Twenty-three jazz students from across the US and beyond will be arriving in Aspen, Colorado on August 4th for the newly revamped, two-week JAS Academy presented by Jazz Aspen Snowmass in collaboration with Frost School of Music (FSoM) at the University of Miami. The diverse group of students represents eleven elite music programs including Frost, the Manhattan School of Music, North Texas University, Michigan State, UCLA, Princeton, Florida State University, Eastman, The Hartt School, California State University Northridge, and Tel Aviv University.
During their time in Aspen, the students will have an opportunity to work with and learn from some of the greatest jazz musicians in the field, including 6-time Grammy® Award-winning bassist and JAS Academy Artistic Director Christian McBride. Additional Academy faculty include Frost School of Music Dean Shelly Berg, JAS President and CEO Jim Horowitz, and additional Frost faculty including JAS Academy Program Director Chuck Bergeron, Rey Sanchez, and Brian Lynch. The Frost faculty will spend much of the first week in a classroom setting with the students focusing on Frost curriculum surrounding the business side of the music industry with subjects including technology, entrepreneurship, artistic vision, and recording. The second week will focus on Big Band training with McBride, leading into a public performance at the JAS Café rooftop at the Aspen Art Museum on their final night, Sunday, August 18.
The Academy will also offer students the opportunity to attend masterclasses with some of the biggest names in jazz including the legendary Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and vocalist Catherine Russell. They will be joined by two of the hottest newcomers on the jazz scene today Frost alumna Veronica Swift (B.M. ‘16) and pianist Emmet Cohen (B.M. ‘12) who represent just one of the many reasons students study at FSoM and why successful proud alumni claim to the #FrostBuilt! Each of these artists will be performing public shows at the JAS Café during their visit. Tickets for those performances can be found at jazzaspensnowmass.org.
The public will have additional opportunities to see the JAS Academy students perform as well, including a three-night run of shows at The Limelight Hotel in Aspen, Aug. 5-7. During these free “jam sessions” students can be seen performing in small combos and groups, which will be the focus of week one. Two existing ensembles were pre-selected for the Academy, while the remaining students will come together while in Aspen to create their own small ensemble.
The JAS Academy is one of the nation’s only full-scholarship summer residencies, something that has been made possible by the generosity of philanthropists Sasha and Ed Bass who pledged to underwrite the operating budget of the JAS Academy for the first five (5) years of the partnership with Frost. With this generous donation, JAS and the Frost School of Music have already expanded the previous 7-day residency to two weeks, with the hopes of moving to a four-week program by 2021.
For more information on the Academy or to learn more about the students attending please visit jazzaspensnowmass.org/academy.
