The Community Music Advanced Jazz program is designed for students with considerable experience playing and improvising within the jazz idiom. This program is an ideal preparation for any senior CMS student considering post-secondary jazz education or looking for a challenge that will accelerate their development as an experienced player. Exploring advanced harmonic, rhythmic and melodic concepts amongst peers of the same musical experience level, each student will gain a deeper understanding of what is required to unlock their individual voice as an improvisor and instrumentalist. Each advanced jazz course is coached by acclaimed Canadian jazz musicians with decades of playing and music education experience.
There are two advanced jazz offerings: Advanced Jazz Improv is a weekly playing lab with no audition requirement for entering students. This lab-style course is designed to help students transition from the Youth Jazz Ensemble program/repertoire to Advanced Jazz. Students work with their peers on advanced improvisation concepts in a supportive playing environment and focus on each musical topic without the timeline and repertoire restrictions of a performing ensemble. Advanced Jazz Studies for Youth is a weekly ensemble where each section is limited to one student per instrument. A video audition is required from all entering students to determine that each applicant has the musical experience level to ensure a positive experience in the ensemble.
Jazz is an art form rooted in the Black American musical tradition that emphasizes artistry and expression through improvisation, the act of spontaneous musical composition. The history of jazz is filled with landmark artistic innovations that changed the course of modern music, forming a rich and ever-expanding musical language that continues to influence and innovate today.
“Jazz is not just music: it’s a way of life, it’s a way of being, a way of thinking.”
- Nina Simone