About

Jazz at Lincoln Centers Summer Jazz Academy is the premier high school program for advanced high school jazz students. This two-week program, designed and instructed by a select team of faculty, serves as a rigorous training institute for 42 of the most advanced and dedicated high school jazz students (grades 9-12). Students will apply by audition and participate in one of two big bands, perform in small combos, receive private lessons, and experience classes in aesthetics, culture,history, performance practice, and pedagogy. In addition to this educational component, the institute will also feature several public performances featuring the student combos, student big bands, along with the members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at Bard College during the summer of 2023.

Past Faculty

Wynton Marsalis, Trumpet

 Kenny Rampton, Trumpet

 Terell Stafford, Trumpet

 Helen Sung, Piano

 Vincent Gardner, Trombone

 Chris Crenshaw, Trombone

 Marshall Gilkes, Trombone

 Ted Nash, Saxophone

 Steve Wilson, Saxophone

 Lauren Sevian, Saxophone

 Tim Warfield, Saxophone

 Jeff Hamilton, Drums

 Jason Marsalis, Drums

Dr. Joseph Jefferson, Trombone

Michael Dease, Trombone

Roxy Coss, Saxophone

Steven Feifke, Piano/Arranging 

Instructional Classes

Big Band: Ensembles will explore a selected repertoire from the large ensemble works of Duke Ellington, Benny Carter, Mary Lou Williams, Fletcher Henderson, Don Redman, to the pieces we write today.

Combo and the Art of the Small Ensemble: Combos will study and perform music of all eras.  Students will be able to play together in less formal settings but be provided a training ground around the format and value of this time-honored jazz tradition.   

Performance Master Class: An advanced course that discusses and demonstrates specific techniques of any given style including solo learning with analysis of texture, form, and meaning.  Taught by listening, asking questions that require deeper knowledge and playing.

History:  A survey of the artists and recordings of the works being addressed in both large and small ensembles, their placement and significance in national and international contexts, and their position in the canon of jazz.   

Aesthetics:  Jazz aesthetics and culture in the socio-political context through the writings of Albert Murray, Ralph Ellison, and Martin Williams.  Students will be assigned readings before the start of the program and will address the concept of the blues as a cultural and social phenomenon and will be expected to understand the retro development is an important part of cultivating artistry. 

Instrumental Studio: Studio lessons will focus on instrumental pedagogy from a foundational and jazz standpoint. All aspects of technique will be covered with an emphasis on breathing, tone, attack, flexibility, velocity, range, phrasing, control, special effects, reading, and expressing different emotions.

*Classes are completely dependent upon student criticism. Through the promotion of honesty, learning to critique and be critiqued provides an open forum for evaluative and reflective discussion.