provisional,
decentralized and culturally relative ones. It is a rejection of absolutism. In art, the work
is often informal, fragmentary, ambiguous and deconstructive.
One of the positive implications of postmodernism for education is that it forces educators
to take note of voices often ignored in the establishment of educational priorities. The
increasingly multicultural character of Western nations mandates an accommodative,
elastic curriculum. Refocussing on groups that are politically or socially invisible helps to
get away from the centralized, one-dimensional curriculum. The idea that a work is as
individual as the person who created it is invaluable in an educational system that focuses
on educating a thinking individual rather than mass producing efficient workers.
Postmodernism, however freeing, does come with its difficulties. What does unite all of
humanity if there is no universal truth? This is the great struggle of postmodernism.
Within this struggle lies, perhaps the most compelling argument for art education.
Postmodernism realized through the welcoming of cultural diversity within our changed
society does not mean accepting cultural practices and beliefs without question. It means
understanding them in context whilst at the same time working ‘not for assimilation but for
cooperation on the basis of difference … being in touch with your cultural identity and pre-
judgments, having a sense of agency, and looking to an acceptance of diversity and a search
for that which is held in common’ (Smith 1994). This is where the multi-sensory experience
of art making - the looking, touching, listening - can be of great importance to the
education of enlightened, imaginative, moral citizens of a community. Art education is a
means to unite the social relativism of postmodernism with a reverence for the other. It is
a way to explore both an individual’s narrative and the story surrounding the individual.
Ironically, this self-reflective yet socially aware student would indeed thrive in the
postmodern economy.
What Can Art Education Offer?
In a postmodern world that values productivity, technological prowess and the rights of the
individual above all else, there seems to be little room for discussion of morality - of a
universal truth. Morality in art has become a troublesome topic in light of relativism.
However, Iris Murdoch (1971) explains that “art is indeed, so far from being a playful
diversion of the human race” but rather it is a “place of its most fundamental insight.” She
writes that that the good is found through a “just and loving gaze.” John Rethorst (1997)
argues that imagination is central to moral decision making, even prior to deductive
reasoning, cognitive categorization or abstract thinking. Art can offer a means to explore
who you are in the world in which you live through the “art of imaginative looking”. It is
almost as though moral education is embedded in the act of engagement with art. As Iris
Murdoch writes:
If, still led by the clue of art, we ask further questions about the
faculty which is supposed to relate us to what is real and thus bring
us to what is good, the idea of compassion or love will be naturally
suggested. It is not simply that suppression of self is required
before accurate vision can be obtained. The great artist sees his
objects (and this is true whether they are sad, absurd, repulsive or
even evil) is a light of justice and mercy. The direction of attention
is, contrary to nature, outward, away from self which reduces all to a
false unity, towards the great surprising variety of the world, and
the ability so to direct attention is love (p. 65).
However, art education as moral education is difficult to test for. This poses a large
problem in a society that values verification. As Hilary Davis (1997) writes:
Although rationales for arts education which guarantee moral

enlightenment have a certain seductive appeal, we know from our
experiences as educators that changing consciousness is a difficult if
not impossible task.
Although it may be hard to provide examples of these transformative moments many who
are involved with art making and art consumption have felt these moments - I certainly
have.
As well as moral educational potential, art provides many practical opportunities for a
student to grow as an individual. A student owns the work as a tangible, hands on example
of the self. This, in turn, can be used as a powerful motivation to learn and grow. Also,
there is an integration of the whole self - the kinetic, cognitive, emotional, spiritual,
aesthetic and social aspect of what it means to be human. Another opportunity, somewhat
unique to art education, arises from how failure is viewed as an opportunity to learn.
Judgments are not entirely made on the basis of rule in arts, even thought there are styles
that serve as models and techniques that serve as tools.
Sir Herbert Read (1944) believed that the aim of education was to develop artists, not in
the conventional sense but with the idea of individuals who develop ideas, sensibilities, and
skills in an interplay with imagination. These “artists” create work that is skillfully
executed and imaginative, regardless of the domain in which an individual works. This
interplay transcends domains. The argument becomes not art “instead of” but art in
“conjunction with”. The fine arts have no monopoly on the artistic. The essence of art
making, if embraced, could transcend genre and domain. Perhaps educators need to argue
not for the acceptance of art in the curriculum as an entity unto itself, but for more of an
inclusive approach that integrates all subjects in a cohesive, multifaceted way.
Art education provides opportunity to learn by doing, with teachers as guides, building on
the desires and sensibilities of the student, working cooperatively with others and with the
natural environment. It values self-evaluation and process. Art instruction at the most
profound level, develops artist-thinkers who will thrive in a postmodern society; a society
full of people that are imaginative, inventive, comfortable in the unknown, comfortable with
learning from mistakes and that have faith in personal progress. Perhaps, most importantly,
we want to develop thinkers who value life, the greater social community, the earth and the
good - a good that is deeper and broader than a strictly religious, codified version.
The process is valued in art making; the goal is always to find the next question, not the
next answer. There is no end of exploration for artists are constantly seeking new ideas,
exploring their imaginations and acquiring new skills. Another advantage is gained through
the cooperation with the subject of the work, the medium, and the other artists involved.
This acknowledgment and connection to the “other” is an important part of learning what it
means to be part of a mega-narritive. In a society that, as Charles Taylor (1991) describes,
is full of “fading moral horizons,” “instrumental reason,” and “a loss of freedom” we need
subtler languages to connect us to our citizenship, our community, and our earth. That
subtler language is art.
Conclusion
Artistic exploration through all domains needs to be given every opportunity in an

educational setting. Intensive arts training, far from being impractical and elitist, can
prepare students for life and work by developing in them the general skills and attitudes
and the habits of heart and mind they will need to prevail in postmodern society no matter
what career they chose. Arts training in school increases, not decreases, options. If you
want a motivated, organized, hardworking, flexible, smart, creative worker, able to work
well alone or in groups, hire a set designer or a film director. Unfortunately, when one
thinks of educational reform, schools for the arts do not immediately leap to the minds of
the public; quite the contrary, the arts are disappearing from public schools at a rapid rate.
I would like to suggest that art schools do offer a model that does work for many students,
educating them both as artist-thinkers and as moral, informed citizens, and that this model
may, in some form, work for more students than one might think. Art education is not only
for the "talented." It honours the individual sensibilities and histories of a student while
offering a way towards the exploration of the good, the moral and the beautiful. It
provides a road to the education of the body, mind and, for want of a better term, soul.
I would love to see the science and art dichotomy evaporate. Only when we readjust our
education system away from a mandate to train “workers” and toward training “thinkers”
will these disciplines reunite. The argument is for a reunification of a false dichotomy. I am
not advocating for a dismissal of reason or of scientific method, rather a change in the
educational framework with which these “reasoned” subjects are taught. Any graduate
student in math and science will tell you that their discipline requires a vivid imagination, a
realization of abstract into concrete forms and substantial flexibility. Just as science does
not get exclusive rights to claim critical thinking skill development, art education does not
have a monopoly on imaginative thinking skills.
A postmodern curriculum would abandon "grand narratives," in favor of "little narratives."

These narratives would be extracted from personal insight and local experience. In
modern multicultural classrooms, this means a consideration of alternative points of view,
with particular attention to minorities and gender issues. It means realizing that art,
present as it is in different situations for different reasons, will provide material for
discussion and sharing, but not for resolution in absolute terms. This, in turn, fosters art
education as moral education, aesthetic education and as a means of individual expression.
It is both individual and social.
The imaginative and moral elements embedded in art making are what make it so valuable.
Yet, paradoxically, these elements make a qualitative argument difficult, if not impossible
to achieve. This is why the greatest thinkers of this century are still debating the value
and role of art in society and in the educational system. Unfortunately, talking and writing
about art may only get us so far. Perhaps, it is in the doing of art - the “being with” art -
that these magical, enlightened educational moments arise and, in turn, would be the
greatest tool for advocacy. It is in these moments of doing that there is a feeling of
clarity. The real understanding of the value of art can arise in those quiet moments with a
paint brush and a canvas or with a piano and a melody.
References
Davis, Hilary E. (1997) If Art is Good for the Soul can Education Do Without Art?
Journal of Philosophy of Education.
Retrieved from http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/EPS/PESyearbook/97_docs/davis.html.
Eisenberg, John A. (1992) The Limits of Reason: Indeterminacy in Law, Education and
Morality.
New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.
Eisner, E. W. (2004) What Can Education Learn from the Arts about the Practice of
Education? International Journal of Education & the Arts. 5(4), 1-3.
Retrieved [10/10/05] from http://ijea.asu.edu/v5n4/.
Lyotard, Jean-François (1984) The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge.

Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1984, reprint 1997.
Translated by Geoff Bennington and Brian Massumi.
Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metanarrative.
Murdoch, Iris (1971) The Sovereignty of Good.

London, New York: Routledge Classics. 33, 65, 71-72.
Read, H. (1944) Education Through Art.

London: Pantheon.
Rethorst, John (1997) Art and Imagination: Implications of Cognitive Science for Moral
Education.
Journal of Philosophy of Education.
Retrieved from http: //www.ed.uiuc.edu/EPS/PES-yearbook/97_docs/rethorst.html.
Smith, M. K. (1994) Local Education: Community, Conversation, Praxis. Buckingham: Open

University Press. 120.
Taylor, Charles (1991) The Malaise of Modernity.

Toronto: House of Anansi Press Inc. 10.
Thorndike, E. L. (1910) The Contribution of Psychology to Education.

Journal of Educational Psychology, 1, 6-8.
Parents often turn to traditional music lessons when considering a musical education for
their children. For most children, that means private lessons with a local teacher or studio
and perhaps band classes at school. In some cases the band classes start in elementary
school, but in other cases the students must wait until they get to high school. Band
classes or after school ensembles usually involve concert band or orchestra and, if the
students are fortunate, jazz band. Private lessons often mean traditional training in
‘classical’ music.
The question that Humber has been exploring is, “What would a musical education based on
small group jazz performance look like and would the training be rigorous enough to provide
children with a viable alternative to traditional classical studies.” Furthermore, would that
education meet the needs of both the average student and the musically gifted child.
Humber’s Community Music School has created a unique alternative to traditional classical
music studies. Small group jazz performance forms the core of the curriculum, providing
the average student with a solid and thorough music education that will support lifelong
involvement in music making and music appreciation. At the same time, gifted and
passionate students have the opportunity to engage in a challenging and demanding training
program that prepares the way for future post-secondary training and career
opportunities.
Small group jazz performance is a challenging and demanding form of music that requires
significant skill and artistry: performers must have strong aural skills; an extensive
understanding of form, structure and theoretical material; adequate technical facility; and
a creative voice. As a style of music, jazz provides tremendous opportunity for creative
expression through the element of improvisation. At the same time, it has sufficient rigor
to provide a solid training program for both the interested amateur and the gifted young
artist.
The Community Music School was formed in 1980 and has since established itself as a
leader in youth jazz education. The program boasts a history of national and international
accolades and scholarships, including invitational performances at the North Sea Jazz
Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Jazz á Vienne, The Grammy All-Star Band, and IAJE
International Conferences. Community Music School graduates have found placement in
some of the finest music schools in the world, and in recent years a handful of Community
Music students have received over $200,000 in scholarship offers from across North
Children in Jazz: One School’s Perspective by Catherine Mitro 687

America. The school also supports a thriving stream of youth who want to learn to play
jazz but ultimately intend to pursue other career directions.
The school provides music instruction to children and youth aged 3 to 18 years and offers
three distinct levels: Early Childhood Music, ages 3-6 yrs; Children’s Music, ages 7-12 yrs;
and Youth Jazz, ages 10-18 yrs. At all levels, students may take private lessons and/or
ensemble classes. Private lessons are available on woodwind, brass, guitar, piano, bass and
drums. Ensemble classes begin with the Early Childhood level Musicianship classes,
continue with the Children’s level Orff Ensembles and culminate in the Jazz level combo
performance classes. The Jazz Level offers both a basic and an enriched ensemble stream.
At each level, the program is committed to four particular areas of strength: a faculty
that is professionally trained and experienced; a curriculum that is age appropriate and
sequential; musicianship training that is skill based; and an environment that is musically
rich and personally supportive.
A strong faculty is arguably the most important component of any successful music
program. The teachers at the Community Music School are all professional musicians
and/or have a post-secondary degree/diploma in music. In addition, the Early Childhood
and Orff ensemble teachers also have a minimum Level I certification in both the Orff-
Schulwerk and Kodaly methods of Early Childhood Music Education; private lesson teachers
may specialize in classical or jazz studies; and in the Youth Jazz level all teachers are
professional musicians. Regular classes and lessons are enriched through a Visiting Artist
Program that brings artists in to do clinics, workshops and performances throughout the
year. At the senior level, visiting artists will perform with student groups at various in-
house or public events. Each year the school has an Artist-in-Residence during the fall
term. The artist sits in on classes and ensembles, gives private lessons, and plays with
various ensembles. In addition, the school has a work-study program where post-secondary
students perform with student ensembles providing role models and filling a mentoring role
with the students.
The school also provides a varied and critical mix of jazz specialists within the faculty.
There is a growing tendency in education to gravitate to teachers with degrees and many
young people today acquire their ‘jazz chops’ in the classroom as much as on the bandstand.
The Community Music School actively works to include musicians who have learned their
craft through the school system and the bandstand along with the musicians who have
primarily learned their craft on the bandstand. This provides young aspiring artists with
the opportunity to work directly with seasoned professionals.
A strong curriculum provides a solid framework for learning and forms the backbone of the
Community Music School. Each level of the program has its own distinct curriculum that is
both sequential and age appropriate.

In the Early Childhood level, the curriculum is a unique blend of the Orff and Kodaly
methods of Early Childhood Music with an emphasis on the skills critical for future jazz
performance. The Kodaly method provides for a highly sequenced, skill based curriculum
based on traditional folk songs and designed to develop strong musicianship skills. The
Orff method provides a curriculum rich in creative exploration, sound manipulation and
improvisation.
In the Children’s Music level, students begin instrumental lessons while continuing to
develop their musicianship through the Orff ensemble program. At this level, most
students begin piano lessons. These lessons progress from the development of
fundamental playing skills to the performance of more sophisticated classical and/or jazz
repertoire. The Orff ensemble provides students with the opportunity to develop
ensemble performance skills at a very young age.
In the Youth Jazz level, students learn a progressive body of repertoire taken from the
mainstream jazz tradition of small group performance. As students progress through the
jazz level, the emphasis moves from ensemble performance skills and basic improvisational
development to more advanced improvisation concepts and the development of an expanded
repertoire.
If we follow how a student might progress through the program, we see that from age 4-6
the student is engaged in weekly classes that develop aural skills and general musicianship.
At approximately age 6, the student begins piano lessons while the musicianship class
expands to include an Orff ensemble component. This structure continues until somewhere
around age 10-12. At this point, the student may pick up a second instrument or may begin
jazz studies on the piano. His or her Orff ensemble becomes a jazz combo providing an
appropriate environment for the student to perform on their second instrument. While
some students choose to stop piano lessons at this point, most go on to complete Royal
Conservatory examinations in classical piano. Both the Junior (age 10 – 14) and Senior (age
15-18) jazz levels offer a basic level of study and an enriched level of study. The enriched
level is available by audition only and is reserved for students who demonstrate a strong
aptitude and interest in jazz performance.
One of the unique cornerstones of Community Music is the School’s emphasis on the
development of aural skills through skill-based musicianship training. This includes role
modeling and learning through mimicry. In the Early Childhood level students develop a
refined aural sensibility through an in depth exploration of the elements of pitch, rhythm,
harmony, and form. The students acquire a large repertoire of song material by learning
and singing songs drawn from traditional folk material. The songs are taught aurally with a
strong emphasis on accurate renditions of the material as modeled by the teacher. The
musicianship work is continued in the Orff ensemble but expands to include performing on
instruments known as the Orff instrumentarium. One of the unique aspects of the Orff
ensemble is that students learn to play all of the parts in the ensemble. Through this
process, students learn to hear and understand bass lines, harmony, melodic lines and

counter melodies. In the Youth Jazz level, students continue to learn jazz repertoire
through modeling and mimicry. Songs are often taught aurally with phrasing and
improvisation exercises modeled by the teacher.
The rich and supportive environment found within the Community Music School is a key
factor in the success of the program. From the earliest ages, the school strives to place
students in classes or ensembles where they will be challenged but not overwhelmed by the
material. The social aspect of music is emphasized in the classroom with students
exploring and making music as a group: if you are a young student improvising on nursery
rhymes or an older students improvising on jazz standards, you are still making and sharing
your music with others.
In the school, the sounds of jazz are heard in the hallways all day long and the range of
ages and levels provides for an interesting continuum from the youngest beginners through
to world class professionals. On a weekly basis, young children are exposed to jazz at an
age when they might not otherwise hear the music in their environment; older children hear
other students who are slightly more advanced than themselves; both beginner and
advanced students get to hear some of the finest professionals in the country. The
facilities are another important element in the success of the program: each classroom is
outfitted with quality equipment including drum kit, piano, amplifiers, sound system, sound
proofing and natural light.
Finally, the structure of the program itself provides an environment that supports the
musical and personal development of the students: The learning of one level supports and
leads naturally to the learning of the next level; themes such as musicianship, creativity,
risk-taking and respect carry through all levels; challenges and opportunities are
introduced at appropriate times; and students are always encouraged to develop their own
independent voice within the music.
For all of its successes, the school continues to face challenges. Highly qualified
professionals charge higher fees and higher fees place the program financially out of reach
for many families. Some scholarship monies have been made available for students who
have clearly demonstrated a strong talent, but many families have no financial recourse.
On the other side, limited space means the program has had to cap enrolment in a number
of areas thereby creating waiting lists and associated stresses.
However, the greatest challenges continue to come from the students themselves. The
tremendous musical achievements of the students puts constant pressure on the program
to develop new challenges for the talented students while still supporting and encouraging
the average student. Young Canadian artists who are just hitting their stride in grades 10,
11 and 12 have no established stepping stones to hone their skills on a national level
platform unless they turn to the United States. Over the past several years many
Community Music students have done just that and quite successfully.

Which brings us full circle to the question posed at the beginning of this article: “What
would a musical education based on small group jazz performance look like and would the
training be rigorous enough to provide children with a viable alternative to traditional
classical studies.” Humber has answered the last part of this question with a resounding
“Yes!” and while the Community Music School has created a model that answers both parts
of the question and the School’s students continue to achieve remarkable results nationally
and internationally, it’s still only one school’s answer. Across the country there are pockets
of excellence where programs and schools have created their own answers to the question
and all that remains is for the country to develop a national infrastructure that will support
these programs and further outstanding young Canadian talent in this art form.

Rehearsing any musical ensemble requires an “end in mind” approach, both technically and
stylistically. The technical element is more obvious, since it represents clear “right and
wrong” judgements. The musicians are either playing the correct notes or they aren’t.
Where the challenge becomes more sophisticated for the jazz director is with the stylistic
element, with such presenting questions as:
How should I interpret the articulation markings?

