Beginning Jazz On Line

Since the COVID-19 pandemic caused schools to close in March (2020), we have been offering private, one on one jazz lessons via zoom.com, taught by our staff of world class jazz musicians and educators. 

Private Lessons: These lessons are designed to help students understand, appreciate, perform and enjoy jazz. Students gain a fundamental understanding of jazz music, learn fun, creative life skills, improve their musical performance skills and have an opportunity to perform live on stage with world class musicians. Currently, private lessons are offered to students learning to play the following instruments:

• bass guitar
• drums
• guitar
• flute
• piano
• saxophone
• trombone
• trumpet
• Violin

Private Lesson Qualifications: Sessions are open to 4th - 8th graders who have had at least one-year of experience with their instrument, are able to read music, count rhythmic meters and have basic tone production (3rd grade students may be able to participate subject to completing a successful audition). 

How to Register: Please contact us by telephone, (510) 653-2450, or email, BJacobs@AlexisEntertainmentGroup.com for more information.

This is our fifth year offering Jazz Education Ensemble classes designed to improve children’s quality of life through arts education, and offering affordable, frequent and consistent reinforcement to help build self-confidence and improve academic success. Through our jazz education program students learn to:

• think creatively

• set goals and construct a plan to achieve them 

• practice new and difficult tasks with the confidence to succeed

• work together in groups to build an infinite number of pathways to cultivate imagination that enhances creativity, relieves boredom, alleviates pain, enhances pleasure and enriches our relationships

Additionally, students have taken classes using a wide variety of musical instruments including trumpet, trombone, violin, drums, flute, clarinet, saxophone, viola, piano, electric guitar and bass guitar.

Some of the activities included in our classes are: 

• Studying and performing songs such as “So What” by Miles Davis, “Little Sunflower” by Freddie Hubbard and “Footprints” by Wayne shorter

• Learning to play pentatonic, chromatic, major and minor scales

• Becoming familiar with jazz phrases such as bebop, head, chorus & chart

• Learning to improvise in various keys using scales, chords, rhythms & melodies

• Practicing cooperative jazz ensemble techniques such as trading fours and listening to each other as we perform to create ideas that contribute to the group’s success

• Emphasizing the expectation, acceptance and benefits of being brave enough to make mistakes along the way as one embarks on a path to new skill mastery