GMF TUSCANY JAZZ WORKSHOP 2024
PROGRAMME AUGUST 10 - 15
A COURSE FOR ALL VOCALISTS & INSTRUMENTALISTS ALIKE
A COURSE FOR JAZZ VOCALISTS
THE ART OF ACCOMPANIMENT
THE ART OF SOLOING
THE ART OF ENSEMBLE PLAYING
RHYTHM & PULSE WORKSHOPS
ENSEMBLES
JAM SESSIONS
SAMBA
CHOIR
CHI KUNG & TAI CHI - (SUBJECT TO CONFIRMATION)
____________________
TEAM
This year we are honoured and privileged to have with us again a team of outstanding artists who are by turns world class performing artists and devoted teachers, or musical guides. Each and every member of the team, by their presence, brings something absolutely unique to this event, and they work, both singularly and together with the students, to form a single learning community.
DEBORAH BROWN - VOCALS
JOCELYN GOULD - GUITAR & VOCALS
SCOTT HAMILTON - SAXOPHONE
BRUCE BARTH - PIANO
CHARLIE MOON - VOCALS & GUITAR
VICTO JIMEMENZ - SAXOPHONE & ENSEMBLE
WILL BONNESS - PIANO
HILDA CECILIA - VOCALS
MATYAS GAYER - PIANO
MARK HODGSON - BASS
FRANCESCO PETRENI - PERCUSSION & DRUMS
STEPHEN KEOGH - DRUMS & PULSE
LUCIANO VIDA - CHI KUNG & TAI CHI - subject to confirmation
______________
News and special mentions:
Deborah Brown is one of the finest jazz vocalists in the business, a "singer's singer" with a magnificent voice and mind-boggling technique, and regarded one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Article by Victor Schermer for All About Jazz
We also have some new names and are thrilled to have the amazingly talented Canadian guitar virtuoso, vocalist and composer Jocelyn Gould.
We are very happy to welcome Will Bonness Canadian jazz pianist, who won the Juno Award for Jazz Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2022 for his album Change of Plans
We are delighted to introduce the immensely talented vocalist and guitarist Charlie Moon. Named “Rising Star Of Jazz" by The Irish Times in 2018, Charlie, adding to his glowing reputation as a guitarist, has established himself as one of the most exciting male jazz singers to emerge in recent years.
Saxophone and Jazz legend Scott Hamilton, one of the enduring masters of improvisation on the Great American Songbook, joins us for the week as a performing artist and to impart his wisdom at selected classes and sessions.
And, simply one of the great pianists in Jazz today Bruce Barth; who is not only one of the leading jazz musicians and composers of his generation, but also a sought after producer and a supreme vocal accompanist. Tony Bennet, with whom Bruce worked for a couple of years, regarded him as one of his favourite pianists.
_____________________
===
Timetable (provisional)
August 10
Arrival Day
16.00 - 18.00 register at Albergo Il Castello music room
21.30 welcome concert
23.00 jam session
August 11 - 14
09.00 - 09.50 tai chi and chi gong (days 8, 9 & 10 August)
10.00 - 10.30 pulse / listening/ concentration/ silence | Cellar Castello
10.30 - 11.45 vocal & instrumental classes | see location for your instrument (available from registration)
12.15 - 13.15 samba & choir | Limonaia
13.15 - lunch break | lunch deal at Bar Boccaccio
14.30 - playing session; a period where participants can play or practice together in there own groups without tutor present, or rest and relax if preferred
16.00 - 17.00 Combo/Ensemble Session - Cellar Castello
17.30 - 18.15 Singers Corner - Castello Bar
18.15 - 19.00 Jazz Aperitif - Castello Bar
August 15
Morning timetable the same as above.
After lunch there will be the final rehearsals for students concert in the evening.
August 16
Departure day
_____________________
The Programme
Morning Sessions and Workshops
We begin each day by coming together to participate in a unique sequence of activities which collectively stimulate self-awareness and enhance creativity.
These sessions will feature a different combination of activities every day: expect regular workshops on pulse, rhythm, vocal/body/breathing, movement and connection.
Chi kung & Tai Chi - with Lucian Vida (to be confirmed)
Chi Kung is an a introspective work based on the consciousness of oneself using simple, though not necessarily easy, exercises. The person listens to the body connecting physically with the earth and the sky and finding ones place between them as part of nature. This kind of work allows one to connect all different parts of the body as one and feel new sensations of fullness.
Tai Chi Form is used to make the body strong in various ways; through understanding the principles of relaxation and connection, spiral movement, expansion/contraction, movement on one point, exertion of force, and much more...This type of training, when applied to a musician's relationship to his/her instrument, can bring tremendous physical and mental an ease, composure and command to the act of performance.
Pulse Training - by Stephen Keogh
Pulse lies at the heart of music, and developing one's own inner pulse is the goal of these sessions. The work fosters concentration and awareness – of the pulse, of silence, of the other members of the group. This workshop is hugely beneficial to musicians of every kind.
Samba Training - with Francesco Petreni
A group workshop in which we train and learn the various different calls and rhythms, under the guidance of master percussionist Francesco Petreni. We will learn some of the traditional songs and rhythms as performed at the carnivals of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo as well as from other areas of Brazil.
Vocal and Body
The workshop explores the use of energy and the voice, and fine tuning body and mind coordination within a musical context. Using song material from all around the world we work at enhancing the quality of our listening skills and the sounds we produce.
_____________________
Instrumental Class
These sessions are led by a tutor for students to work to improve and develop their
instrumental technique; dexterity, fluidity, speed, as well as sound and projection.
_____________________
Afternoon Sessions
The Playing Session
After lunch break a period for playing has been incorporated into the timetable. A space for the students for playing through tunes and rehearsing pieces simply for enjoyment, or in preparation for performing at the masterclass or the after hours jam session.
Masterclasses with Q&A
Each of member of the team of artists carry an immense amount of experience which is shared generously with
the participants though playing, listening, feedback and discussion; in these sessions there is always a period with a Q&A in which no question is ever treated as a stupid question.
Ensemble
Guided by one of the tutors students learn and prepare pieces for public performance. The art of blending and playing as one is the focus of this session. Group composition can also an important part of these sessions.
Evenings
17.30 Singers Corner
18.15 jazz aperitif
21.30 concert in the garden of Il Castello or other venue in Certaldo
23.00 on some of the days a short concert will followed by jam session at Il Castello in the Cellar
23.30 jam session each night