Jazz Appreciation Workshop with Benny Hill

About this event

Jazz Appreciation Workshop with Benny Hill Sundays, October 18 – November 8, 2026 3 – 4:30 PM Conference Room CAM Members $72 / Not-Yet Members $90 Join us for a 4-week Jazz Appreciation Workshop with local saxophonist Benny Hill. Through guided listening, engaging discussions, and historical and cultural exploration, participants will discover the evolution of jazz from its early roots to modern jazz and beyond. Whether you’re new to jazz or an enthusiast looking to deepen your understanding, this workshop will explore music by legendary artists such as Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane while diving into the places and innovative movements that have shaped one of America’s most influential art forms. Session 1: Early Jazz & The Birth of an American Art Form The Blueprint: Transitioning from ragtime, blues, and spirituals into early jazz. Key Geography: New Orleans (the melting pot), the Great Migration, and the expansion into Chicago and New York. Key Figures: Louis Armstrong (shifting jazz from an ensemble music to a soloist’s art), Jelly Roll Morton, and Bix Beiderbecke. Listening Focus: The distinction between polyphonic New Orleans style and the emerging structured solo. Session 2: The Swing Era & Big Band Innovation The Blueprint: Jazz as America’s mainstream popular music during the Great Depression and World War II. Key Themes: The architecture of the big band, the role of arrangers, and the ballrooms that brought diverse audiences together. Key Figures: Duke Ellington (framing jazz as serious composition), Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, and the vocal mastery of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Listening Focus: The driving “four-on-the-floor” rhythm, call-and-response between horn sections, and the sophisticated arrangements of Ellington. Session 3: The Revolution of Bebop & The Soul of Hard Bop The Blueprint: The shift from danceable pop music to a complex, virtuosic modern art form meant for listening,…

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