Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz in America

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students explore Free Jazz and Fusion by answering questions and listening to music.
eBook
Stanford University

Comparison of Free Jazz to 20th Century Classical Music

For Students 9th - 10th
A very indepth examination of free jazz. Site contains music theory and specific illustrated examples.
Handout
Other

Down Beat: Albert Ayler

For Students 9th - 10th
A detailed article containing the following sections: biography, discography, photos, and news articles about Albert Ayler.
Handout
Other

Down Beat: Cecil Taylor

For Students 9th - 10th
A detailed site containing information in the following sections: photos, biography, and archived news articles about avant-garde pianist/composer Cecil Taylor.
Handout
Other

Down Beat: John Coltrane

For Students 9th - 10th
Biographical information, photos, and a discography of jazz great John Coltrane, whose work in the 1960s included excursions into free jazz.
Website
Other

Jazz Institute of Chicago: Homepage

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource from the Jazz Institute of Chicago focuses on the Chicago jazz scene but contains many unique and interesting articles that are relevant to all jazz.
Website
Other

European Free Improvisation Pages

For Students 9th - 10th
A site about the European free improvisation scene. Contains articles, mp3's bibliography and videos.
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Photographs From the Age of Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
This William P. Gottlieb Collection from the Library of Congress contains over 1600 photographs of celebrated jazz artists and documents the jazz scene from 1938 to 1948.
Website
Other

Jazz Improvisation Primer/ Free Improvisation

For Students 9th - 10th
A look at what makes free jazz musically unique. Contains specific examples of free rhythm and tonality.
Website
Other

All About Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
Has reviews, interviews, and articles. Of special interest is the jazz time-line.
Website
Other

Oculus Magazine: Free Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
A short description of the free jazz movement, and a timeline of important movements in jazz.
Handout
Other

606 Club: Jazz Styles

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides a definition of the various types of jazz styles. A short definition of free jazz is provided close to the end of the page, along with several other forms, such as be-bop, west coast, hard-bop and mainstream.