JEN Conference Preview: Vocal Performances by Daniel Gregerman Why attend the Annual JEN Conference? So many times I have been asked this question and never hesitated to answer. There is so much that happens at the conference that it is hard to put it into words. Let’s start with the amazing performances. From the many […]
Drafting a Roadmap to Effective Vocal Improvisation By Justin Binek In a previous article for the JEN e-newsletter (published in February 2017), I briefly discussed improvisational teaching strategies that I have used with singers at the collegiate level, focusing on some tools that I use to help students lock down the form of the tune […]
Jazz Listening 101: A Primer For Students Of Exemplary Songs Of the Genre by Dr. David Fodor I was recently asked by a friend for a good online jazz listening resource that covered a broad range of history of the music and featured its best exemplars. I jumped at the chance to create such a […]
Sing and Play: Teaching Fundamental Music Skills in Vocal Jazz Ensembles by Kathleen Hollingsworth, D.M.A. I am the Vocal Music Director at an Oregon community college where I teach chamber choir and vocal jazz. I generally have students in my ensembles who have been members of their high school choirs and absolutely love to sing. […]
Starting, Sustaining and Stopping: Adding Nuance to All Three Parts of a Note in Vocal Jazz Ensemble Performance by Kerry Marsh Vocal jazz ensemble music lives and develops predominantly in educational institutions, with a few world-class professional groups that those of us in the community seem to unanimously admire. This phenomenon creates both the opportunity […]
Instructing the Rhythm Section In a Vocal Jazz Ensemble by Rosana Eckert The addition of a rhythm section (typically piano, bass, drums, and sometimes guitar) to a jazz choir greatly expands repertoire choices, enhances the ensemble’s stylistic possibilities, and helps take the choir even more deeply into the jazz idiom. This added element can sometimes […]