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Jazz Study

Anton is an exceptional player & inspirational teacher... and a lot of fun! He is organized & prepared, and so well versed in so many aspects of jazz performance and education... What more could a student want in a teacher?! — Susan Muscarella, Director, The Jazzschool

I've really enjoyed your approach in the weekly workout sessions. Your teaching style strikes me as a rare combination of clarity, curiosity, creativity, and practicality. — Michael Gold, saxophonist

Anton is a superb teacher. He listens to my playing and singles out specific areas for me to focus on, which has improved my improvisation dramatically. He is engaging & enthusiastic... — Terrigal Burn, pianist

Anton Schwartz, Jazz Educator

Anton enjoys sharing his love of the music and the craft of jazz with aspiring musicians, both recreational and professional. He is a faculty member of the Jazzschool and the Stanford Jazz Workshop, and a frequent clinician for the Brubeck Institute. He also teaches privately out of his own studio.

Individual Lessons

75 minutes ▪ $90

Anton teaches lessons out of his studios in Seattle, Washington and Oakland, California. He works with intermediate and advanced students of diverse instruments who have an interest in some or all of the following:

  • Improvising fluidly over chord changes
  • Powerful expression through music
  • Playing by ear
  • Fluency in the many idioms of jazz, plus funk & blues
  • Phrasing
  • Advanced harmony
  • Saxophone technique, including sound production, articulation, altissimo, inflections & effects.
  • The physics of musical sound
  • Efficient practice methods for a busy lifestyle

Anton particularly loves working with musicians who have studied scales and chords but are frustrated in their efforts to use those devices to make great solos.

Combo Lessons

90 minutes ▪ $140

Anton works with jazz combos at his studio, on either a one-time or a periodic basis. He listens to their playing, points out areas of strength and weakness, coaches them to improve the weak areas during the lesson and suggests ways for them to further develop on their own. He has worked with beginning to advanced groups since 1995, at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, The Brubeck Institute and the Jazzschool, and has taught courses and workshops on many of the components that go into successful ensemble playing.


Anton is on the faculty of the Jazzschool in Berkeley, California. He is currently taking an extended leave from teaching courses, but he continues to offer special one-time workshops:

“Saxophone Masterclass: Sound Like a Professional”

February 26, 2012, Sunday — 11am-1:30pm

What is it about the playing of a great jazz saxophonist that makes it sound so fluid and professional? Tone, intonation, time and note choice are all important, but they are not enough. In this workshop we observe and discuss in close detail many of the choices of note attack, emphasis, contour, duration, and release that differentiate a master from an average player. Students will be critiqued and interactively guided by the instructor to overcome their individual obstacles.
Participation is encouraged but not required.
Participating attendees will be given an étude to play for critique, available below for those who wish to prepare it in advance. Those who find the étude difficult are welcome to prepare it at a slower tempo, or prepare a different piece of their choice.

Download: Saxophone Etude [pdf].

For more information & registration visit jazzschool.com

“Playing the Heck out of The Days of Wine & Roses”

February 26, 2012, Sunday — 2-4pm

We delve deeply into the classic standard by Henry Mancini, examining its harmony in ways that will directly help us improvise over it, discussing the chord progression on both a micro level (how each chord leads to the next) and a big-picture level (how they all work together to form a coherent song). Suggestions are given for ways to mentally simplify the song's structure, as well as ways to embellish to the chord changes. Students improvise over the song (optional by encouraged) and are critiqued, with recommendations given for a direct path to improvement.

Prerequisites: facility on a melodic instrument or vocals, improvisational experience, and knowledge of basic jazz harmony.

For more information & registration visit jazzschool.com

“Playing the Heck out of Blue Bossa”

April 21, 2012, Saturday — 3:30-5:30pm

Blue Bossa is one of the most frequently called beginner-level tunes at jam sessions, so it's important for any developing jazz musician to know. Its simplicity also makes it a great vehicle for students who are new to chord changes or having trouble playing over them with ease. The instructor will present the tune in a way that makes it easy to internalize, and give lots of practical advice about how to improvize over it. Students improvise (optional but encouraged) and are critiqued, with recommendations given for a direct path to improvement.

Prerequisites: facility on a melodic instrument or vocals, some improvisational experience, and knowledge of basic jazz harmony.

For more information & registration visit jazzschool.com

“How the Saxophone Works”

April 22, 2012, Sunday — 10:30am-1:00pm

Think you know how your woodwind instrument works? Think again. This workshop explores the physical aspects of how saxophones and other woodwinds create the sounds that they do, with practical applications for players. Topics include: modes of vibration; size & placement of toneholes; the physics of register keys and overtones; false fingerings; how altissimo works; and the role of the airstream. Students may try various techniques such as growling, false fingerings, harmonics and glissando, and discuss them in light of the physics of the instrument. Bring your instrument and your curiosity!

For more information & registration visit jazzschool.com

“Making the Saxophone Swing”

April 22, 2012, Sunday — 1:30pm-4:00pm

This workshop for woodwind players explores how to make your phrases swing from a technical standpoint. Anton Schwartz presents different flavors of swinging, from down and dirty to light and nimble, and considers the various tools used to create them: rhythmic variation, accents, articulations and inflections. Participants listen to recorded examples and live demonstrations, and apply the ideas on their instruments. Also open to flutists and clarinetists. Bring your instrument (optional but encouraged).

For more information & registration visit jazzschool.com


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