I am available as a clinician to work with middle school, high school and college level students with a focus on the following areas:
Basic and Advanced Rhythm
A comprehensive approach designed to help improve site reading, soloing and accompanying.
Rhythm Section Playing
Pianists, bassists, guitarists and drummers will focus on a more dynamic and integrated ways of playing together and understand their individual role within the group context. They will learn the key components of the rhythm section as a stand alone unit or within the context of larger group such as big band format. Learn how to support a vocalist or soloist. Learn how to use dynamics as a group.
Concepts in Improvisation
Individual soloists, including piano, bass, guitar, woodwinds, brass and percussion will develop new ways of exploring and developing a personal approach to improvisation using a variety of tools. Discussion around melodic development, thematic and motivic devices, rhythmic structures, using parent scales and modes, understanding chord types, Box soloing with Pentatonic scales, Horizontal and Vertical approach to soloing, use of chromaticism, BeBop scales, Hexatonic structures.
Other areas of focus include:
Reading a rhythm chart
Reading a Big Band Chart
Reading a lead sheet
Developing group awareness as a player
Understanding Diatonic Harmony and Chord Scales
Understanding Swing
How to memorize songs
Jazz Harmony using extended tones: 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths
Playing the Blues and understanding the connection to Jazz and BeBop
Latin Workshop
Develop an understanding of Brazilian styles: Bossa Nova, Samba, Partido Alto, and Baio.
Develop an understanding of Afro Cuban, and Jazz Latin music including: playing Tumbao; understanding the Afro Cuban Clave and how Latin percussion instruments fit into the scheme of rhythm section playing. Presentation involving the Afro Cuban rhythms of Bolero, Cha Cha Cha, Son Montuno, Salsa, Guajira et.al.