Jazz Appreciation Class

**charleyrich99** · 10-23-2023, 10:40 PM

This is terrific. I now have my own homework assignment to listen to all of these suggestions, pick which to include, and what to say about them. This will be fun.

Thanks

Charley

**charleyrich99** · 11-11-2023, 09:13 PM

Thanks again to everyone for the great suggestions. I am starting to go through them all now. The recent Jazz class session is on Thursday, Nov 16.

I may have forgotten to say that the "students" are senior citizens (70's, 80's, and 90's), all retired. That probably means the crazier stuff won't go over. Probably tunes with vocals that don't go out will be the most appreciated. I am not sure the guitar-led instrumentals will be liked as much as the others. As guitarists, we love this stuff, but non-guitarists may not get it...unfortunately.

So far for this class I really like Camila Meza and the Nectar and of course Esperanza Spalding, and also Snarky Puppy. Still listening...

We will see...(or hear)

Thanks,

Charley

**ARGewirtz** · 11-13-2023, 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by charleyrich99

Suncoast Technical College in Sarasota, Florida.

Course description is here.

Too bad, I would register for a course like this if it was nearby. I live in NJ and close to at least 3 or 4 community colleges with adult ed courses but unfortunately nothing like your course near me.

**AllanAllen** · 11-13-2023, 04:05 PM

I’m interested to see how it goes.

**marcwhy** · 11-13-2023, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by charleyrich99

Thanks again to everyone for the great suggestions. I am starting to go through them all now. The recent Jazz class session is on Thursday, Nov 16.

I may have forgotten to say that the "students" are senior citizens (70's, 80's, and 90's), all retired. That probably means the crazier stuff won't go over. Probably tunes with vocals that don't go out will be the most appreciated. I am not sure the guitar-led instrumentals will be liked as much as the others. As guitarists, we love this stuff, but non-guitarists may not get it...unfortunately.

Hey Charley,
Given it's a "jazz history" course, I wouldn't throw out the "crazier" stuff just because the students are "older." If Miles were still alive, he'd be 97, so a contemporary of your students - and he did some of the "craziest" stuff out there! You can always illustrate course concepts, too, using the crazy stuff, i.e., "We're talking about melody today, and here's an Ellington big band recording, a vocal recording with Jocelyn Gould, and a Mike Moreno recording ..." (etc., and I don't think Mike is too crazy, either, just "modern").

Still sounds like a fun class!

**charleyrich99** · 11-16-2023, 09:54 PM

For my last class covering Jazz from Fusion through today I used some of the suggestions from this forum for "new music". I introduced them to the following artists:

Madeline Peyroux - Don’t Wait Too Long
Esperanza Spalding- On the Sunny Side of the Street
Samara Joy - Guess Who I Saw Today
Camila Meza & The Nectar Orchestra - Kalfu
Snarky Puppy – Lingus
Christian McBride Big Band
8-Bit Big Band – Still Alive
Tom Harrell - Look to the Sky
Jerry Bergonzi – Everything Happens to Me

While some liked Madeline and Esperanza, most of the class preferred the older Jazz of previous weeks...Ella, Sarah, Billie...cool jazz...

Nobody in the class liked the fusion tunes from early Gary Burton/Larry Coryell, Mahavishnu, Miles or Corea...

This was not unexpected as the most of the students were in the late 70s or older. They just stared at me in disbelief when I played a video of Mahavishnu performing "The Dance of Maya" live. I tried explaining what 10/8 time was...

As someone suggested, I needed the students to hear the history of Jazz whether they like a certain period or not.

But in general the six week course went very well and all the students seemed to enjoy it.

I will teach the class again in March.

Thanks for all the great suggestions!