How should I interpret the swing concept?
How should I interpret the dynamic markings?
In this article, I will attempt to provide some insights about the stylistic challenges faced
by jazz directors in rehearsal. In addition, I will suggest some approaches to optimize the
jazz ensemble experience for you and your students, as there are fundamental differences
in how individual musicians should approach their role in a jazz ensemble from their role in a
concert band or orchestra.
In approaching the rehearsing of any musical work, I believe it is important to remember a

couple of key, and inter-related statements. The first statement is philosophical, and the
second analytical:
1. Music exists to express what words cannot; well-performed music “moves” people.
2. Contrast generates emotional response.
In order to create that musical experience that “moves” both performer and listener, the
director must utilize the tools available in the jazz ensemble to identify, foster and
enhance opportunities to generate contrast in a variety of forms. There are several core
concepts to consider in this area.
Articulation
Diligent attention to staccatos/legatos/accents will enhance the excitement level of any

musical work. In well-edited charts, the provided articulations will enhance the stylistic
foundation. In addition, they provide signals as to what notes are to be emphasized.
Rehearsal Techniques for the Large Jazz Ensemble by Neil Yorke-Slader 692
Dynamic Contrast
Dynamic markings provide a guide to the jazz director, but not the complete picture. Most
jazz ensemble charts have block dynamics at specific points in the piece, but provide little
of the nuance required for a superior, and “moving” performance. Keep in mind that every
ensemble has a different volume (by decibel level!) that they would interpret as mp or f;
what is more important to attend to is “relative dynamics”. Does the composer indicate
that a particular section should be performed more quietly than the previous section? It’s
the contrast that makes the piece successful, not the specific decibel level of volume. The
jazz director should look at the dynamic markings in the context of the form of the piece.
Quite often, an introductory section is orchestrated fully, with a relatively loud dynamic
marking indicated (eg. f). It is important to make the adjustment down to a lower dynamic
for the initial melodic statement, even if specifically indicated in the score. If the
orchestration is sparse (eg. rhythm section and one alto sax/one trumpet, or rhythm
section and one tenor sax/one trombone) for the initial melodic statement, and then more
instruments are added for the second melodic statement, the composer has built in his/her
own increase in dynamics, even if no dynamic markings are indicated. Conversely, if the
initial melodic statement is repeated with the same instrumentation, it is important to
impose a mf-f type of dynamic interpretation to ensure that the second statement builds
from the first.
Dynamic Shaping
As in all art forms, music exists in lines, not singular moments (eg. in drama, sentences; in
dance, a series of steps or moves). To enhance the sense of musical line, and contribute to
the “moving” aesthetic experience for listeners and performers, the jazz director should
identify clearly evident peaks in phrases and figures (melodies and backgrounds) in any
piece, and work to shape those phrases and figures towards those peaks. Sometimes,
dynamic shaping should build to the end of the phrase. Sometimes, more of a “hairpin”
(crescendo followed by decrescendo) approach should be utilized. A good strategy is to
examine the shape of the melodic line, and interpret the line dynamically in the same
fashion. If the pitches in the melodic line are ascending, so should the dynamic shaping; if
the pitches are descending, so should the dynamic shaping. Any background figures behind
such a melodic line should follow the dynamic shaping of the melody. To help students
deepen their understanding of the rehearsal process and their personal commitment to the
process, I often involve them in the decision-making about dynamic shaping through
careful, leading questioning: Is this phrase building or falling? What should be the loudest
note(s) in the phrase?
One of the most emotive techniques available to a jazz ensemble is the crescendo or
decrescendo. However, the effect will only work well if all musicians are moving
dynamically at the same time and the same rate. Planning the structure of crescendos and
decrescendos is helpful in this regard. For example, the jazz director might indicate to
the musicians that the crescendo should begin on beat 2 and swell to beat 3 of the
following bar. That level of detail will pay off.
Shaping Notes of Length
The mantra “shaping notes of length” will go a long way to achieving the sense of rhythmic
pulse, inner energy and dramatic effect required to reaching that “moving” musical
experience for all. Essentially, if any note is long enough to be played in a legato fashion, it
can be shaped in a clearly “pulse” or “fp” manner to give it dynamic variety within the
individual note, and provide a shaping to support the stylistic concept. By utilizing this
approach, each note of length ends up at a lower volume (after the initial pulse) that allows
it to build in energy as part of a crescendo to the identified peak in the phrase. Often,
notes of length are background notes provided for harmonic support; shaping them also
ensures that they are “out of the way”, not overwhelming the melody being stated by other
instruments. A caveat to this philosophy is that, taken to an extreme, shaping of notes can
be overdone. The context within the piece should provide guidance as to whether a note is
best to be simply pulsed rather than pulsed and shaped towards another note or group of
notes. When a note is to be shaped towards another note (eg. crescendo), a good rule of
thumb is to stay down for half the note (after the initial articulation and pulse) before
beginning the crescendo. This approach has two benefits: the “fp” effect is dramatic in
that the “f” is followed by a significant amount of “p” time, and it also makes very clear
when the swell begins. Note: in some ballad contexts, the shaping of a series of half note
and/or whole note background figures that provide harmonic support should be more linear
(eg. crescendo to bar 35, then decrescendo to 37) than note-specific.
Solo Sections
The ensemble can contribute greatly to the emotive nature of an improvised solo (I’m
referring to the solo section in a regular jazz ensemble piece, not a ballad featuring one
particular soloist). Obviously, careful attention to all background figures will enhance the
result. Using some of the techniques outlined above (articulation, dynamic shaping, etc)
with background figures will support the style of the solo section, and add variety and
energy. Another concept worthy of attention is the building of intensity and volume behind
the soloist. This begins with a discernable, overt drop in rhythm section (and anyone else
still playing) volume at the start of the solo section, even if there are no dynamic markings
evident in the score to suggest it. Only if there is room for the soloist and the ensemble
to build intensity can there be the variety necessary to achieve the emotional response
desired. Ideally, the solo becomes a conversation with the rhythm section, as melodic and
rhythmic input from the rhythm section musicians supports and promotes the work of the
soloist. It is certainly acceptable (and in educational settings, often helpful) to plan the
shape of the solo (usually “build to end”!) ahead of time, and have all musicians involved in
the solo section aware of the goal. The band should then drop down again in volume and
intensity for the next soloist and begin the process again.
Reinforcing Style
The idea that the drummer is the only one in the jazz ensemble responsible for
establishing and maintaining the style of a particular piece (eg. rock, swing, funk) overlooks
the profound impact that all members of the ensemble can have through how they approach
what I will call the “signpost notes”. In styles in which the notes are played rhythmically as
notated (eg. rock, funk, various latin), emphasizing notes on the beat and notes that imply
the beat (off-beat notes tied to the next beat or off-beat notes followed
by a rest on the beat) will support the foundational rhythmic nature of the piece, and add
variety and sophistication to the overall ensemble effect. In swing style, emphasizing
beats 2 & 4 in the rhythm section will reinforce the style, whether it be 2 & 4 in the
guitarist’s four quarter note chords, 2 & 4 in the bassist’s walking bass figures, or 2 & 4 in
the drummer’s ride cymbal pattern. In addition, ensembles should emphasize any off-beat
notes ending melodic phrases that are followed by a rest on the beat, and emphasizing off-
beat notes in multi-eighth note melody lines that are peak notes in phrases (the highest
pitch in the melodic line).
Understanding these two approaches outlined (rock/funk/latin vs. swing) above is a critical
matter for successful stylistic interpretation. For example, depending on the style of the
piece and the context in which the figure occurs, the do-daht figure (two eighth notes, the
first legato, the second staccato or marcato) would be interpreted in completely different
ways. In rock/funk/latin, the emphasis would be on the legato note because it was on the
beat, unless what immediately followed the figure was a rest, in which case the marcato
note would be emphasized because it implied the next beat. In swing, the marcato note
would be emphasized.
I would also encourage jazz directors to view a block dynamic such as “f” at the beginning
of a section to really mean “play the important notes in melodic lines “f” and the rest
quieter, and “play the beginning of notes of length (see Shaping Notes of Length, above)
“f”, and the rest of those notes quieter. Finding places to “cheat back” the volume will
provide the necessary room for the building of volume, intensity, and drama to create the
emotional response desired.
Unison vs. Harmony Issues
All wind players in the jazz ensemble need to be aware at all times if what they are playing
is a unison line with other players, or notes in chords. This has several implications. One
implication is that unison lines need more attention to blend, whereas chordal notes need
more attention to balance. Another is the whole issue of dynamic level; five musicians
playing a unison line will sound five times louder than one. Therefore, if the piece is scored
such that a given section goes from playing a unison line to a four or five-part harmonized
line, more volume is required from each member of the section when they come to the
chordal scoring. Another consideration to be noted is what I call the “fifth trumpet”
scenario. If part of the piece is scored for eight brasses in harmony, the Trombone 1 part
is a “de facto” fifth trumpet, and needs to be very careful not to be louder than the
Trumpet 4 part. Since the Trumpet 4 part is likely scored quite low in its range, and the
Trombone 1 part is likely scored quite high in its range, this awareness is important if the
result is to be a balanced sound in the ensemble. Another scenario similar to this involves
the role of the baritone saxophone as a “fifth trombone”. Usually, the Trombone 4 part is
the bottom of the chord, and often the root of the chord. It is one of the parts that
define the ensemble sound, much like Trumpet 1 does on the top of the band. However, if
the baritone saxophone is scored beneath the Trombone 4 part (eg. if the composer wrote
five-part harmony with trombones and baritone saxophone), the Trombone 4 part is then an
inner part and requires the resulting sensitivity to balance.
Other Considerations:
In a concert band setting, there are usually one or more other musicians playing the same
part. One of the integral considerations for all musicians in a jazz ensemble setting is the
complete responsibility for one’s part. Emphasizing this philosophy can reinforce the
students’ commitment to both the ensemble as a whole, and to the conviction with which
they need to prepare and then perform their part.
I would recommend using both a tuner and metronome in rehearsal to clarify issues that
arise, and to (in the case of the metronome) ensure a consistent and predictable choice of
tempo for each piece so that the musicians begin to internalize a particular “groove” for
the piece.
Occasionally, and particularly in the early stages of development of the ensemble or

particular pieces, I have found the use of a “box” rehearsal setup to enhance ensemble
awareness. It could either have the three wind sections representing three sides of the
box (all playing towards the middle) with the rhythm section behind a section, or the full
four-sided box. It is of great help in having the trumpets understand how the various
elements of the piece fit together, since much is often lost for them when they’re always
hearing the piece from the back row.
Have your students play long tones every day. This is a profoundly important key to
developing good tone (sound & intonation); it also helps develop stamina. A great deal of
what separates a student band playing a chart from an older ensemble playing the same
chart comes down to intonation and sound. Although the primary ingredient for the
development of those elements is time, you can focus specifically on them, improving the
sound of each individual player, and thus the ensemble sound as well.
Place strong players on the Trumpet 4, Trombone 4 and Baritone Saxophone parts to
“bracket” section playing. If it is necessary to hide weaker players, do so on inner parts
(ie. 2nd & 3rd for brasses, 2nd alto & 2nd tenor for saxophones)
Play recordings for your students. View the teaching of style like teaching an accent in
language class. The best way to develop a realistic French accent is to listen to people
speaking really good French, and then to try to imitate their sound. You can’t learn about
style just from a book.
This article began with the idea of having an “end in mind” approach. It is important to have
an exemplary ensemble “sound” in your head that you are working towards with your band.
This is an elusive concept, only achieved by you if you invest considerable time listening to
recordings of big bands to internalize the “sound”. Publishers promotional CD’s and website
mp3’s of your pieces help somewhat; another approach is to listen to the old masters (Count
Basie, Harry James, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich) or the new
masters (Boss Brass, Matt Catingub, Tom Kubis, Bob Mintzer, Maria Schneider, Frank
Mantooth)
1. Discuss the importance of teaching the “oral tradition” of jazz. (10)
2. Outline a methodology for teaching the “oral tradition” of jazz. (10)
3. Based on the complexity of harmonic movement, list five tunes and

corresponding recorded examples for each of the following three levels of jazz
improvisation: (15)
Beginning
Intermediate
Advanced
4. Name 4 basic learner types. (5)
5. Delineate your preferred course offerings for a four year curriculum for post-
secondary jazz studies: (10)
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
6. List 5 Big Band or Vocal Jazz Charts by title and arranger. Include the artist
and album title for a corresponding recorded example and grade each chart
according to brass range, rhythm section conception, harmonic complexity for
the improviser, and line independence. (40)
Jazz Pedagogy Final Exam by Brian Lillos 698

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
7. Provide a sample lesson plan framework. (10)
8. Discuss one of the following topics: Instructional Objectives; Supervision of

Instruction; or Assessment and Evaluation. (15)
9. Name 5 texts suitable for the study of jazz history. (10)
10. Name 5 discographic compilations suitable for the study of jazz history. (10)
11. Draw a four beat conducting pattern. (2)
12. As a horn player or a vocalist trying to articulate in a swing jazz style, what is
your frame of reference (what are you trying to imitate)? (3)
13. List 5 responsibilities of the jazz ensemble director. (10)
14. From a basic pedagogical standpoint, what are the functions of the following
instruments in the large jazz ensemble? (25)
Drums
Bass

Piano
Guitar
Added Percussion
15. Construct a walking bass line over the following 8 bars. (30)
16. Discuss the following topics as they relate to jazz program infrastructure:
(40)
Fund Raising
Budget
FTE’s
Recruiting/Profile
Facilities/Equipment/Timetable
17. Discuss what contributes to a healthy community for learning. (40)
18. From a curriculum standpoint, compare and contrast the Masters Programs in
Jazz Studies offered at York University, The University of Toronto, and McGill
University. (20)
19. List five musical criteria you would use for ensemble adjudication. (15)
20. List 5 jazz educational web sites. (10)
21. Name three past musical/artistic directors for the Banff Summer Jazz
Program. (10)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This is an extensive and thorough upper level academic music course which presents
the materials and methods for jazz instruction, requires research essays in career
related fields and the successful completion of a two semester teaching practicum.
More specifically, this course explores the philosophies and methods in jazz education
and the way in which they pertain to all levels of ability and age in the instrumental
combo, vocal combo, and jazz orchestra. Repertoire, resources, rehearsal techniques,
curriculum design, supervision and evaluation of instruction, lesson plans, instructional
objectives, assessment and evaluation, learner types and styles, the jazz education
industry, graduate studies in jazz education, teaching through the oral tradition,
adjudicating a jazz performance, infrastructure, administration and promotion of a
jazz program, creative scholarship in jazz, career planning, as well as National and
International student jazz festivals and educational associations are all topics that will
be covered in the course. Additionally, students will be required to format all
references in research essays with the APA format.
II LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
A. Core Outcomes
Students are required to demonstrate the following knowledge and skills to
successfully complete this course:
1. Identify learner types and styles.

2. Develop strategies to teach different learner types and styles.
3. Demonstrate oral tradition as it pertains to jazz instruction.
4. Teach a jazz ensemble demonstrating a working knowledge of the oral tradition.
5. Develop criteria for the supervision and evaluation of instruction.
6. Develop criteria for student assessment and evaluation.
7. Write and implement lesson plans.
8. Develop instructional objectives.
9. Develop, in consultation with the professor, a two-term practicum involving job
shadowing, teaching, and mentorship.
10. Successfully complete a two-term practicum.
11. Exhibit skills pertaining to research methodology as it applies to the field of jazz.
Jazz Pedagogy Course Outline by Brian Lillos 701

12. Evaluate common misgivings in the area of jazz scholarship.
13. Demonstrate an understanding of primary, secondary, and related sources in jazz
performance, composition, arranging, history and pedagogy through transcription,
score analysis, bibliography, discography and interviews.
14. Demonstrate, in research papers, the APA method of citing references.
15. Write curriculum for jazz improvisation from beginner to advanced levels with a
repertoire base.
16. Demonstrate knowledge of the industry of jazz education, career pathways, and
potential sources for networking.
17. Adjudicate a jazz performance.
18. Present a jazz clinic.
19. Evaluate and grade jazz orchestra repertoire.
20. Evaluate and grade instrumental jazz combo repertoire.
21. Evaluate and grade vocal combo repertoire.
22. Describe the infrastructure needed for a successful jazz studies program.
23. Describe the administrative requirements of a successful jazz studies program.
24. Demonstrate recruiting and profile methods as they apply to program promotion.
25. Compile lists of recommended and graded repertoire for the instrumental jazz
combo.
26. Compile lists of recommended and graded repertoire for the jazz orchestra.
27. Compile lists of recommended and graded repertoire for the vocal jazz combo.
28. Demonstrate, through research essays, a thorough understanding of creative
scholarship in jazz education.
29. Demonstrate an understanding of the need for fund raising in a jazz studies
program.
30. Demonstrate arranging/composition skills for the jazz combo (three to four voices
and rhythm section).
31. Demonstrate editing skills for jazz orchestra arrangements/compositions
(specifically inside voices and rhythm section).
32. Demonstrate an understanding of general teaching philosophies and methods.
33. Promote a strong sense of the developmental process in jazz studies.
34. Increase the student’s awareness as it pertains to the sequential development of
skill sets related specifically to the jazz idiom.
35. Demonstrate an understanding of the stylistic characteristics, various trends, and
historical developments through jazz “eras” and be able to explain and teach
performance, improvisation, and composition/arranging in these “eras” effectively.
36. Identify the major figures n the development and/or continuation of the
aforementioned styles.
37. Increase the awareness for jazz orchestra, instrumental and vocal combo
repertoire available to educators including: instrumental ranges, harmonic

complexity, density, technique, rhythmic complexity, improvisational difficulty,
general ensemble strengths and weaknesses, recorded examples and commissions.
38. Increase knowledge of available internet sites as resources for the jazz educator.
39. Increase awareness of the I.A.J.E.
40. Increase awareness of the I.A.S.J.
41. Demonstrate an understanding of the function of the horns within the large and
small jazz ensemble.
42. Demonstrate an ability to teach the rhythm section in the jazz ensemble.
43. Demonstrate the ability to read and analyze a jazz orchestra score.
44. Analyze and synthesize jazz orchestra rehearsal techniques and artistic guidance.
45. Analyze and synthesize instrumental combo rehearsal techniques and artistic
guidance.
46. Analyze and synthesize vocal combo rehearsal techniques and artistic guidance.
47. Demonstrate an awareness of common musical problems encountered by students in
the improvisational setting.
48. Describe the need to develop a learning environment that encourages risk taking,
creativity, and the development of an artistic voice in jazz improvisation.
49. Demonstrate an understanding of the need to transcribe the works of the jazz
masters, to internalize their pronunciation of the language, and become coherent
with their grammar.
50. Explain how learning outcomes 44 and 45 are not in conflict with each other, rather
are complimentary.
51. Demonstrate respect towards themselves as educators, for the music and the
people who want to learn it.
B. Generic/Employability Skills Outcomes
Through the successful completion of this course, the student will develop the
following Generic/Employability Skills:
51. Produce clear, concise, correct, and coherent written texts to suit the intended
audience and purpose.
52. Organize the message according to purpose
53. Select only that content necessary to convey the message
54. Employ style, tone, and vocabulary appropriate to the message, situation. and
intended audience
55. Control the conventions of grammar, spelling, and punctuation
56. Read, comprehend, and summarize a variety of texts
57. Distinguish between main and subordinate points
58. Analyze subtleties and nuances of written and graphic texts
59. Restate accurately what has been read, maintaining original meaning and emphasis

60. Carry out continuous learning and reeducation by employing his / her reading skills
61. Solve problems in the social and employment environments by using his / her reading
skills.
62. Interpret and restate accurately or summarize spoken messages
63. Follow directions
64. Ask appropriate questions to clarify meaning
65. Control internal and external elements that may cause interference
66. Recognize and respond to non-verbal cues
67. Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to deliver clear, concise,
and coherent spoken messages to suit audience and purpose
68. Speak clearly, concisely, and coherently by selecting appropriate vocabulary, style,
and delivery strategies
69. Control the conventions of standard spoken English
70. Recognize appropriate prompts, including non-verbal cues, to determine how the
message is being received
71. Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to research and / or
communicate ideas by using evolving media
72. Select from available media the most suitable medium for the message, audience,
and purpose
73. Manipulate non-linear (i.e., multileveled) aspects of the media to create messages
74. Identify and use resources effectively for personal and work-related goals
75. Work within time frames and meet deadlines
76. Demonstrate an ability to use various learning strategies to accomplish an
educational goal
77. Utilize expertise appropriately
78. Work within a budget
79. Apply “stress management” strategies
80. Demonstrate self-confidence, self-directedness, and will be able to manage
him/herself in the workplace
81. Behave within appropriate work standards and conditions of employment
82. Accept responsibility for his/her actions decisions and progress
83. Evaluate and act upon constructive feedback.
84. Demonstrate the ability to develop a career/life planning process within the
context of a changing environment
85. Formulate personal choices and goals, based on self-assessment and career
research
86. Analyze labor-market trends that affect employability
87. Present personal abilities, skills and interests accurately in a resume and an
interview
88. Construct an effective work-search plan
89. Demonstrate the ability to respond to change and uncertainty in a positive and
productive manner

