SAVE THE DATE: Dave Liebman - May 16, 2012

In 2011, David Liebman was honored as an NEA Jazz Master, the highest national award for jazz musicians in the US. Liebman is co-founder and Artistic Director of the International Association of Schools of Jazz (IASJ), the mother organization for our Alamo Colleges Jazz Allstars program. Over the past two decades, his performances, master classes, and informal conversations have inspired students and teachers alike at the organization's annual world jazz meetings. Watch this video snippet and see for yourself.

We are thrilled to report that Dave Liebman has agreed to come to San Antonio for a day-long mini-residency in the stunning new  Palmetto Center for the Arts at Northwest Vista College. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, May 16, 2012.

He will conduct open master classes with the 2012 Alamo Allstars group from 2-5 PM in the Palmetto Center. A concert will follow at 7 PM, with the Alamo Allstars opening and a performance by Dave Liebman with regional artists Aaron Prado (piano), Audra Menconi (drums), and Mike Porter (bass).  It is sure to be an extraordinary evening. Watch this blog for details as the date draws near.

STUDENTS! Now is the time to begin preparations for auditions, which are to be held on Monday, November 21, 2011. Download charts and listen to performances of the IASJ Top 10. Start learning the tunes now, if you don't want to miss out on this life-changing opportunity. Contact me at kcartwright2@alamo.edu or 210-486-4828 for more information. You can do it!

TOP 10 TUNES TO KNOW IN JAZZ (IASJ)

Here, listed in order of preference, are the current top 10 tunes to know for jam sessions among participating members of the IASJ (The Hague, 2010), with keys for women singers indicated (these would be in addition to standard instrumental keys).  Any student who wishes to become an Alamo Colleges Jazz Allstar should begin working on these now!

Links are to downloadable PDFs of sheet-music (and some videos). Titles in bold are in both the 2000 and the 2010 version.

1. 12-bar blues (various tunes and keys, minor and major)   
• Centerpiece - C 
• Now's the Time - F
2. "I Got Rhythm" changes (various tunes and keys, including original); singer key for original = C (inst = mainly Bb)
3. All the Things You Are; singer key = Eb (inst = Ab)
4. Stella by Starlight; singer key = G (inst = Bb)
5. There Will Never Be Another You; singer key = Bb (inst = Eb)
6. Body and Soul; singer key = Ab (inst = Db)
7. Autumn Leaves; singer key = Cm or Dm
8. Have You Met Miss Jones; singer key = C (inst = F)
9. Footprints; key = Cm (this is an instrumental tune; singers should scat the melody or harmony)
10. Softly as in a Morning Sunrise; singer key = Gm

Below is the earlier list (2000, Paris). Titles in bold are in both versions of the list. Links are to downloadable PDFs of sheet-music.

1. Body and Soul - Ab  
2. Stella by Starlight - F  
3. All the Things You Are - Eb  
4. Rhythm changes: I Got Rhythm - C, 32-bar version  
5. Softly as in a Morning Sunrise - Gm  
6. Autumn Leaves - Cm  
7. Green Dolphin Street - G   
8. Blues: All Blues - Eb
   Blues: All Blues, lyric sheet 
9. There Is No Greater Love - G  
10. Solar - Cm
    [All of Me - G]
    

"A very Brazilian kind of day"

"Today is a very Brazilian kind of day – it begins and ends with Choro..."

Sao Paulo - The IASJ Meeting (Part 2): Enjoy part two of Brazil impressions from the brilliant and entertaining Irish bassist and educator, Ronan Guilfoyle. His blog gives a vivid flavor of the capstone event in the Alamo Allstar's year, the annual meeting of the International Association of Jazz Educators, which the grand prize winner is invited to attend.