912A 1:00 Jazz Band 

 Gr 9 - 12 | 3 Credits | Year-Long | 3x per Cycle

 *PREREQUISITE: Audition and interview as well as membership in Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Sinfonia (bass players), Chamber Orchestra (bass players), or Chorus (guitar and piano players).  Private lessons are strongly recommended.

1:00 Jazz Band has flexible instrumentation. Woodwind, brass, percussion, guitar, piano, and bass players are eligible to audition. 1:00 Jazz Band is designed to teach students to play jazz styles and to improvise on their instruments. Students will learn to play “head charts,” assemble backing parts, improvise solos, and rehearse big band charts. Students are encouraged to form combos outside of class. Combos that rehearse regularly and achieve a high level of proficiency may be eligible to play outside “gigs” (hired performances) and attend adjudicated festivals. Students in this class are required to perform in a major ensemble including Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Sinfonia (bass players), Chamber Orchestra (bass players), and Chorus (pianists and guitarists). Members of 2:00 Jazz Band may also take this course to improve skills in improvisation.

Essential Skills

The Wellesley Public Schools Performing Arts Program offers a comprehensive program of experiences for all students. Courses offered through the Performing Arts are grounded in the Massachusetts State Arts Framework Essential Skills and Standards; Creating, Performing, Responding, and Connecting. 

Jazz Band Essential Skills:

Creating:      

• Students will generate instrumental interpretations that integrate jazz aesthetic principles with personal style.

Performing:  

• Students will perform with accuracy and expression tunes from the jazz instrumental repertoire at a MAJE level 2-3 (scale of 1-6).

Responding:

• Students will analyze the ways that one’s own culture and privilege can affect the criteria one uses to evaluate musical performance.

Connecting: 

• Students will explain the development of the group’s aesthetic vision as an ensemble and how it is represented in our performance.