Jazz Big Band

Instructor: Daniel Chávez

Level: Beginning/Intermediate

Instrumentation

Voice, Saxophone (w/doubles), Trumpet, Trombone, Piano, Guitar, Bass, Drum Set

Overview:

A living breathing form of African-American art rooted in the blues and ragtime, Jazz continues to evolve and reinvent itself, allowing the icons of each era to guide the development of this musical form. In this advanced course, students will dive deep into the rich history, study and perform from the various idioms/ eras of big band jazz through weekly supervised rehearsals to gain experience in a large ensemble setting. Emphasis will be given to hearing and expressing your musical ideas with stylistic integrity, as well as melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic accuracy (intonation, phrasing, blending, and articulation). 

Goals & Objectives

• Create and maintain a positive community learning environment

• Help students realize their maximum potential

• Maintain exceptional aural skills (intonation, phrasing, blending, and articulation)

• Improvise and groove over more advanced chord progressions and time signatures 

• Become excellent sight readers 

• Understand the social and historical context of the music and its most notable pioneers 

• Perform at least twice per quarter