Singing Jazz: An Introduction for All

Join the SCE Voice Department this Friday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m. in the Eben Jordan Ensemble Room for a free jazz workshop!

David Zoffer (NEC Continuing Ed./Prep Jazz Dept. Chair & College Contemporary Improvisation faculty) will explore the interplay between vocal expression and conversational rhythms and their connection to instrumental jazz, as well as the way instrumental sounds and phrases have influenced the way jazz singers interpret melody and improvise.  Zoffer will expose these connections by scatting melodies, bass lines, harmony parts and drums, while playing piano, bass and guitar. This workshop is for anyone who wants to connect their voice to instrumental jazz sounds and for singers seeking exposure to jazz techniques used to embellish melodies and improvise. Recordings of influential jazz singers and instrumentalists from contrasting jazz styles will be played and analyzed.

David’s work as a performer on piano/keyboards, electric guitar/bass, vocals and as a composer/songwriter/arranger has led to recordings and performances with Grammy winners including Eddie Gomez, Luciana Souza, Bela Fleck, Harry Connick, Jr., Victor Wooten, Wynton Marsalis, Joe Henderson, and important jazz figures such as Paul Bley, Don Alias, Don Byron, Bob Moses, Marcus Belgrave and David Liebman.

As an educator, he holds the prestigious positions of: Jazz Department Chair of New England Conservatory’s (NEC) Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education, College Faculty of NEC’s Contemporary Improvisation Department, Jazz Faculty & Ensemble Director at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Co-Founder and Faculty of NEC’s Jazz Lab Summer Program, Associate Professor of Contemporary Writing and Production Department at the Berklee College of Music.