Find your voice in the jazz tradition.
Designed for both singers who are new to jazz and those who are looking to deepen their understanding of jazz vocal styles, Jazz Vocal Lab is taught by acclaimed jazz vocalist Annie Chen. Alongside Chen and accompanist Lafayette Harris, Jr., students engage in jazz vocal warmups that build strong singing technique, develop a sensitivity to the rhythms and stylistic intricacies of the blues, swing, and various era-specific styles, hone in focus on lyric interpretation, engage with jazz theory and traditional performance practices, and develop their skills in the art of scat singing.
SECTIONS & SCHEDULE
JAZZ VOCAL FOUNDATIONS
Wednesdays, 7:00-8:00 PM
Jazz Vocal Foundations is for singers who have no prior experience singing jazz, or want to refresh their knowledge of foundational aspects of jazz vocal technique. Students engage with rhythmic and vocal vocabulary exercises, are introduced to jazz improvisation through scat, and are exposed to a variety of essential selections in the jazz vocal tradition. Repertoire examples include “St. James Infirmary” (blues), “Honeysuckle Rose” (medium swing), “The Nearness of You” and “Body and Soul” (ballads), “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing” (up-tempo swing), and “Corcovado” (bossa nova).
Students must have prior experience with singing and have a basic understanding of standard music notation (or a willingness to develop understanding of notation). No experience in Jazz is required.
JAZZ VOCAL LAB
Wednesdays, 8:00-9:30 PM
Jazz Vocal Lab is for singers who have experience singing jazz with a pianist or ensemble and want to take their jazz vocal singing to the next level. This course section features more in-depth study of scat singing and jazz theory application in vocal improvisation, an introduction to analysis and transcription of famous jazz vocal solos, and a focus on musical arrangement and performance of more intensive and diverse jazz repertoire. Students will highlight their learned skill through performance opportunities at BKCM.
Experience singing Jazz and an understanding of standard music notation is required.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications for Fall 2026 Jazz programs will open on July 6. All are welcome to apply, but returning students will receive priority placement through July 30.
First-Time Applicants
All first-time students interested in Jazz Vocal Foundations or Jazz Vocal Lab must complete a short application form and submit a brief audition video, so that we can place them in the appropriate class. To apply, click the button below.
Returning Students
If you have taken Jazz Vocal Foundations or Jazz Vocal Lab before, you must still fill out the application form below, but you are not required to submit an audition. Until July 30, returning students will receive priority for section placement. They are still welcome to apply after July 30, but we cannot guarantee that spaces will still be available after July 30.
Financial Aid
To learn more about Financial Aid and apply, click here.
MEET THE FACULTY
Vocal Instructor: Annie Chen
Annie Chen is a vocalist, composer, and bandleader from Beijing, based in New York since 2013. Her distinctive style draws on a rich continuum of musical traditions from Asia, Europe, and the Americas. This creative vision – showcased on her releases Pisces the Dreamer (2014), Secret Treetop (2018) and Guardians (2024) – is supported by years of experience in China’s jazz, blues, and funk scenes as well as active study and collaboration within New York’s vibrant jazz community.
As a bandleader and composer, Chen has performed extensively in prestigious NYC venues including the Blue Note, Cornelia St. Cafe, Nublu, Flushing Town Hall, DROM, Shapeshifter Lab, and Club Bonafide. In China, she has brought her music to festivals such as Solana Summertime Festival, Chaoyang Music Festival, Beijing Nine-Gates Jazz Festival, CD Jazz Week, and the Shanghai International Jazz Festival, as well as venues such as Blue Note Beijing, East Shore Jazz Club, DDC, JiangHu, Guangzhou Xinghai Concert Hall and JZ Club Shanghai and Hangzhou. At JZ Club Hangzhou she led a band as artist in residence in 2015, 2016, and 2018.
Annie’s current focus is her Guardians ensemble, whose self-titled debut released to critical acclaim on February 23, 2024 on JZ Music. Centered on an environmentally themed programmatic suite, the album features a dynamic cast of improvisers including Satoshi Takeishi (percussion), Fung Chern Hwei (violin), Vitor Goncalves (piano/accordion), Alex LoRe (woodwinds), Marius Duboule (guitar), and Mat Muntz (bass). The project combines Annie’s compositional sense of storytelling and imagery with an experimental improvisational vocabulary, representing an exciting new chapter in her creative output. Annie is also an experienced educator, having offered extensive, recurring masterclasses on vocal jazz performance and jazz appreciation as part of her residency in Hangzhou, China. In addition to online private and group lessons, Chen was recently commissioned by Beijing’s Ear King Music Company to produce Jazz Singing Masterclass Vol.1, an educational video series intended for students in China. As part of her mission to forge connections between distant musical worlds, she is also producing JZ Club on Air, a radio show dedicated to exposing Chinese audiences to the diverse and forward-thinking jazz currently emerging from New York.
For more information about Annie Chen, please visit anniechenjazz.com. For further information regarding the Jazz Vocal Lab, please email the Jazz Program Manager, Elijah J. Thomas, at elijah.thomas@bkcm.org.
Accompanist: Lafayette Harris, Jr.
Lafayette performs and records regularly with Houston Person. He has toured with many music greats including Max Roach, Ernestine Anderson, Jon Hendricks, Donald Byrd, Archie Shepp, Melba Moore, Jennifer Holliday, Slide Hampton, and The Ellington Orchestra.
Harris enjoys working as a musician by composing, performing and teaching. His theatre credits include: Music Director and keyboardist for Bobos (1992) in Philadelphia; Assistant Conductor and keyboardist for the 1995 hit Broadway musical Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk; and two engagements as show pianist at New York City Center for the productions Pal Joey and Jelly’s Last Jam. Most recently he was in Washington DC performing on-stage piano and acting for a reimagining of Pal Joey called “Chez Joey”, created by Tony Goldwin and Savion Glover.
Lafayette has released 11 CDs since his debut recording on Muse Records Lafayette is Here (1993). His recent releases include You Can’t Lose With The Blues on Savant Records, which ran as #1 for 2 weeks on the Jazzweek Jazz Chart in February 2020 and remained in the top ten for 14 weeks straight. His 2 newest CD releases Swinging Up In Harlem (2023) and All In Good Time (2025) also made it to Jazzweek’s Top 10, peaking at number 4 and 3 respectively. Later this year Savant Records will release his 12th recording, Why Not?
Learn more about Lafayette on his website.
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