|
|
Gary Bartz
Marcus Belgrave
Peter Dominguez
Robin Eubanks
Bob Ferrazza
Billy
Hart
Wendell Logan, Chair
Dan Wall


Audition
Requirements
Department Secretary
Oberlin Jazz Septet

•Raising the Roof Even Higher
• The Roof that Jazz is Raising: The Phyllis Litoff Building
• Now Playing: Oberlin Music—the Conservatory's New Record Label
• $5 Million Gift for New Jazz Building Believed Largest Ever in Support
of Jazz Education
• Chronicle-Telegram Coverage of the Litoff Building
• Chronicle-Telegram Profile of Marcus Belgrave
Trombone
Professor Robin Eubanks Awarded Pair of Commissions
Listening
Room: Robin Eubanks
Jazz
Trumpet Professor Marcus Belgrave Honored with Benny Golson Jazz Master
Award

Legendary
Brubeck Album Jazz at Oberlin was Recorded Fifty Years AgoMarch
2, 1953


|
|
|

|
Jazz great Billy Hart offers a March 2000 percussion
master class. He joined the faculty the following year. Photo by
Joe McIntyre
|
CURRICULA
The Conservatory incorporated jazz into its curriculum in
1972 and began offering a major in jazz studies in 1989. The
program prepares students for careers as professional jazz
musicians and for advanced study in jazz.
The jazz studies faculty includes composers and
performers who maintain active jazz careers in addition to
teaching lessons and classes and coaching ensembles.
Oberlin's Jazz Faculty Octet was featured at the 1991 and
1996 International Association of Jazz Educators conferences
held in Washington, D.C., and at the 1996 conference in
Atlanta.
- Jazz Performance Major. During the first two
years of study, jazz performance majors study
concurrently with the jazz and the classical applied
faculty. This dual approach provides a firm foundation,
allows students to build on centuries of musical
knowledge of their instruments, and exposes them to
teaching methods and resources of different faculty
members. During the third and fourth years, students
concentrate on study with a specialist in the jazz idiom.
Jazz performance majors participate in ensembles during
all four years, and they perform in recitals during their
junior and senior years.
|

|
Beauty Surrounds Us, released on the Oberlin Music label
|
The following instruments are offered as principal
private study areas: saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano,
guitar, percussion, and double bass.
- Jazz Composition Major. Students admitted as
jazz composition majors normally begin the sequence of
- courses in private composition in
their first year of
study, and they are expected to explore a variety of
styles and idioms. Jazz composition study culminates with
the public presentation of original works for jazz
ensembles of various sizes.
All majors complete courses in music theory and music
history, as well as liberal arts courses in the College of
Arts and Sciences. Jazz studies courses cover a wide range
of topics, including jazz aural skills, jazz keyboard, jazz
theory, basic arranging and composing techniques,
improvisation, and the history of jazz. Majors also complete
requirements in aural skills, sight singing, and piano
proficiency.
|

|
Andrea Lindborg '00, performing with the Oberlin
Jazz Ensemble
|
PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNTIES
A number of jazz ensembles are formed each semester. In
addition to the Oberlin Jazz Ensemble, there are several
smaller groups ranging from trios to octets. Jazz studies
majors may also be interested in the other student
ensembles, including:
- Contemporary Music Ensemble
- Oberlin Percussion Group
- Mandinka Ensemble
- Javanese Gamelan
- Oberlin Orchestra
- Oberlin Chamber Orchestra
- Oberlin Wind Ensemble.
|

|
Cyrus Chestnut offers a
jazz master class
|
GUEST ARTISTS
Students also have the opportunity to learn from
performances and residencies of leading jazz artists brought
to campus by the Conservatory, the Concert Board, and the
Assemblies Committee. Recent guests include:
- James Moody
- Muhal Richard Abrams
- bassist Rodney Whitaker
- trumpeter Marcus Belgrave
- violinist/composer Leroy Jenkins
- trombonist Robin Eubanks
- drummer Dennis Macrel
- Joshua Redman Quartet
|