School Days

Hello, Jazz Friends!

It's nearly summer! Can you believe that? We're looking forward to getting outside for the Salsa/Jazz & Blues Under the Stars shows! We're also happy to let you know that we'll be offering summer jazz courses for adults!

Eight-week and ten-week courses are available for adult students interested in Modern Jazz Ensemble, Community Big Band, Latin Jazz & Improvisation, Vocal Jazz and, Real Book Jam!

Our adult ed classes are designed for musicians looking to expand their knowledge and skills! NMJW classes offer adults the opportunity to study with some of New Mexico's most talented, working musicians.

The 2010 Summer Adult Education Program offers students four, great courses to assist adult musicians and vocalists in the development of their craft. Latin Jazz & Improvisation, taught by Rodolfo Gonzalez provides the student with skills for jazz combo performance while exploring Latin rhythms. Lewis Winn offers an updated course in Modern Jazz Ensemble which emphasizes improvisation, swing, hot, and cool styles while developing successful ensemble techniques.

NMJW Community Big Band taught by Christian Pincock is a popular, challenging but rewarding course with limited enrollment in the band, so sign-up right away! Patty Stephens, local diva and curator of Women’s Voices: Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan, offers her very popular course. This class is designed to improve your vocal jazz skills while exploring the song(s) of your choice. Each of the summer courses culminates in its own performance.

For musicians wishing to connect and collaborate with other players without the commitment of a class, Real Book Jam is a good choice.

For a small lab fee, musicians and singers are invited to come together on Saturday afternoons to simply play!

For a full description of courses and fees, please visit www.nmjazz.org

See ya in class!

2010 Summer Adult Education Program-- course series begins June 6^th and runs through August 15^h. Dates and times for classes vary. For full course description, and instructor bios, please visit our website: www.nmjazz.org. For more information, contact Vicki Dugger, Adult Education Coordinator

505-255-9798. Or, send email to Vicki at nmjazzvols@gmail.com.

Evening jazz class is the new HAPPY HOUR!

Looking for a fun way to ward off the winter blues? Drag that instrument out of the closet, or grab the sheet music to a song you've always craved the confidence to sing and take a class at New Mexico Jazz Workshop. This winter NMJW introduces Cabaret! with Deian McBryde, a recent Manhattan transplant, cabaret artist and director of Nob Hill Yoga. “We're very excited about Deian,” Amani Malaika, NMJW Education Coordinator says. “Deian was also the only singer listed as one of America's "MEN WE LOVE" by Girlfriends Magazine, along with Antonio Banderas, Malaika adds. As the instructor of a course that draws out one's natural charisma, Malaika says, “Deian's the right diva for the job!”

From divas to digital music-- NMJW offers two down-and-dirty workshops in audio recording with Luis Guerra, and Larry Mitchell, two award-winning producers who take the mystery out of digital technology, offering you great tools of the trade in real time. Veteran Jazz and Blues guitarist Dan Dowling teaches a course in blues guitar, Christian Pincock leads the Community Big Band and Lewis Winn offers the standard Modern Jazz Ensemble class, with a few new twists.

Also new to NMJW is Beginning Music Theory & Ear Training with Cora Harms. This course offers a solid foundation in music theory for instrumentalists and singers alike. You may want to put that listening to work in Rodolfo Gonzalez's Latin Jazz & Improvisation class, or try singing a new tune in the Vocal Jazz class with Patty Stephens. And, don't forget Real Book Jam, where you can practice all that you've learned in class, play some sentimental favorites, and learn a few new songs, in a relaxed atmosphere. NMJW is the place to be on a cold winter's week night (Saturdays, too!)

For more information visit the website: www.nmjazz.org.