Songwriter Poets of Jazz, Pop, and Rock

Since the beginning of the 20th Century, American music has grown in style and substance and given birth to unique music and lyrics in every genre; songs that run the gamut from simple and direct to complex and poetic. Through audio and video with on-screen lyrics, we highlight works by composers, lyricists and performers who do not embrace the mundane; the June-spoon-moon rhyming traditions or standard musical forms. Some of the artists we cover include Harold Arlen, Duke Ellington, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Alec Wilder, the Gershwins, Patti Smith, Donald Fagan, and Joni Mitchell. Join us to discover or revisit exceptional American music and lyrics performed by some of the greatest singers and musicians of the 20th & 21st Century. This course will be recorded. Students will have access to videos for the duration of the course.