Courses

The Funk Jam Ensemble will concentrate on funk-oriented, improvisational, and instrumental music in a variety of styles from the 1960s to the present. Material will vary substantially from semester to semester, depending on the needs and interests of the group. Students will work initially with charts provided by the instructor, but will then have a chance to submit their own choices for repertoire, with special emphasis on students' original music. The instructor will help choose appropriate material. Through exercises and weekly rehearsal of repertoire, the ensemble will work on creating and sustaining groove and developing the skills to build extended funk jams with direction and focus. Students will also concentrate on clean execution of technical passages as well as integrity of style.

This contemporary fusion ensemble will study and perform the music of Mike Stern, Michael Brecker, John Scofield, Alan Holdsworth, Joshua Redman, and others. In this course, students will participate in weekly supervised rehearsals. Students will gain experience in performing modern and classic fusion with advanced harmonic improvisation and challenging rhythmic content, including odd time signatures. Emphasis will be given to stylistic integrity, as well as melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic accuracy.

The Mostly Mahavishnu Ensemble highlights one of the great musical innovators of the 20th century, John McLaughlin. This course focuses on the Mahavishnu Orchestra and some other compositions from that era, and emphasizes understanding odd time signatures and using creative melodic development techniques. Once students gain familiarity with these concepts, they integrate current grooves (e.g. from hip-hop, J Dilla beats, drum and bass, techno, and/or electronica) as John incorporated rock, the music of his time, into his music. All compositions are by John McLaughlin unless otherwise indicated. Towards the end of the semester, students are encouraged to write original compositions in his style.

The Yellowjackets Ensemble is a high-level ensemble that learns and performs the challenging and beautifully crafted music of the world-famous Yellowjackets, a band that for forty years has successfully performed around the world and recorded an album every year. The jazz fusion group includes Russell Ferrante (piano/keyboards) and Bob Mintzer (tenor/EWI), along with phenomenal bassist Dane Alderson and highly creative and groove-oriented drummer Will Kennedy.  In this ensemble students are expected to practice the tunes several hours per week outside of class with an occasional extra rehearsal. Piano players should expect to learn and play the synth/keyboard parts for this ensemble. The professor has an extensive library of the music from several sources that the students receive in advance.

In this course, students experiment with mixing current grooves and unusual modes and harmonies in a jazz improvisation context. The purpose of this class is to bridge the divide between jazz harmonies and groove vamps by combining both. Furthermore, heavy emphasis is on melodic development techniques. By the end of this class you will have a working knowledge of rock, funk, reggae, ska, dance hall, drum 'n' bass, reggaeton, house, 2-step, 32nd note hi-hat grooves, hip-hop, go-go, and clipped and bounce beats.

This ensemble focuses on the music of Soulive, Lettuce, and their musical contemporaries.