>

Jazz and Global Music

Blair Jazz

Director of Jazz Studies and Area Chair: Ryan Middagh

The department of Jazz Studies at Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music pursues in-depth study of North American improvisational music and how it intersects with diverse music of the world. Through excellence in scholarship, creative live performance, touring; recording sessions, and community outreach and engagement, we foster the next generation of professional musicians, creative artists and critical thinkers.

 

Learn more about how to apply.

  • Audition Repertoire for the Jazz Department

    Applicants interested in jazz studies should prepare the following for their primary instrument or voice. The following areas are eligible for application to a major in Jazz Studies: Voice, Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone, Guitar, Piano, Bass, and Drum set. 

    • Jazz Drum Set Requirements 
    • All other instruments and voices select three tunes from different categories below, playing the melody and improvising over the form. Applicants are required to perform repertoire from memory for prescreening and audition. Instrumentalists are to perform "Tall and Lanky" as one of their three pieces.
      • Required for all instrumentalists: Tall and Lanky
      • Blues: Billie's Bounce; Footprints; Blues for Alice
      • Great American Songbook: Like Someone in Love, A Foggy Day, I'm Beginning to See the Light, On a Clear Day, There Will Never Be Another You
      • Ballad: Nearness of You, In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning, Darn That Dream, Skylark, My Romance
      • Latin/Straight: Wave, Tristeza, Carcovado (Quiet Nights), Mas Que Nada, Like a Lover (O Cantador)
    • Rhythm Section instruments must demonstrate ability to play diverse styles and grooves (audition only) 
    • An additional tune from a different category (from the list above) not included in prescreening selections (audition only) 
    • Sight-reading (audition only) 

Jazz Faculty

    No matches