MSBF 2008 Jazz Tutorials

For the last few days (week), I've been driving back and forth to work (45-60 min) and Monash University (45-60 min) for the 2008 Melbourne School Bands Festival. MSBF is the largest school bands fest on this side of the globe, and growing yearly. This year, more than 300 concert bands, jazz ensembles, and string ensembles are involved. Some great music going on at the festival.

I'm fortunate that I had a chance to write tutorials for the Intermediate and Senior sections of the jazz performances this year. Michael Jongebloed (MSBF Director) and myself talked about a few topic ideas and settled upon what we thought would work well.

As I've led a few of the sessions over the last few days, some of the players and directors have been asking about the recordings that I brought for listening. Here's a quick summary of the content:

2008 MSBF Jazz Listenings

From Time Out, Dave Brubeck Quartet (1959):
1. Blue Rondo a la Turk
2. Everybody's Jumpin'

From Bob Mintzer Big Band - Only in New York (1995)
3. Modern Day Tuba
4. TV Blues

From Stan Getz & JJ Johnson, Live at the Opera House (Paris, 1957)
5. My Funny Valentine (first time from the performance)

Intermediate Jazz Topic: Rhythmic Grids and Big Band Jazz Style
Identifying the basic rhythmic grid (8ths, triplets, 16ths) present in 95% of western music, and then vocalizing great swing style on top of that grid.
Check out "Essential Swing Rhythms" and the "Swing Rhythms" packs by Doug Beach, available from Kendor Music. Also, review the life of Jim Widner, his Big Band, and his jazz camps. Some of these basic vocal tools are from him and jazz saxophonist/educator Fred Hemke, Jr.

Senior Jazz: Continuums of Musical Expression
Identifying how performers & composers use individual musical qualities (like dynamics, articulation, tempo, rhythmic resolution, rhythmic complexity, etc.) to express tension & relaxation in music.
Listening to the tracks above, graphing out their qualities, then performing & analyzing some of the music the band brought to the festival.