The successful student will be able to:
* analyze the aesthetic qualities of jazz, demonstrating a 
knowledge of important composers, performers, and the 
world/cultural influences in the development of jazz;
* assess the commonality and diversity of the various world and 
social cultures that have contributed to the development of 
jazz in America;
* evaluate the impact and role of jazz in society; 
* visually and aurally analyze various jazz works;
* compare the music of other cultures to their own by tracing 
the world and ethnic roots of jazz and contemporary influences 
on its stylistic evolution;
* communicate understanding of these outcomes in a research 
paper and in an oral presentation.

Topics of study include:
* precursors of jazz: blues, ragtime, brass band marches;
* influences of world musical cultures and styles in the 
origins and development of jazz (West Africa, Afro-Cuban, 
Western Europe, Latin America, etc.);
* jazz styles: Hot Jazz (Dixieland), Swing/Big Band; Modern 
Jazz (Bop, Cool, Hard Bop/Funk Jazz, Third-Stream); Jazz in the 
1960s (Modal, Free); Jazz from the 1970s to the Present 
(Fusion, Neobop).

Students will be expected to analyze and identify works without reference to
pre-written, professional analyses.