Instructor: Dennis Davis
Office: Music Library
UK Music Office Phone: (859) 257-4900 (to leave message)
Home Phone: (859) 313-5203
EKU Office Phone: (859) 622-5007
Email: dennis.davis@eku.edu
Office Hours: By appointment - Emailing is best.
Class Location: CB 331 (6:00 - 7:15 p.m. MW)

Course Objective: Develop a survey knowledge of the personalities, styles, terminology, culture, and traditions commonly associated with the American musical epoch called "Jazz."
Required Text: Jazz Styles: History and Analysis by Mark Gridley, 8 ^th ed., Printice-Hall Publications; Upper Saddle River, NJ. (2003).

Supplemental Texts: 1) Reading Jazz edited by Robert Gottlieb. Published by Pantheon Books (1996). 2) . The Story of Jazz by Marshall Stearns (1980). Published by Oxford University Press.

Required Listening: 1) Demonstration and Jazz Classics CDs from Jazz Styles: History and Analysis by Mark Gridley, 8^th ed., Printice-Hall Publications; Upper Saddle River, N.J. (2003). 2) Other items as assigned on reserve at the Lucille Little Fine Arts Library. 3) Selected WWW audio files.

Recommended Listening: Ken Burns' "Jazz: The Story of America's Music" Box Set (5 CDs)

Attendance: Required. Only verifiable university or medical excuses will be accepted.

Requirements: Students are expected to familiarize themselves with the material before it is presented. Class participation in discussions and other activities is crucial and required. Assignments and readings will mainly be drawn from the Jazz Styles: History and Analysis text and CDs. Various other readings, projects, and activities will also be required. Course materials are available at both bookstores. Earlier editions of the book, supplementary CDs, and other required readings are on reserve in the Lucille Little Fine Arts Library. Students are required to find, attend, and write reports on two jazz concerts.

Evaluation: The final grade is determined by the:

100 points             Mid-term exam
100 points             Final exam
  20 points each         2 concert reviews
  20 points each         2 biographies or Oral presentations (see p.8)
  20 points             Participation, quizzes (4), and assignments
300 points             Total

The material for the two exams will come from class listening, lecture, discussion, readings, and supplemental readings and listening as assigned. The exams will feature multiple choice, true/false, matching, fill-in-the-blank, and short essay-style questions.
 

Caveat: The instructor reserves the right to modify the syllabus as necessary to meet the needs of the class.

1/19         MLK day- no class
2/4           Terms & Definitions Quiz
2/11         1^st Biography due
2/18         1^st Concert Review due
2/25         Exam 1
3/15-20   Spring Break
4/14         2^nd Biography due
4/21         2^nd Concert Review due
5/3          Final Exam - (6:00-8:00 P.M.)

1/14           1. Discuss syllabus, course requirements and policies, text and CDs, supplemental sources (prejazz departure from the text), and the course internet site. An introduction to the styles, terminology, chronology, and resources of jazz. Definition of jazz (per Dr. Pen) as an "audible history of racial integration in America."

Assignment: Xerox and study a dictionary or encyclopedia entry defining the word "Jazz." Try to use sourses with brief entries. Look at Webster's English Dictionary, dictionaries on Cultural Literacy, The Encyclopedia of Britanica, Grollier's, Encarta, or any others of your choosing. The shorter, the better. Be able to discuss your entry at the next class meeting.

1/14 I. BASICS OF JAZZ. Read the Stearns Summaries.

1/19 MLK Day (No Class) Read the Stearns Summaries.

1/21 II. PREMODERN JAZZ - Read the Stearns Summaries.

1/26                                c. The Blues

                                        d. Ragtime

1/28                                e. European Traditions & Classical Adoption

                                        f. Tin-Pan Alley

                                        g. Vaudeville

2/4                     5. Early Jazz: Combo Jazz Prior to the Middle 1930s.

                         6. Swing: The Early 1930s to the Late 1940s.

2/11                   7. Duke Ellington.

2/18                   8. The Count Basie Bands.

2/25 Mid-Term

3/1 III. MODERN JAZZ: THE EARLY 1940s TO THE EARLY 1960s.

3/1                9. Bop.

3/8                10. Cool Jazz
.

3/15-3/19 Spring Break (Jazz it up)

3/22                11. Hard Bop.

3/29                  12. Miles Davis, His Groups and Sidemen.

4/5                13. John Coltrane.

4/12 IV. MODERN JAZZ: THE EARLY 1960s to the Early 1990s.
                        14. 1960s and 70s Avant-Garde and "Free" Jazz.

4/19                15. Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Keith Jarrett.
4/26                16. Jazz-Rock Fusion.

5/3 Final Exam (6:00 ‹ 8:00 p.m.)
 
 

Length: 4 pages, double spaced, with in-line citations or footnotes and a bibliography of selected sources.

Content: Review a Jazz concert, and:

• Present a brief overview and biography that places the group/artist into historical context. To which genre(s) do they belong, and why (you must support your answers and cite your sources)?
• Pick two or three songs to discuss in detail. The key is variety. Pick songs, which differ stylistically. Is it a swing tune, a ballad, a bebop song? Are their lyrics (even if they are not sung)? How were the solos structured? How many solos? Did they trade 4s?
• Explain the instrumentation of the group and hierarchy of instrumentation for the specific songs you discuss.
• Did you dig it? Was it well organized?

• The Jazz Styles: History and Analysis text should be a source.
• The related articles in the Supplemental Readings is another required source.
• The New Grove¹s Dictionary of Music and Musicians edited by Stanley Sadie (2003), in the Fine Arts Library.
• In that same area should also be several popular encyclopedias of music and others devoted specifically to jazz - see the New Grove's Dictionary of Jazz.
• There will be specific books on mainstream artists and groups like Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, etcŠ
• Only one html site is permitted. It must be cited fully as to author, date created, date accessed, and must be viewable when I check for it.
• Liner notes are also acceptable but are rarely objective.

• Required! Standard Operating Procedure for young Jazz scholars: the Chicago manual of style, MLA, or similar scholarly guide. Be consistent. Please use do not use footnotes, cite all sources in line ex: (Gridley, 240) , remember that encyclopedia entries are listed according to author ‹ not editor ‹ unless the entry is unsigned (250 words or less).

Content: Write a biography on a jazz performer/composer of your choice.

Length: 2 pages, double spaced.

Sources and citation style: Same as Concert report. Here are some good web sources:

• New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. (Also available online in Music Library).
• The biography section of the website for Ken Burns' Jazz series on PBS.
• The Blue Flame Cafe.
• www.google.com.