Starting in April, the Straz Jazz Project is offering free music lessons and concerts to anyone who is interested in learning more about the unique musical stylings of jazz. The main areas of focus and performance will be regarding jazz singing, the rhythm section and playing the steel pan.
Workshops
Here are the free workshops that will be offered:
The Jazz Voice Workshop
The Jazz Voice Workshop is a journey into the joy of singing in the great tradition of Jazz. First, there will be a brief history of the voicing of jazz followed by examples and exploration into techniques of breath, phrasing, scat singing, free form narrative, textures and time variation. This workshop is good for vocalists interested in exploring the jazz.
“There will be people who are both singers or who are interested in the tradition of jazz singers,” says Fred Johnson, artist-in-residence and community engagement specialist at Straz Center for the Performing Arts. “We’ll often get folks from the general public who just love jazz.” Workshop leaders will share ideas for participants to perfect their jazz voice. On Saturday, April 23, at 3:30pm.
The Jazz Rhythm Section Workshop
The Jazz Rhythm Section Workshop is an opportunity to understanding how to most effectively play in a jazz rhythm section. There will be an emphasis on shifting musical approaches as the music varies from style to style. This workshop is open to all jazz musicians with an emphasis on rhythm section players – piano, bass drums, and guitar.
This workshop will probably be most visited by jazz musicians, especially young jazz musicians from high school and middle school who really want to learn. On Saturday, April 30, at 3:30pm.
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The Steel Pan Jazz Workshop
The Steel Pan Jazz Workshop is a chance to learn about the history, cultural significance and musical richness of this Caribbean instrumental phenomenon. This workshop will give an overview of the basic voices in the pan orchestra, the soprano, alto, cello, and bass pans and will share basic techniques in the playing of the steel pan.
Steel pan comes from Trinidad and Tobago and represents the Caribbean experiences in jazz. “Probably the only musical instrument created in the 20th century, out of what was perceived by most people as discarded garbage,” says Johnson.
From these discarded oil drums come the unique and amazing sound of the steel pan.
There’s opportunities to gain insight into the pan approach to jazz improvisation. This workshop is open to all jazz musicians, jazz curious, and jazz lovers. On Saturday, May 21, at 3:30pm.
Concerts
All concerts will be free and open to the public. They will be held on the Riverwalk in Downtown Tampa and walkups are more than welcome.
Here are the free concerts that will be offered:
Three Voice of Jazz Concert
Three renowned vocalists from the Bay area are going to unite for an evening of jazz-flavored standards, blues and R&B. Fred Johnson, Theo Valentin and Belinda Womack, will present a program of solo and group improvisation and classic storytelling. They will be backed by a quartet featuring some of Tampa Bay’s finest players. On Saturday, April 23, at 7pm.
The Michael Ross Quartet with Special Guest Fred Johnson concert
Bassist/composer Michael Ross has been a mainstay of the local jazz scene since the early ‘80s. The Michael Ross Quartet provides him with a setting to showcase both his compositional skills and his mighty bass technique. Vocalist Fred Johnson will join Ross to sing some of his favorite standards. On Saturday, April 30, at 7pm.
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A Steel Pan Jazz Concert
Jazz with a Caribbean feel is on the bill for the final evening of the Straz Jazz Project. Miamians Karnerham and Einstein Brown, master steel pan players who also make and chart the history of the instrument, will be joined by The Fred Johnson Jazz Ensemble for this joyous fusion of two rich musical traditions. On Friday, May 20, at 7:30pm.
In these jazz concerts, audience memebers will get to see the different ways of phrasing and unique music styles of jazz. The story telling aspect of jazz is an integral part of African music, which heavily influences jazz.
Also, it’s fitting that these concerts are a community experience. While improvisation is an important part of jazz, the entire jazz experience creates an ensemble opportunity for musicians. Johnson adds, “One of the beautiful things in the evolution of jazz is that it creates an opportunity for community and individual expression.”