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| Schaap Is Back! The Inaugural Semester Of University Jazz at Lincoln Center expands its adult education series under a new banner, Swing University (Swing U), and this new structure will have something that appeals to every jazz lover! The inaugural year of Swing U will offer classes at introductory, intermediary and advanced levels. Swing U's Fall, Winter and Spring Terms feature an array of comprehensive and special interest classes, giving the public access to jazz education in a hip environment, with quality comparable to that found at leading academic institutions. Led by Jazz at Lincoln Center's curator, the popular Phil Schaap, Swing U's faculty will also include legendary pianist and jazz educator Dick Katz and Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra trombonist Vincent Gardner. In the fall semester, students can learn the basics in Jazz 101, take a more advanced course with Jazz 201 or learn specifics with New Orleans & Jazz or Bebop with Vincent Gardner. In a distinctive new offering, Phil Schaap will lead a 4-session seminar, Learn What Wynton Doesn't Know focusing on subjects chosen by Jazz at Lincoln Center's Artistic Director, Wynton Marsalis. Learn What Wynton Doesn't Know will explore special topics Mr. Marsalis has requested Mr. Schaap to teach him as a student. These unique seminars will educate both students and Mr. Marsalis in an intimate setting, the Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame. The series of classes offered by Swing U will show students what jazz is all about; Phil Schaap explains: "Jazz sounded wonderful to me when I was toddler. But the best thing is that it sounds even better to me today: a lifetime of listening has proven its own reward." Mr. Schaap says "I want to help you better enjoy the jazz you listen to. I'll pass on the lessons I've learned first hand from the masters: Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Papa Jo Jones, and Max Roach. I'll give you the skills that will enrich your own jazz experience, not to teach you trumpet or piano or drums but to teach you the history, the context, the culture, while telling you some good stories." Held at the organization's home, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Swing U invites students to engage with esteemed jazz educators in the hippest classes in town. The Fall Term of Swing U will run from September 26, 2006 through November 15, 2006. All classes take place at the Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC). Jazz historianPhil Schaapcame on board as Curator on October 18, 2001. He confers with Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, members of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and supplies jazz information to all JALC departments. Phil Schaap has taught at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Jazz 101 courses and lectures. Phil Schaap has also taught jazz at Princeton University. He has broadcast jazz on the radio for over 33 years and has won Grammy Awards for Historical Writing (3), Producing (3), and Audio Engineering (2). Phil Schaap is now the lead instructor of Swing U, Jazz at Lincoln Center's newly expanded adult jazz education series. Dick Katzis a pianist, composer, author and teacher. His prolific career as a musician includes recording with Benny Goodman in 1949, and making Carmen McRae's first album in 1954. Mr. Katz has also worked in the legendary J & K with J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding and played the famous Newport Jazz Festival in 1956. He has also worked in Oscar Pettiford's Big Band and was a primary associate of John Lewis and Lee Konitz. As an author, Mr. Katz's Grammy-nominated historical writing has been thrilling jazz enthusiasts since the 1950s. Mr. Katz has also shared jazz with the public as an educator, and has taught jazz in college classrooms for over 30 years. Vincent R. Gardnerbegan singing in church at an early age, he began playing piano when he was six, and soon switched to the violin, saxophone, and French horn before finally deciding on the trombone at age 12. In college, he took a summer job performing with a jazz band at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, where he caught the ear of Mercer Ellington, who hired him on his first professional job. After graduating in 1996, he moved to New York to pursue his professional career. Mr. Gardner has performed, toured, and/or recorded with The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Bobby McFerrin, The Count Basie Orchestra, Frank Foster, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Chaka Kahn, A Tribe Called Quest, Nancy Wilson, McCoy Tyner, Nicholas Payton, Illinois Jacquet, Wynton Marsalis, Tommy Flanagan, Marcus Roberts, Matchbox 20, Jimmy Heath, Lauryn Hill and others. He has been a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra since 2000. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |