Results matching “calendar” from Roaring Fork Jazz Workshop

Welcome back to the Roaring Fork Jazz Workshop for Spring 2010! We're back with a vengeance!

We'll be meeting every other Monday, in one large swinging group. Check out the calendar for workshop dates. Our sessions, this spring, will have a fairly narrow focus, for a change. Here are some goals:

• continuing to learn how to get around fluidly on your instrument with a good tone, and good time
• developing more coherent linear phrasing
• injecting chromaticism into your melodies

We'll be tending to the blues and rhythm changes, using, as the foundation, bebop scales.

Last night, we played over a Bb7 chord/scale using the mixolydian bebop scale. We played through some exercises, confining ourselves (temporarily) to the following rules:

• only diatonic motion (no arpeggios or skips)
• start phrase on beat one (kind of an arbitrary rule, but a rule, for now)
• if starting on a non-chord tone, make it a quarter note (there are other ways of handling starting on non-chord tones, and we'll get to those)
• change direction only on chord tones

We traded fours, using the scale/rules and one of the two common phrase endings, as described in David Baker's "How to Play Bebop" series.

From Bob Levey:
We are very excited about a night of Bebop and Standards at the Glenwood Springs Arts Council on Sept 23rd at 7 p.m. My good friend and mentor legendary Artt Frank of the Bebop drumming tradition will be giving us an extraordinary lesson on the drums. Artt contributed the fire for the late great Chet Baker for over 20 years and many more Jazz Greats including Charlie Parker. Artt also assimilated the art of scat singing from one of the best, Chet Baker, himself. There will also be some great arrangements and tunes in remembrance of my father, Stan Levey, one of the Founding Fathers of Bebop. We Hope to see you. You may never get this chance again, as Artt does not come out for just anyone. Assisting in the making of this great music will be Matt Criscuolo alto sax, Tim Fox trumpet, Dennis Woodrich bass, Andy Weyl piano, and Bob Levey, drums.

Alright, here we go. The fall session of the Jazz Workshop began Thursday October 14, 2004.

Everyone met together and we talked about how our summer goals were progressing. As anticipated, many of us were unable to spend the time necessary to achieve them all, but progress was made. I shared that those goals are important ones, and that we should keep at them. We looked at the melodic and harmonic significance of some of the patterns we are practicing, and how we can tweak them and practice them in different ways, often strengthening melodic movement and voice leading.

We agreed upon the schedule outlined in the calendar. I also suggested a tuition for the fall session of $50.00. Not required, but accepted.

In the next session, Thursday, October 21, 2004, Combo 1 met, and played some tunes, soloing without any accompaniment. We talked about the importance of having good time, and outlining the form of the song clearly. We also dabbled in comping for another soloist. It's interesting to try to comp on a not-chord instrument. Quite fun. I found that playing quasi bass line things and some contrapuntal flavored ideas (related, of course, to what the soloist was doing) behind the soloist was satisfying. Finally, we delved into the modes of the melodic minor (ascending form only) scale. Here's some more info on these scales.

A few of the links on this web site might not be working, because I'm in the process of upgrading... Check back often!