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The Joy of Vintage Jazz Vocals

6-week Online Course for singers (& enthusiasts!) starting October 1st.

Enrolling Now!

With Kimberly Hawkey

Grow your repertoire and express your individuality as you learn to capture the rhythm, phrasing, tone, and feel of a classic vocal style.

Sing like you —

— Sing like you

Sing like

Sing like YOU!

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Over six weeks you’ll:

  • Discover the tricks, techniques and secrets behind the greatest jazz vocals of all time

  • Learn to replicate vintage phrasing, tone, vibrato, rhythm, and feel in your own singing

  • Master 6 jazz standards in their original version from the top-down - with pro guidance

  • Study historic recordings, as well as lesser-known issues, by vocal legends

  • Practice counting off tunes, choosing your key, and creating your own arrangements

  • Break down the lyrics, structure, chords and verses for each song, as well as common intros, endings, and customs!

Joy of Jazz

Joy of Jazz

Develop your own, vintage-style interpretations of popular jazz standards!

DEVELOP
YOUR OWN
STYLE

Grow your jazz repertoire with handpicked standards and personalized guidance to make you shine!

What’s included:

  • Lifetime access to weekly recordings, resources, and more

  • 6 live group classes with voice coach and vintage song expert, Kimberly Hawkey

  • Playbacks and Leadsheets in multiple keys for 6 handpicked jazz standards

  • Weekly singing exercises and homework to support your learning

  • Private Online Community for video feedback, connection and inspiration

  • Curated YouTube Playlist with recommended listening

  • Virtual performance opportunity at the end of the course to showcase your favorite song! (Optional)

BONUS: 1:1 call with Kimberly to identify your range, voice type and preferred keys

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Our Vintage Jazz Vocal Set List

**Songs, Format and Weekly Themes Subject to Change

WARM-UP (Oct 1)

Orientation

Let’s set the stage for “The Joy of Vintage Jazz Vocals!” Your instructor, Kimberly Hawkey, will guide you through the course portal ensuring you’re comfortable accessing all the resources you’ll need for a successful learning experience. This includes playbacks, lead sheets, and recordings for practice and reference. Kimberly will also introduce the core vocal tools you’ll be refining throughout the course, which will help you capture the essence of vintage jazz vocal style. This orientation, like all classes, will be recorded if you can’t join us live.

WEEK 1 (Oct 8)

It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie (1936)

Billy Mayhew

Study the art of learning a song! In week two, we’ll demystify written music with a “leadsheet cheatsheet”. You’ll be shown the secrets of memorization, aural skills, and notation.


+ Q&A
+ Homework & Listening Guides

WEEK 2 (Oct 15)

Body and Soul (1930)

Johnny Green / Edward Heyman / Robert Sour / Frank Eyton

Great singing requires more than just the right notes. Week three is all about delivering a heartfelt ballad with energy, connection & intention.


+ Q&A
+ Homework & Listening Guides

WEEK 3 (Oct 22)

The One I Love (Belongs To Somebody Else) (1924)

Isham Jones / Gus Kahn

This 1920s tune was a recurrent hit, with chart-topping covers decade after decade. Learn to sing with Big Band-style phrasing, musicality, and lyricism as timeless as the song itself.


+ Q&A
+ Homework & Listening Guides

WEEK 4 (Oct 29)

Lullaby Of Birdland (1952)

George Shearing / George David Weiss

Celebrate the greatest jazz singers of all time by breaking down this iconic song. Use their versions to inspire rhythm, improvisation & feel in your own singing.


+ Q&A
+ Homework & Listening Guides

WEEK 5 (Nov 5)

I’ve Got You Under My Skin (1936)

Cole Porter

There is nothing like a Cole Porter classic to help you showcase your storytelling, personal style, and projection. We’ll gleefully inspect some of the many ways of delivering this delightful and complex standard.


+ Q&A
+ Homework & Listening Guides

WEEK 6 (Nov 12)

I Remember You (1941)

Victor Schertzinger / Johnny Mercer

Verses? We got ‘em! Learn a golden-age Hollywood melody complete with a Mercer Verse - all while discussing areas of collaboration, performance & arranging.



