Last week, the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival announced two great opportunities to learn more about jazz during the festival.

XRIJF Jazz Workshops for Aspiring Young Music Students

Room 120, Ray Wright Room, Eastman School of Music 1:00-2:30 p.m. No registration is required.

Open to all aspiring grade school and high school music students. This new series of five structured jazz workshops, sponsored by Wegmans, will be hosted by Bob Sneider, Eastman School of Music Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media and Senior Instructor of Jazz Guitar, and led by five visiting international musicians who are performing at the XRIJF. Students will be playing and have the exceptional opportunity to meet, listen to and learn from professional jazz musicians from overseas. In keeping with the festival's international festival focus, all five are based in the United Kingdom and will be performing in the festival's Made in the UK Series at Christ Church, including:

• Saturday, June 22: Cleveland Watkiss, Voice
• Sunday, June 23: Yolanda Brown, Saxophone
• Thursday, June 27: Ryan Quigley, Trumpet
• Friday, June 28: Jasper Hoiby of Phronesis, Acoustic Bass
• Saturday, June 29 Gwylim Simcock, piano

ESM Offering Introduction to Jazz History During Festival

Room 305, Eastman School of Music | June 24-29, Mon. – Sat., 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. For more information and to register contact Paul Hofmann, instructor and pianist. No materials required. No prior knowledge of jazz needed, just a general love of music. Tuition: $150/noncredit.

Offered during six days of XRIJF, the class will highlight (in chronological/historical order) a particular style/era of jazz, including some of the major personalities and works each day, including:

• Day One: Early New Orleans Jazz, including the Jazz Age (1920s); Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, et al.
• Day Two: The Swing Era (1930s), including Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Art Tatum, et al.
• Day Three: Modern Jazz. part one (1940s and early 1950s), including Bebop (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell) and other schools which were offshoots from that (Lennie Tristano, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, et al.).
• Day Four: Modern Jazz, part two (mid-1950s through late 1960s), including Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Jackie McLean, Charles Mingus.
• Day Five: Jazz since 1970, including Chamber Jazz (especially the West German record label ECM), Jazz-Rock(Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Pat Methany Group) and the resurgence of Hard Bop (Winton Marsalis).
• Day Six: Week's wrap up & jazz piano performance.