Jazz at Lincoln Center opens the 2016-17 season and continues to connect audiences with varying levels of exposure to jazz with age-appropriate education initiatives. Enrollment is open for the Fall Terms of WeBop, designed for children and caregivers, and Swing University, geared toward adults.
Swing University, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s continuing education program, offers three jazz courses for the fall term: Louis Armstrong (September 22 – October 27),Jazz 101 (September 27 – November 29), and Ellington, Basie, and Beyond: Big Band Jazz (October 3 – November 14).
Ricky Riccardi, Director of Research Collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum teaches the specialized course on one of the first and greatest geniuses of jazz, Louis Armstrong. Seton Hawkins, Manager of Public Programs and Education Resources at Jazz at Lincoln Center, will lead the Jazz 101 course. Trombonist and big band scholar John Wriggle will guide students through Ellington, Basie, and Beyond: Big Band Jazz.
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s popular early childhood education program, WeBop, will explore the ABC’s of Jazz from September 20 – November 20. Over the eight week term, participants will swing to favorite nursery rhymes, stomp the blues away, solo like Satchmo, and jam with a live jazz quartet. Free trial classes are offered at the Harlem School of the Arts on Saturday, September 10.
Swing University and WeBop classes take place in the Irene Diamond Education Center at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, located at Broadway at 60th Street, New York, New York. WeBop classes are also available at Harlem School of the Arts at 645 St Nicholas Avenue.
Fall Term 2016 Classes
WeBop Fall Term 2016:
ABC’s of Jazz
September 20, 2016- November 20,2016
Classes are segmented based on age from 8 months—5 years:
Hipsters: 8-16 months old
Scatters: Walking-23 months old
Stompers: 2-3 years old
Gumbo Group: 2-5 years old
Syncopators: 4-5 years old
Swing University Fall 2016 Term:
Louis Armstrong
Taught by Ricky Riccardi
6 Thursday nights: September 22, 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27
6:30-8:30pm
One of the first and greatest geniuses of Jazz, Louis Armstrong has remained one of the most beloved figures in American history for nearly a century, and his music sounds as fresh and vibrant now as it did when it was first recorded. A trumpet virtuoso, a groundbreaking vocalist, a master bandleader, a pop star, and a movie star, Armstrong enjoyed a career that spanned most of the twentieth century and helped fundamentally shape the development of American popular music and of American society. Ricky Riccardi, Director of Research Collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum, Armstrong biographer, all-around “Pops” scholar, and master storyteller, will take you
Jazz 101
Taught by Seton Hawkins
8 Tuesday nights: September 27, October 11, 18, 25, November 1, 15, 22, 29
6:30–8:30pm
Do you love jazz and want to learn more about it? Join us for one of today’s best introductions to our nation’s greatest art form! In Jazz 101, we’ll help you to develop your ears to hear the many details and intricacies that make this music so endlessly fascinating, and guide you through the history and development of the styles. Instructor and Swing University curator Seton Hawkins will provide your introduction to jazz; no musical knowledge is required.
Ellington, Basie, and Beyond: Big Band Jazz
Taught by John Wriggle
6 Monday nights: October 3, 17, 24, 31, November 7, 14
6:30–8:30pm
Do you love the stately melodic genius of Ellington? How about the hard-swinging Kansas City sound of the Count Basie Band? How about the infectiously danceable strains of the Benny Goodman Orchestra? If you love the sounds of the big bands, then join us as we take you through the history of their formation, play for you the endless diversity of sounds they generated, and introduce you to the innovators and architects of the greatest bands!