That Jazz - Monkey Max Music and File Download

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Part IV: I Like the Way You Play: The Jazz Musician
jazz-related careers that don’t involve performance, such as artist manager,
arts administrator, author, concert promoter, critic, editor, educator, radio
host, record producer, and talent scout (known as “artists and repertoire”).
Many college students advance their musical educations on several fronts:
� Majoring in music or take several music classes while majoring in other
subjects ranging from liberal arts to sciences and technology.
� Performing in department of music groups and ensembles, but they also
have jazz groups of their own that play outside gigs.
� Taking private lessons with college professors and extra lessons with offcampus
instructors to gain a variety of experience.
Some undergraduate programs let students pursue jazz within a broader context
of music. For instance, the University of California, San Diego has two
jazz ensembles and a variety of jazz classes so students can learn history and
theory and gain performance experience. But there are also classes in music
history dating back centuries, in critical thinking, in computer music, and in
various other areas of music unrelated to jazz.
Even within a jazz program, an education can take many directions. Some students
concentrate on performance, and others focus on composition. Some
students aim for careers as professors and teachers, and others want jobs in
music administration. Music degrees with an emphasis on jazz usually require
non-jazz classes. Any good jazz program can produce a student with a solid
knowledge of jazz history and performance, as well as some knowledge of
other musical traditions. Boundaries between genres such as blues, classical,
and jazz are breaking down, so it’s healthy for students with a primary interest
in jazz to study many other types of music and perform with players in
many other styles. A lot of musicians love performing live jazz, but they also
play bluegrass, blues, classical, and other music. The more styles you can
play the more gigs you may get.
Although it’s not often discussed, I think it’s worthwhile for young musicians
to consider adding a few business classes to their college educations. Some
universities offer classes in the business side of music: managing public arts
organizations, negotiating recording contracts, managing talent. No matter
how gifted a musician is as a performer, knowledge of business is invaluable
because everyone needs to earn a living, manage a career, and know about
financial matters. In today’s industry, more and more artists are going the
independent route and distributing their music through Web sites and selfproduced
CDs, so it’s valuable to have knowledge of business and finance.
Today’s successful jazz performers often have multi-faceted careers, making
contributions in other areas of music. While they maintain busy performance
schedules, some write books and operas, and still others explore the leading
edge of musical technology and computers. Most young musicians today