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BILBO JAZZ ENSEMBLES 2019-20

GENERAL INFORMATION

The venue is the Shoefactory at Rushden, a beautiful Victorian building (with a grand piano in all three playing spaces), which is also the home of Jazz School UK founders Nick Weldon and Andra Sparks. More details, maps and links can be found on our About Us page. The Jazz Ensembles run on Saturdays and Sundays 10.30am-4.30pm.

prices

The Season Fee for the Ensemble Programme is £560. Payment in advance or in instalments.

Fees includes annual membership bringing 20% discount on fees for workshops, 121 lessons and additional ensembles. Pricing is calculated on the basis of the fixed costs of running each ensemble, so no refunds are possible for missed sessions. However, an alternative ensemble or Theory Shed day may be offered where a suitable place is available.

ENSEMBLE INFORMATION

The Bilbo Ensembles will be working through repertoire and the associated specific skills and theory points from Jazz School UK Levels 3. Ensemble members can read more about the different levels in the members area.

While we will be aiming to internalise as much of possible of the season repertoire (this makes improvising so much easier!) we also have a season learning target - 3 core standards (marked above with an asterix) by heart!

If you are interested in joining a Bilbo ensemble and would like to know if you have the right playing level, here are some typical Bilbo skills:

‣ very good instrumental ability
‣ knowing more than 20 tunes (melody and chords) by heart
‣ fluency in rootless lefthand voicings and right hand comping shapes (piano)
‣ thorough knowledge of the fingerboard (guitarists)
‣ able to play in a wide range of feel, key, idiom and tempo
‣ able to tap three against two (either hand) while speaking either time aloud
‣ able to join up chord tones in a continuous flow of quaver time
‣ extending range of feeling within sound
‣ able to hold time and changes without rhythm section
‣ strong awareness of tune forms
‣ starting to think about different paths through forms
‣ awareness of rhythmic shapes within melodies
‣ know thoroughly, ie starting from any note, 41 scales (12 major 12 harmonic minor 12 melodic minor 2 whole tone 3 diminished)
‣ awareness of diminished relations
‣ starting to use melody suspensions and sideslips
‣ happy with all bananas
‣ understanding the different uses of melodic minor dominants (altered and lydian dominant sounds)
‣ comfortable with chord substitutions
‣ regularly transcribing tunes and solos
‣ confident improviser, able to cope with the demands of a small group gig, and to solo for several choruses over a number of tunes known by heart

Not a complete list, nor entry requirements, as such, just a guide to the sort of experience level of most players in these groups. We're all quite patchy in our skills and knowledge!

The main requirement for Bilbo, though, is the last on our list above - ie to be more or less at good gigging level - this is, incidentally, the sort of playing level that is mostly required these days for college entry. What is there left to learn, you may ask, if we can already play? Well, as in all fields, there's a huge difference between 'decent professional function' and the high-level creativity of top practitioners. Many, many players reach this Bilboteer stage and never get any further - the reason being that this is as far as we can get by desire and instinct alone. Reaching beyond requires a period of systematic work - focusing attention on any existing blank patches in knowledge and understanding, and examining and overhauling the full range of foundation skills. This is what we set out to do in the Bilbo ensembles.

Are you interested in joining this or another Jazz School UK Ensemble? If so, don't delay...