90. Adapt to new situations and demands by applying and/or updating knowledge and
skills
91. Work effectively in a group or team setting

92. Recognize and respect people’s diversity and individual differences
93. Accept responsibility for his/her actions during group work
94. Plan and make decisions with others, utilizing various models of decision-making
95. Lead or facilitate a group effectively
96. Express himself/herself in a confident, non-threatening manner in order to advance
his/her personal or group goals
97. Recognize, analyze and express his/her own values, beliefs, needs and behaviors
98. State the effects his/her values, beliefs, needs and behaviors have on his/her
actions and decisions
99. Communicate positively and directly
100. Evaluate the behavior of others and provide feedback in a constructive way
101. Resolve differing and/or opposing ideas and points of view
102. Identify different types of conflict
103. State how different types of conflict affect interpersonal and/or group
relationships
104. Manage conflict using effective listening, negotiating, collaborating, confronting and
problem-solving techniques
105. Apply critical thinking skills to make decisions, plan strategies, and question
established ideas
106. Identify premises, conclusions and reasons to justify thinking
107. Assess the validity and soundness of arguments
108. Draw conclusions about how information can be used
109. Evaluate the process used in assessing hypotheses and creating models
110. Apply his/her knowledge to demonstrate an ability to solve problems and make
decisions in his/her subject area
111. Identify and define problems within the context of the course of study
112. Gather data related to the problem
113. Generate a set of appropriate alternative solutions
114. Select and implement the best alternative
115. Demonstrate the ability to think creatively and/or produce products
116. Create new ideas, concepts, products and systems by using idea-generating
strategies
117. Create innovative strategies and/or products to anticipate or meet emerging needs
by using a variety of thinking skills
118. Play with ideas and have the confidence to look at information, ideas beliefs,
problems, and existing systems in new ways
119. Collect and analyze data to understand the research process
120. Identify the nature of the information required answering a question
121. Use various sources of information to gather data
122. Organize the information appropriately

123. Analyze the information and select relevant, important, useful data.
124. Perform basic operations in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
125. Solve problems in percent, estimation, ratio and proportion.
126. Convert between measuring systems and perform monetary exchanges, using ratio
and proportion
127. Solve word-problems involving percent
128. Create a simple budget.
129. Demonstrate the ability to analyze and interpret data and graphs and calculate
simple probabilities.
130. Define the following terms: arithmetic mean, median, mode, range and standard
deviation
131. Calculate the mean, median, mode and range of a set of data, using a calculator
132. Interpret the significance of the standard deviation as it relates to data
133. Define probability and calculate simple probabilities
134. Demonstrate an understanding of chart and graph reading.
135. Analyze the role of computers in technology, business and everyday life.
136. Identify which tasks can best be handled by computers
137. Explain the role of computers in his/her field of study.
138. Describe basic information technology concepts and perform basic operating system
functions.
139. Describe basic information technology concepts
140. Perform basic operating system and file management functions
141. Create and modify text documents using word processing software
142. Communicate and collaborate with peers, professionals and other audiences, using
technology based communication tools.
143. Send e-mail and attachments to communicate effectively with instructors and
peers.
144. Use technology tools to locate, collect, evaluate and organize information from a
variety of sources.
145. Identify key words and concepts that describe what information is needed
146. Identify appropriate sources of information
147. Access needed information effectively and efficiently
148. Evaluate information and its sources critically
149. Organize and communicate the information, using appropriate technology
150. Record all pertinent reference and citation information in an acceptable form
III COURSE CONTENT:
Fall Semester
Week I Introduction Overview of Course. Career Goals. Practicum Needs.

Assigned material on Library Reserve. Assessment of Class &

Determination of Materials, Delivery, Jazz Resources. The Jazz
Education Industry. Assigned Texts. Assigned Readings.
Week II History of Jazz Education – Eurocentricity, Anal Retention, Oral

Tradition, Street Methodologies, Holistic Approaches. One hour out-
of-class advisement with professor on practicum placement.
Week III Practicum Begins. Supervision of Instruction. Lesson Plans.

Instructional Objectives. Student Assessment. Student Evaluation.
Self Evaluation. Teacher Journal. Professional Development.
Mentorship. Job Shadowing.
Week IV Assessment and Evaluation. Learner Types and Styles. Creative

Scholarship in Jazz Education. One hour advisement with professor
on Term Paper Prospectus, Bibliography and Discography.
Week V Oral Tradition and Teaching Jazz Styles. Scope and Sequence –
Curriculum Design. The Jazz Curriculum. Developing a curriculum for
jazz improvisation.
Week VI, VII, One hour oral tradition teaching presentation, (small ensemble) –
each
VIII, & IX student will find the repertoire, recruit the ensemble, and rehearse
the ensemble for one full hour. The sessions will be recorded and
video taped. One hour out of class research essay advisement with
the professor.
Week X Repertoire and Curriculum for the Jazz Combo. Review, Reflection, of
materials and process to date.
Week XI, XII, One hour teaching presentation on rehearsal techniques and
& XIII repertoire for the jazz combo. One hour out of class evaluation of
student teaching by professor. Presenting a Jazz Clinic.
Week XIV Term end exam. Research paper due. All written projects due. All
recorded projects due. All video projects due.
Week XV Pot luck dinner for sponsor teachers.

Winter Semester
Week I Scholarship in Jazz Education. Repertoire and Curriculum for Jazz

Improvisation. Career Planning, The Jazz Education Industry.
Week II I.A.J.E. Conference (New York)
Week III Repertoire, Curriculum, and Rehearsal Techniques for the Jazz
Orchestra.
Week IV Field Trips to Regional Instrumental Jazz Festivals. Adjudicating an

Instrumental Jazz Performance.
Week V, VI, VII, Presenting an Instrumental jazz Clinic. One hour teaching
presentation on & VIII rehearsal techniques and repertoire for the Jazz Orchestra.
Week IX Field Trip to Regional Vocal Jazz Festivals. Adjudicating a Vocal Jazz
Performance. Presenting a Vocal Jazz Clinic.
Week X, XI, XII, One hour teaching presentation on rehearsal techniques and repertoire
& XIII for the vocal jazz choir.
Week XIV Infrastructure of a Jazz Program. Administration of a Jazz Program.

Recruiting and Profile.
Week XV Final Exam. Research paper due. All written projects due. All
recorded projects due. All video projects due. Email exchange.
Networking.
IV EVALUATION PROCEDURE
Passing mark is 60%.
Assignments:
Term I - Evaluation
Practicum Video, Example of Teaching and Practicum Journal 30%
Term Paper 20%
Term Exam 20%
Teaching Oral Tradition 10%
Teaching Improvisation 10%

Curriculum for Jazz Improvisation 5%
Curricula Comparison (Schools of Study) 5%
100%
Term II
Practicum 30%
Curriculum for Jazz Instruction
Curriculum for Jazz Improvisation
Teaching Big Band
Teaching Rehearsal Techniques and Materials for Big Band
Teaching Rehearsal Techniques and Materials for Vocal Choir
Term Paper TBA
Term Exam
Graded Repertoire for Large Instrumental Jazz Ensemble
Graded Repertoire for Vocal Jazz Ensemble
Graded List of Big Band Repertoire with Discography
Graded List of Vocal Choir Repertoire with Discography
Adjudications of Big Band
Adjudications of Vocal Choir
100%
V REQUIRED TEXT AND OTHER LEARNING MATERIALS:
Lillos, Brian Jazz Pedagogy: A Canadian Perspective (Creative Canadian

Jazz Voice Publications, 2006)
There will also be supplementary articles and recordings placed on library

reserve.
VI DELIVERY FORMAT
Lecture by Professor.
Guest Lectures by experts in the field of Jazz Pedagogy
Class Discussion
Practicum Supervision and Evaluation
Demonstration by Students
One on one advisement
Independent Study
Mentorship

VII POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the College’s Academic

Regulations and the School of Creative and Performing Arts official
policies and procedures. These academic regulations may be accessed
through the College’s website at www.registrar.humber.on.ca/acregs.html
VIII ACADEMIC CONCERNS/APPEALS
Any student who has an academic concern should first discuss the matter
directly with their professor. If the issue cannot be resolved, then the
student is encouraged to bring it up with the program coordinator: then
with the Dean (or designate) if the prior two steps were unsuccessful.
Please refer to the College’s Academic Complaint and Appeal Policy for
details.
IX PRIOR LEARNING ASSESSMENT AND RECOGNITION (PLAR)
Course credits may be granted in recognition of prior learning of this

subject. An application for consideration must be made through the
Office of the Registrar.
Assessment will be done by Portfolio, a video of teaching and a formal
reference from a supervisor of instruction and educational publications in
scholarly journals and a sample research essay as well as an interview with
the professor.
X DISCLAIMER
While every effort will be made to cover all material listed in this outline,
the order, content and/or evaluation is subject to change in the event of
exceptional circumstances or class needs.

GRADED REPERTOIRE
Title Author Publisher Improvisation Rhythm Bass Range

Level Section Level
Jazz Pedagogy Course Outline by Brian Lillos

Density/Line
Independence of Recorded
Arrangement Example
Title/Author/
Publisher/#
711
Repertoire for Jazz Pedagogy
JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Title Composed by Arranged by
My Shining Hour Arlen, Harold Ashwell, Paul

Reverence Ashwell, Paul Ashwell, Paul
Autumn Leaves Kosmo/Prevert Berg, Curt
This Is Not The Time Berg, Curt Berg, Curt
Monk-ing Christianson, Denny Christianson, Denny
Straight, No Half-Tone Christianson, Denny Christianson, Denny
Ma Vie, C’est Ma Vie Cousineau, Francois Christianson, Denny
A Pair of Threes Clausen, Alf Clausen, Alf
A Time for Love Mandel, Johnny Clausen, Alf
The First Circle Metheny/Mays Curnow, Robert
Sophisticated Lady Ellington, Duke Garrett, Glen
Kukonpesa Koivostonen, Eiro Koivostonen, Eiro
Moment’s Notice Coltrane, John Mantooth, Frank
Ecaroh Silver, Horace McConnell, Rob
Blue Tag McConnell, Rob McConnell, Rob
18 Bottles McLeod, John McLeod, John
Sometimes You Feel Like That Murley, Mike McLeod, John
Conversation McLeod, John McLeod, John
Flight East Phillips, Brigham Phillips, Brigham
Go With The Flow Phillips, Brigham Phillips, Brigham
Variations Richmond, Kim Richmond, Kim
Funny Valentine Rodgers/Hart Richmond, Kim
Spritely Overdue Richmond, Kim Richmond, Kim
Trains Richmond, Kim Richmond, Kim
Wind Chimes Richmond, Kim Richmond, Kim
A Hit by Varese Lam, Bob Schaffer, Will
The Source Tait, Rick Tait, Rick
Anna’s Song Swainson, Neil Thompson, Don
Manteca Gillespie, Dizzy Zanella, Jean- Pierre

JAZZ PEDAGOGY
ADVANCED JAZZ REPERTOIRE DEVELOPMENT
A Night in Tunisia Giant Steps Naima

Afternoon in Paris Groovin High Nica’s Dream
Airegin High Fly Night Dreamer
All Blues I Mean You Nutville
Along Came Betty I Remember Clifford Oleo
Blue Bossa Impressions Now’s the Time
Blue Monk In a Mellow Tone Peace
Blue Seven Infant Eyes Pent-up House
Blue Train Inner Urge Peris Scope
Blue’n Green Isotope Picadilly Lilly
Cantaloupe Island Jive at Five Prince Albert
Ceora Joy Spring Reconda-Me
Confirmation JuJu Ray’s Idea
Cottontail Killer Joe Robbins Nest
Dig Lady Bird Round Midnight
Donna Lee Lazy Bird Ruby My Dear
Dolphin Dance Like Sonny St. Thomas
Eqinox Lookout Farm Silvers Serenade
ESP Lullabye of Birdland Sister Sadie
Fantasy in D Maiden Voyage Solar
Fe Fi Fo Fum Mayreh Song for my Father
Foot Prints Milestones (old) Soul Eyes
Four Milestones (new) Stablemates
Four Brothers Moment’s Notice Stompin at the Savoy
Freight Train Mr. Day Strollin
Tenor Madness The Preacher The Theme
Theme for Ernie This I Dig of You This Is For Albert
Tune Up Valse Hot Vierd Blues
Whisper Not Witch Hunt Yardbird Suite

JAZZ PEDAGOGY
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
Ashley Alexander
Power Slide Pausa
Plays Frank Mantooth Mark
Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin

Tales for a Courtesan RCA
Long Yellow Road RCA
Insights RCA
Road Time RCA
Plus many more albums on small labels.
Gabe Baltazar
Stan Kenton presents Gabe Baltazar Creative Wrl
Charlie Barnett
Big Band 1967 Creative Wrl
Bebop Spoken Here Capitol
Mike Barone/Victor Burghardt Orchestra

Maiden Switzerland Discovery
Count Basie
Lots of albums available – anything is good
Albums containing published material
Basie Big Band Pablo
I Told You So Nestico Pablo
Have a Nice Day Holman Daybreak
Basie Straight Ahead Nestico Dot
On the Road Nestico Pablo
Basie on the Beatles Various Happy Tiger
E+MC2 Roulette
Milt Jackson and Count Basie Pablo

Louis Bellson
150 MPH Concord
Sunshine Rock Pablo
London Scene Concord
Note Smoking Diskwasher
JAZZ PEDAGOGY
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
Ashley Alexander
Power Slide Pausa
Plays Frank Mantooth Mark
Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin

Tales for a Courtesan RCA
Long Yellow Road RCA
Insights RCA
Road Time RCA
Plus many more albums on small labels.
Gabe Baltazar
Stan Kenton presents Gabe Baltazar Creative Wrl
Charlie Barnett
Big Band 1967 Creative Wrl
Bebop Spoken Here Capitol
Mike Barone/Victor Burghardt Orchestra

Maiden Switzerland Discovery
Count Basie
Lots of albums available – anything is good
Albums containing published material
Basie Big Band Pablo
I Told You So Nestico Pablo

Have a Nice Day Holman Daybreak
Basie Straight Ahead Nestico Dot
On the Road Nestico Pablo
Basie on the Beatles Various Happy Tiger
E+MC2 Roulette
Milt Jackson and Count Basie Pablo
Louis Bellson
150 MPH Concord
Sunshine Rock Pablo
London Scene Concord
Note Smoking Diskwasher
Louis Bellson Explosion Pablo
Matterhorn Pablo
Dynamite Concord
Francy Boland
See also Clarke Boland
White Heat MPS
Fellini 712 MPS
Tommy Banks
Montreaux 1978 CBC
Matt Catingaub
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Big Band Reference
Hi Tech Big Band Sea Breeze
Denny Christianson
Shark Bait Justin Time
Doomsday Machine Justin Time
Suite Mingus Justin Time
More Pepper Justin Time
Kenny Clark – Francy Boland

Smiles MPS
Open Door Muse
At Her Majesty’s Pleasure Black Lion
Frank Kapp – Nat Pierce

Juggernaut Concord
Miles Davis with Gil Evans

Miles + 19 Columbia

Porgy and Bess Columbia
Sketches of Spain Columbia
Jack Daugherty
Class of ’71 Monterey
Carmel by the Sea Monterey
Leslie Drayton
Turning a Corner Esoteric
Duke Ellington
This is Duke Ellington RCA
Such Sweet Thunder Columbia
Ellington at Newport Columbia
Festival Session Columbia
The Bethlehem Years Volume I Bethlehem
The Bethlehem Years Volume II
Hundreds of albums available – all interesting
Don Ellis
Live at Monterey Pacific Jazz
Haiku MPS
Electric Bath Columbia
Music from Other Galaxies and Planets Atlantic
Dave Eshelman
Jazz Garden Jazz Garden
Deep Voices Sea Breeze
Gil Evans
Pacific Standard Time Blue Note
Into the Cool Impulse
The Great Arranger MCA
First Brass
First Brass A&M
Clare Fischer
‘Twas Only Yesterday Discovery
Duality Discovery
Bob Florence
Concerts by the Sea Trend
Westlake Trend

Toaring Bosco
Magic Time Trend
Trash Can City Trend
State of the Art USA Music Grp
Maynard Ferguson
Message from Newport Roulette
Bird Land Dream Band Roulette
M.F. Horn Columbia
M.F. Horn II Columbia
M.F. Horn IV and V – Live at Jimmy’s Columbia
Stratospheric Mercury
Newport Suite Roulette
Screamin’ Blues Mainstream
Dues Mainstream
Si, Si M.F. Roulette
Message from Maynard Roulette
Hard to find albums 1957- 1964
Terry Gibbs
Launching a New Band Trip
Dream Band Contemporary
Dizzy Gillespie
Diz and His Orchestra Camden
The New Continent Sarabandas
Friedrich Gulda
Music for Four Soloists and Band Saba
Dick Grove
Big, Bad and Beautiful First Place Music
Little Bird Suite Pacific Jazz
Woody Herman
Giant Steps Fantasy
Thundering Hero Fantasy
Road Father Century
Jazz Hoot Columbia
The Raven Speaks Fantasy
Chick, Donald, Walter, Woodrow Fantasy
Live at the Concord Jazz Festival Century
Woody’s Goco Star Concord

50th Anniversary Concord
The Raven Speaks Concord
Together – Flip and Woody Fantasy
Heavy Exposure Century
Herd at Montreaux Cadet
Live at Monterey Fantasy
From the Jazz Vault Atlantic
Re-issues of 40s albums Damont
Les Hooper
Raisin the Roof Jazz
Look What They Done to my Song Creative Wrld
Bill Holman
Great Big Band Creative World
The Fabulous Bill Holman Sackville
Bill Holman Band JVC
Thad Jones – Mel Lewis

Presenting Thad Jones, Mel Lewis and Jazz Orch. Solid State
Thad Jones and Mel Lewis Blue Note
Consummation Blue Note
Potpourri Philadelphia
New Life A+M
Suite for Pops A+M
Live in Munich A+M
Thad Jones, Mel Lewis & Manuel De Sica Pausa
Thad and Aura Four Leaf
Central Park North
Live at the Village Vanguard
Thad Jones
Eclipse Metronome
Quincy Jones
The Great Wide World of Trip
This is How I Feel About Jazz Birchmount
Stan Kenton
West Side Story Creative World
Adventures in Time Creative World
Cuban Fire Creative World
Kenton Presents Creative World
New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm Creative World

Standards in Silhouette Creative World
Kenton ’76 Creative World
Journey to Capricorn Creative World
Stan Kenton Today London
The Comprehensive Kenton Capitol
7.5 on the Richter Scale Creative World
City of Glass and This Modern World Creative World
Collector’s Choice Creative World
Live at Redlands University Creative World
And at least a hundred more!!!

