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Over the Rainbow: The Music of Harold Arlen

Known for his bluesy and harmonically sophisticated tunes, Harold Arlen paired with the best lyricists of his day including Ted Koehler (with whom he wrote “Let’s Fall in Love,” and “Stormy Weather,”) and E.Y. “Yip” Harburg (with whom he wrote the music for The Wizard of Oz.)

In this 3-part workshop, singers explore the music of Arlen including well-known tunes and some not so well-known.

Students also listen to how jazz greats have interpreted these songs to get ideas for their own arrangements.

May 19, 26 and June 2, 2013 Noon – 3 pm
$220 advance purchase/$235 day of the workshop

Instructor provides 10 charts and practice tracks. Class time is spent learning the songs and developing new arrangements. In the 3rd meeting of the series, students work with an accompanist.

Maximum enrollment: 8

The popular songs of Brazil have had an ongoing conversation with American jazz for over 60 years. This is due in part to the incredible harmonic sophistication of this vast body of music. From the golden age of samba, through bossa nova, to the creative explosion of 1960′s-1990′s MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira), Brazilian popular song has been an astonishingly rich source of harmonic innovation. In this workshop we will listen to representative songs from all three eras. Using detailed and accurate lead sheets as a guide, the instructor will analyze the tunes harmonically and melodically, revealing a throughline of increasing harmonic depth and formal innovation that is unsurpassed by any other popular music tradition. Improvising musicians, jazz composers, and songwriters will all find inspiration and new material in this survey/analysis.

Like jazz, much of the best Brazilian music has gradually evolved from dance music to art song, becoming more complex but losing none of the directness or melodic lyricism that is at its root. Whether you are steeped in Brazilian music or a newcomer, there will be lots to discover and hear in this exciting presentation.

Sunday May 12, 2 – 4 pm

$30 advance purchase/$45 day of the workshop

Joe Mulholland

Joe Mulholland is an Associate Professor of Harmony and Interim Chair of the Harmony Department at Berklee College of Music. Before coming to Berklee, Joe taught piano and ensemble at Brown University and Boston area music schools, as well as serving as music director for Didi Stewart and Friends, an award-winning ensemble devoted to presenting full-length tributes to composers and performers in the American Songbook and classic r’n'b styles.

An accomplished pianist, recording artist, composer, and teacher, he has released three CDs of original music written for his sextet and has composed numerous electronic scores for Boston-area dance companies, including a Tango Suite commissioned by the Northeast Youth Ballet that received performances in Boston and New Jersey. Joe performs with his trio one hundred nights a year at the Top of the Hub, an upscale jazz venue in Boston, in addition to appearing as a sideman and vocal accompanist in numerous other concert and club settings. In his capacity as music director for the Windhover Center for the Performing Arts, he has composed and recorded sound design and songs for original productions of Peer Gynt and Dogtown Common. He also wrote eleven songs and three dance numbers for the original musical Battle for Pigeon Cove Harbor, which received a three-week run in theaters on the North Shore of Boston.

As singers, we practice scales and sing a variety of runs to loosen up the voice. Our rote memory of the pitches and movement of notes through these scales and exercises is available to us at the ready. Improvising the melody or completely changing it, as during the improvised second chorus, becomes second nature.

This workshop series teaches the singer to ʻhip-upʼ their performance and interpretation. You don’t need to scat sing to take this workshop. You will gain confidence in your choices during performance. Jazz singing is always a work in progress and each opportunity to develop your craft through performance is where personal style is born. The more you ʻhip it upʼ, the more stylistic your approach. Itʼs fun! Come and take baby step towards self-confidence as a stylist and a jazz singer.

First Week – Sunday May 5, 2 – 4 pm

Video examples of melodic diversion and the second chorus. Explore basic movement around the melody line. Style and stylistic approaches (How Hip Do You Wanna Get?)

Second Week – Sunday May 12, 2 – 4 pm

Students take chances with the melody. Students improvise second chorus. Improvised Endings.

