Greg Lyons
Groove Works
Groove Works is the name of the jazz writing and performance course set up by Greg and running in conjunction with Blu Jaz Cafe - Singapore's renaissance live music venue.
It's basic mission is to provide a workshop environment for the advanced student of jazz performance and composition. Each class is structured to also be a performing unit that will be showcased on a weekly basis at the venue. Each performance therefore is a building-block in the student's - and the group's - development and provides an opportunity for an audience to witness the actual process of development of the new crop of jazz performers currently in Singapore.
Each course runs in 3x12-week sessions per year with fresh intakes in January, May and September.
Full-Time Course
The full-time course is designed to give young post-graduate musicians a chance to develop their practical skills of jazz writing and performance to a high level, and become fully expressive composers and players before they get fully immersed into professional activities.
It involves 10 hours weekly of lectures/class-study plus one evening performance per week. The classes will follow a cycle of: Jazz Theory, Jazz Composition, Jazz Arranging, Jazz Improvisation, Jazz Performance. The emphasis is on the practical application of the principles studied. Video and audio recordings of performances will be used for analysis.
Part-Time Course
The part-time course is designed to allow working musicians - and others with time constraints - to develop a deeper understanding of the practical approaches to presenting a truly expressive agenda with a greater foundation in the theory and process of jazz writing and performance.
It involves 6 hours weekly of lectures/class-study plus one evening performance per week. The classes follow a cycle of Jazz Theory/Composition, Jazz Improvisation, Jazz Performance.
Junior Groove Works
For those not quite confident enough to put themselves regularly into the public arena we have designed a "junior" course. Aimed at introducing fledgling jazz musicians to the joys of group interplay and to developing expressive skills, the course uses the same process of mentorship as well as intensive coaching toward an an understanding of the rhythmic, melodic and harmonic foundations for improvisation.
If you would like to know more about the courses, please email us at grooveworks@greglyons.net
