Syllabus

Jazz in America The National Jazz Curriculum www.jazzinamerica.org General Syllabus (eight units)

  1. What is Jazz
  2. Elements of Jazz
    1. improvisation
    2. rhythm
    3. sounds and instruments associated with jazz
    4. harmony
    5. form
  3. Jazz’s Roots, New Orleans, Ragtime, and Dixieland (1900-1930)
  4. Big Band Swing (1930s)
  5. Bebop (1940s)
  6. Cool, Hard Bop, and Modal Jazz (1950s)
  7. Avant Garde/Free Jazz; Fusion (1960-1990)
  8. Jazz Today; Jazz Tomorrow (1990-2000+)
Suggested Supplemental (Optional) Materials
  1. The Instrumental History of Jazz, Willie Hill (N2K Inc.) (includes two CDs--one multi-media enhanced--featuring historically significant recordings and a 54-page booklet)
  2. Jazz Styles, History and Analysis, Mark Gridley (Prentice Hall) (easy to understand jazz history text; includes two CDs: one demonstration CD and one CD of historically significant recordings)
  3. Jazz in American Culture, Burton W. Peretti (Ivan R. Dee Publishing)
  4. Ken Burns Jazz: The Story of American Music (Sony) (includes five CDs featuring a wide variety of historically significant recordings and a detailed booklet)

the thelonious monk institute of jazz
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