Give The Gift of Jazz This Holiday

Wishing you had a simple way to take care of your holiday shopping needs?

Jazz Arts Group Gift Cards are your answer!

You may purchase these Gift Cards in any amount by filling out the attached order form and returning it to JAG electronically or by mail. If you return by e-mail, please put “JAG GIFT CARD” in the subject line and send to mfaris@jazzartsgroup.org. If you return my mail, please send to “JAG GIFT CARD”, 939 N. High St., Columbus, OH 43201.

Please return to JAG no later than Friday, December 19. We will process your order promptly. We can mail your gift card or you can pickup your order at the JAG office in the Short North.

 Thank you for supporting the Jazz Arts Group by Giving the Gift of Jazz!

Click Here to Download the Gift Card Form

Home For The Holidays

DECEMBER 3 - 7 @ the Southern Theatre

The CJO's annual holiday fanfare will delight as Byron and the band take a different spin on the traditional music of the season. Helping to raise your holiday spirits will be "musical angel" Nia Allen and guitar and steel drum practitioner Derek Di Cenzo. As always, be ready for a holiday surprise.

Nia Allen began singing in church in Columbus as a very young child, and she’s never looked back. Her passion and love is gospel music, and to glorify God with her ministry. That, and her youthful exuberance, makes her the perfect vocal performer for the CJO’s presentation of “Home For The Holidays.”

Allen was raised in Columbus, the daughter of two musicians. She is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and currently lives in Nashville, Tenn., where she travels as a worship leader with the Women of Faith Conferences. When Allen was a child, her mother encouraged her to sing with the church choir. At the age of 4, Allen began singing with a gospel group founded by her mother and aunts. While acknowledging her parents’ positive influence, Allen says they never took it easy on her.

“They were harder on me because I’m their child,” Allen says. “It was harder being the choir director’s daughter. She expected more of me.”

Fueled by high expectations, Allen excelled, developed confidence, and eventually landed leading roles in local productions of musicals, such as The Wiz. But Allen didn’t see music as a career until the summer after her junior year of high school, when she attended Berklee’s Summer Performance Program. After five weeks in Boston, she didn’t want to return to Ohio.

“I had to finish my senior year, but I did not want to go back,” Allen says. “That’s when I knew what I really wanted to do. That’s what I want to do, where I want to be, where I want to go. That was the turning point in my life.”

Derek DiCenzo is a multi-instrumentalist who’s as comfortable playing jazz on the acoustic bass as on the guitar or even the steel drum.

He has been a full-time musician based in his hometown of Columbus more than 10 years. His diverse influences and uncanny musical intuition have made him a much sought-after player.

DiCenzo freelances and is a member of several groups including the Columbus Jazz Orchestra. He has toured and recorded with Jamaican-born jazz piano sensation Monty Alexander for many years, performing at jazz festivals, clubs, and concert halls all over the world.

Recent appearances have been at New York City’s Blue Note, Birdland, Carnegie Hall and at the Blue Note Tokyo. He’s played the Blue Note with Grammy award-winning pianist/vocalist Diane Schuur.

He can be heard on recordings by Monty Alexander and jazz guitar legends Jim Hall and Charlie Byrd.

Winter 2009 Jazz Academy Classes

What better way to follow up the holiday season and beat the winter “blues” than to jump into our winter Jazz Academy programming!

We’d love to have you join us to Listen, Learn and Play in one or more of our three winter Jazz Academy classes!

• 0109-1
  Introduction to Vocal Technique
  with Jo Ellen Harris
  Mondays, January 26 – March 2, 2009
  7:00 – 8:00 pm
  Location:  Capital University, Room 203
  
  Registration Deadline:  January 17, 2009
  Fee: $80.00 / $70.00 for current CJO subscribers
  
  Required texts: 
  1.Breaking Through: From Rock to Opera, the Basic Technique of Voice (2nd Edition), Gloria Bennett, Hal Leonard Publishing Corp.
  (available at Stanton's Sheet Music, catalog number 00330258)
  
  2.Basics of Singing, 5th Edition, Jan Schmidt, Jan Macmillan Publishing Co, Inc. and Accompaniment CDs
  (available at Stanton's Sheet Music, catalog number 053425370)

  Join Jo Ellen Harris, PhD. and “break through” to your true voice as you discover fabulous vocal technique.  Whether you enjoy singing in the shower, in a band or choir, or on stage, this course is designed to provide a "tool box" of healthy exercises and hands-on experiences for maintaining and enhancing the quality and strength of your voice through focus and breath.

  This one hour class will include warm-up and relaxation techniques followed by a romp through a variety of genres. 

  This introductory vocal technique course is based on The Bel Canto technique and the teachings Los Angeles vocal guru, Gloria Bennett.  Enjoy the winter fun of discovering the power of your true voice.
  

• 0109-2
  Guitar I – Chords & Comping
  with Dennis Hodges
  Mondays, January 26 – March 2, 2009
  7:30 – 8:30 pm
  Location:  Capital University, Room 202
  
  Registration Deadline:  January 17, 2009
  Fee: $80.00 / $70.00 for current CJO subscribers
  
  Required text:  Jazz Harmony on the Guitar, Stan Smith, Houston Publishing, Milwaukee, WI, distributed by Hal Leonard, Corp., 1999.
  (ISBN: 079359913X - available at Stanton’s Sheet Music)

  Join Dennis Hodges for this hands-on class exploring the basics of guitar chords and comping.  This six-week course will begin by building a foundation for creative chord voicing, including triads and beginning jazz harmony.  From this basic understanding, participants will begin to comprehend how to creatively and effectively provide guitar accompaniment in vocal and instrumental ensemble opportunities.  Finally, the group will practice what has been learned by accompanying standard jazz and blues repertoire in a fun and informal classroom setting.

  Guitar I – Chords & Comping is available for ages 15 + who have some basic guitar knowledge and experience. Both electric and acoustic guitars are welcome – please bring your own amplifier.  Class registration is limited.
  
  
  
   

• 0109-3
  History & Styles of Jazz
  with Jim Masters
  Tuesdays, January 27 – March 3, 2009
  7:00 – 9:00pm
  Location:  Capital University Conservatory of Music, Room 121
  
  Registration Deadline:  January 20, 2009
  Fee: $105.00 / $95.00 for current CJO subscribers

  Join Jim Masters and explore a century’s worth of jazz history and styles.  From early New Orleans jazz to 1940’s bebop and today’s contemporary artists, participants will listen and discuss recordings and video clips of the most prominent artistic voices of each style while comparing and contrasting the musical and historical elements that contributed to the change and evolution of jazz. 

  Participants will also be treated to performances by instructor and trombonist Jim Masters and other guest musicians throughout the six week session.

  
  

For complete information on the classes and to register, go to jazzartsgroup.org, or call Carol Argiro, Jazz Academy Director, at 614.294.5200 x 107.