Jazz piano: a history from blues to bebop and beyond

City Lit

Course

In London

£ 69 VAT inc.

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Description

  • Type

    Course

  • Location

    London

  • Start date

    Different dates available

This course aims to take you on a journey from the beginnings of jazz piano at the turn of the twentieth century and introduce you to the key styles that evolved over the last 100 years as well as the pianists who became associated with or helped to develop certain styles of playing. We will place these developments in a historical context and using some classic recordings as examples, we will develop a further listening guide.

Facilities

Location

Start date

London
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Keeley Street, Covent Garden, WC2B 4BA

Start date

Different dates availableEnrolment now open

About this course

- Have an overview of the development of jazz piano from its origins in New Orleans through to the present day
- Distinguish more clearly the different styles of jazz piano which evolved over the last century and some key figures associated with these styles
- Understand better why certain styles of jazz piano evolved in the way they did and how some of these styles fed directly into and influenced popular culture.

Please bring a notebook and pen.
You may wish to buy some of the music or books recommended in class.

Tutor presentation and explanation, including handouts
Guided listening and watching of audio and audio-visual examples
Class discussion and debate
Listening and reading outside class is encouraged and once enrolled futher online resources will be available.

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Reviews

Subjects

  • Jazz

Course programme

- The origins of the music looking in particular at the birthplace of jazz piano, New Orleans, and why it was these new sounds started to emerge from this particular city
- Boogie-woogie and early blues styles which came from the south and stride piano which developed in the Northeast and included practitioners such as James P. Johnson, Early Hines, Fats Waller and Art Tatum
- The Swing era of the 1930s, and two great band-leaders, Count Basie and the inimitable Duke Ellington who made an indelible mark on the music
- Analyse some of the styles that emerged postwar from the 1940s onwards, including the innovations of bebop as well as post-bop, abstraction, funk, and some of the key features and players of these different styles including Thelonius Monk and Bud Powell
- The pianists who emerged in the 1950s and 1960s including Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Cecil Taylor.

Additional information

To find out more about music appreciation classes and to read some of our recommendations, please see the blog post Music history and appreciation: the 2018/19 programme which lists our full programme of classes listed by term, and by day of the week. You may then click on each title to read the full course outline. General information and advice on courses at City Lit is available from the Student Centre and Library on Monday to Friday from 12:00 – 19:00. See the course guide for term dates and further details

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Jazz piano: a history from blues to bebop and beyond

£ 69 VAT inc.

The best Music courses

See all

See all