Louis Armstrong Solo Improvisation

Faculty: Mark C. Gridley
Date / Time: Friday, February 19, 2010, 1:00 pm
Fee: $10.00* / $15.00
Age Recommendation: For all ages

Join Dr. Mark C. Gridley as he identifies and illustrates the virtues of Louis Armstrong’s solo style by way of in-depth discussion regarding three of Armstrong’s most outstanding recordings.

About Mark C. Gridley:  Mark C. Gridley, Ph.D., is an active professional jazz saxophonist-flutist-bandleader in Cleveland, Ohio.  His book, Jazz Styles: History and Analysis (Prentice-Hall) and its abridged edition, Concise Guide to Jazz, are America’s most widely used introductions to jazz and currently the required textbooks at more than 400 colleges and universities.  Gridley has taught at Case Western Reserve University, Heidelberg College and Cleveland State University.

These workshops are in support of the concerts, The Louis Armstrong Hot Fives / Hot Sevens, the early music of Louis Armstrong.  The concerts will take place at the Lincoln Theatre on Friday & Saturday, February 19 & 20, 2010 at 8:00 pm.  For concert tickets or more information, click here.

For Teachers:
Smithsonian Jazz offers the “Louis Armstrong Education Kit,” a classroom curriculum guide for grades 5 – 12 on the website, www.smithsonianjazz.org/class/armstrong/kit/kit.asp.  The guide, which incorporates National Standards in Arts Education and U.S. History, contains lesson plans, biographical materials, a glossary, bibliography, discography, photo gallery and an accompanying CD for guided listening experiences.

This project has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of “American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius.”