Jazz Standards Unlocked

Develop your knowledge and understanding of the music of the Great American Songbook and a range of jazz standards as you learn in-depth with Marco Marconi (award-winning pianist signed to 33 Jazz Records) and Mark Wade (five-time finalist for bassist of the year in the Downbeat Magazine Reader’s Poll). The tutors will each share their unique experience and perspective through ensemble workshops, guided listening sessions, and practical demonstrations. Whether you are just starting out or already have years of experience, this course will leave you with an increased knowledge of core jazz repertoire, as well as a more confident and stylistic approach to performance.

You will explore songs from the American Songbook and standard jazz repertoire in order to develop your style and knowledge as a jazz performer, improviser and accompanist. You'll develop and strengthen a range of core musical skills throughout the course. By the final session, you will have a deeper understanding of selected jazz standards and be able to demonstrate this as a more confident jazz improviser and ensemble player. 

You will play together in ensembles coached by Marco and Mark, as well as playing directly with the tutors too. Listening sessions of classic and modern recordings of this repertoire will give you a wider perspective of how this music can be played. Building on this listening, the tutors will demonstrate examples and guide you through different ways of improvising over the songs.

The course is open to students playing at all levels. Please see our Ability Levels Explained for further details. 

A set music list will be provided in advance. You will need to let the tutors know before the course which items from the repertoire list you would like to focus on.