Musical improvisation is often seen as a sort of mysterious process that is difficult to learn. Creative songwriting is similarly characterized in popular mythology as haphazard and inaccessible to ordinary mortals. However, both the art of improvisation and the art of songwriting can be fostered and cultivated through approaches that are both accessible and tangible. In this workshop, internationally renowned jazz cornetist Kirk Knuffke, and local musician Brian Jasper Hull, of Jasper Grooves Collective and Meadowlark Jivin, will be teaming up for a two day workshop focusing on the creative musical process and effectively integrating improvisation into one’s own songwriting and performance.
Hull is a songwriter, poet and guitarist who draws from influences as diverse as soul, blues, jazz, Brazilian and Caribbean sounds. Knuffke grew up here in Fort Collins and has since relocated to New York City where he has built an extensive resume of recordings and musical projects. Knuffke, who has taught at the renowned Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York, has drawn inspiration from the CMS ethos where artists like Don Cherry and the Art Ensemble of Chicago set the standard for participative music workshops.
You might ask, could I benefit from such a workshop? Knuffke, who has worked in collaboration with Karl Berger, the founder of the Creative Music Studio, has drawn extensively from Berger’s teaching philosophy. As Berger put it, “Basic musical training, the kind that does not deal with a particular musical style or with the playing of an instrument, seems to be beneficial for practically anyone. A sense of right timing and rhythmic cycles, for example, seems to be a basic human need. In fact, all the performing arts could benefit from these practices. This is why body discipline, dance, all visual media, poetry, and songwriting are complementary to contemporary musical development.”
All levels and instruments, including voice, are welcome to take part in this unique participatory workshop.