Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0298 - Composition in Jazz Continuum

From a never ending creative engagement with the Blues legacy of African American music, jazz composers have reshaped the possibilities of composition and improvisation from the early 20th century till the present moment. The class works on two concurrent tracks. We will look at the way these composers engage with the blues sensibility and with improvisational forms within their compositional approaches, taking a wide historical view. We will also work each week on a series of shared compositional assignments. Each student will create a final extended form work, to be presented in an in-class performance. We will write primarily on the instrumentation of the class, as well as for invited artists.

Independent Work Prerequisite: A background in music theory is essential, as is the ability to notate and read music. In this course, students are expected to spend an additional 6 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time.