by Russ Nolan Jazz Tactics by Chase Sanborn Writing a ‘How To’ book that is both educational and entertaining is a monumental challenge. Most read like an appliance manual and are prescribed for insomnia. It is the genius who makes the complex simple and Chase Sanborn
Read more →“What’s So Funny?” Joining in the Jazz Conversation by Russ Nolan Have you ever asked that question when observing a group of people who suddenly erupt in laughter? You want to be part of the party, not on the Outside looking In–don’t you? Attending a concert and
Read more →Do you need a Degree to Appreciate Jazz? by Russ Nolan (Continued from “I don’t get Jazz–and I WANT to”) Wouldn’t it be nice to see this phrase more often when looking for a new job? Besides, by the time one completes a degree in a certain field,
Read more →Understanding Jazz One of my fellow salsa dancers expressed this to me a few months back, and I believe it warrants a discussion. First of all, this person is honest with their feelings about the subject and has an open mind. They are ready to experience something
Read more →by Russ Nolan Jazz Composition and Improvisation: The Melodic Development of Sonny Rollins More Oleo Examples from Part 2: Link to this post!
Read more →by Russ Nolan Jazz Composition and Improvisation: Melodic Development of Sonny Rollins’ Oleo Let’s take Sonny Rollins’ classic, ‘Oleo’ as a musical example. I picked Oleo for two reasons: 1) It is an example of melodic development in itself, and 2) It’s common to just ‘run changes’
Read more →by Russ Nolan Jazz Composition and Improvisation: Two Speeds Composition and Improvisation are one and the same, just at different speeds. Composition is Improvisation out of time and Improvisation is Composition in real time. Every piece of music is a penned improvisation and every improvisation is a
Read more →by Russ Nolan Teach Jazz Students to be Relevant Jazz as a Conversation Finally, as important as it is to give beginning improvisers the proper tools to build with, it’s equally important to reinforce the idea that these tools are only the means to the end, not the
Read more →by Russ Nolan Teaching Jazz As A Language: Using the Bebop Scale for Longer Phrases If the students show a basic understanding of the Blues Scale, I will move on to the Bebop Scale. One of the dividing lines between high school jazz students and college jazz
Read more →by Russ Nolan Teaching Jazz As A Language: First Words One for the most challenging aspects of learning how to improvise or how to teach improvisation is where to start. Most of us did not grow up listening to Jazz around the house, however, we did grow
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