Concert Report Instructions:
• Choose a concert performed by a professional jazz or blues group. You may choose something from the
pre-approved list of concerts (below), or ask the instructor to approve another performance that strongly fits
the guidelines.
• For full credit, you must turn in a program or other paper signed by a musician who performed on the
concert you attended. In this age of smart phones, it is also acceptable to attach a photo including you and
the performance to the paper, instead of the signed program (paste into the paper). Minus 5 points if proof
of attendance is missing.
• Format: Your concert report must be typed, Minimum 2 FULL pages, maximum 3 pages. It must be saved
as doc., docx. or pdf. format.
o Double spaced 12 point. font—Arial, Times New Roman, and other “reasonable” fonts
• If it helps to get the ball rolling, think of this assignment as a concert review for a newspaper or music
magazine.
Form:
• Paragraph 1 should describe the basic info about the performanceo Date of performance
o Location
o Name of ensemble performing
o Instruments used
o Genre (how they would describe themselves), etc.
• Middle paragraph(s) should describe 2-3 tunes or pieces performed. Talk about:
o Name, composer (if the performer announced this info)
o Play by play—describe the melody, describe the soloists
o Quality of each tune performed (you can also save this for last paragraph)
• Closing paragraph: summary. Give your opinion of the group performing, particular soloists, or particular
tunes/pieces. What did you learn from the experience? How does it tie into what you’ve already learned in
class?
• Tone—Please use “grown up” language. It is not necessary to be extremely formal, but I want you to
make clear observations about what you see and hear.
• Rubric—Your grade will be based on your participation in the assignment and quality of the writing, and
your use of musical observations. [50 points possible]…..
o 20 points for attending an appropriate concert (includes 5 points for proof)
o 10 points for writing quality
o 20 points for musical observations
• Musical Observations—these are clear statements about musical “moments” in a performance. It’s a good
idea to take notes during a performance, then turn some of the notes into musical observations. (I.e. “The
tenor saxophonist brought his solo to a climax with a long, loud, high note. The drummer increased his
activity to support the soloist’s musical high point.”)
• Revise—Papers should be well-revised. No first drafts, please. If writing college-level papers is not your
strong suit, I suggest working with someone at the Writing Center in the LRC.
• Details:
o Song titles should be written like this: “The Days of Wine and Roses”
o Please use the same verb tense throughout (usually all past tense verbs).
Pre-Approved Concerts
• The following are pre-approved concerts for your reports. Ask for approval for other events.
• A Closer Listen with Seton Hawkins & Yunie Mojica (Jazz at Lincoln Center)
• The JLCO plays Monk Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
• The Swing Era-Revolution in Rhythm
-JLCO with Wynton Marsalis