Swing University: Jazz as a Tool for Liberation is a four-session course that invites participants to explore jazz through a social justice lens and understand its historic role as a liberation tool in the United States. Each class will be led via Zoom by Seton Hawkins, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Director of Education Resources and Public Programming, in an informal lecture and discussion format with special guests from Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Septet. Classes are sequential, but each session can be enjoyed as a standalone experience. Buy all 4 events and save.

As the 1920s Jazz Age gave way to the 1930s Swing Era, Jazz’s merging into dance orchestras gave rise to big bands. With them, Jazz would reach unprecedented levels of popularity. While cities throughout the United States contributed to this phenomenon, this class will explore how New York would serve as a legendary base of operations for big bands.