June 13 (Wed.)- Chance Stine and band will kick off the 1st workshop and jam

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Come one, come all! The first Jam and Workshop at Common Ground will be lead by Chance Stine and Band - more to come -- but it should be great fun!

WORKSHOP 4:30 - 6:30pm at the upper room at Common Ground Middleton

$25 fee for the WORKSHOP: Price includes instruction & dinner. This will be a safe and fun atmosphere to learn more about jazz and improvising. If $25 fee is more than you can afford, PLEASE ask for sliding scale price and/or full scholarship.  (text: laurie at 608-332-1408)

Basic Schedule for workshop

4:30 – 5 Jazz Listening session (listen to recordings, discussion and ear training with instruments or voice)

5 – 6 Workshop: teaching/learning session(subjects like: “how to apply the blues scale in real time”, “Modal improvisation”, “Messing with the melody” , “learning how to swing and make the music groove” and more)

6 – 6:30 Dinner with jazz friends (hang out with your friends and eat a dinner provided by Common Ground)

JAM & SHOWCASE 6:30 -9pm – FREE

in Main room at Common Ground (There is no charge for the jam– open to all and no need to register ahead of time, come for 30 minutes or the whole 2.5 hour session, bring the whole family or come alone)

 


Isthmus Jazz Fest/June 3, 2018 Jam

The Madison Jazz Jam is proud to participate in the 2018 Isthmus Jazz Festival with a special performance by veteran Milwaukee vocalist and multiple WAMI nominee, Lem Banks, on June 3. Lem will open this week's jam session with a full set of classic American songs, backed by local luminaries Ken Hoffman (ts), Paul Muench (pno), Matt Rodgers (bs), and Rodrigo Villanueva (dr). We'll follow Lem's performance with two sets of our regular jam session. The jam takes place at North Street Cabaret, 610 North Street, Madison, from 4:00 to 7:00pm. As always, there is no cover.

The Madison Jazz Jam is open to musicians of all ages who would like to learn from the best players in the area. We are an educational jam session - low key and supportive - founded to promote improvised music while supporting the many talented players who enrich our lives in Madison. Whether you are an experienced player or a beginner, you will find a welcoming community and wonderful opportunities to celebrate improvised music at MJJ.

For regular updates on MJJ events and featured tunes, make sure to like us on Facebook!


Save the Date (s) Summer OMJ Workshop & Jam: June 13 - August 15

 

Odd Wednesdays of the Summer(come to just one ….or all)

June 13 & 27 
July11 & 25 
Aug. 1 & 15 

 

 
We will feature a variety of teachers from the Madison jazz community - TBA
 
WORKSHOP
at the upper room at Common Ground ($25 fee/ask for: sliding scale and scholarships available)
$25 fee: for the WORKSHOP: includes instruction, dinner and having fun learning more about jazz and improvising. 
 
4:30 - 5 Jazz Listening session(listen to recordings, discussion and ear training)
5 - 6 Workshop: teaching/learning session(subjects like: “how to apply the blues scale in real time”, “Modal improvisation”, “Messing with the melody” , “learning how to swing and making it groove” and more) 
6 - 6:30 Dinner with jazz friends (hang out with your friends and eat a dinner provided by Common Ground) 
 
JAM & SHOWCASE - free
in Main room at Common Ground (no change - open to all) 
 
~ 6:30 - 7 set with the workshop-ies as a combo trying out what they learned
~ 7:15- 8 more open jam 
~8:15 -9pm Showcase the House band / and/or maybe certain students or guest artists

May 20, 2018 jam

We had a great time, a great turnout, and a great jam at last week's session at the North Street Cabaret. We are very lucky indeed to have such a great venue to support local jazz!

For our next jam, we'll thrill to the playing of Paul Dietrich (tpt), Dave Stoler (pno), Ben Ferris (bs), and John Lombardo (dr). They'll back jammers on two Charlie Parker numbers. Bird wrote a lot of music using rhythm changes and blues forms, represented here by "Anthropology" and "Barbados," respectively. Neither of these are harmonically challenging, but the melody of "Barbados" is a tad tricky in my opinion, especially at bright tempos. They can be found in Real Books I and II.

We'll see you next time at North Street Cabaret!


Our Middleton Jazz Jam is OFF for May 2018

OMJ Jam and Showcase is off for May but we will have some fun summer sessions! stayed tuned

hold these dates:

June 13 & 27

July 11 & 25

August 1 , 15 & 29

also in August we may have a 1-2 day workshop for learning more about improvisation and creating your own jazz combo.

 


May 6, 2018 jam at North Street Cabaret!

This weekend we move the jam to our new home at North Street Cabaret. Located at 610 North Street on Madison's east side, North Street Cabaret is a new venue that hosts live music from local and touring acts, especially the exceptional jazz community that enriches our lives in Madison. Here you can enjoy great music in an appealing room with great acoustics and killer Cajun food.

Our house band will be Ken Hoffman (ts), Johannes Wallmann (pno), Ben Ferris (bs), and Rodrigo Villanueva (dr). Of the two featured tunes, "St. James Infirmary" is the first, easier selection. It's a venerable eight bar blues associated with the earliest days of the New Orleans music that we now call "jazz." We'll follow it with the more harmonically complex "Stella by Starlight."

Come on out to make our first jam at North Street Cabaret a success! Tell your friends! See you there!