ROLE MODEL (punctuality, attire, team-teaching, enthusiasm, self-discipline,
responsibility, team building)
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT (has respect and confidence of the students)
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
TEACHING TOWARDS PERCEIVABLE OBJECTIVES (learning targets)
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
PROVISION FOR DIFFERENCES IN ABILITIES AMONG THE STUDENTS
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
GOOD PLANNING (organizational skills in handling both materials and time)
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
EFFECTIVE EVALUATION OF STUDENT
Supervision of Instruction by Brian Lillos 721

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT (develops self-esteem in the learner)
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
COMMUNICATION WITH MENTOR
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
OVERALL CONTRIBUTION TO THE COMMUNITY FOR LEARNING
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
SELF – ASSESSMENT
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
OTHER
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Supervision of Instruction by Brian Lillos 722

West Coast Jazz Festival
When Brian Stovell originally asked me to take over the running of the West Coast Jazz
Musicfest Regional Festival in 1997, he gave me a couple of important pieces of advice. He
told me to “keep it simple”. He also told me that adjudicators work a long and hard day and
that they should be treated well, paid well and that they should be provided with a nice
place to stay.
I originally got involved in the running of our local school festivals because I felt that it
was important to become involved and be part of the process. In this article, I will attempt
to describe how we run the West Coast Jazz Festival in hopes that it might be of
assistance to someone who would like to run their own regional jazz festival.
Selecting a Date for the Festival
About the time I took over as the chair of West Coast Jazz Festival, I also became
involved in the Pacific Coast Music Festivals Association, where I had the job of soliciting
the dates, details and contact information of all the school music festivals in the province
and publishing them in the British Columbia Music Educator’s Journal and Website. This has
proven to be a handy resource for all music teachers. It is a great way to make sure there
are not too many conflicting festival dates so that schools can participate in all the regional
festivals they would like to. After consulting and avoiding the other festival dates around
the province, we book the West Coast Jazz Festival a year in advance into the venue of
choice which has generally been Malaspina University College Music Department and
Theatre.
Festival Meeting
We generally send out a notice to all participating school band directors to attend a
meeting in June for both our concert band/orchestra and jazz festivals at a convenient
school location where everyone can drive to within two hours. The purpose of the meeting is
to confirm the delegation of jobs, to air concerns and to propose changes. It is important
for all the directors to feel that they have an adequate say in how the festivals are run.
We also brainstorm ideas for adjudicators. The meeting gives teachers a chance to veto
any adjudicator with whom they have had a bad experience.
Running a Student Jazz Festival by Sarah Falls 723

Festival Job Roster
Music teachers are notoriously workaholics. In the past, festivals would be run by school
district “fine arts coordinators.” These people were hired by the district and would
organize festivals as part of their position. This does still occur in some parts of the
province, but not where we live. If we want to have a festival, we have to run it ourselves.
It is therefore extremely important to delegate the festival tasks as much as possible.
Here is a list of the West Coast Jazz Festival delegated tasks:
-Festival Chair- Serves as the initial contact and oversees all components of the festival,
including making sure everyone gets paid. Hires and contracts adjudicators and books their
accommodation. Helps the festival site chair as much as possible during the festival. Does
the initial mailout and the final follow up mailout with Musicfest Invitations.
-Festval Vice-Chair and Scholarship Chair. Serves as a sounding board for the festival chair
for all issues pertaining to running the festival. Solicits all the many Scholarships and
Awards from Sponsor Music Companies and Music Summer Camps.
-Festival Site-Chair- Organizes the festival site, including set up, take down and extra
equipment needed from neighbouring schools and sponsor music stores. Organizes festival
workers and stage crew. Constantly on site during the festival to make sure everything
goes smoothly. It is important to have monetary compensation available for the site chair
to be able to pay for services, rentals and festival workers. On site festival workers would
be: a) guides, who take the groups through the festival process, b) runners, who deliver and
pick up adjudication packages c) stage crew, who set up the stage according to the
director’s wishes d)general “set up” and “take down” crew. We have found lately that it is a
good idea to have a festival worker assigned to man the c.d. recording machine so that the
adjudicators are not having to fuss with the different types of recorders.
-Festival Registrar and Treasurer- It is most important that this NOT be a band director.
This is a paid position. Ideally and traditionally this has been the “stay-at- home” spouse of
one of the band directors. It helps for this person to have a little bit of accounting
experience. The registrar sets up the bank account for the festival and co-signs the
cheques with the festival chair. The registrar receives all the entries and fees and dates
them.
-Festival Scheduling and Web Site coordinator- This person takes all the entries and makes
the festival schedule. It is important that the groups be scheduled based on a first-come
first-served basis, based on when their entry form and fees were received. Generally every
director will request the same ideal time slot to perform! At our particular festival there
are three schools alone who have anywhere from ten to fourteen band and combo entries
and it is a challenge just to accommodate those schools without conflicting. Once the
festival schedule is created, it is forwarded to the chair for trouble-shooting. Once al the

“bugs” are out, it is mailed out to all the directors with all the accompanying performance
forms and instructions.
-Sound Technician-This is a paid position. It is very important when a festival has any
perceived competitive component that there be a competent hired sound person, in
particular on the jazz ensemble stage. The sound technician sets up the day before and
adapts the stage setup according to the desires of each band director. We generally have
students manning the sound booth on the combo stage.
Adjudication packages- one person is needed to set up and label all the adjudication
package/envelopes according to the festival schedule. That same person labels all the
recording c.d.’s to be used for adjudication. These packages need to be delivered before
the festival to the site chair.
Certificates-one person is needed to create the festival certificates. The certificates are
pre-made for each group according to the schedule, so all the festival secretary needs to
do is have the coordinator sign the certificates and fill out the rating when the
adjudication package comes back. The certificates need to be delivered to the site chair
before the festival.
Festival Secretary- This is a paid position. It is important that the festival secretary not
be a student (volunteer or otherwise), but be a responsible, honest and discreet adult. The
secretary is there at the registration desk to meet the band directors as they arrive. The
secretary collects all the band director’s forms and musical scores, fills out the top of the
adjudication forms and assembles the envelopes ready to be taken to the adjudicators. The
secretary then receives back the adjudication package after the group has performed,
records the group’s scores in a discreet manner and fills out the certificate with the rating
and then readies the package for the director to pick up. The secretary also keeps a
careful record of the scores to pass on to the festival chair for the purpose of Musicfest
Invitations.
Grade 12 All-Star Combo Coach- The grade 12 All-Star Combo is made up of grade 12
musicians nominated by their directors and selected by the festival chair. The more
schools involved the better. The all-star combo coach has one rehearsal with the students
before the festival and the combo performs at the Friday night festival concert.
Concert M.C. –This is a band director who not only M.C.’s the concert but makes sure it runs
smoothly and that all the sponsors and volunteers are thanked.
On Site Co-coordinators- It is a good idea to have another band director to help run things
on-site the day that the festival chair has their groups performing.

Festival Feature Concert
Our Friday night Festival Concert features the following:

-One invited student jazz ensemble (we try to invite a different one every year to feature)
-Grade 12 All-Star student combo
-Our local musicians big band, such as Nanaimo Musicians Association Big Band or
Arrowsmith Big Band.
-The adjudicator combo, made up of adjudicators and rhythm section hired as needed.
The festival concert tickets are offered to band directors to purchase for their groups
upon registration and then to the general public. The concert tickets are reasonably priced
with the remainder of the price of the concert sponsored by the festival.
Photo Stage
It is important to offer the opportunity for groups to have their photo taken. We use PSP
Sundance Photo. Information is given to directors well ahead of time, so the students can
be organized with their money and orders. Having group photos displayed in the schools is
great advocacy for the music programs!
Adjudication Process
For the large jazz ensembles, we usually have 3 adjudicators. One adjudicator serves as a
constant. They talk on the microphone and hear every group. The other 2 adjudicators
rotate and therefore hear every second group, following them in to the adjudication room
and working with them. For the combos, we have either 2 adjudicators who hear every
group and do a public adjudication in the same venue, or we also have used the 3
adjudicator system and had 2 of them rotate and one constant.
Festival Categories of Participation
As a regional festival of Musicfest Canada, we choose to follow the Musicfest

categories of participation. We do not have a lot of rules and guidelines, however we do
insist that the groups follow the grade category guidelines. For example, even if one
student is grade 12 and the rest are grade 10, the group must enter the grade 12 category.
If directors are bothered by this, I suggest to them that they are free to advise the
adjudicators of any of these issues when they perform.
Below are our categories of participation:

CLASSES OF PARTICIPATION
101 College or university 102 Community group of any age
201 Senior high to age 20 202 Community group to age 20
301 Senior high to age 17 or Grade 12 302 Community group to age 17
401 Senior high to age 16 or Grade 11 402 Community group to age 16
501 Junior high to age 15 or Grade 10 502 Community group to age 15
601 Junior high and community groups to age 14 or Grade 9
701 Junior high and community groups to age 13 or Grade 8
Evaluation Process
At West Coast Jazz Festival we use the absolute scale of marking. The group receives a
grade out of 100 from both adjudicators.
The average grade is then translated into a Gold, Silver or Bronze rating by the Festival
Secretary. This is how it works:
Score Rating Conversion Chart

Jazz Band
701 (13) 601 (14) 501(15) 401(16) 301(17) 201(20) 101
Gr. 8 Gr. 9 Gr.10 Gr.11 Gr.12 Open
GOLD 50+ 54+ 57+ 63+ 69+ 75+ 91+
SILVER 35-49 39-53 42-56 45-62 49-68 55-74 73-90
BRONZE 22-34 25-38 28-41 30-44 31-48 37-54 53-72
PARTIC 21- 24- 27- 29- 30- 34- 52-
I-
PATION
One thing that we have really tried to do at West Coast Jazz Festival is to give instant
adjudication package results to the band directors, so that they can give their students
instant feedback when they get back on the bus. They also have the c.d. right away, so they
can play it for the students at the very next rehearsal. There is nothing so frustrating as
waiting for results that show up a month after the festival performance!
Scholarships and Awards
During the festival, the adjudicators are all asked to score each soloist that they hear
from every group out of 10. This of course includes both combo and band adjudicators.
They are asked to keep all the solo sheets for reference. After the festival performances
are completed on the final day, the adjudicators meet with the festival chair and the
scholarship chair for several hours. All the students who scored reasonably high for soloing
are listed on the black board under instrument categories. The adjudicators then decide
from that list who receives the awards and scholarships. We usually have at least 3 pages
of scholarships, including c.d. awards donated by the adjudicators for honourable mentions.

I truly believe that the more solo recognition we can give to as many students in as many
different schools as possible, the better. There is no better motivator than this kind of
recognition that the students receive. It in turn becomes another great advocator for the
music program in the school and in the community.
Social Events
We generally at the very least have a windup dinner with the adjudicators and festival
coordinators once the awards meeting is done on the last day. In the past, we have also had
get-togethers after the Friday night concert or even Thursday evening dinners.
Festival Follow-up
There is a terrific amount of follow-up paperwork and phone calls after the festival is over.
This includes Musicfest Canada Invitations, Scholarships and Awards and a final mailing to
all festival participants. This is generally shared between the vice –chair and the chair of
the festival.
What We Do Not Have
For better or worse, there are a few things that other festivals have that we do not. We
do not have a major sponsor, other than the sponsorship of some festival equipment and
awards. Sponsorship can be of great assistance financially, however it can easily be
withdrawn. Not having a major sponsor keeps control in the hands of the directors. We also
do not have a glossy program, mainly because nobody has offered to do that job! It would
be nice to have someone who just did P. R., but again nobody has volunteered for that job
either! We do not charge admission for the school performances during the day. We do not
have “placings” or trophies. We do not have a playoff or showcase concert. We do not have
an awards ceremony. The ratings and marks that the groups achieve are for the directors
to share and celebrate with their students and parents only. We do not post or publish
results. We do, however, publish the Musicfest Invitations received and the student
awards in a follow-up letter to directors.
In closing, I would like to offer my advice or assistance to anyone who has questions about
running a regional jazz festival. Please feel free to contact me at gsfalls@shaw.ca.
Sarah Falls
Regional Coordinator, West Coast Jazz Musicfest Regional Festival
Instructor of Concert and Jazz Band, Jazz Combos, Vocal Jazz, Musical Theatre and Life
Skills Music at Alberni District Secondary, Port Alberni, British Columbia
Musicfest Canada Hall of Fame Award Recipient 2003

BRIAN LILLOS,
Editor & Author
Brian Lillos is one of Canada’s leading

jazz pedagogues. The scope of his
teaching ranges from 5th grade beginning
band to Doctoral Dissertation
advisement in jazz studies. The scope
of his playing ranges from playing
clarinet with the CBC Chamber
Orchestra to Bari Sax with the “Tommy
Banks” Jazz Orchestra to Be Bop with
Barry Harris to Alto Sax with Maria
Schneider. His students have received
Provincial / National/ and International
Recognition as performers /educators/
composers/ and scholars. He was
Director of the internationally acclaimed
Jazz Studies Program at Humber College
in Toronto from 1992 – 2001 where he
has since held the position of Professor
of Jazz Studies.
Educationally, Brian holds a M.Mus. in historical musicology/ethnomusicology and a

B.Mus.(honors) in historical musicology and theory/composition from the University of
British Columbia. Academically, Brian studied extensively with David McCallister,
William Malm, Allan Merriam, Robin Ridington, Ming-Yueh Liang, Donald McCorkle, Pierre
Maranda, Elli Kongas-Maranda, Claude Levi-Strauss, Bill Reid, and Wilson Duff.
As a performer Brian has appeared with Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra,
Bill Holman, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Dianna Ross, Stevie Wonder, Mel Torme, Rob
McConnell, Diana Krall, Ingrid Jensen, Alastair Kay, Hugh Fraser, Maria Schneider,
Barry Harris, Louis Bellson, Ian MacDougal, Phil Wilson, Pat LaBarbera, Pete
Christlieb, Denny Christianson, Alex Dean, Guido Basso, Bobby Hales, Dave Robbins,
Fred Stride, Phil Nimmons, Roger Ingram, Frank Mantooth, Tommy Banks, Kevin Dean,
Terry Clarke, Ted Warren, Archie Alleyne, Don Thompson, Neil Swainson, Steve
Meet the Authors 729

McDade, Steve Houghton, Jeff Jarvis, Dave Young, Mike Downes, Brian Dickinson, Ted
Quinlan, Brad Turner, Pat Coleman, Pat Collins, Kelly Jefferson, Art Maiste, the
Vancouver Symphony, and the C.B.C. Chamber Orchestra.
Brian also studied with Heinrich Ohlemann (clarinet), Robert Marcellus (clarinet),
Fraser MacPhearson (saxophone), Don Thompson (composition and voice leading), Dick
Grove (arranging), Pat LaBarbera (improvisation), Jerry Coker (improvisation), Barry
Harris (voice leading and improvisation), Jamey Aebersold (improvisation), and David
Baker (improvisation).
Brian is considered a curriculum expert. He has been a Curriculum Consultant to the

British Columbia Ministry of Education, an External Assessor to numerous Post
Secondary Degree Assessment Panels for undergraduate and graduate jazz degree
programs; and, a curriculum committee member with the I.A.J.E.
Brian has also been a Juno Juror, a Consultant to the National Research Council on
funding for the Arts, an Advisor to the Banff International Workshop on Jazz and
Creative Music, a President of Jazz Canada; a Regional Co-ordinator for the West Coast
Jazz Combo Festival and the Greater Toronto Music Fest; a program co-ordinator for
the Courtenay Summer Youth Jazz Program; a partner in the New West Jazz Clinic; and
is currently Chairman of Music Fest Canada (instrumental jazz division).
Brian can be heard most recently on “The Elders Are Listening” Volumes 1 and 2; “For
Sonny”; “Rezidential School Blues”; and, “Hannah’s Dance”. Website www.brianlillos.com
Coming attractions may include a book/DVD on Navigating the Be-Boppers Harmonic
Galaxy, several C.D.’s -- The Elders are Listening volume 3 – A Tribute to Horace
Silver; volume 4 – A Tribute to Bird; A Hammond B3 Session; and Ballads.
Widely published and recorded, Brian is in constant demand as a clinician, performing

artist, and adjudicator. Brian can be reached at www.BrianLillos.com

LINA ALLEMANO
LINA ALLEMANO is a Toronto based jazz
trumpeter, improviser and composer with an
established and active career performing,
recording and touring internationally. Her
trumpet playing, compositions, and artistic vision
have gained her recognition in the media as being
"adventurous, expressive, compelling, forward
thinking, inventive, and sophisticated". As well as
fronting her band LINA ALLEMANO FOUR and
the improvising group "N", she is also a member
of Tim Posgate Hornband, Rob Clutton's
Cluttertones, Caitlin Smith's Tiny Alligator Large
Band, Paul Read Orchestra, and many other
creative groups. Over the years, she has had the opportunity to work with international
musicians such as tuba-legend Howard Johnson, bassists Wilbert De Joode and Dave
Holland, saxophonist Michael Moore, and many others. Lina appears on over 30
recordings including her own CDs that feature her original compositions: Lina Allemano
Four 'Concentric' (2003), Lina Allemano Four 'Pinkeye' (2006), and Lina Allemano Four
'Gridjam' (2008). Originally from Edmonton, AB, Lina began playing trumpet
professionally at the age of 15. She moved to Toronto in 1993 to attend the University
of Toronto where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance. Recent career
highlights include: extensive touring with Lina Allemano Four; advanced trumpet
technique studies with Laurie Frink in New York City; performance at FONT (Festival
of New Trumpet Music) in New York City with fellow trumpeter Ingrid Jensen;
featured in Downbeat Magazine - "25 Trumpeters for the Future"; winner of National
Jazz Awards CBC Galaxie Rising Star; nominated many years running for National Jazz
Awards Trumpeter of the Year; nominated for Canadian Independent Music Awards
Favorite Jazz Artist. For more information, please visit www.linaallemano.com

COLLEEN ALLEN
Alberta born Sax Player and multi-
instrumentalist, Colleen Allen first launched her
musical career in Toronto. Twenty years later
she is still FRESH.
Colleen began her training with Pat LaBarbera at

Humber College. While performing in a variety of
musical bands she has continued to pursue her
musical education, mentored by such venerable
horn players as Vern Dorge, Ralph Bowen, Mike Murley and Kirk MacDonald. In later
years, she picked up additional education in Jazz Piano with Frank Falco and Jazz
Improvisation with Chris Chaley and Barry Harris. Despite the respect and accolades
she garners from her performances with singer songwriters and bands she continues to
pursue study at the Royal Conservatory rounding out her musical palette to include
Clarinet and Flute with teachers, Harold Gomez and Diane Aitken. Colleen Allen is
known as much for her charismatic stage presence as she is for her remarkable ease in
fostering a collaborative spirit while playing with others. She has mesmerized audiences
throughout Canada and Europe accompanying such notable performers as Alex Lifeson
(Rush), Shirley Eikhard, Lorraine Segato, The Parachute Club, Colm Wilkinson and John
McDermott. She is currently involved as a soloist and singer in Molly Johnson's band
and her improvisational magic can be heard on Johnson's most recent self-titled CD.
Her musical path has led her to a wide range of cultural events. She has shared the
stage with David Suzuki, Michael Ondaatje and most recently Pope John Paul II.
What makes Colleen so popular with other players and leaders is her "deep listening,"
She plays with a beautiful simplicity and lends a keen ear to collaboration with her
fellow musicians. Allen's experiences in pop, jazz, blues, worldbeat and other genres
are enriched by skill as a composer and bandleader for theatrical events. She considers
her recent projects with SoulPepper Theatre Company and Cirque de Soliel as one her
most rewarding musical undertakings.
For several year's, Allen's' pet project was the formation of the appropriately titled
band "Women with Horns" featuring respected players Sarah McElcheran, Ingrid Stitt
and Carrie Chessnut. They became a cult staple in the listening diet of the Toronto
music scene.
Colleen currently lives in Toronto where, along with a busy touring, recording and
teaching schedule, she raises a child. Colleen Allen can be reached at
Cooleen@ColleenAllen.Ca

DARCY ARGUE
A rising bandleader on the New York jazz scene, Darcy
James Argue directs Secret Society, a dynamic 18-piece
band featuring his original works. The group includes fiery
soloists like trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, saxophonist Erica
vonKleist, and trombonist Ryan Keberle. Secret Society is
a cutting-edge group, in the lineage of the Maria
Schneider Orchestra and the John Hollenbeck Large
Ensemble, but also evokes the cinematic sweep of indie
bands like Tortoise and TV On The Radio, and the rogue
spirit of new music groups like Anti-Social Music. Secret
Society perform regularly at a variety of NYC venues
including the Jazz Gallery, (Le) Poisson Rouge, the Living
Theatre, Makor, Union Hall, Flux Factory, the Bowery
Poetry Club, and the late CBGB. They also appeared at the 2008 IAJE Conference in
Toronto.
Ben Ratliff of the NYT has said some very nice things about Darcy’s music: "A big,
broad musical vocabulary came together easily, without jump-cutting or wrenching
shifts of style. Mr. Argue made all these elements belong together naturally."
You can find out more about Darcy, download scores and recordings, and read his
thoughts about the NYC music scene at http://secretsociety.typepad.com. He can be
reached at secretsocietymusic@mac.com.

