Synopsis
Jazz Musicianship is an integrated curriculum for mastering jazz theory and improvisation. Applicable for all instruments and voice, concepts are taught experientially through singing, playing, listening, writing, composing, and improvising. With creative application activities in every section, students develop their personal voices while mastering the materials of the jazz language step by step. “I think that Jazz Musicianship is an incredibly thorough, very well done, approach to learning jazz from the bottom up, laying strong foundations for further explorations and understanding of the jazz idiom. I am very impressed.” - Marilyn Crispell "What an accomplishment, with a wide scope of information, concisely phrased, addressing original concepts in an accessible format. Your book holds a place of honor, in my jazz library, next to Baker, Coker and Levine - keeping 'fast' company - but much deserved." Steve Crews
About the Author
As a composer, teacher, performer, and writer, Bill Stevens has had a diverse and dynamic relationship to music. During his high school years, he received national recognition in composition, being named a level 1 finalist by The National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts (NFAA) and receiving the Presidential Scholars Award in the arts under President Clinton. Bill is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, where he completed a major in Music Composition and an independently designed major in Oral Music, focusing on listening and improvisation. His teachers at Oberlin included Sanford Margolis, John Luther Adams, and Randolph Coleman. Receiving a masters in piano performance from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Bill studied with Andrew Willis, John Salmon, and Steve Haines. He has also completed a year's apprenticeship with composer Pauline Oliveros, studying her work Deep Listening. Bills passion for education blossomed during his tenure with The Walden School, where he taught from 2000 through 2012. During his years at Walden, he fell in love with the Musicianship Course, first developed by Grace Cushman, which modeled techniques for fostering creative expression through activity based learning. Seeking to connect this approach with materials of jazz instruction, Bill began offering courses in Jazz Musicianship in 2001. Fascinated by the relationship between creativity, flow, and psychological process, Bill has pursued studies in psychological healing in parallel to music. He is a graduate of The Helix Training Program in New York City and is certified by the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP). An active pianist and composer, Bill has lead bands on both coasts, mixing elements of hard bop and the blues in his two-fisted, hard-swinging style. He was the host of The Jazz Hour Concert Series at Ruggero Piano, was house pianist at The Know Bookstore and Restaurant, has recorded with singer Renn Woods, and collaborated with singer Hilary Kole for a private concert at New York's Birdland. Bill is a full time lecturer in music at Santa Clara University, where he directs the Aural Skills / Musicianship program, in addition to offering private instruction in jazz piano. He is a founding member of Avivo, a community of music teachers dedicated to cultivating creativity through music. www.billstevensjazz.com www.jazzmusicianship.com
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