YES, I still have openings for private students. ss@scottsawyer.net

DJW Classes will begin tomorrow 11/23, and will be offered again in January 2021. Contact the Durham Jazz Workshop to register: https://www.durhamjazzworkshop.org/contact-us.html

1. In the Zone: Define Your Voice (Intermediate to Advanced) Exploring the Art of Improvisation via Writing.

Writing can be viewed as Improvising slowed down to a dead stop. Everything comes from an idea; we’ll take some small ideas and develop them. Starts Mon Nov 23, 7pm (room for 1 or 2 more)

2. Group Jazz Guitar: HarmonyWorking with Voicings and Voice-Leading

Fluency in comping leads to deeper improvising. We’ll explore various approaches to comping, and working with the harmony. Starts Tue Nov 24, 7pm (tentative)

3. A Personal History of Blues to Jazz Guitar: a look at some of the guitarists who’ve sparked my ongoing love affair with musicThe Blues were my first musical obsession and the roots run deep; eventually they led me to Jazz. Jimi Hendrix, Michael Bloomfield, BB King, T-Bone Walker, Buddy Guy, Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, George Benson, Pat Martino, Jim Hall, John Abercrombie, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Kurt Rosenwinkle…these are just a few of the guitarists that have inspired me through the years.

I’ll provide background and we’ll listen to selected performances of various guitarists. There will be time for discussion at the end of each listening session. Playlists of featured artists will be available and for those wanting to dig deeper, more info will be provided upon request. Starts Wed Nov 25, 7pm (may be full)

All classes will meet for 5 weeks. Class size will remain small to allow for discussion, all ages welcome.

Zoom capabilities are necessary for all courses (computer or tablet recommended). Headphones or good speakers are recommended for listening.

*Here’s a Soundcloud playlist. These recordings span 1992 thru 2018, I’m the guitarist on all tracks. 10 of the songs are ‘mine’. All tracks were recorded ‘live’ in the studio except ‘Daddy Pinocchio’ (gig).
https://soundcloud.com/scott-sawyer/sets/scott-sawyer-sampler-nov-2020