Third Week – Sunday May 19, 2 – 4 pm

Final Performances. Open Discussion on vibe, style and the ‘hip’ factor

$180 advance purchase/$205 day of the workshop

Charles Mingus is one of the most important figures in twentieth century American music as a virtuoso bass player, pianist, bandleader and composer. What many people don’t know is that Mingus also wrote lyrics for some of his most beautiful and interesting works. This workshop explores many of his vocal compositions with lyrics by Mingus and other lyricists. This is not only for singers but instrumentalists or anyone interested in the music of Mingus. During the workshop we will sing and play the songs, discuss the construction of the compositions, provide charts to several songs and explore the meaning of the lyrics.

$50 advance purchase/$65 day of workshop
Ellen Johnson

Vocalist and lyricist, Ellen Johnson has been enamored with the music of Charles Mingus for over three decades. She has recorded six Mingus compositions with original lyrics to three of them with permission of Sue Mingus and Jazz Workshop. Her version of “Peggy’s Blue Skylight” on her debut CD, Too Good To Title, featured alto saxophonist and frequent Mingus collaborator, Charles McPherson.  Ellen has performed Mingus compositions in concert, club and other venues and shares her lyrics with other vocalists. Ellen has also performed and/or recorded with Sheila Jordan, Bobby McFerrin, Charles McPherson, Louie Bellson, Pete Christlieb, Roy McCurdy, Billy Drummond, Larry Koonse, John Stowell, Cameron Brown, and Hugh Martin.

 Learn how to transition from one song to the next through stories and stage banter. Having a good flow keeps your audience engaged. A small story, a short joke or witty repartee during your performance can make all the difference to draw your audience in. Learn how to craft a story that will then go smoothly into your next song. We will also work on improving comfort level on-stage and getting rid of those butterflies that can plague us when we have to speak in front of an audience. Wear comfortable clothes and bring two charts in your key.

April 21, 2013 Noon – 3 pm
$50 advance purchase/$65 day of the workshop

Two time Grammy-nominated pianist/composer/arranger Geoffrey Keezer and multiple Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Denise Donatelli team up for a workshop on the fine art of accompanying singers. Topics covered will include: advice on choosing repertoire, finding the right key and tempo, setting up intros, comping supportively, arranging on the spot, creating original and unique approaches to standards, how to handle the occasional train wreck, and as usual, Geoffrey’s candid humor and stories from the road. Mark your calendar so you don’t miss this rare opportunity to interact one-on-one with two of jazz’s greatest artists!

About Geoffrey Keezer:

Pianist and composer Geoffrey Keezer was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on November 20, 1970 into a musical family, and began piano studies at the age of three. At the age of eighteen Geoffrey joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and has gone on to work with virtually all of the living legends of jazz, appearing on countless recordings both as a leader and as an accompanist.

Geoffrey’s professional career has spanned many projects while continuing to work in collaboration with world class musicians from diverse genres. His 1998 release, “Turn Up The Quiet”, featured vocalist Diana Krall along with Joshua Redman and Christian McBride. His partnership with world renowned classical artist Barbara Hendricks as musical director and arranger produced “It’s Wonderful — A Tribute to George Gershwin” with subsequent touring in Europe and Japan. His two releases in 2003, “Falling Up” and “Sublime: Honoring the Music of Hank Jones”, were both collaborative efforts. “Sublime” is an ambitious set of piano duets with Kenny Barron, Chick Corea, Benny Green and Mulgrew Miller. “Falling Up” features several pieces where Geoffrey worked in tandem with the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitarist, Keola Beamer. His 2005 release, “Wildcrafted”, captures the fire and raw energy of Geoffrey’s trio live in concert at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis. And in 2006, Geoffrey teamed up with traditional Okinawan singer Yasukatsu Oshima for a groundbreaking album of duets. Geoffrey’s 2009 adventure, “Áurea”, is a recording of folkloric South American music mixed with Jazz, and was nominated for a GRAMMY award in the “Best Latin Jazz Album” category. In 2010, Geoffrey was nominated for a GRAMMY award for his arrangement of “Don’t Explain” for singer Denise Donatelli.