CARLOS AGUILERA
Carlos Aguilera recently graduated with honors

from the Humber College Music Program and also
holds a B Mus degree in Jazz perforamce from
Thompson Rivers University. He has studied
with some of Canada’s finest drummers including
Mark Kelso and Paul de Long. He has also studied
world percussion with Rick Lazar and Chendy
Leon, and currently studies tabla with Ritesh
Das. Carlos is a freelance musician in Toronto
having performed in a wide variety on genres including jazz, latin, world, funk, r&b,
blues, country, metal, etc. He also has a great degree of studio experience having
recorded at some of Toronto’s finest studios including Sony/BMG, Orange, Signal to
Noise, and Doane LeBlanc Inc. Carlos also teaches drum lessons on a regular basis.
RUSS BAIRD
Mr. Baird is presently teaching music at

D.W.Poppy Secondary School in Langley, British
Columbia. He has taught band and choir in
Ontario at the elementary, secondary and
university level and in the Music Education
departments of the University of Northern
Colorado and the University of Victoria on
Vancouver Island. He is a past chairman of the
Canadian Choral Festival and was the founder of
Canada’s largest educational high school choral
festival, the Ontario Vocal Festival. He served for six years as the International Chair
of Vocal Jazz with the International Association of Jazz Educators and was also the
IAJE Journal vocal jazz editor for four years. He was a driving force in establishing
JazzCanada (renamed the Canadian affiliate of IAJE.) His love for music education
manifests itself in an unfailing enthusiasm for seeing students of all ages experience
the true joy and soulfulness of music made artfully. Russ Baird may be contacted at
rbaird@sd35.bc.ca

TOMMY BANKS
Banks is well-known to Canadians as one of our most

accomplished and versatile entertainers, and an
international standard-bearer for Canadian culture. From
1968-83, he was the host of The Tommy Banks Show. A
Gemini Award-winning variety television performer, he is
today the owner of Tommy Banks Music Ltd. A Juno
Award-winning musician, Mr. Banks has achieved national
and international renown as Conductor or Music Director
for such signature events as: The Royal Command
Performance (1978); The Commonwealth Games (1978);
the World University Games (1983); and the Opening
Ceremonies for EXPO '86 and the XVth Olympic Winter
Games (1988). He has also served as a guest conductor
with symphony orchestras throughout Canada and in the United States. As founding
Chairman of the Alberta Foundation for the Performing Arts, Mr. Banks has worked
tirelessly to ensure that other promising musicians and performers receive the
exposure they deserve right across the country. In 1979, Mr. Banks received an
Honourary Diploma of Music from Grant MacEwan College. That same year, he received
the Juno Award and the Grand Prix du Disque-Canada. In 1987, he received an
Honourary Doctor of Laws from the University of Alberta. In 1990, he received the Sir
Frederick Haultain Prize. In 1991, Mr. Banks was made an Officer of the Order of
Canada. And in 1993, he was awarded the Alberta Order of Excellence. On 9 May 2001,
Senator Tommy Banks was appointed Vice-Chair of the Prime Minister's Caucus Task
Force on Urban issues. The Task Force will consult with citizens, experts and other
orders of government to explore how these groups and individuals can work more
collaboratively, within the federal jurisdiction, to strengthen quality of life in our large
urban centres. Tommy Banks can be reached at gautht@sen.parl.gc.ca

SHIRANTHA BEDDAGE
Shirantha Beddage is an emerging talent who is swiftly

making his mark as an accomplished multi-reed
instrumentalist, pianist and composer. A native of North Bay,
Canada, Shirantha began playing music at an early age,
before traveling to Humber College (Toronto) and William
Paterson University (New Jersey) for further study. He is
currently a Doctoral candidate and teacher at the Eastman
School of Music in Rochester, New York. He has performed
and recorded extensively with jazz, classical and pop groups
in Canada and the United States, including The Temptations
and the Brian Lillos / Steve Houghton Jazz Orchestra. His
debut CD, "Roots and Branches", featuring his original
compositions, will be released in early 2006. Shirantha can
be reached at sb@shiranthabeddage.com
GREG BUIUM
Greg Buium has been the Vancouver Sun’s jazz critic since 2004. He is a Canadian
contributor to Down Beat and has written extensively on jazz and improvised music for
a number of North American and European periodicals including Coda Magazine, The
Wire, Cadence and the Globe and Mail. He holds a BA from McGill and an MA from the
University of Chicago, where he completed his thesis, Creating a Vocabulary: The
Rediscovery of Thelonious Monk, in 1994. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

ADAM CARINGI
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Adam Caringi has been playing

drums for most of his life. With a Bachelor of Music in
Jazz Performance from Humber College and Thompson
Rivers University, Adam has studied with Mark Kelso,
Enrique Loyola, Bob McClaren, Vito Rezza, Don Vickery,
and Paul Delong. Adam is an active drummer in the
miscellaneous “jobbing” scene around Toronto, performing
with The George St. Kitts Band, Soultown Band, and Sound
Machine. He can also be seen performing with original
fusion jazz band Protocol
www.myspace.com/facemeltingprotocol Adam is currently
completing a Bachelor of Education from York University.
Adam can be reached at www.myspace.com/adamcaringi, or
at caringi_adam@yahoo.ca
TERRY CLARKE
International jazz drummer, Terry Clarke, was born in

Vancouver, British Columbia, and began displaying his
rhythmic aptitude at a very early age. He was twelve
years old when he began studying formally with noted
drum teacher and author, Jim Blackley. Blackley was, and
is to this day, a primary and ongoing figure in Terry’s
continuing development as a musician.
In 1965, Terry moved to San Francisco to work with the

legendary saxophonist, John Handy III. He performed
with Handy for the next two and a half years, during which
time the GRAMMY nominated recording, Live at The
Monterey Jazz Festival (Columbia – 1966) was made.
Following the John Handy experience (which included Terry’s long-time musical
collaborator and friend, Don Thompson), Terry began building his reputation for
versatility by joining the world-famous pop vocal group, “The Fifth Dimension”. The
Grammy-winning group was at the height of their popularity, and Terry traveled and
performed extensively with them throughout the U.S.A., Canada and Europe.
Terry left “The Fifth” in 1970, and subsequently re-located to Toronto. For the next
fifteen years, he played an abundance of jazz in all styles, and established himself as a

major figure in Toronto’s then-considerable studio scene. Countless television shows,
jingles and recording dates were Terry’s mainstay, as well performances in legendary
Toronto jazz clubs, “George’s Spaghetti House”, “Bourbon Steet” and “Basin Street” –
often working with international jazz figures such as Frank Rossolino and Lenny Breau.
During this time, Terry also toured extensively in Japan and Europe with jazz guitar
legend, Jim Hall and piano great, Oscar Peterson.
Terry Clarke is well known as an original member of the world-acclaimed jazz big-band,
“Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass”. For twenty-five years he recorded and toured
with the ensemble, helping to define it’s remarkable and dynamic signature sound. In
1985, looking for greater musical challenges, Terry moved to New York City to pursue
an exclusively jazz-oriented career. During his tenure there, he worked and recorded
with The Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, Helen Merrill, Toots Theilemans, Ann
Hampton Callaway, Red Mitchell, Marvin Stamm, Jim Hall, Bill Mays, Roger Kellaway and
the late Joe Roccisano (to name just a few).
Having recorded over 300 albums with various jazz artists, Terry Clarke is a familiar
face at Jazz Festivals, Concert Halls and Venues throughout the world. In August of
1999, after fifteen productive years in New York, he returned to Toronto with his wife
Lesley, and their two young sons, Kristopher and Kyle. In October of that same year,
Terry re-united with Rob McConnell, and joined “The Rob McConnell Tentet” – an
exciting, new ensemble that is fueled by talented musicians and the brilliant writing of
valve trombonist, McConnell. The “Tentet” received a GRAMMY nomination, as well as a
JUNO award for their self-titled debut CD, has consistently garnered rave reviews and
awards for their subsequent recordings on the Justin Time label. Terry Clarke’s most
recent release is Bick’s Bag (Triplet Records), featuring the trio of Bill Mays, Neil
Swainson and Terry Clarke. The well-received recording is a tribute to Canadian jazz
guitar legend, Ed Bickert.
Terry Clarke continues to perform and record with a number of international artists,
such as Nancy Wilson, Bill Mays, Renee Rosnes, Jim Hall and Helen Merrill, as well as
with an exciting line-up of Canadian musicians such as David Braid, Jake Langley, Don
Thompson, Nancy Walker, Neil Swainson and David Occhipinti. Terry is also an
enthusiastic jazz educator, and for the past three years has been a member of the
Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto, and for four consecutive years (2002-
2005), he has been honoured as “Drummer of the Year” at the annual National Jazz
Awards. Terry Clarke is also extremely proud to have been recently named as a
Member of the Order of Canada. Terry Clarke can be reached at
TerryMC@sympatico.ca

MICHAEL COGHLAN
Prof. Michael Coghlan, Chair of the Department of Music at York University since 1998
is a composer, pianist, and administrator who works in a variety of musical idioms and
styles. He is well versed in digital music and recording techniques and has numerous
performances, publications, and research projects to his credit.
ALEX DEAN
Reedman Alex Dean, who has been described as “one of Canada’s

foremost jazz saxophonists”,
has been a mainstay of the Canadian music scene for many years.
He is known throughout Canada as a highly versatile jazz artist,
composer/arranger, musical director, classical saxophonist and
North American clinician/adjudicator. Alex has played and
recorded with many respected jazz artists and bands including: Gil
Evans, Kenny Wheeler, Dave Liebman, Ernie Watts, Mel Torme,
Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Ray Charles, Nick Brignola, Pat
Labarbara, Phil Nimmons, and the Toronto Symphony. Alex is a member of Rob
McConnell’s Tentet. He also holds the tenor saxophone chair with Rob McConnell’s
Grammy award winning Boss Brass.
Alex is the bandleader of the explosive Tenor Madness, Alex Dean Quintet (tenor and
soprano saxophone: Recordings include Kaitlyn’s Waltz, Both Feet, Dreamsville), and
D.E.W. East (tenor saxophone, flute, bass clarinet: recordings include D.E.W East
Meets Nick Brignolda, D.E.W. East).He has performed at many jazz festivals, concerts,
and clubs in Canada and the United States. He is the Artistic Director of the
Kincardine Summer Music Festival Jazz Camp and he teaches in The University of
Toronto’s Jazz, Music Education and Concert Performance programs. Alex also teaches
saxophone, improvisation, repertoire development and theory for the Humber College
Music Jazz Diploma and Degree Programs. Alex Dean can be reached at AlexDean.Ca

KEVIN DEAN
Trumpeter and organist Kevin Dean is an Associate
Professor of Music (Jazz Studies) at McGill University in
Montreal, Canada. He was born in Mason City, Iowa in
1954 and received a Bachelor of Music degree in 1976
from the University of Iowa. Dean received a Master's
Degree in Jazz Pedagogy from the University of Miami
(Florida) in 1980, then joined the faculty of St. Francis-
Xavier University in Nova Scotia where he helped develop
Canada's first university accredited Jazz studies
program. He accepted his present position at McGill in
1984 and designed and developed their undergraduate
jazz curriculum as well as designing McGill’s Jazz Licentiate diploma and co-designing
their Masters in Jazz Performance degree.
In 1986 Kevin co-founded the Jazz Association of Montreal and served as their first
president. Kevin is active as a performer, composer, clinician and adjudicator and was a
faculty member of the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops from 1984 to1996.
He is featured on over fifteen CD's, including six with his original music: Minor
Indiscretions (McGill Records 1990), Kevin Dean, Since 1954 (McGill Records 1992),
Kevin's Heaven (Double Time records 1995) Moments Musicaux (Radioland records
1996), Over at Ola's (Hot Club records 1997, recorded during a sabbatical year in
Norway) and Venous Lake (Gemini records 1998) which features guitarist Louis Stewart
and bassist Neil Swainson and is enhanced with CD-ROM video material from the
recording session. His composition "Andre's Footsteps" was one of seven jazz pieces
chosen to be part of a four CD set (Here and Now, A Celebration of Canadian Music,)
compiled and released by the Canada Council celebrating the 50th anniversary of the
United Nations.
Kevin has performed in concert and recorded with numerous well-known jazz artists
including Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, Joe Henderson and Barry Harris. In recent years
Kevin has begun to play and perform on the Hammond organ and has a quartet that
features Andre White playing drums and saxophonists Mike Murley and John Nugent.
The group performed at jazz festivals in Montreal, Sweden, and Finland last summer
and released their first CD; Kevin Dean Organ Band, Live at Upstairs. Kevin Dean can
be reached at Kevin.Dean@McGill.Ca

PAUL DE LONG
Best known for his multi-platinum success with

rock artist Kim Mitchell, Paul has forged a career
which encompasses funk, fusion, jazz and latin,
working with such diverse artists as Tom Scott,
Domenic Troiano, David Blamires, Lawrence
Gowan, Carlos Del Junco, Carol Welsman, Dave
Restivo, Nick "Brownman" Ali, Colm Wilkinson,
Doug Riley, Hilario Duran, David Clayton Thomas
and Roger Hodgson to name a few. As a Juno
award winner and respected session player Paul has performed at P.I.T. and the
N.A.M.M. shows in L.A., twice at the Montreal Drumfest and at the Cape Breton
Drumfest. He is one of SABIAN cymbals most popular and effective clinicians. Always
active on the studio scene, Paul has recorded numerous jingles and worked on TV shows
such as Degrassi Junior High, Top Cops, Counterstrike, E.N.G. and more recently, How
Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? He has taught part-time at Humber College in
Toronto for the past 20 years and written several articles for Modern Drummer
magazine. His new book "DeLong Way" To Polyrhythmic Creativity On The Drumset is
now on the market. In 1994 Paul became involved in musical theatre, first subbing on
shows such as Tommy, Joseph and Rent in Toronto, and then touring across Canada and
the U.S. with those same productions. He was the first sub on the Toronto production
of The Lion King for three and a half years and in 2004 was first chair for the musical
Hairspray. Next came Hair in 2006 and Peter Pan in 2007. Paul's fusion band The Code
has 2 CDs,the last release being "Figli di Baia". A third is in the works and should be
released in the fall of 2008. Current endorsements include Yamaha drums, Sabian
cymbals, Remo drumheads and Vater sticks. http://www.myspace.com/pauldelong

MIKE DOWNES
Bassist, composer and educator Mike Downes has emerged as
one of Canada’s finest jazz artists. In addition to leading his
own group, Mike has performed with virtually all of Canada’s
top jazz musicians, including Oliver Jones, Diana Krall, PJ
Perry, Renee Rosnes, Don Thompson, Kirk MacDonald and Pat
LaBarbera. He has toured worldwide, and is regularly in
demand to perform and record with visiting jazz artists such
as John Abercrombie, Peter Erskine, Kenny Wheeler, John
Taylor, Chris Potter, Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Liebman, Curtis
Fuller, and many others. His numerous recordings include
Juno nominations for Ranee Lee’s Dark Divas and Maple
Groove, Lorne Lofsky’s Bill Please, and Molly Johnson’s
Another Day, for which he has earned critical acclaim as a
composer and bassist.
Mike is the author of The Jazz Bass Line Book, recently published worldwide by
Advance Music of Germany, and is the head of the bass department at prestigious
Humber College in Toronto. He is much in demand as a clinician, and he continues to be
one of the most sought-after bassists in Canada.
More information can be found on his website www.mikedownes.com.

BRENDA EARLE
Brenda Earle is a woman on a mission. She is a quadruple

threat – a singer/ pianist/ arranger/ composer, who is taking
the international jazz community by storm. Born and raised in
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada Brenda attended York University in
Toronto. In 1998, she attended the Banff Centre for the
Arts, studying and performing with such jazz luminaries as
David Liebman, Kenny Wheeler, Hugh Fraser and Kenny
Werner. She has a Master’s in Music from the Manhattan
School of Music where she studied with Luciana Souza, Garry
Dial and Dave Liebman.
In 2006, Brenda was featured as a guest artist at the Port

Hope Jazz Festival, Mitton Village Jazz Festival, Jazz Is
Society(Calgary), Blowing Rock Jazz Society and at jazz clubs in Charlotte, Savannah,
Atlanta, Winston-Salem, Toronto and New York City. She has performed with Sherrie
Maricle’s DIVA Orchestra with special guests John Pizarrelli and Carmen Bradford.
August 2005 found Brenda in New Zealand, headlining with her trio at the Christchurch
Arts festival and playing sold-out solo concerts at the Taranaki Arts Festival in New
Plymouth. The Christchurch Press wrote: “With a mix of originals and covers from
Sinatra and Suzanne Vega to our own Finn brothers, Earle demonstrated her mastery of
the urban ballad.”
In June 2005, Brenda was won of a few hand-picked performers to attend the Ravinia
Festival in Chicago, where she was mentored by all-time greats Nathan Davis, David
Baker, Rufus Reid and James Moody. In January 2004, Brenda won the International
Sisters in Jazz Competition, a prize that recognized her as one of the world’s top
emerging women jazz musicians. This competition culminated in performances at the
IAJE conference, where she and the other four winners opened for Nicholas Payton
and the Village Vanguard Orchestra. This group headlined the Mary Lou Williams Jazz
Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The Washington Post reported on
“Earle’s blues-tinted touch and colorful thematic allusions” on the piano and that she
“demonstrated her finesse as a vocalist.”
In 2003 and 2005 she was invited to participate in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead
Program which also culminated in performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington,
DC. The Washington Post wrote “Among the first to stand out was pianist-singer
Brenda Earle, whose talent gracefully bridges jazz and pop.” She was selected for the
2003 Jazz Ahead All-Star group, which performed at the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival
in Wilmington, Delaware, opening for Herbie Hancock. In 2002 she was awarded a

Chalmers Professional Development Grant from the Ontario Arts Council. She has
performed with Dick Oatts, Joel Frahm, Joe Martin, Hugh Fraser, Bobby Sanabria,
Sunny Wilkinson and Pat LaBarbera.
Brenda has been profiled in numerous magazines and periodicals, including Time Out
New York, the Toronto Star, the Mountain Times (North Carolina), Connect Savannah,
the Sarnia Observer, the Spill Magazine and jazzreview.com. She spent eight weeks in
the “Top Sellers” top ten on jazzpromo.com, and her most recent CD “happening” has
received radio play in Australia, Indonesia, Europe and in the US and Canada.
Brenda’s music reflects a deep knowledge of the jazz tradition, borrowing from such
diverse influences as Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, A.C Jobim, Kenny Wheeler, Burt
Bacharach and Elvis Costello. She has composed nearly 100 works including choral
music, string quartets, works for woodwind, large and small jazz ensembles and has
written lyrics for existing instrumental compositions.
She currently resides in New York City, where everything is happening.

