On Sunday, March 28, Eli Yamin was joined by vocalist and JDP vocal coach Charenee Wade, bassist Pat O’Leary and BYC singers Raquel Klein and Talia Fuchs to perform at a benefit concert for Music For Peace at Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, New Jersey to benefit music residencies in 3 Newark Schools. They were also joined by a cello quartet led by world renowned cellist Alan Stepanski.
Nora’s Ark Recording Project
March 16, 2010 By 1 Comment
In preparation for recording the music for Nora’s Ark, rehearsals were scheduled once a week for four consecutive weeks.
The recording session took place on March 6th and 7th, 2010 at Avatar Studios. The first day was spent recording the band. The second day was spent recording the vocalists.
Nora's Ark recording session at Avatar Studios
Read more about it on Eli Yamin’s blog, Insights.
Lionel Hampton Jazz Fest – Day 3
February 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Workshop I: “Free Improvisation, a Great Place to Start”
How can we use free improvisation to free up our voice and project our energy through our horn? From the rustling of leaves to the last breath of the last dinosaur, this workshop lets go of the binding rules of chord changes and song forms, and demonstrates more open structures that provide direction and organization yet allow musicians at any skill or experience level to experience the flow of masterful and meaningful improvisation in real time.
Workshop II: Jazz and Drama
See Day 2′s workshop description.
Lionel Hampton Jazz Fest – Day 2
February 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Workshop I: “The Blues is the Roots and Everything Else is the Fruits”
Eli Yamin has seen the blues touch people of all backgrounds in his experience touring around the world and working with students of all ages from Mississippi to Mali to Montenegro to Mumbai. In this workshop, Eli helps students contact their inner blues musician. African American cultural traditions of the stomp/clap, the shuffle, and the spiritual, are embraced as universal tools for expressing a wide range of feelings. Students emerge with new tools to play the blues, both vocally and instrumentally and understand the blues as a lifelong source of inspiration, meaning and encouragement in their study of music and beyond.
Workshop II: Jazz and Drama
What opportunities does the language of jazz bring to telling stories? How can telling stories with jazz make blues, bebop and swing, useful, positive and essential lifelong tools for self and group expression for today’s youth and adults?
Drawing on his extensive experience creating and producing jazz musicals with children, Eli Yamin will guide participants to discover the magic of telling stories in the language of jazz by combining instrumental and vocal music with dance and theatre.
Lionel Hampton Jazz Fest – Day 1
February 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival
Moscow, Idaho
Jazz in the Schools: The Magic and Mechanics of Jazz with Eli Yamin
The Magic and Mechanics of Jazz (Grades K-6) with Eli Yamin (performer, composer, educator, and co-founder of The Jazz Drama Program) and his trio. The Magic and Mechanics of Jazz invites young audiences to discover the magic of jazz by actively participating in the mechanics that make it happen. The magical music of Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Scott Joplin and Elizabeth Cotten, as well as pieces specifically commissioned for the program, inspire students to sing, stomp, clap, and scat. Workshops and residencies are also available.
Jazz and Storytelling
February 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Jazz and Storytelling with Eli Yamin, musician and Artistic Director, The Jazz Drama Program
Description: What opportunities does the language of jazz bring to telling stories? How can telling stories with jazz make blues, bebop and swing, useful, positive and essential lifelong tools for self and group expression for today’s youth? This workshop will provide a well organized, mission driven exploration of these questions and leave participants with concrete concept and content ideas to bring to students of all levels and backgrounds and in multiple learning modalities.
Jazz House Kids Retreat for Teachers
William Paterson College
Wayne, NJ
Nora's Ark Performed in Santa Fe
January 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Nora’s Ark, the jazz musical by Eli Yamin and Clifford Carlson, was performed at the Santa Fe School for the Arts and Sciences in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Chamber Music America Conference, New York City
January 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Panelist at Chamber Music America Conference, New York City “Big Ideas for presenting Small Ensembles”
When nonprofessionals perform with professional musicians, wonderful synergies can emerge. This session will explore possibilities for combining student musicians, beginners, amateurs and audience members with professional ensembles. Performers: neoteric: Jennifer Presar, horn; Melissa Mackey, bassoon; and Eric Lenz, cello; Claire Hoffman, flutist; artistic director, Grand Canyon Chamber Music Festival; John Steinmetz Composer; bassoonist, Xtet, Los Angeles Opera Orchestra
Eli Yamin Musician; Artistic Director, The Jazz Drama Program.
The Jazz Drama Program In Mississippi
July 16, 2009 By 1 Comment
Mississippi Arts Commission Whole School’s Retreat
University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)
Oxford, MS
Eli Yamin, Artistic Director and Sonya Robinson, Teaching Artist led a workshop for teachers on Nora’s Ark, the jazz musical by Eli Yamin and Clifford Carlson.
Premiere of "Newsgirl Rag"
April 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment
As a jazz pianist, I have worked with the best in the business and performed at top venues around the world. I get great satisfaction from performing, recording and composing for professional artists. However, the day we saw “Newsgirl Rag” from Holding The Torch For Liberty at the Louis Armstrong Middle School in Queens was unforgettable. The song uses ragtime style music to establish what’s going on in NYC around 1917. We ran the piece to an audience of 500 7th graders and they loved it! This experience shows me the great potential of the JDP. As a teaching artist working in NYC schools for 13 years I have learned a variety of ways to reach young people and teachers. I feel certain that now’s the time for me to put my expertise into establishing a new program that serves the future of jazz. I have been fortunate to work with jazz masters who helped create the art form. I feel it is essential to pass on the knowledge they gave me in an effective and meaningful way.
By Eli Yamin
