A journey through the various languages of Jazz - America's unique art form - and the societal developments that have influenced Jazz music in the U.S.A.

Each of the main currents in the development of Jazz will be covered, including Dixieland, Swing, Bop, Cool, Fusion and so on. Artists that students will encounter range from Louis Armstrong, through Count Basie and Duke Ellington, to Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and contemporary performers. A feature of this course will be the placing of each Jazz style into its specific time and place in the history of this nation. Students will experience Jazz and its contexts through recordings, video performances, guest performers in class and performances on campus.

This course will comprise a mixture of lectures, guest performances, discussions and many performances on disc or videotape by legendary Jazz performers. There will be regular quizzes involving both written and aural analysis, an emphasis on writing - both formally and informally, and a concluding multimedia group project based on one particular era in the evolution of Jazz.

Students will be expected to attend all class meetings, and successfully complete all written assignments, the frequent quizzes and the final multimedia project.