Dennis Owsley to teach class on "The Great Jazz Singers" starting Thursday, October 28

Jazz DJ, historian and photographer Dennis Owsley will teach a course called "The Great Jazz Singers" beginning at 7:00 p.m. next Thursday, October 28 at the Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd.

Owsley, who hosts "Jazz Unlimited" from 9:00 p.m. to midnight Sundays on KWMU (90.7 FM), tells StLJN that course is based on Downbeat magazine's list of the 30 greatest jazz vocal albums of all time, as selected by current vocalists and published in 2006. "It includes some surprising unknowns and omissions of well known singers," Owsley notes. "I hope to show that just singing standards does not qualify a vocalist as a jazz singer. I've always maintained that position and believe that the real jazz singers only number less than 50 in the entire history of jazz."

After the first class on October 28, subsequent classes will take place from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. the next two Thursdays, November 4 and 11. Tuition for the course is $35 for Ethical Society members and $40 for non-members. For more information or to register, call 314-991-0955 or check the adult education schedule (.pdf file) on the Ethical Society Web site.