BARRY ELMES
International performer, drummer, composer,

record producer, educator and multi-award
winning Barry Elmes has been a mainstay of the
Canadian jazz scene since the early 1980's. His
work has been documented on over 60 jazz CDs
and he has performed and/or recorded with many
renowned jazz artists including: Tommy Flanagan,
Charlie Haden, Hank Crawford, Diana Krall, Joe
Henderson, John Abercrombie, Oliver Jones, Phil
Nimmons, Dizzy Gillespie and the Moe Koffman
Quintet. In 1991 he formed the Barry Elmes
Quintet, featuring a "who’s who" of the best in
Canadian jazz. A success from the beginning, this
group has released four notable recordings, the first of which, the critically acclaimed
Climbing, featured Barry's own compositions and received a Juno nomination for Best
Jazz Recording. The most recent CD "The Five Minute Warning" received an Indie
Award nomination for Best Jazz Recording 2001. The Barry Elmes Quintet won
Acoustic Jazz Group of the Year at the 2002 National Jazz Awards and Time Warp’s
latest release Warp IX won the 2003 Indie Award for Best Jazz Recording. Barry has
performed all over the world. He represented Canada at the 1992 Venezuela
International Jazz Festival with the quartet Time Warp. In 1994 he was featured with
the Oliver Jones Trio on the Governor-General's Tour of China, Japan and Korea. In
1996 he performed in Brazil and toured South Africa with the Canadian Jazz Giants. In
April 2000, Barry’s quintet completed a groundbreaking tour of Chile. In the Fall of
2001 the quintet celebrated its tenth anniversary with a Canadian tour. Recent projects
include filming a jazz video with his quintet, ‘jazz cruises’ to Mexico and Bermuda,
producing recordings for a variety of artists, continuing to co-lead Time Warp and
presiding over Cornerstone Records Inc. Barry is a professor of music at York
University and is currently the Associate Chair of the Music Department.
Awards
2002 National Jazz Awards: Acoustic Jazz Group of the Year (Barry Elmes Quintet)
2000 Jazz Report Award: Drummer of the Year
1999 Jazz Report Award: Acoustic Jazz Group of the Year (Barry Elmes Quintet)
1994 Jazz Report Award: Jazz Musician of the Year
1993 Jazz Report Award: Jazz Musician of the Year
Barry Elmes can be reached at c-stone@the-wire.com

SARAH FALLS
Sarah Falls has taught music for 28 years at all

levels from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Her
Concert Bands, Jazz Bands, Jazz Combos and
Vocal Jazz groups have won awards at the
regional, national and international level. In 2003,
she was honoured with the Musicfest Canada
National Hall of Fame Award. She presently
teaches Concert Band, Jazz Band, Jazz Combo,
Vocal Jazz, Vocal Soloists and Special Needs
Music along with her husband Greg Falls at Alberni District Secondary in Port Alberni,
B. C. She volunteers her time as the Regional Coordinator for the West Coast Jazz
Festival and organizes the B. C. Educational Festivals List. Sarah and Greg have two
chiIdren who have also pursued a career in jazz, Trevor (drums) 24 and Lauren (bass)
21. In her spare time, Sarah also enjoys playing piano in the Harbour City Big Band and
tap dancing.
ESTEBAN FIGUERO
Esteban combines many facets of his musical
journey into one expressive movement in
Flamenco Caravan. A virtuoso in his own right,
Esteban has had many accomplishments
throughout his musical career. From his early
roots in Andean and South American traditions to
the Be-Bop of old jazz standards into his
discovered passion for Flamenco, Figueroa's
incorporation of electric rhythm and harmonious
melodies have won him highest praise throughout
Canada and Latin America. After several years
of touring with Alma de Espana, Figueroa was ready to start his solo career. In the
summer of 1998, he released his second independent CD entitled "From Here to There".
His roots began to call back and shortly through college he formed his first Andean trio
called "Vientos Del Sur" which toured throughout Vancouver Island and the mainland.
Their independent released debut album was featured on CBC Radio and Victoria Latin
Radio to great reviews. It was in these years that Figueroa met Flamenco teacher
Harry Owen, who himself was taught by Spain's premier guitarist "Manolo Sanlucar".
It wasn't long after they met that Esteban became part of Alma de Espana Dance

Company under the direction of Veronica Maguire and Harry Owen. This meeting was
crucial in the development of flamenco rhythmic traditions and technique. Touring
throughout British Columbia with Alma de Espana, gave Figueroa the foundation
required to pursue the Spanish guitar.
Esteban Figueroa is an independent composer, song writer and arranger. His

discography includes:
Flamenco Caravan:
Alchemy Released: 2007

Love’s Philosophy Released: 2005
Esteban Figueroa
Calma Released: 2007

From Here To There Released: 2000
Vientos Del Sur Released: 1994
His weapon of choice has been the flamenco guitar for the past 18 years performing
throughout BC, Washington State, Ontario and South America.
Both founder and leader of the group Flamenco Caravan, Esteban has established a
large following, being part of the top 10 picks for CBC’s syndicated program Fresh Air
in 2006 and 2007. Most recently Flamenco Caravan has been nominated for the Ontario
Music and Film awards held in Sudbury May 6th.
Contact Information:
contactus@flamencocaravan.ca
www.flamencocaravan.ca

GORDON FOOTE
Gordon Foote is currently an Associate Professor

of Jazz Studies at the Schulich School of Music
of McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec. He
served as Chair of the Jazz Area and as Chair of
the Department of Performance. Gordon has
been instrumental in the development and
implementation of the first undergraduate and
graduate university jazz studies programs in
Canada.
Professor Foote is the coordinator of the McGill Jazz Orchestras, and directs McGill
Jazz Orchestra I. Under his direction, the ensemble has performed throughout the
United States, France, England, Ireland, Mexico and Canada. The ensemble has been
featured on radio and television in Europe and Canada, and has released eight compact
discs.
As a saxophonist and clinician Gordon has performed in Canada, Europe and the United
States. Gordon has served as the Quebec representative to the IAJE, the Director of
Education for IAJE Canada and as President of Jazz Canada. His studies at the
University of Minnesota and the University of North Texas, combined with 31 years of
performing and teaching experience, leave him as probably the most requested
adjudicator, conductor, clinician and jazz educator/performer in Canada.
Gordon Foote can be reached at Gordon.Foote@McGill.Ca

HUGH FRASER
Native Victorian Hugh Fraser has been a positive force to

the beautiful world of music for over two decades. He
formed the 13 member Vancouver Ensemble of Jazz
Improvisation (VEJI) in 1980, then went on to international
success with The Hugh Fraser Quintet from 1986. The
Quintet tours Europe, North and South America yearly. He
was voted 2008’s Canadian Trombonist of the Year by the
National Jazz Awards and also received this honour in 2005,
1996 and 1998. Hugh has recorded over one hundred of his
compositions on seventeen albums as a leader. He won two
Juno Awards and many nominations for these recordings,
and appears on over twenty albums as a sideman including
recent releases by Cuban bands Chucho Valdés and Irakere
on Bembe Records, Perspectiva on Egrem Records, and Kenny Wheeler on ECM Records.
As an educator, Hugh has served as the Program Head of Jazz at the Banff Centre for
Fine Arts, Head of Jazz Composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London, England,
Head of the University of Ulster Summer Jazz Workshop in Ireland, and is much
sought after as a guest clinician by all major progressive institutions. Hugh received an
honourary Doctorate from McMaster University. Hugh has performed and/or recorded
with such artists as Jaki Byard, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, Billy
Ekstein, Slide Hampton, Frank Foster, Don Thompson, Shorty Rogers, Kenny Wheeler,
Dave Holland, Muhal Richard Abrams, Robin Eubanks, Dave Liebman, Sheila Jordan, and
Jean Toussa
STEVE HAINES
Steve Haines directs the Miles Davis Program in Jazz
Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
He has performed or recorded with players such as Ellis,
Branford, and Jason Marsalis, Joe Williams, Mark Levine,
Joe Chambers, Jimmy Cobb and Fred Wesley. The Steve
Haines Quintet: Beginner's Mind was hailed by All About
Jazz as "one of the best inside/outside records of the
year." Haines holds a B.M. in Jazz Performance from St.
Francis Xavier University in Canada and a M.M. in Music
from the University of North Texas. He orchestrated and
arranged the musical Ella: The Life and Music of Ella
Fitzgerald. Happily married, some of his favorite things are
his dog, butterflies, horses, cilantro, and playing hockey.

JIM HOWARD
Mr. Howard is a former faculty member at the Berklee

College of Music and was the recipient of the first "Berklee
College of Music Distinguished Alumnus Award" in 1989.
Mr. Howard has been the Executive Director of MusicFest
Canada for the past 20 years and has been involved with the
festival for the past 29 years. Prior to that Mr. Howard
served as Visiting Professor of Jazz Studies at Laurier
University, Jazz Ensemble Director at McMaster University
and the Senior Faculty Member at Mohawk College.
Jim Howard can be reached at Jim.Howard@MusicFest.Ca
WILL JARVIS
Toronto born Will Jarvis is a busy freelance

bassist who has been performing professionally
since 1980. A graduate of the Humber College
music program, Will has gained a reputation as a
very versatile player and is equally comfortable
playing jazz, rhythm & blues, funk and fusion as
well as Brazilian and Cuban Music.
Will has performed with Latin jazz artists Tito
Puente, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Paquito D'Rivera,
Hilton Ruiz and Hilario Duran. He has also performed with Luis Conte, Steve Gadd and
Dave Valentin. Will currently plays in the house band at N'awlins Jazz Bar and also plays
regularly with The Paul DeLong Quintet.
Will also keeps up a busy teaching schedule and is currently on the music faculty at
both Humber College and Mohawk College.

CHRISTINE JENSEN
Saxophonist and composer Christine Jensen has recently

released her third album entitled Look Left on the Effendi
record label. She is considered “one of the most important
Canadian composers of her generation”, according to Globe
and Mail jazz critic, Mark Miller, and has emerged as a
creative alto and soprano saxophonist on both the Canadian
and international jazz scene. “Jensen writes in three
dimensions, with a quiet kind of authority that makes the
many elements cohere. Wayne Shorter, Maria Schneider and
Kenny Wheeler come to mind.” – Greg Buium, Downbeat
Magazine
In 2002, Christine moved to Paris after being awarded a

prestigious grant by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec which included a six-
month residency at the Québec Studio in the Cité Internationale des Arts in the
vibrant Marais district. This stint in Paris gave her some distance and perspective on
Québec and North American culture and gave her the opportunity to explore the
contrast between nature and modernity as well as the old world and new world mindset
when it comes to art, culture and politics. During her residency, she sketched ideas for
compositions and then extensively toured and reworked this material with her Canadian
quartet.
Since returning to Canada, Jensen has been concentrating on the quartet format with
additional guests. Over the years, she has been building a strong musical rapport with a
core ensemble of musicians: pianist Dave Restivo, bassist Fraser Hollins and drummer
Greg Ritchie. The unique combination of their shared tastes and similar musical
influences allows them to continually evolve and develop her original pieces. Special
guests have included Geoffrey Keezer, Brad Turner, Karl Jannuska, François Théberge,
Gary Versace as well as Ingrid Jensen and Joel Miller.
Christine is famous for writing specifically for the musicians she plays and records
with. Her ability to create intimate dialogues amongst the players within the context of
her compositions makes her work a pleasure for musicians to play. “Each song is complex
and crafted to bring out the best in the players. She gives them enough room to map
their own within the framework, which they do with an intuition that is lyrical and full-
bodied.” – Jerry D’Souza, All About Jazz
Christine’s talent as a composer is even more evident in a big band setting and she has
won much acclaim for her work as a big band leader and arranger. Her transcriptions of
her own music and other compositions for big band are incredibly rich, spacious and

delicate while maintaining a haunting quality reminiscent of Gil Evans and his protégée,
Maria Schneider. Juan Rodriguez of the Montreal Gazette wrote: “While she’s
influenced by the lavish and sensual arrangements of Maria Schneider and Gil Evans,
Christine adds something deeper and often darker to the mix.”
As a big band director and arranger, her talents as both conductor and composer
highlight the lush texture of her music and the seemingly endless possibilities for
soloists to interpret her work. A recent performance of her big band, recorded by
Radio Canada for Espace Musique, as part of the Jazz en Rafale series with special
guest Donny McCaslin on tenor from New York, garnered rave reviews. “The most
spectacular concert was by the Christine Jensen Big Band…[it] was full of amazing
changes and charts where solos were an outgrowth of the innovative compositions
rather than mere ego trips.” – Juan Rodriguez, Montreal Gazette
Noted for her ability to transfer the intimate sound of a quartet into larger ensembles,
her music has been performed by many professional ensembles of all sizes around the
world including the UMA Big Band, Finland; the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, Germany; and
the McGill Big Band, Montreal.
Born in Sechelt, British Columbia, Jensen graduated from McGill university’s jazz
performance program in 1994 and since then has travelled extensively performing and
composing her own music. Encouraged by her older sister Ingrid’s success as a jazz
trumpeter in New York, Christine showcased her natural talent as a composer by
penning three tunes for Ingrid’s Juno Award winning debut CD in 1994, including the
title track, “Vernal Fields”. It was an auspicious start for Christine, just months out of
McGill University; emerging musicians are generally noticed for the promise of their
playing, not the maturity of their writing…Christine Jensen has built a reputation as an
original voice on the international jazz scene. It hasn’t taken [her] long to emerge as
one of Canada’s most compelling composers on the Canadian scene today” – Mark Miller,
The Globe and Mail
Growing up by the sea surrounded by nature has had a significant influence on

Christine’s music. It has been said that many Canadian artists in all genres have this
uncanny knack for using space in their work, be it music, painting or writing that lends
atmosphere and authenticity to their creations. Christine’s work embodies the
characteristics of BC in terms of nature references while incorporating the cultural
diversity of Montreal and her experiences on the road in New York, Europe, Turkey and
Chile.
Jensen consolidated her skills as a musician at McGill University but her musical
education began at home with her mother. Christine’s mother was a pianist and teacher
who raised her daughters on music and played them everything from Chopin to big band.
Their musical education began the day they were born and they have been carrying on
the tradition ever since not only as players and teachers but also as clinicians, workshop

leaders and adjudicators. Fortunately, Jensen was educated in a high quality public
school music program when there was still government funding—the same program that
produced other great musicians including her older sister, Ingrid Jensen, Dave Gogo
and one of Canada’s most famous jazz alumni, Diana Krall.
“While the Jensens have forged separate careers and identities, their level of
proficiency, ideas and familial closeness have all recently intersected, adding extra
depth and soulfulness to their playing… [and they] are well known for their talent and
their ability to connect musically both live on stage and in the recording studio. During a
concert at the 23rd Montreal International Jazz Festival, their musical connection was
so strong that it sounded like an intimate conversation.” – Leila Dunbar, Reuters
It is often noted that composition is Christine’s strong suit, but her considerable ability
and experience as an alto and soprano saxophonist should not be overlooked. She has
honed her skills over the years as a reed player and has had the opportunity to study
with such jazz notables as: Pat Labarbera, Remi Bolduc, Dick Oatts and Steve Wilson.
Since she graduated, she has grown not only as a writer and performer but also as a
leader of both her quartet and the Christine Jensen Big Band. Roger Levesque of the
Edmonton Sun wrote: “it was hard to say which was stronger; the close-knit
communication of the players, or the imaginative original tunes from Jensen that
inspired them. Either way, Jensen is a leader to watch.”
Christine Jensen can be reached at littlechrissy@gmail.com

ANDREW JONES
Composer, trombonist and educator, Andrew Jones is

active in the Toronto jazz, classical and commercial scene
as a writer, clinician and a player. A graduate of the
University of Toronto Jazz Performance Program (1999),
he studied trombone with Jerry Johnson and has had
compositional guidance from artists like Terry Promane,
John MacLeod and Kenny Wheeler. His greatest
compositional influences are Maria Schneider, Vince
Mendoza and an upbringing filled with Rob McConnell and
the Boss Brass.
Winner of the SOCAN/IAJE Phil Nimmons

2008
Emerging Jazz Composer Award, Andrew is busy as a
composer and arranger, serving as head arranger for the Whitney Smith Big Steam
Band (Toronto) for 6 years and developing his own independent business of creating
educationally sound, original music for professional and high-school jazz ensembles.
Writing highlights include pieces performed and/or recorded by The University of
Toronto 10:00 and 11:00 Jazz Orchestras (under the direction of Paul Read and Terry
Promane), The Mohawk College Jazz Orchestra (Dave McMurdo), The Brampton Jazz
Mechanics Big Band (Jim Lewis), The Toronto Jazz Orchestra (Josh Grossman), as well
as commissions for many community and secondary school jazz programs across Ontario.
He was the recipient of the 2001 Don Wright Scholarship for Composition in Education
(O.I.S.E.) and was the winner of the 2005 Toronto Jazz Orchestra “Young Composers”
Competition.
As a player, Andrew is a regular member of many large and small ensembles as a leader
and sideman, most recently as a part of the Paul Read Orchestra (P.R.O.) and Barry
Romberg’s Random Access Large Ensemble (R.A.L.E.). In 2002 he performed as part of
a tribute concert for Professor Phil Nimmons at the Governor General’s Awards in
Ottawa under the direction of Mr. Barry Elmes.
Andrew has recently finished a year living and travelling in Europe, focusing on his
compositional technique. He has had works performed across North America, in the
U.K., Russia, and Mexico. Andrew is on faculty at the IMC “Jazz Camp” and currently
works as a teacher at Cawthra Park School for the Arts in Mississauga where he
continues his development of school level jazz fundamentals through composition.

PAT LaBARBERA
Pat LaBarbera is one of the world’s most highly respected

jazz saxophonists. He first came to prominence as a featured
member of the Buddy Rich Big Band and the Elvin Jones Jazz
Machine, since then, has performed with a variety of jazz
superstars including Chet Baker, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner,
Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie,
and many others. He continues to perform and record with
his own group. His CD, Deep in a Dream, won the Juno Award
for Best Mainstream Jazz Album in 2000.Pat is also featured
on his brother John's Grammy nominated CD "On The Wild
Side" and on John's Newest CD "Fantazm" Pat's newest CD
"Crossing The Line" features Randy Brecker and his brother
Joe LaBarbera with Juno award winner Brian Dickinson on
Piano and Canada's legendary Neil Swainson on Bass.
Pat Labarbera can be reached at PatLabarbera@aol.com
CARMELLA LUVISOTTO
Carmella Luvisotto, born-and- raised in Nanaimo, has been

the music teacher at Wellington Secondary School since
1996. Carmella points squarely at the people behind the
City’s band programs for setting her career on course.
Having once been a music student in the Nanaimo School
District music program herself, Carmella credits such
mentors as Bryan Stovell, David Strong, Steve Jones, Gerry
Taylor and Dan Hudson. Carmella learned to love music
through her father who was one of the first teachers in
Nanaimo to start teaching band. His love for jazz also
directed her towards concentrating in more of the jazz
idiom. Carmella began playing piano at age seven, but learned
clarinet in the school band in grade 6 under the direction of
Dan Hudson. In grade 8, she went on to Woodlands Secondary School to learn under
the late Dave Strong. Dave Strong got Carmella started in jazz through stage bands,
combo and Dixieland bands. His inspiration, and later influence from band teacher
Bryan Stovell, would lead Carmella to keeping up her jazz piano playing and to taking
lessons with Diana Krall, Pamela Butchart York and Hugh Fraser. Post graduation led
her to the Malaspina College jazz program under the direction of Steve Jones and then
into the University of Victoria’s music education program. Her teaching practicum took
her back to Nanaimo with mentor Stovell . She continues to interact, perform and
teach with mentors Jones and Stovell. She has had students who have achieved
international recognition and are pursuing music careers such as vocalist Emma Love and
fiddler Robyn Jesson. Recently, Carmella was awarded by MusicFest Canada the Keith
Mann Most Outstanding Band Director Award for Canada. Carmela Luvisotto can be
reached at CLuvisotto@Hotmail.Com
NEIL MACINTOSH
Not available at time of printing
STEVE MANCUSO
Toronto born drummer/percussionist and vocalist

Steve Mancuso has been active as an educator,
performer and recording artist on the Canadian music
scene since 1990. Steve earned his MA in
Ethnomusicology at York University in 2008, focusing
on the traditional rhythms of the Batá drums and the
rhythmic systems of South Indian classical drumming.
He has also studied privately with Jim Blackley, Frank
Falco, David Font, Michael Marcuzzi and Trichy
Sankaran. Steve is currently enrolled in the PhD
degree program at York University; his research
interests include: the rhythmic principals and
practices of various world drumming traditions (i.e.
West Africa, Cuba, Brazil, and South India), its adaptation and application to jazz
drumming, and expanding the rhythmic language of jazz. Ayotte Drums, Bosphorus
Cymbals, Moperc Percussion, Vic Firth Sticks & Mallets, and Evans Drumheads, endorse
him as a clinician and independent artist.