+ Homework & Listening Guides

BONUS (Nov 19)

Review

Have fun singing through all 6 standards as a complete set, while we polish up our arrangements and practice making individual style choices in real time. This is the time to ask your most burning questions and even try out your favorite techniques for feedback.


+ Q&A
+ Homework & Listening Guides

POST-SESSION (TBA)

The Joyful Jazz Club (Optional)

Celebrate your progress with a pressure-free virtual concert where you can share your version of a song from class and/or listen to other singers test out their new skills. This final showcase will be followed by reflections and a wrap-up ritual so you can take what you learned to the next stage!

Bonus

A checklist of additional jazz standards for continued learning, PLUS a recommended listening guide

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Each week we will deconstruct an entire song, discussing:

You'll learn

You'll learn

  • Melody

  • Lyrics

  • Song Form

  • Chords

  • Tempo

  • Rhythm

  • Feel

  • Style

  • Key

  • Context

  • Songwriters

  • Iconic Version & Vocalists

  • Instrumental Versions

  • Improvisation / Variations

  • Commonly mis-learned lyrics and melodies

  • Common Practices

  • Arrangement Suggestions

SMALL CLASS SIZE

Limited to 14 singers for personalized attention

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By the end of this course you will:

  • Have everything you need to sing 6 songs with a jazz band

  • Feel more confident in a jazz style

  • Know how to break down jazz standards

  • Learn timeless standards to add to your repertoire

  • Have an excuse to practice new songs and have FUN

  • Develop a more personal relationship with your voice

  • Understand how to read a leadsheet

  • Have the tools to make any song feel like your own

  • Be able to sing more authentically in a vintage jazz style

  • Gain a better understanding of vintage jazz music and history

  • Expand your capacity for self-expression and joy

LIVE CLASS DATES:

Looking for other class times? Email support@visionaryvocalist.com to make a request.

Orientation:
Tuesday, October 1st, 2024 at 8:00pm ET

Class 1:
Tuesday, October 8th 2024 at 8:00pm ET

Class 2:
Tuesday, October 15th, 2024 at 8:00pm ET

Class 3:
Tuesday, October 22nd, 2024 at 8:00pm ET

Class 4:
Tuesday, October 29th, 2024 at 8:00pm ET

Class 5:
Tuesday, November 5th, 2024 at 8:00pm ET

Class 6:
Tuesday, November 12th, 2024 at 8:00pm ET

Review Session:
Tuesday, November 19th, 2024 at 8:00pm ET

Virtual Showcase:
TBA

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Experience the joy of vintage jazz vocals

INCLUDES:

  • 1:1 call with Kimberly

  • 6 live group classes with replay access

  • Playbacks and leadsheets for 6 handpicked standards

  • Weekly singing exercises and homework

  • Personalized feedback from Kimberly

  • Course portal

  • Group chat

  • Curated playlist

  • Bonus review session

  • Performance opportunity

2 payments of

$222

OR

One-Time Payment

$444


More payment plans available through Affirm and Klarna during checkout. For questions, contact support@visionaryvocalist.com

  • — Susan Berkley, Owner, Greatvoice.com

    “Kimberly has changed my musical life. I love how supported and comfortable I feel working with her. When we started, I was struggling mostly with confidence. Now I'm now preparing a set list for live performances and auditioning for masterclasses. It's thrilling for both my personal and spiritual development.”

  • — Ruby Bolaria Shifrin, Social Justice Leader & Music Salon Organizer

    “Kimberly is an amazing intuitive teacher who makes you feel comfortable and meets you where you're at. She made me feel great and made our sessions fun as well as informative. Whether you're a professional singer or just looking to do something for yourself Kimberly's mentoring will help you improve. Her sessions are a great way to escape and unlock a more creative side.”

HELLO VINTAGE SONG LOVER,

I’m Kimberly Hawkey, time-traveling jazz singer, vocal coach, and Founder of Visionary Vocalist.

Confession: jazz wasn’t always on my radar.

Musical theater and classical piano filled my childhood, with the comfort of pre-written melodies. But landing in New York City, the energy of jazz was impossible to ignore. The freedom it offered was exhilarating, yet daunting. Where do I even begin? Picking the "right" tunes and"sitting in" with bands felt like a whole new language. I could sight-read a Mozart sonata, but being spontaneous while singing a constantly morphing jazz standard? Talk about terrifying!

