Colorado Jazz Workshop could be what you’re looking for. The big bands of the past had both appreciation for individual musicians and strong leadership. One of the centerpieces of the CJW ensembles are the great directors who drive these groups.
Participants in CJW are people who played an instrument in high school or college; some even played professionally in the past. Ultimately they went on to do other things with their lives, e.g., different career, family. At some point they realized they still enjoyed playing and would like to have an outlet to play jazz again. CJW provides this outlet.
Each week, 3 big bands and six combos get together to play jazz in Denver, Colorado. Come join us and have fun playing and learning more about this great American art form – jazz.
We offer:
More than just a “kicks” band
A link to the great big band jazz experiences of the past
An opportunity to strengthen and/or learn jazz improvisation
The instructors come from the jazz education community and are great players as well as educators. (See the About page of this website.)
Yes. Music reading is required. The level of the groups right now is from intermediate to advanced. As more classes are developed less proficient abilities can be accommodated, except for beginning instrumentalists. Those we can help find private instruction for.
We rehearse at 3575 S. Sherman, Denver, CO (Corner of Sherman & Hampden)
Each group meets once a week. Combos meet for 1 or 1 1/4 hours, big bands for 1 1/2 hours. Future classes may meet 1 1/2 to 2 hours but only run for 6 to 8 weeks.
Yes to the first question. We try to have each group perform at least twice a year.
First, this happens to everyone. Each person, everyone in the big bands and rhythm players in the combos, are expected to get their own substitute from lists provided by the Workshop.
The standard fee is $70 per month for participation in one group. If you join two groups, the fee is $100, resulting in a monthly savings of $40. Please note that Tuesday combos have a base price of $75.
A: Yes. Two possibilities. (a) You can be on a sub list for your instrument(s). Our members are always looking for people to fill in for them when they are unable to attend a particular rehearsal or performance. And (b) There are also instances where we need someone to fill a chair until we can find a permanent replacement, what we call a semi-permanent sub.
Audition Process
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