ALEXIS MARSH
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Alexis Marsh has been playing
jazz for over a decade. With a Bachelor of Music in Jazz
Performance from Humber College and Thompson Rivers
University, Alexis has studied with saxophonists Pat
LaBarbera, Kelly Jefferson, and Alex Dean, while studying
composition from Don Thompson. While completing her
degree in Toronto, Ontario, Alexis gained playing and writing
experience in orchestras, stage bands, big bands, and small
groups. She plays alto and soprano saxophones, flute,
clarinet, and piano. Currently, she is working on her Masters
in Music degree from the University of Louisville where she
is studying with Grammy-nominee, John LaBarbera. Her
presentation of A Women’s Place is in the Groove: Where
Women fit in the Big Band, has been given in Russia and the United States. Alexis
Marsh can be reached at Alexis.Marsh@Gmail.Com
ALAN MATHESON
Alan Matheson is a Canadian trumpeter, pianist,
composer and arranger. He studied with Vincent
Cichowicz at Northwestern University (Evanston,
Illinois) and graduated with a degree in performance.
Alan currently teaches trumpet and jazz piano at the
University of British Columbia and teaches in the jazz
studies programs at Vancouver Community College and
Capilano College in North Vancouver. He is the leader of
his own big band, nonet and septet and has played with a
wide variety of local groups including the Vancouver
Opera Orchestra and the CBC Vancouver Orchestra.
Alan has also directed the CBC Jazz Orchestra in
broadcast tributes to Duke Ellington and Paul Whiteman.
As musical director of the Festival Vancouver Big Band, Alan has conducted for Clark
Terry, Phil Woods and Bud Shank. He has also performed with Mel Torme, Cleo Laine,
Louis Bellson and Doc Cheatham. Alan has played at the Vancouver, Montreal and Paris
jazz festivals and toured Sweden and Finland with Goran Larsen's "Helsinki City Jazz
Orchestra". His compositions and arrangements have been played by Bud Shank, Clark
Terry, percussionist Salvador Ferreras and french-hornist Martin Hackleman and, most
recently, by the Houston Brass Sextet. Alan's main musical influences are Duke
Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Bix Beiderbecke, Clark Terry and Woody Shaw.Alan
Matheson can be reached at AlanMatheson.Com
MARK MILLER
Mark Miller is a Toronto writer and photographer who has worked in the field of jazz
as a journalist, historian, and encyclopedist for more than 30 years. He was the jazz
critic for The Globe and Mail from 1978 to 2005 and has completed five books since
1982 about jazz in Canada, including Such Melodious Racket: The Lost History of Jazz
in Canada, 1914-1949 (1997) and The Miller Companion to Jazz in Canada (2001). He has
also written for several popular and scholarly publications, notably Coda, Down Beat, the
Encyclopedia of Music in Canada and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz.
CATHERINE MITRO
Catherine Mitro is currently a full-time faculty member at

Humber College’s School of Creative and Performing Arts in
Toronto, On. She is Director of both the Community Music
School and the Intro to Commercial/Jazz Music Program at
Humber College. A graduate of Humber’s Music
Department, Catherine has been active in education for over
thirty years. She has presented workshops for the Ontario
Music Educator’s Association, the Toronto Board of
Education, the Ontario Chapter of Orff Schulwerk, and the
International Association for Jazz Education. In 1997 she
co-presented a research paper at IAJE. Twenty-five years
ago, Catherine founded Humber’s Community Music School
and has worked closely with leading musicians and educators
to build the school’s current national and international reputation for innovative jazz
education. She has been awarded Humber’s Innovator of the Year Award and the
prestigious Robert A. Gordon Leadership Award. Catherine has also received the
Southern Ontario Band Festival’s Jazz Educator Award and most recently the Movado
Contribution to Jazz Award from the Downtown Jazz Festival.

DAVE NEILL
Born and raised in Ottawa, saxophonist Dave

Neill moved to Toronto in 1995 to pursue a jazz
performance degree from the University of
Toronto, where he studied with Alex Dean and
Mike Murley. Since the completion of his degree,
he has been in great demand as a performer,
instructor, adjudicator and clinician. Known as an
up-and-coming player, Dave has appeared at
numerous jazz festivals, including the Toronto
Downtown Jazz Festival, the Ottawa
International Jazz Festival and the Atlantic
Jazz Festival, and is actively involved with the freelance scene, including a job with
Wayne Newton! Dave is among the busiest jazz educators in the GTA. He is on faculty
at the University of Toronto, where he teaches Materials, Ear Training, Ensembles, and
Saxophone. He teaches Theory, Improvisation and Song Materials at Humber College,
as well as Saxophone and Ensembles at the Humber College Community Music School. In
addition, he is on faculty at National Music Camp and "The" Jazz Camp, and maintains a
busy schedule of private teaching. In June of 2007, Dave graduated in the first ever
class with a Master's in Jazz Performance from the University of Toronto, studying
privately with Kirk MacDonald, Jim Vivian, Gary Williamson, Tim Ries and Paul Read. In
March of 2008, Dave released his debut CD "All In" which includes eight original
compositions and one standard, featuring his regular quartet: pianist David Braid,
bassist Pat Collins and Anthony Michelli on drums.

BRIAN O'KANE
One of the Toronto jazz scene's most exciting trumpet

players, Brian O’Kane is a regular member of the stellar Rob
McConnell Tentet, Hilario Duran's Latin Jazz Big Band
(2007 Juno Award winner), the Bernie Senensky Quintet
and Septet, Bruce Cassidy's Hotfoot Orchestra, Barry
Romberg’s Random Access Large Ensemble (RALE) and John
MacLeod's Rex Hotel Jazz Orchestra.
Brian has performed with some of Canada's most important

bands and ensembles including the Canadian Jazz Quartet,
the Don Thompson Septet, the Barry Elmes Quintet, the
Dave Young Quintet, as well as the Ron Collier, Vic Vogel,
Peter Appleyard, Dave McMurdo, Joe Sullivan and Paul Read
Jazz Orchestras. He has also worked with a lengthy list of national and international
artists and entertainers including Maria Schneider, Bill Holman, Vince Mendoza, Kenny
Wheeler, Steve Swallow, Carla Bley, Gap Mangione, Aretha Franklin, Paul Anka, Diana
Krall, Ann Hampton-Calloway, Bill Mays, Dave Brubeck, Regis Philbin, Robert Goulet,
Marie Osmond, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Roberta Flack, Petula Clark, Peabo
Bryson, Joan Rivers, and Don Rickles.
Brian O’Kane has also worked with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Canada Pops
Orchestra, Orchestra London, the Oshawa Symphony, the True North Brass and the
Trillium Brass Quintet. He has been on many television/radio jingles and is also in
demand as a pit musician, having played in shows including The Producers, The
Boyfriend, The Full Monty, West Side Story, Chicago, and Swing Step.
A faculty member at Humber College in Toronto, Brian has been featured as Guest
Artist at numerous schools of every level across Canada, has played at major jazz
festivals throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe, and has frequently served
as an adjudicator/clinician for Musicfest Canada and Kiwanis Music Festivals. He was
recently a featured artist at the 33rd Annual International Trumpet Guild Conference
held in Banff, Alberta.

CHRISTIAN OVERTON
If you ask jazz trombonist Christian Overton when his

musical destiny unfolded, you’ll get a refreshingly simple
story. Don’t wait for swooning tales about obscure jazz
records with intricate trombone solos and performances
that set him on the unchangeable path to becoming a
musician. All that inspiration actually followed after an
older brother introduced the trombone to a young
Christian one day in the family room. “I thought I would
be ahead of my grade six music class,” Christian
confesses with charismatic honesty. From precocious
schoolboy to Humber music performance graduate,
Christian Overton is now one of Toronto’s leading jazz
musicians and writers—who also admits “…all the
saxophones were taken by the time the teacher got to the letter ‘O’.”
Growing up in Sudbury, Ontario, Christian’s childhood was comic books, snow, and music
appreciation for fun. His father (one of Northern Ontario's foremost radio
personalities) played all sorts of tunes for the four Overton kids to enjoy. Sessions of
classical Beethoven changed to the smooth seventies rock of Chicago and then
backtracked to The Beatles. The defining moment, however, of Christian’s fascination
with jazz happened with a gift from his uncle—Mellow-Dy by Slide Hampton. “Slide
played things on the trombone I never heard before or even dreamed were possible.”
After that first trombone lesson in a house filled with music, a life all about jazz was
taking shape. Christian’s formal music education became an important experience. He
was fortunate to attend schools with highly regarded music programs where his
abilities were encouraged and challenged. As a teenager, Christian continued to explore
the giants of trombone history, listening endlessly to the sweet melodies of JJ Johnson
and carefully noting Curtis Fuller's technical mastery. “I used to listen to the records
and learn the solos too,” says Christian. “I could eventually play along with them note
for note.” Surrounded by these influences and dedicated teachers, Christian soon
showed great promise as a trombonist, improviser, and bandleader. In fact, when he
was nearly finished high school, he was already leading a working jazz trio and had
professional experience in every genre from dance bands to symphony orchestras and
studio work. Leaving his Sudbury home, Christian accepted a scholarship for jazz
performance at Humber College in Toronto where he excelled both in the classroom and
on the college performance circuit. He studied with some of the nation's top jazz
musicians including Pat LaBarbera, John Macleod, and Alistair Kay. Christian expanded
his instrumental skills into bass trombone doubling and his musical proficiency as a
contemporary jazz arranger/composer for combo and big band. On the stage, his
dynamic performance abilities were obvious, playing a variety of styles from jazz to
Latin to R&B. Christian was also featured on seven college-produced records as a
member of the prestigious Humber Studio Jazz ensemble. Now living in Toronto,
Christian's career is gaining such momentum that it’s hard to keep up! He performs in a
variety of ensembles regularly including the nine-piece funk band King Sunshine, The
Toronto Jazz Orchestra, and most recently, The Art of Jazz Orchestra in addition to
various other pit orchestras and jobbing bands. Christian is also the featured composer
and musical director for The Composers Collective Big Band, a seventeen-piece
ensemble performing high-energy, contemporary works that smash the traditions of the
Toronto jazz scene. Christian can also be heard on television, writing material for
various productions such as School of Chef and Sun TV’s, King Kaboom. Amid all these
gigs as well as teaching private lessons to aspiring trombonists, Christian is focusing on
a new entrepreneurial project. In fall 2008, he will launch Clovertone Music Publishing,
an online publishing company for music educators which features an exclusive library of
Canadian compositions.
BILL PROUTEN
Bill Prouten has been Woodwind Instructor at Keyano

College since August of 2002. He is the Director of the
Keyano Jazz Festival, held annually since 2003. He holds
a Masters Degree in Jazz Performance from the
University of Southern California, a Bachelor of Music
from McGill, and a Diploma in Jazz Studies from St.
Francis Xavier University. He has studied saxophone and
improvisation in a variety of educational settings with
Bob Sheppard, David Liebman, Pat LaBarbera, Shelton
Berg, Kevin Dean, Janis Steprans, and Gordon Foote.
Bill worked as a freelance musician and composer in
Winnipeg, Montreal, Los Angeles, and Vancouver prior to
moving to Fort McMurray in August of 2002. He has
shared the stage in various contexts, with Bill Watrous, Dianne Shuur, Paquito D’Rivera,
The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, David Liebman, Marvin Stamm, Jack Sheldon, Lanny
Morgan, Louis Bellson, Buddy Childers, Carmine Bradford, Gerald Wilson, Ed
Shaughnessy, Mike Vax, Quincy Jones, Carl Fontana, Ira Nepus, Steve Turre, Bunky
Green, Gabe Balthazar, and others. He has twice been a member of Saxology Canada, a
sax quartet based out of Winnipeg, and has written and arranged for that group. His
new cd, Low-down, No-good… is his first release, and a good introduction to his style of
jazz.

JODI PROZNICK
Jodi Proznick is an award winning bassist from South

Surrey, B.C who has shared the stage with some of the
biggest stars in jazz. She was the Bassist of the Year at
the 2008 National Jazz Awards and her group, the Jodi
Proznick Quartet, which features pianist Tilden Webb,
drummer Jesse Cahill and tenor saxophonist Steve
Kaldestad, was awarded the Acoustic Group of the Year.
They recorded their debut CD Foundations on Cellarlive in
2006. It was nominated for Traditional Jazz Album of the
Year at the 2008 Juno Awards and took home the Album of
the Year at the 2008 National Jazz Awards. In the fall of
2007 the group completed a 20 date Canadian tour that
took them from Whitehorse to Montreal.
In 1993, Proznick won the General Motors Award of Excellence as one of the top young
musicians in Canada. McGill University awarded Jodi a performance scholarship in 1997
as a member of the prestigious McGill Big Band I. In 1998, she won the IAJE "Sisters
in Jazz" competition which brought her to New York to perform with trumpet player
Ingrid Jensen and a midwest tour of the U.S. to open for pianist Geri Allen. In 2004,
her group, The Jodi Proznick Quartet, was awarded the Galaxie Rising Star of the
Vancouver International Jazz Festival. In 2007, the quartet was awarded a Canada
Council Festival Travel Grant to perform at the Montreal International Jazz Festival as
part of the GM Prix De Jazz competition. Also in 2007, Jodi was inducted into the
Performer Hall of Fame at the Envision Jazz Festival in Surrey, B.C.
Since moving back to Vancouver from Montreal in 2000, Jodi has become a top call
bassist. She has played with international jazz stars such as David Fathead Newman,
Ed Thigpen, George Coleman, Charles McPherson, Seamus Blake, Sheila Jordan, Mark
Murphy, Eric Alexander, Ryan Kaisor, Eddie Henderson, Eddie Daniels, George Colligan,
Kitty Margolis, Patience Higgins, Jim Rotundi, Houston Pearson, Scott Hamilton, George
Robert, Ingrid Jensen, Joe Magnarelli, and Canadian jazz stars such as Denzal
Sinclaire, Brad Turner, Phil Dwyer, P.J. Perry, Don Thompson, Kirk McDonald, Hugh
Fraser, Dee Daniels, Oliver Gannon, Greg Clayton, Dave McMurdo, Ian McDougall and
many others. She has been featured on dozens of recordings, radio and television shows
including a release with the Tilden Webb Trio featuring David Fathead Newman.
Recent highlights in her career include opening for Oscar Peterson with the Oliver
Gannon Quartet at the Orpheum in the summer of 2004, performing as a guest soloist

in 2007 with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro
Bramwell Tovey and touring the western U.S. with jazz legend David Fathead Newman.
In 1998, Jodi obtained her B.Mus. from McGill University and in 2006, her M.Ed. from
Simon Fraser University. She is on faculty at Capilano College, the CYMC Pacific Jazz
Workshop and Kwantlen University College. She in demand as an adjudicator and
clinician at festivals, conferences and workshops across Canada.
You can find more information about Jodi Proznick at www.jodiproznick.com.
TED QUINLAN
Ted Quinlan is regarded as one of the most versatile guitar

players in Canada. His skills are highly in demand as a jazz
player, session musician, writer and educator. Ted is the
Head of the Guitar Department at Humber College's Music
Program in Toronto. As a busy sideman Ted has performed
with Chet Baker, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Smith, Joey
DeFrancesco, Michael Brecker, Dave Holland and Dave
Liebman. His debut CD " As If" received a Juno nomination
for Contemporary Jazz. His other numerous recording
credits include his performances on Doug Riley's "Con
Alma", Radioland Records' " Tribute to Wes Montgomery",
Phil Dwyer's " Road Stories", Dave Restivo's " Prayer for
Humankindness" and Ted Warren's " First Time Caller".
Ted is the recipient of the 1998 Jazz Report Award for Guitarist of the Year.

