Our plans with the DLP Jazz Series are to help you learn the language of music.  Music, like all languages, has an alphabet, a grammar and set structures.  You need to have an understanding of these concepts to communicate and create ideas in this language.  This sounds like a daunting take, but it's not really and we're looking forward to helping you learn to improvise.

But then, the next step is.... What to do once you have all of this knowledge. 
How do I create music that communicates ideas, that reaches listeners, that makes other musicians want to play with me?

Listen

Listening to what other people in your group play and reacting to that are a key component of being a musician in all styles.  Be a part of the ensemble, accept and play off of each others ideas.  This is when magic happens on a bandstand.

Here's a great TED talk on that topic by Stefon Harris, titled, "There Are No Mistakes On The Bandstand"


http://www.ted.com/talks/stefon_harris_there_are_no_mistakes_on_the_bandstand.html