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POLYPHONIC JAZZ FROM THE 20’S TO THE 80’S Grammy-nominated Scott Healy returns to continue the Ellington Study Group series. This time, he’ll focus in on polyphonic jazz from its early origins in the 20’s, to the Trad revival in the 40’s and 50’s, and all the way up to the NYC scene in the 80’s and then the present day. This is a FREE event for all ASA members! Become a member here! |
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Author Archives: Ellington Study Group
Trad and Polyphonic Jazz Playlist
Some examples of polyphonic jazz music from the 1920’s – 1980’s:
2/7/2021 – Jeremy Levy’s “The Planets” and Sammy Nestico Tribute
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2/6/2021 – Masterclass Signup and Pandemic Update
The Ellington Study Group LA has been on hiatus since March, 2020 – we’re having our first online meeting on Sunday Feb 7th 2021 at 10am PST. This event is available only to ASA members, so please visit the Academy of Scoring Arts website for more information.
In the meantime I’m collecting names and gauging interest for a private online composition and arranging masterclass. I’m envisioning a very small group of say, six? Four? Three or four meetings, a week apart, with written assignments and individual original score study/analysis…in other words your own works presented to the group.
I would like to keep this group moving fast and furious, and focus primarily on linear/quantum jazz and contemporary harmony – topics we’ve touched on in past meetings, but with a more in-depth and applied focus. I’m really interested in ways to inject cool harmonic movement into modern film/TV/jazz and rock music, in a way that isn’t talking about traditional analysis or chord symbols. We did this with early jazz music and the many ways to use passing “chords”, which are actually just a moment by moment manifestation of linear movement – thus the term “quantum” harmony – it’s not really a chord until the moment you perceive it and then it moves somewhere else.
And I’m REALLY into looking at your original music, and sharing it with a small group will be really good for you and everyone.
I’m looking at a price of $100 – $400 for anything from two to four classes, or more?
Please fill out the following form and let me know what you think and if you’d like to be added to the list to pursue this masterclass. Thanks and feel free to contact me directly- Thanks! Scott
2/1/2020 – Quantum Harmony, Early Jazz – Special Guest Joshua Moshier
Our next class on February 1st will be jam-packed with a detailed of some of the basic harmony of jazz music. I’ll start with a deep dive into early jazz harmony, focusing on how improvising players manipulated and exploited the “classical” chromaticism of popular music and the evolved late 19th century European tradition. I’ll talk about interpreting diminished passing chords, secondary dominants, other chromaticism, and some of the ways the complex jazz harmonic tradition evolved from three and four-voice harmony and voice leading. I want to take a look at the classic Ellington piece “East St. Louis Toodle-oo,” and if we have time we’ll get into the more modern polyphonic music of artists like Steve Lacy, the “Downtown” NYC sound, and some music from the 21st century “Trad” jazz movement.
After a short schmooze break I’ll bring up our special guest Joshua Moshier. Joshua is a magnificent jazz pianist and composer, and has become an established presence as composer for film and TV. He’ll discuss his career, his jazz background, how he combines improvisation with composed material, and the process of recording and editing scores which feature improvised music.
Link to purchase tickets on Eventbrite
About Joshua Moshier:
Joshua’s live-action work includes scoring the FX series Baskets, starring Zach Galifianakis, the Emmy-nominated Netflix series Special from Jim Parsons’ That’s Wonderful Productions, the Netflix film Happy Anniversary from writer/director Jared Stern, and the main title music for the Emmy-nominated IFC series Documentary Now! starring Fred Armisen and Bill Hader.
In animation, Joshua’s work includes the upcoming HBO Max series Looney Tunes Cartoons, the Netflix series Dragons: Rescue Riders from DreamWorks, and the viral animated hit Sidewalk, directed by Celia Bullwinkel.
Joshua studied music at Northwestern University. Throughout and after college, he delved deeply into the Chicago jazz scene, performing as a pianist with Marquis Hill, Chris Madsen, Milton Suggs, John Moulder and many others. In his own group co-led with Mike Lebrun, he released Joy Not Jaded and The Local Colorists, as well as his Chamber Music America commissioned work Touch and Go: The Studs Terkel Project.
Joshua is an alumnus of the Sundance Institute Film Music Program (Narrative Feature) and the BMI Conducting Workshop.