Curriculum
Curriculum
Five belts, thirty-two lessons, and a Masterclass. Start at White Belt Lesson 1 and walk forward, or read in any order you like. Nothing is locked.
White Belt
01What is Jazz?Improvisation, Swing02The Building Blocks of JazzThe Blues, Jazz Standards03How Jazz Tells TimeTempo and Feel, Meter and Odd Time04The Great SoloistsWhat Makes a Great Soloist, Louis Armstrong
Yellow Belt
01The Birth of JazzNew Orleans, Jelly Roll Morton02The First SuperstarLouis Armstrong, Tone as Identity03The Voice Behind the VoiceBillie Holiday, Vocal Jazz04The ArchitectDuke Ellington, Big Band05The ColossusSonny Rollins, Thematic Improvisation
Green Belt
01The Revolution BeginsBebop, Charlie Parker02The Slide RuleTrombone, J.J. Johnson03The Monk ProblemThelonious Monk, Dissonance04Outside the Bar LineDave Brubeck, Time Signatures05The Shape of Things to ComeOrnette Coleman, Free Jazz
Brown Belt
01The Guitar Speaksjazz guitar, octave technique02South of the Borderbossa nova, cross-cultural collaboration03Sketches of Another Worldorchestral jazz, Davis-Evans collaboration04The Angry Geniusgospel-jazz, political jazz05The Blue Albummodal jazz, Kind of Blue revisited06The Intimate Roompiano trio, interplay07The Edge of Soundfree jazz, bass clarinet
Black Belt
01The Difficult MasterpieceThelonious Monk, harmonic dissonance02The Blue GardenHerbie Hancock, suspended harmony03The Supreme GiftJohn Coltrane, spiritual devotion04The Black SaintCharles Mingus, jazz suite05The Collective ScreamJohn Coltrane, free jazz06The Cosmic HarpAlice Coltrane, Indian classical fusion07The Electric StormMiles Davis, electric jazz08The Funky Side of the StreetHerbie Hancock, funk-jazz09The Velvet SaxophoneGrover Washington Jr, soul jazz10The Street LifeJoe Sample, The Crusaders11The Last ConcertErroll Garner, Concert by the Sea
Masterclass
Masterclass — five lessons on how the music actually works.