Bringing World Class Jazz Artist, Al DeGregoris to Your School District
This workshop is attached to the BOCES Arts in Education Co-Ser meaning the program is eligible for BOCES state aid Program goal: Help music and arts students better understand the many different aspects of music as well as learn from world known jazz artists.
Program design: One-hour (or period length if during the school day) concert followed by two 30-minute (or period length) master classes on the topics below. Students will have the opportunity to interact with the musicians and attend two of the following sessions, each of which will have a Q and A component. The goal is to expose the student to different types of music and different aspects of the musical process, from ideation, to composition, recording, performing and marketing.
The program could be offered during the school day over two or three periods. It could also be offered over 2 hours in an evening, whichever fits the district’s needs. The evening program would also include an opportunity for musicians to play with the band. Master classes could include (we will work with the district staff to finalize the master class curriculum):
- Improvisation
- Song Writing
- Writing Lyrics
- Finding Your Voice as a Singer
- Marketing Yourself, Your Music and Your Band
- Working In a Horn Section, it is Not Just About Soloing
- Drawing Influence from Different Musical Genres
- The Difference Between Recording and Performing
- Working With Musicians of Different Backgrounds
- Different Size Bands, Different Approaches
- Working In a Rhythm Section
- Playing Both Rhythm and Lead (Piano or Guitar)
- Get In the Band, Stay In the Band
- Photo and video opportunities for students – In addition to master classes, we can also offer photographers and videographers an opportunity to photograph/video a live performance and have photography credits on aldegregoris.com.
About Al DeGregoris and the band: Al DeGregoris is a Contemporary Jazz song writer and Keyboardist with six, Top-40, hits on the Billboard Smooth Jazz charts, including three, Top-20, hits off his most recent recording, Time and a Half. Al has co-written songs with jazz icons and Grammy Award winner Jeff Lorber and Guitarist Nils and has recorded with numerous Jazz artists including Eric Marienthal, Steve Cole, Chuck Loeb, Ricky Lawson, and Gary Novak to name a few. In addition to success on the Billboard charts, Al has won numerous recording and songwriting awards including a top five Latin song in the prestigious John Lennon World Song Contest. Al’s band includes veterans from jazz, funk and R and B world. Musicians that have played alongside of Jeff Lorber, Spyrogyra, Kirk Whalem, Chuck Loeb, Prince, Jeff Golub, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Etta James and Chaka Kahn now play alongside Al, bringing their A game to every show.
