Benefits of Training in Small Ensembles with Jazz Music

Notes on Conducting Jazz Ensembles  Listening, Imitation, Improvisation, Cultural, Personal and Historical Awareness  By David Berger (highlights) The universal love of jazz and its identification with America is about the personal freedom of expression and democracy in action. In order to be a responsible citizen, we need to be educated and articulate. This is especially true in being a member of a jazz band, which is a democratic musical society. Your first responsibility as a member is to understand the musical arrangements. Although the conductor is the final arbiter of taste, each player should bring as much understanding and personal

Read More

Student Profile: Mattias Almassy

Mattias Almassy has been a wonderful student at International Academy of Jazz and we have been blessed to have such a talented, hard working individual be a part of our programs. Mattias started with us in 2016 with a strong background in classical piano.  He was not as confident in solo performances nor did he have much knowledge about jazz. He worked mostly with Kamau Kenyetta and Tonga Ross Ma’u. In an interview with Mattias, he mentioned how much he enjoyed feeling like he could let the music come out freely and how open the teachers were to collaboration and

Read More

Download Freshmen Package!