We are open for in-person learning and continue to offer online lessons and classes.
Online classes and ensembles are labeled in the descriptions with the symbol:
Online Class 💻
Spend Saturdays this summer immersing yourself in the language of jazz! This 2-part summer intensive is designed to give you both jazz vocabulary and an opportunity to use what you learn in an ensemble format. We encourage students to take both sections together to deepen their bebop techniques and practice, but it is not required.
The first Bebop section of the day, Intro to Bebop Improvisation will provide an introduction to the melodic and rhythmic vocabulary of bebop improvisation. You’ll learn, play, and analyze phrases and licks drawn from the solos of bebop masters like Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Bud Powell. The second section, Bebop Ensemble, will build on the techniques and vocabulary covered earlier, with hands-on practice through playing jam session favorites by composers such as Thelonious Monk, Tadd Daemeron, and Dizzy Gillespie.
Ages: Adults, older teens (high school students)
Instruments: Brass, woodwinds, strings and rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass and drums)
Musical Styles: Bebop jazz
Prerequisites: Facility of major scales, triads and 7th chords. Some experience with improvisation.
Class size: 4–12 students
Location, Day and Time: Mission District Branch
Instructor: Charlie Gurke
Tuition: $319 Summer only (8 weeks) per section, or $550 for both sections together
Students enrolled in private lessons at CMC receive 50% discount.
This class will serve as an introduction to core elements of jazz music. We’ll learn about the essential roles of each member in a jazz ensemble, such as learning about walking bass lines, fundamental drum grooves, the role of comping in a rhythm section, and melody interpretation by wind/brass instruments. We’ll examine integral building blocks of jazz harmony, as well as explore essential jazz recordings. The goal of this class is to provide you with skills that will enhance your understanding of the language, prepare you to make music with others, and enable you to be free to start improvising.
Ages: Adults, older teens (high school students)
Instruments: All instruments
Prerequisites: Proficiency on an instrument, knowledge of major scales
Class size: 4–6 students
Location, Day and Time: Mission District Branch; Tuesdays, 6:00–7:30pm
Instructor: Erick Peralta
Tuition:$615 Fall (14 weeks), $527 Winter (12 weeks), $439 Spring (10 weeks), $351 Summer (8 weeks)
Students enrolled in private lessons at CMC receive 50% discount.
Sign Up
This ensemble focuses on call and response and learning by ear, rather than from written music. We will learn tunes from the broad spectrum of jazz and blues, from the early 20th century to the present day, with a focus on the 12-bar blues form and related harmonic structures.
Ages: Adults, older teens (high school students)
Instrument: Open to all instruments
Prerequisites: Proficiency on an instrument, knowledge of scales
Class size: 4–8 students
Location, Day and Time: Mission District Branch, Saturdays, 2:00–3:30pm
Instructor: Charlie Gurke
Tuition: $615 Fall (14 weeks), $527 Winter (12 weeks), $439 Spring (10 weeks), $351 Summer (8 weeks)
Students enrolled in private lessons at CMC receive 50% discount.
Sign Up
CMC offers jazz ensembles for players of all levels. Explore a standard jazz repertoire in a dynamic, participatory setting.
The beginning jazz ensemble focuses on building standard repertoire, improvisation concepts, and developing ensemble skills. The intermediate and advanced ensembles play the music of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Freddie Hubbard; focusing on communicating as an ensemble, improvising, phrasing, groove, and dynamics to make the music come alive. There will be a culminating performance at CMC at the end of each quarter.
Ages: Adults, older teens (high school students)
Instruments: Brass, woodwinds, strings and rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass and drums)
Musical Styles: Jazz standards, be-bop, blues, Latin jazz
Prerequisites:
Class size: 4–8 students
Location, Day and Time: Mission District Branch
Instructor:
Tuition: $615 Fall (14 weeks); $395 Section I Winter (9 weeks), $527 Sections II–III Winter (12 weeks); $439 Spring (10 weeks); $351 Summer (8 weeks)
Students enrolled in private lessons at CMC receive 50% discount.
Sign Up
Learn how to execute arrangements and improvise in a small jazz ensemble setting. Students will share improvisation concepts, improve solos, explore group dynamics, and sound quality. Players will be strongly encouraged to write original tunes, and there will be various performance opportunities throughout the year.
Ages: Adults, older teens (high school students)
Instruments: Woodwinds, brass, and rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass and drums)
Musical Styles: Jazz standards, blues, Latin jazz, originals
Prerequisites: For intermediate to advanced students
Class size: 2–5 students
Location, Day and Time: Richmond District Branch, Thursdays, 5:30pm–7:00pm
Instructor: Max Miller-Loran
Tuition: $615 Fall (14 weeks), $527 Winter (12 weeks), $439 Spring (10 weeks), $351 Summer (8 weeks)
Students enrolled in private lessons at CMC receive 50% discount.
Sign Up
In this ensemble, students will learn and apply instrument-appropriate roles, to perform and improvise within a Latin jazz context, drawing from traditions from the Caribbean and Latin America. Students will gain experience in interpreting traditional and contemporary Latin jazz repertoire that draws from son, guaracha, cha-cha-cha, mambo, bembe from Cuba, bomba, plena, jibaro from Puerto Rico, samba, partido alto, choro from Brazil, and more. The class will examine stylistic considerations during performance, aspects of improvisation, and essential skills to perform well with others in any ensemble setting.
Ages: Adults, older teens (high school students)
Instruments: Woodwinds, brass, strings, and rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass and drums)
Prerequisites: Instructor consent, proficiency on an instrument, knowledge of major scales
Class size: 4–10 students
Location, Day and Time: Mission District Branch; Thursdays, 8:15–9:45pm
Instructor: Erick Peralta
Tuition:$615 Fall (14 weeks), $527 Winter (12 weeks), $439 Spring (10 weeks), $351 Summer (8 weeks)
Students enrolled in private lessons at CMC receive 50% discount.
Sign Up
Tunes by composers like George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and others have long been a staple of the jazz repertoire.
Each quarter we’ll explore works by a different composer, and learn how to interpret these timeless melodies and use their pieces as springboards for improvisation.
Ages: Adults, older teens (high school students)
Instruments: Brass, woodwinds, strings and rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass and drums)
Prerequisites: Knowledge of major and minor scales, triads, and seventh chords; and previous experience with jazz improvisation.
Class size: 4–6 students
Location, Day and Time: Mission District Branch; Wednesdays, 6:30–8:00pm
Instructor: Charlie Gurke
Tuition:$615 Fall (14 weeks), $527 Winter (12 weeks), $439 Spring (10 weeks), $351 Summer (8 weeks)
Students enrolled in private lessons at CMC receive 50% discount.
Sign Up
Each semester we’ll do a deep dive into a different iconic jazz composer, focusing on works by musicians such as Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter, and more.
Ages: Adults, older teens (high school students)
Instruments: Brass, woodwinds, strings and rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass and drums)
Prerequisites: Knowledge of major and minor scales, triads, and seventh chords; and previous experience with jazz improvisation.
Class size: 4–6 students
Location, Day and Time: Mission District Branch; Wednesdays, 8:15–9:45pm
Instructor: Charlie Gurke
Tuition:$615 Fall (14 weeks), $527 Winter (12 weeks), $439 Spring (10 weeks), $351 Summer (8 weeks)
Students enrolled in private lessons at CMC receive 50% discount.
Sign Up
If you’d like to be matched with other students in a small Jazz ensemble or receive coaching for an existing group, please fill out a Chamber Music Inquiry Form.
