College Audition

goregantuan

So very soon I will be auditioning at various schools for entrance to jazz studies programs. Most of the schools require an uptempo swing tune, a ballad, a blues, and a prepared piece (or any combination of the 4). For the uptempo swing I'll either play Sweet Georgia Brown with Django's 37 solo, or Rythme Futur. For the blues piece I'm going to do Boogie Stop Shuffle by Mingus, and for the prepared piece I'm going to do Improvisation #2.

Any suggestions, or possibly comments on my selections would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, I'm applying to Belmont, University of North Texas, UT Austin, University of Colorado Boulder, Columbia College, and University of Washington Seattle. Any other school suggestions?

Bob Holo

If you want a French style single player piece, there are several - it depends on your level. Choti or La Gitane are beautiful - one of Django's improvisations - lots of options... some of the Musette songs get intense quickly so you need to figure out if you can tackle them properly and then commit a decent amount of time to them or you'll sound like you're struggling - but they're beautiful examples of this music. You can find most of this stuff on youtube for examples - someone does a book "Unaccompanied Django" (one of Michaels?) that might stand you in good stead.

Stackabones

You didn't mention a ballad. How about September Song? Intensely beautiful and lyrical music.

Or Nuages.

goregantuan

Ooops, I forgot to put that in there.

A.K. Kibben

goregantuan wrote:

Oh, I'm applying to Belmont, University of North Texas, UT Austin, University of Colorado Boulder, Columbia College, and University of Washington Seattle. Any other school suggestions?

My son teaches French at UNT... You could learn French too!
Austin is / was way cool back in the 70's...
I attended CU (Boulder), only to pick up girls...

Go to Berklee...

goregantuan

I've had three friends go to berklee, two for guitar, and all three felt the teachers were inept and have since transferred away.

dennis

i got refused by berklee 3 times, twice by administration mistake, 3rd time cuz the director of admissions hates my ass... i hope to run into that failed pianist fat drunken bastard soon

a

who needs berkelee when there's youtube?

Bob Holo

I've heard that the guitar program at Portland State is supposed to be very good though I really don't know the details. But, I remember being at a concert where one of the bands was late getting in to town and the promoter pulled this PSU guitar instructor out of the audience (they were friends evidently) and this guy did about a 20 minute set - flat cold - literally coming out of a seat in the audience and performing on a guitar he'd never seen before and he was just jaw-dropping-good. I asked the promoter about it later and he said: "Yes, it's cool isn't it - it's not widely known but they have a very good guitar program at PSU."

So, for what it's worth - maybe email this guy.
http://www.pdx.edu/profiles/9541/

Or email Daryl Grant - he teaches in the jazz program. I've seen him perform quite a few times - he's a wonderful jazz pianist and one of the most respected jazz musicians in Portland. There was a place he used to gig regularly - but it was in a part of town where gentrification is taking place and so it was bought by yuppies who put in fancy booths and started hiring smooth jazz... which didn't at all go over well with the jazz fans... damn near caused riot... much angst at any rate... damn all yuppies. http://www.darrellgrant.com/