MUS 108 — Inside Jazz
Quarter: Spring
Instructor(s): Jim Nadel
Date(s): Apr 3—May 1
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Wednesdays
Class Meeting Time: 7:00—8:50 pm (PT)
Tuition: $360
Refund Deadline: Apr 5
Unit(s): 1
Enrollment Limit: 40
Status: Closed
Quarter: Spring
Day: Wednesdays
Duration: 5 weeks
Time: 7:00—8:50 pm (PT)
Date(s): Apr 3—May 1
Unit(s): 1
Tuition: $360
Refund Deadline: Apr 5
Instructor(s): Jim Nadel
Enrollment Limit: 40
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Closed
Stan Getz said that the best jazz is like a conversation among good friends. Even without any musical training, listeners can reach a deeper enjoyment of the music through understanding some of its language and structure as well as the tacit agreements that many jazz musicians use to guide their interpretations and improvisational interactions. This course is for the general listener who wants to better understand jazz music and learn more about the inner game that jazz musicians play. Jazz is a music based on individual self-expression in the context of a musical team, and the role of each musician changes throughout any performance. By looking at musical contributions made by some of jazz’s greatest artists, including Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane, we will begin to understand that there are many different yet highly successful approaches to playing jazz. Topics to be explored include the language and structure of jazz as well as the approaches to improvisation. Demonstrations and discussions are designed to help the general listener hear the music as a “fifth member of the quartet.”
JIM NADEL
Founder and Artistic Director, Stanford Jazz Workshop
Jim Nadel has been at Stanford for over 50 years. He has been a lecturer in jazz studies for the Stanford Department of Music since 1986. Nadel plays the saxophone professionally and is also a composer and an arranger. He founded the Stanford Jazz Workshop and has served as the artistic and educational director of its annual summer festival since 1972. Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.