We really LOVE having our kids back at the Jazz House! With the start of fall classes, nearly every night of the week all three studios are buzzing with the sounds of enthusiastic students and beautiful music. Students of all abilities with instruments of every size make the Jazz House a vibrant, joyful, musical community center!
More than 150 students returned to the Jazz House in late September for our fall 2014 music classes. Directed by Ted Chubb, classes at the Jazz House cover the whole gamut of interests.
Those new to jazz can begin with one of our Blues and Roots classes. Students build a solid jazz foundation, starting with the blues, standard tunes and jazz classics. Entry-level students also start in the Louis Armstrong Ensemble, a fun performance class.
For intermediate students, there is the Dynasty Big Band, Legacy Orchestra and Saxophone Ensemble. More advanced classes include the Messengers and Jazz House Ambassadors. The Messenger groups explore the art of improvisation and group interaction. The Jazz House Ambassadors is an award-winning performance and touring ensemble comprised of our top improvisers.
Our award-winning Jazz House Big Band sponsored by RS Berkeley Musical Instruments and directed by Julius Tolentino is back with many new faces!
Our recent graduates left some highly coveted chairs available, and several of our students are up for the task. Made up of talented high school musicians from the tri-state area, students play a wide array of music and perform in a series of high-profile concerts and competitions.
There’s lots of buzz this year surrounding Jazz House Kids’ two newest classes: Drums Around the World and the Vocal Jazz Academy. In Drums Around the World, students learn to play authentic African percussion instruments with master drummers. Students also learn to incorporate these percussion skills into the traditional jazz drum set.
Under the direction of Amy London and Dylan Pramuk, the Vocal Jazz Academy is an intensive workshop for aspiring teenage vocalists. It explores the art of solo and choral singing. Both groups welcome all skill levels.
For those young at heart, Jazz House Kids has launched two adult classes on Saturday afternoon. Led by Ted Chubb and Ed Palermo, the adults really dig into some great jazz material and get to play in an ensemble with other weekend warrior musicians.
The Fabulous, Talented,
Dedicated 2014-2015
Jazz House Kids Teaching Artists:
• Ted Chubb
• Victor Ector
• Nathan Eklund
• Josh Evans
• Mike Lee
• Amy London
• Andy McKee
• Ed Palermo
• Oscar Perez
• Dylan Pramuk
• Radam Schwartz
• Julius Tolentino
• Dion Tucker
• Bruce Williams
Classes require a pre-placement audition. For more information, please call 973-744-2273.