About Denise Donatelli:
GRAMMY® Nominated jazz vocalist, Denise Donatelli, has become one of today’s premiere jazz vocalists. Denise has recorded four albums to date, Soul Shadows (Savant Records 2012), When Lights are Low (Savant Records 2010), What Lies Within (Savant Records 2008), and In the Company of Friends (Jazzed Media 2005) and also makes an appearance on the Christmas recording, That Time of Year (2011) by GRAMMY® Award Winner Bill Cunliffe. She received her second consecutive GRAMMY® nomination for Soul Shadows her fourth and latest recording.  When Lights are Low received two GRAMMY® Nominations, one for Best Jazz Vocal Album and another for Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist for pianist and collaborator Geoffrey Keezer for his arrangement of “Don’t Explain.” In addition to Denise’s GRAMMY® nominations, The Los Angeles Jazz Society has honored her with the 2012 Jazz Vocalist of the Year award.  

$30 advance purchase/$45 day of the workshop

If it isn’t blues or rhythm changes, chances are the song is going to be based on some combination of ii-V-I chord progressions.
You’ve heard the term, but do you really understand the theory behind the ii-V-I? Can you recognize it when you hear it?

Learn to recognize these progressions by sight and by ear, and pick up melodic ideas that work to get you from here to there using a variety of songs in this hands-on workshop.

April 14, 2013 Noon – 3 pm
$50 advance purchase/$65 day of the workshop

Stephen Saxon is a singer and trumpet player who has performed jazz, classical, klezmer, and cantorial music over a professional career that began in the 1970s. He has performed and/or recorded with Chet Baker, Michael Brecker, Chanticleer, Richie Cole, David Grisman, Dave Gruisin, Kitka, Bill Henderson, KlezX, Abbey Lincoln (Aminata Moseka), Bobby McFerrin, Mark Murphy, Pacific Mozart Ensemble, Ed Reed, Martha Schlamme, Gunther Schuller, Michael Tilson Thomas, Craig Taubman, Mal Waldron, Andy Williams, John Williams, and Frank Zappa, among others.

Experience the art of singing with a bass player!

This fun and informative workshop will give you the chance to sing and expand your horizons in a duo setting. Learn to count off tunes, experiment with different tempos and styles, listen, communicate and create beautiful music on the spot! For inspiration you’ll listen to and view examples of great duos such as Sheila Jordan and Harvie S among others. Whether you want to get your feet wet or improve on existing duo skills this workshop is open to all levels! Come prepared to sing and have fun. Please bring your lead sheets/charts. Music will also be provided.

Sunday April 14, 2013
Noon – 3 pm
$50 advance purchase/$65 day of the workshop
Daria with bassist Alex Baum

In this workshop, beginning and intermediate jazz vocalists learn how to study the chord changes of jazz standards and other songs from the inside out. Topics include the use of tensions (9ths, 11ths, and 13ths), ii-7 V7 Imaj7 licks, use of rhythmic and melodic motifs, and how to build a solo.

Noon – 3pm
$50 advance/$65 day of the workshop

Sara Leib has earned a stellar reputation as a talented, innovative, and accessible young jazz singer.

Leib has worked with such jazz luminaries as Kurt Elling, Art Lande, and Christian McBride, and has shared the stage with young ‘ Hiromi Uehara and Taylor Eigsti.  She has sung and taught on 5 continents, and twice been a featured speaker for the NARAS/GRAMMY Foundation.  Sara has had a blast touring Japan and singing at the Glenn Miller Jazz Festival and touring South Africa, singing and teaching at the Grahamstown Jazz Festival, as well as recently receiving standing ovations while performing for Guatemala’s premier cultural organization.