PAUL READ
Pianist, saxophonist, composer and arranger Paul Read is

Director of Graduate Jazz Studies at the University of
Toronto where, along with undergraduate and graduate
courses in jazz, he conducts the award winning 10 O’clock
Jazz Orchestra. Besides earning degrees in music and
education at the University of Toronto, Paul also studied at
Berklee College (Boston). His compositions and
arrangements are published with Boosey & Hawkes, UNC
Jazz Press, BRS Music, and Alfred Music Publications. He
has appeared at the Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival, in
Toronto jazz clubs and broadcasts on CJRT.FM and CBC
and has recorded 5 CDs as pianist/arranger and conductor.
His latest recording, The Heart of Summer (2004),
features Barry Elmes, Kieran Overs and New York based saxophonist, Scott Robinson.
Paul is founder of the NMC (National Music Camp) Jazz Program and is a member of the
Executive Board of the International Association for Jazz Education (Canada
Representative). His latest project, the Paul Read Jazz Orchestra (P.R.O.), is comprised
of some of Toronto’s finest jazz musicians. P.R.O.’s first release is planned for 2007
and its debut on the Canadian jazz festival scene was the 2006 Port Hope Jazz
Festival. More information is available at www.paulread.ca. Paul Read can be reached at
PaulRead.Ca

BOB REBAGLIATI
Bob Rebagliati is a native of British Columbia and

of Kelowna, specifically in the Okanagan Valley.
He holds a Bachelor of Music degree, a Teaching
Certificate from the University of B.C., and a
Master of Music degree from Western
Washington University. While an undergraduate,
Bob was involved in performances as a
clarinetist, pianist and a percussionist. His main
post-graduate activity was the writing of an
extensive manual for the development of the
young jazz rhythm section. He has continued to write curriculum in the areas of
rhythm section and concert band percussion.
For over 30 years, in the North Vancouver School District, Mr. Rebagliati has directed
many award winning junior and senior high school ensembles in both concert band and
jazz areas. In 1976, his jazz ensemble from Hamilton Junior Secondary School won first
place in the Canadian Stage Band Festival. Again, in 1979, both his Handsworth
Secondary Junior and Senior Jazz Ensembles qualified for the National Finals, with the
Senior Band being awarded a special plaque “for most significant contribution to jazz”.
In 1986, the Handsworth Junior and Senior Jazz Ensembles won the highest honour in
the country – the gold award – first place in their classes. Again, in 1988, his Senior
Jazz Ensemble places first at the national festival (then called Musicfest Canada). At
Musicfest Canada 2002, the Handsworth Senior Concert Band percussion section was
awarded the Zildjian Percussion Scholarship “in recognition of excellence in the Art of
Percussion”.
As a music festival adjudicator and workshop leader, Mr. Rebagliati has travelled
throughout B.C., Saskatchewan, and to Manitoba, Toronto and Montreal (Musicfest
Canada). He is well known for sessions covering concert percussion, jazz rhythm section,
jazz interpretation, improvisation, and rehearsal techniques. Bob has been a director
and clinician of honour concert band and jazz groups around the province of B.C.. During
many summers, he has been an active group leader and teacher at music camps. Over
the years, Bob has also arranged and composed music for jazz and concert bands.
Recently, his composition for concert band was premiered in Vancouver.
At the 1991 B.C. Music Educators Conference, Mr. Rebagliati was honoured with the
annual Professional Educator Award. In December 1991, Bob was presented with a
Distinguished Citizen Award by the District of North Vancouver. In 1992, he was
presented with a CANADA 125 medal by Mary Collins, MP. In 1994, he received the

North Vancouver Music Educators' Award of Excellence. In May 1998, his jazz program
at Handsworth School was awarded the High School “Jazz Program of the Year” by Jazz
Report Magazine of Toronto. In 2001, Bob commissioned three compositions to celebrate
his 25th year of music teaching at Handsworth School. In 2004, his final year of (high
school) teaching, Bob premiered a musical collaboration by two of his jazz alumni, Renee
Rosnes, a well-known pianist and composer, and Darcy Argue, New England Conservatory
grad and composer/arranger. At this time Bob also received the Leadership In Music
Education Award from the Coalition For Music Education In B.C. “for many years of
outstanding contributions to the music education community”. In June 2004, his Senior
Jazz Ensemble was the first school band chosen to participate in the Vancouver
International Jazz Festival Student Institute, with a performance on the final day of
the festival. Bob currently directs the senior concert band level of the North Vancouver
Youth Band and coaches percussion sectionals. Throughout his career, Mr. Rebagliati has
been appreciated for his dedication and insistence on excellence. He continues to reside
in North Vancouver with his wife Maggie, where he is a freelance music educator, pianist
and percussionist/drummer. Bob Rebagliati can be reached at BobReb@Telus.Net
DAVID RESTIVO
Dave Restivo is one of Canada's most respected and

influential jazz artists. He is a 3-time winner of the
National Jazz Awards' Pianist of the Year Award, and is
listed in the current edition of Canadian Who's Who. He is
well known for his work with Rob McConnell's Boss Brass
and Tentet, the Mike Murley Quintet, and legendary
songwriter Marc Jordan. He has also performed and
recorded with Dave Holland, Kenny Wheeler, John
Abercrombie, Jerry Bergonzi, Mel Torme, Pat LaBarbera,
Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, George Garzone, Howard
Johnson, Ingrid Jensen, Christine Jensen, Kevin Mahogany,
Randy Bachman (BTO/Guess Who), David Clayton Thomas,
Molly Johnson, Moe Koffman, Joe LaBarbera, Mark
Whitfield, Marcus Belgrave, Joey Baron, Curtis Fuller, Stacy Rowles, Jane Bunnett,
Jeff Healy, Phil Dwyer, Tim Hagans, Steve Kirby, Jeff Hamilton, Alex Acuna, Gene
Bertoncini, Phillip Harper, Don Thompson, Ed Bickert, Guido Basso, P.J. Perry, Trudy
Desmond, Joe Lovano, Judi Silvano, Dave Pietro, Owen Howard, John Hollenbeck, Ratzo
Harris, Sheila Jordan, Jay Clayton, Donny McCaslin, Metalwood, Charles McPherson,
Dave Young, Norman Marshall Villeneuve, Memo Acevedo, Dave Valentin, Luis Conte, and
many others. Dave has served on the music faculty at the Banff Centre for the Arts
and St. Francis Xavier University, and currently teaches at Humber College and the
University of Toronto.

ANDREW SCOTT
Andrew Scott is a jazz guitarist who has recently completed

a CD for Sackville Records with Harry Allen, Jake Wilkinson,
and Bernie Senensky. His next recording, featuring Randy
Sandke and Mike Murley, will be released in the summer of
2006. Scott earned his Masters of Musicology degree from
the New England Conservatory of Music and will graduate
with his Ph.D. in Musicology/Ethnomusicology from York
University in Toronto on June 12th 2006. Scott's
dissertation is on the improvisatory and compositional style of
Sonny Greenwich.
He has contributed a chapter to a book on Canadian music by

Bob Witmer and Beverly Diamond, and has been published in
Downbeat, The Canadian University Music Society Review, The Journal of Popular Music
Studies, International Association of Jazz Education Jazz Research Proceedings
Yearbook, The Journal of Wax Poetics, The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, and
Soundscapes: Online Journal on Musical Culture. Additionally, Scott has presented
academic papers at numerous universities in both the U.S.A. and Canada. He teaches in
the Music History department at the University of Western Ontario, the Music
Performance department at York University and at Humber College.
Andrew Scott can be reached at AndrewJacobScott@Hotmail.Com
BRYAN STOVELL
Bryan teaches jazz theory, jazz combos and private

students at Malaspina University/College in Nanaimo
Bryan Stovell can be reached at BrySto@Shaw.Ca

DON THOMPSON
Donald Thompson was born in Powell River, British Columbia,

Canada on January 18th 1940. He lived in Vancouver from
1960 to 1965 working as a freelance musician primarily on
bass. He appeared with groups led by some of Vancouver's
finest musicians such as Dave Robbins, Chris Gage, and
Fraser McPherson, as well as leading his own groups. He also
appeared regularly on CBC Radio and Television as a featured
artist and band leader. In 1965 he joined the now legendary
John Handy Quintet and moved to San Francisco for a two
year stay. During that time the Handy Quintet performed extensively throughout the
United States and recorded two albums for the Columbia label. One of these, John
Handy live at the Monterey Jazz Festival, became one of the most popular jazz albums
of the 1960s. (Now available on CD). Whilst in San Francisco Don also worked with
Frank Rosolino, Maynard Ferguson, Denny Zeitlin, and George Duke.
He returned to Canada in 1967 and has been a resident of Toronto since 1969. In that
year he joined Rob McConnell's Boss Brass as a percussionist, switching to bass in 1971
and later to piano 1987 - 1993). He was also a member of Moe Koffman's group from
1970 to 1979 as pianist or bassist, contributing arrangements and compositions and
working as co-producer with Koffman on two albums - Museum Pieces and Looking Up.
He also worked extensively with guitarists Ed Bickert, Lenny Breau and Sonny
Greenwich while keeping busy with his own various projects. As a member of the house
rhythm section at Toronto's Bourbon Street Jazz Club he worked (and recorded *) with
such Jazz Celebrities as Paul Desmond *, Jim Hall *, Milt Jackson *, Art Farmer, James
Moody, Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, Harry Edison, Frank Rosolino *, Slide Hampton, Lee
Konitz and Abbey Lincoln, and appeared at other venues with Sarah Vaughan, Red
Rodney, Joe Henderson, Dewey Redman, Red Mitchell, Sheila Jordan, and Kenny
Wheeler. He became a member of guitarist Jim Hall's trio in 1974 traveling to Europe
and Japan as well as touring the United States and Canada. In 1982 he joined pianist
George Shearing and stayed for a five year period during which he appeared at virtually
every major jazz club and festival in the United States. Their travels also included
tours of Great Britain and two trips to Brazil. In 1996 he was artist in residence at the
Royal Academy of Music, London, England, and performed in a concert of all - Canadian
music with fellow Canadians Kenny Wheeler and Hugh Fraser. He teaches regularly at
The Banff Centre along with other major international musicians. Don is currently
working as a freelance musician, teacher, member of the band JMOG and as leader of
his own Quartet. He is equally at home on vibes, piano, bass and drums, and is a reliable
and trusted sound engineer (has his own studio in his home).

PAUL TYNAN
Canadian trumpet player/composer Paul Tynan is

presently an Assistant Professor of music at St.
Francis Xavier University where he teaches
trumpet, arranging and directs large ensembles.
He holds degrees from The University of North
Texas, and SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of
Music.
Paul has recorded on over thirty albums including

three as a leader (Digital/ Spiritual, NJPT and
Freedom and Jealousy all on NohJoh Music). While attending the University of North
Texas he was a member of the Grammy Nominated One O'Clock Lab Band. Paul has
performed with numerous jazz artists such as The Maritime Jazz Orchestra, Chris
Potter, Jim Black, Django Bates, Joey Baron, Michael and Randy Brecker, Clark Terry,
Bob Brookmeyer, Jim McNeely. Paul has also recorded with Kenny Wheeler, Lynn
Seaton, Dan Haerle, Noel Johnston, and The Dallas Jazz Orchestra. His large ensemble
music is published by UNC Jazz Press. He is featured Louis Porter's forth coming
Encyclopedia of Jazz to be published by Routledge. Paul Tynan is an Edwards Trumpet
Artist/Clinician.
Contact Info:
Paul Tynan
Asst. Professor of Jazz Studies
St. Francis Xavier University
Po Box 5000
Antigonish, NS
B2G 2W5
Canada
Phone: 902-867-3675
URL www.stfx.ca/people/ptynan/
Email: ptynan@stfx.ca

DAVID VIRELLES GONZALEZ
David Virelles Gonzalez was born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

on November 10, 1983. At the age of 7, David began to
study classical piano at the Jose Maria Heredia School of
Art in his home Province. Later he continued his studies at
the Esteban Salas Conservatory of Music in Santiago.
Although he was trained classically (Cuba is known for its
exceptional music schools), his hometown offered a very
rich variety of music that definitely marked David’s
musical personality. He was also an avid listener to his
grandfather’s jazz record collection and especially the
music of the great American Jazz artists like Bud Powell,
Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis.
In 1998, when he was 15, Virelles won 1st Prize at the Concurso Jojazzin Havana Cuba.
The competition was adjudicated by several of the most prestigious jazz musicians in
Cuba and afforded David an introduction to piano legends Frank Emilio Flynn and Chucho
Valdes. Soon thereafter he was invited to appear on the late Cuban trombonist Juan
Pablo Torres’ CD "Together Again", which also included veterans Giovanni Hidalgo,
Robin Eubanks, Horacio Hernandez and Chucho Valdes.
In 1999, David met Canadian Jazz flutist/ saxophonist Jane Bunnett in one of her visits
to his hometown’s conservatory. Bunnett, who is known for her contributions to the
world of Latin Jazz, invited David to appear on her C.D "Alma de Santiago". This album
also featured some of the most remarkable artists of David’s hometown of Santiago de
Cuba, such as Tiburon Morales, Cuarteto de Saxofones de Santiago de Cuba and the
"trova" group Los Jubilados. The album was a critical success and it was nominated for
both a Grammy and a Juno Award.
In May of 2001, Virelles was invited to Canada by Jane Bunnett to perform at the
Toronto Arts Awards and study with some of the most outstanding Jazz musicians in
the Toronto scene such as Don Thompson and Brian Dickinson. In September of that
same year he became a music student at the University of Toronto where he completed
his first year. David subsequently transferred to the Jazz Music programme at
Humber College, where he performed with Jazz greats Paquito d’ Rivera, Michael
Brecker and Bill Holman. In October of 2003, Virelles was chosen as the recipient for
the first Oscar Peterson Prize. The Canadian Jazz Master himself presented this
award to Virelles at the ceremony that was held at the Humber College Auditorium on
November 5 of 2003. David is now a graduate from the Humber College Jazz Program.

Since his arrival in Canada, David has also studied with Jazz legends Barry Harris,
Kenny Barron and Stanley Cowell. In the last four years he has appeared with Bunnett’s
band “Spirits of Havana “throughout the USA, Canada and Western Europe and Cuba at
major jazz festivals. Virelles’s contribution to Bunnett’s band can be heard on her album
"Cuban Oddyssey”, which won the Jazz Journalists Awards in 2003 and was also
nominated for a Juno Award. David was also featured as an arranger as well as a
performer on the Jane Bunnett Juno nominated C.D “Red Dragonfly” with the
Panderecki String Quartet as guests. He has also performed with some of the most
outstanding jazz musicians in Canada, including Neil Swainson, Terry Clarke, Reg
Schwager, Don Thompson, Kirk McDonald, Kieran Overs, Remy Bolduc, Denzel Sinclair,
Richard Underhill, Rich Brown, Roberto Occhipinti, Alex Dean, Barry Romberg, Archie
Alleyne, Norman Marshall Villenueve and Dave Young, just to name a few. David has also
performed/ recorded with the likes of Stanley Cowell, Dewey Redman, Howard Johnson,
Jason Palmer, Warren Wolf, Francisco Mela, Peter Slavov, Danilo Perez, Charles Flores,
Horacio el Negro Hernandez, John Lockwood, Mark McLean, etc. Virelles is currently
involved in the preparation on his first solo c.d with his band The David Virelles
Quintet. It will feature his original compositions along with a few by some of his band
members.
David Virelles can be contacted at david@tqn.ca or at davidvirelles@hotmail.com

DR. SUNDAR VISWANATHAN
Sundar Viswanathan holds a Masters and PhD in Jazz from

New England Conservatory and New York University
respectively, and was recently appointed Assistant Professor
of Jazz Studies in the Department of Music at York
University in Toronto, where he makes his home.
The focus of Sundar’s Ph.D. dissertation was a study and

analysis of improvisations by Joe Henderson from his Blue
Note records period from 1963 to 1966. Other music
research interests include Brazilian, Hindustani and Carnatic,
Turkish and South African genres.
Sundar has shared the world stage with local and

international artists alike over his 20 years as a professional musician. In a recent
successful five-city tour of Japan, Sundar was featured as a leader with exceptional
Japanese musicians. Other performances that proved rewarding included those at New
York’s ‘Dizzy’s Club’ at Lincoln Center with the Charles Tolliver Big Band, ‘Alice Tully
Hall’, ‘The Blue Note’ and ‘Birdland’; the ‘Montreal Bistro’, ‘Living Arts Center’ and ‘Rex
Hotel’ in Toronto, and the famous ‘Wally’s’ and ‘Willow Jazz Club’ in Boston. Some of his
musical associations include Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Wheeler, John Abercrombie, Terry
Clarke, Joe Lovano, John Hicks, Cecil McBee, Charles Tolliver, Billy Hart, Jim McNeeley
and Dave Douglas. Currently, Sundar is releasing Hope and Infinity, an album of original
music inspired by South Asian music and Jazz that includes heavy-hitters from the
Canadian and New York scene. The album features Kevin Turcotte (trumpet), Kelly
Jefferson (tenor sax), David Braid (piano), Andrew Downing (bass), Anthony Michelli
(drums), and Rez Abbasi (guitar). Dr. Sundar Viswanathan can be reached at
SundarVis@Hotmail.com

TED WARREN
The Jazz Report Drummer of the Year in 1996,

Ted is a drummer musicians love to play with. As
well as leading his own quartet, he can be heard
performing regularly with a diverse cross-section
of Canadian Jazz groups. He is a member of
ensembles led by Mike Murley, Mike Downes,
Kieren Overs, Roy Patterson, Ted Quinlan, and
Kevin Turcotte. Ted is also the drummer with
Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass, and can be heard on
their recent CD’s Velvet and Brass and Even Canadians Get the Blues. His other
recording credits include several Mike Murley CDs, Ted Quinlan’s Juno nominated As If,
and The Canadian Brass Plays Bernstein. Some of the great artists Ted has worked
with in his diverse career are Slide Hampton, Don Thompson, Fraser MacPhearson, and
Sonny Greenwich. Ted Warren can be reached at TWarren@Gto.Net
NEIL YORKE-SLADER
Neil is a Superintendent of Instruction with the

Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. He taught
music at the elementary and secondary levels for 17
years, and is active as a jazz adjudicator and clinician
throughout North America. He has been the director of
the acclaimed Nepean All-City Jazz Band since its
inception in 1987. Many of his jazz compositions are
available through UNC Jazz Press and/or Burnihla Music
Publishing. Several are preserved in the National
Library of Canada’s archives. Neil was awarded the
OCDSB’s 2007 Marjorie Loughrey Lifetime Achievement
Award for the Arts, and was the 1999 recipient of the
Ottawa International Jazz Festival’s Achievement
Award. He received the 1998 City of Nepean's Distinguished Service Award for
Education, and their 1995 Distinguished Award for Arts and Culture. Neil is Vice-
Chairman of Musicfest Canada (Jazz Division), and the Regional Coordinator of the
Capital Region Music Festival in Ottawa.

Jazz Pedagogy-Brian Lilos

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Jazz Pedagogy:

Creative Canadian Jazz Voice Publications

As a jazz community, while we have our dysfunctional moments, it is supportive and

01 The Importance of Teaching the Oral Tradition – Brian Lillos ........... 1

02 Learner Styles – Brian Lillos ...................................................... 5

03 Mentorship/Job-Shadowing/Practica – Brian Lillos.......................... 8

04 Myths about Jazz Education – Brian Lillos.................................... 10

05 The Jazz Curriculum - Brian Lillos.............................................. 16

06 Course Outlines – Brian Lillos .................................................... 30

07 Lesson Plans – Brian Lillos ........................................................ 38

08 Instructional Objectives – Brian Lillos ......................................... 41

09 Supervision of Instruction – Brian Lillos ....................................... 51

10 Assessment and Evaluation – Brian Lillos ..................................... 54

11 Towards Teaching Jazz Improvisation – Brian Lillos....................... 56

13 Towards Teaching Jazz History – Alan Matheson............................159

14 Jazz in Canada – Mark Miller .....................................................169

15 Women in Jazz – Alexis Marsh ....................................................176

16 Profile: Canadian Women in Jazz – Greg Buium .............................190

17 Rehearsal Techniques for the Jazz Orchestra -Gordon Foote

18 Choosing Repertoire for the Jazz Orchestra – Brian Lillos ................243

19 The Jazz Choir – Russ Baird.......................................................248

21 Jazz Program Infrastructure – Brian Lillos .....................................334

22 Graduate Degrees in Jazz Studies in Canada

23 The Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music...........360

24 Creative Scholarship in Jazz Education – Andrew Scott .....................370

25 Adjudicating a Jazz Performance – Brian Lillos ...............................383

26 Presenting a Jazz Clinic – Brian Lillos ...........................................397

28 I.A.J.E. – Alexis Marsh ...............................................................408

29 I.A.S.J. – Alexis Marsh ...............................................................414

30 Jamey Aebersold – Brian Lillos ....................................................417

32 Contemporary Jazz Composition:

33 More Rhythm Section:

35 Jazz Advocacy and Some Philosophical Perspectives:

36 Community Music – Cathy Mitro ................................................687

37 More Instructional Methodology:

39 Meet the Authors ..................................................................729

The Importance of Teaching the Oral Tradition by Brian Lillos

The Importance of Teaching the Oral Tradition by Brian Lillos

The Importance of Teaching the Oral Tradition by Brian Lillos

Brian Lillos can be reached at

There are four basic learner types:

Learner Styles by Brian Lillos 5

The Concrete Experiential learner relies heavily on feeling-based judgements. They

Learner Styles by Brian Lillos 6

Brian Lillos can be reached at

Learner Styles by Brian Lillos 7

Practica is the practise teaching component of the course. It involves self-

Mentorship/Job-Shadowing/Practica by Brian Lillos

Brian Lillos can be reached at

Mentorship/Job-Shadowing/Practica by Brian Lillos

Myths about Jazz Education by Brian Lillos

Myths about Jazz Education by Brian Lillos

Myths about Jazz Education by Brian Lillos

Myths about Jazz Education by Brian Lillos

My daily schedule and scholarship pales in comparison to many of my colleagues. I don’t

Myths about Jazz Education by Brian Lillos

Brian Lillos can be reached at

Myths about Jazz Education by Brian Lillos

The Jazz Curriculum by Brian Lillos

Curriculum development is a process and is best developed by its shareholders – the

The Jazz Curriculum by Brian Lillos

The Jazz Curriculum by Brian Lillos

The Jazz Curriculum by Brian Lillos

The Jazz Curriculum by Brian Lillos