But the songs were so rich and magnetic that I couldn’t stay away. So, armed with determination (and some really bad charts!), I dove head first into the American Songbook. Countless nights were spent listening to brilliant musicians and adapting to the freedom and flexibility of improv. Gigs became my training ground. Every shaky performance, every missed note, a lesson learned. But amidst the stumbles, there were moments of pure magic - a scat solo that landed perfectly, a soulful ballad that suspended the whole room. Showbiz bliss!

Building my career wasn't about chasing a spotlight.

It was about the sheer, unadulterated joy of singing jazz.

Sharing the stage with incredible musicians and re-interpreting the most-loved songs of the century is where I truly discovered my voice.

Gold Medal
American Traditions Vocal Competition

2X
Cabaret Showdown Champion

Winner
Johnny Mercer Award

Performer
Birdland Jazz Club, Zinc Bar, Plaza Hotel, Iridium, Jazz Festivals

15 Years
Leading jazz ensembles, crafting live shows, singing with world-famous big bands

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Crafting stories in the moment and connecting with audiences through the timeless language of improvisation is a joy that every singer should know!

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Some of the artists we’ll celebrate and explore

IN THE ART OF VINTAGE JAZZ VOCALS

  • Fats Waller

  • Billie Holiday

  • Billy Eckstine

  • Vera Lynn

  • Bing Crosby

  • Doris Day

  • Helen Forrest

  • Sarah Vaughn

  • Mel Torme

  • Nat King Cole

  • Ella Fitzgerald

  • Julie London

  • Steve Lawrence

  • Johnny Hartman

  • Dean Martin

  • Al Bowlly

  • Louis Prima

  • Keely Smith

  • June Christy

  • Johnny Mercer

  • Cole Porter

  • Nelson Riddle

  • Sammy Davis Jr.

  • Anita O’Day

  • Dinah Shore

  • Tony Bennett

  • Frank Sinatra

  • Louis Armstrong

  • Peggy Lee

  • Rosemary Clooney

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FAQ's

FAQ's

FAQ

  • I designed this course for singers of all levels interested in vintage jazz vocals as well as enthusiasts who want to deepen their appreciation of jazz singing.

    Due to the nature of this virtual course, you may choose to participate as much or as little as you like during the feedback sessions, Q&As, and final performance.

    Some participants may be pursuing performance careers and some may be exploring a new style to broaden their horizons.

    We also welcome those who want to learn a new skill but don’t plan to sing for others. The final performance is optional.

  • The orientation class and 1:1 call with Kimberly are 45-minutes.

    All other classes are 75-minutes and meet once per week.

  • Classes meet once per week on Tuesdays or Wednesdays at 1:00pm EST for 75-minutes.

    After enrollment, you’ll receive a link to schedule your 1:1 call with Kimberly.

  • Not to worry! All classes will be recorded and uploaded into the course portal, which you’ll have full, on-demand access to.

    You can visit the portal and catch up whenever you want.

  • The Joy of Vintage Jazz Vocals is a one-time payment of $444 or two payments of $222.

    The cost includes:

    • 6 live classes

    • Showcase opportunity

    • Access to the course portal

    • Session replay recordings

    • Leadsheets

    • Playback tracks

    • Resources

    • A 1:1 session with Kimberly ($100 value)

  • Refunds are allowed within 7 days of payment.

    Email support@visionaryvocalist.com with any concerns. We’ll be happy to do what we can to help.

  • For this course, it is recommended that you have access to both a personal computer and a smartphone, both with internet access, camera, and microphone . We'll be using the following programs, which are designed to be user-friendly for all levels of tech savviness:

    • Google Meet Video Conference (works in a computer browser or in an app for iOS/Android)

    • Circle Community (works in a computer browser or in an app for iOS/Android) for

    Kimberly will demonstrate each program during Orientation and provide tech support (limited) throughout the duration of the course. Please email support@visionaryvocalist.com if you require additional accommodations or have further questions.

  • Still want to know more? Email me at kimberly@visionaryvocalist.com.

    I’d love to hear from you!

Historical photos taken by William P. Gottlieb between 1938-1948 - the "Golden Age of Jazz". Courtesy of the Library of Congress.