Christopher Washburne

Definitely definitely definitely take this for Global Core. Ended up being one of my favorite classes I took at CU. Interesting lectures (attendance is required), but not overbearing. Easy to sort of relax and follow along. Prof is passionate about course material and knowledgable. Content was interesting. BE RESPECTFUL to the performers at the concerts!! And be knowledgeable of their music if you choose to speak with them.

I expected this class to be hard, especially considering it would be about the history of jazz and music terminology, but Professor Washburne was easily the most amazing professor I think I'll ever have. He made learning about jazz very easy and enjoyable, especially considering his vast knowledge and experience. A lot of people may say he brags about his achievements, but on the contrary, he only ever talked about himself when it related to a jazz musician he worked with that we were studying. He also taught us a lot of life lessons. I enjoyed every single lecture, and he was extremely easy to follow when taking notes. I genuinely loved his class, and it furthered my love for music and jazz. He is also a a great person and is always willing to help you out. He was never judgmental about questions or final essay topics. He is very passionate about his profession, and it definitely inspired me in my profession.

Take the class! The professor is cool and funny, the material is excellent, the songs are from different backgrounds... plus, it counts for the global core! What a fun class!

Phenomenal teacher!!!! Extraordinary. His enthusiasm and the great music make it worthwhile 9am class. I strongly recommend this class to anyone, irregardless of your interest in music. He really is a Columbia gem. Attending lecture is a must, since exams are based on material taught in class (but if you pay attention then the exams are easy). Theres no need to do the reading except that the book is very clear and fun to read-I ended up doing all the readings on the syllabus.

All of the other reviews seem extremely exaggerated. Washburne is good in that he is a fairly enthusiastic lecturer. Also, he knows a fair amount about music itself; he was good at explaining basic musical concepts. However, there were several downsides to his class. He presented a simplistic view of history; he often just repeated truisms to explain historical periods. He told several stories, that while amusing, simply weren't true. For instance, his description of how Berlioz came to compose the Symphony Fantastique was just totally wrong. What's more, the correct version is in the textbook. Another example is he presented a theory of the origins of Beethoven's deafness as fact; nobody is actually sure why Beethoven went deaf. This led me to wonder whether other implausible sounding stories he told both about his personal experience and about the lives of composers were also untrue. Also, he really didn't challenge the class very much, it could have been taught at a much higher level. While I did learn a fair amount about music, I felt like I could have learned a lot more. Far too often, Washburne seemed willing to simplify things rather than deal with a more complex, but more accurate version of reality. On the whole, a decent, but not terrific professor.

I took Jazz and Salsa with Professor Washburne. His courses embody "you get out what you put in" in that everyone gets a good grade, so you can choose to learn as much or as little as you want. For me personally, having the stress of grades taken away is a rare experience at Columbia but effective in making the learning self-driven. Most people take the course to get an easy A, but having sat through all the lectures, gone to concerts, and done final projects of my own choosing, I have a new-found appreciation for these genres of music I used to know nothing about. I listen to jazz and caribbean music in a new way, and I'm grateful for it.

I wanted to come here and quickly say that professor washburne is an absolute gem. He is the greatest professor and man to ever exist. I love him so so so much. I don't know anything about music but this class was so amazing in that it was so straightforward, entertaining, and low-pressure. Like it was enjoyable just sitting there and hearing him talk about things, which we all know is so rare. He is so sweet in that I messed up with an assignment in a way that most professors would not be at all understanding but after speaking with him he gave me the opportunity to get points back; with also doing extra credit assignments, I went from expecting a B in the class to getting an A+. PLEASE PLEASE TAKE THE CLASS WITH HIM YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.

Professor Washburne is probably the coolest person on the planet. He previously played trombone with a lot of the salsa greats in NYC and on South American tours. He's now head of the jazz studies department, and he still plays with different salsa groups, other Columbia profs, and his own band, S.Y.O.T.O.S. (See You on the Other Side). Be thankful if you are lucky enough to take this class from him. The course is fun and the material is engaging. Whatever you do, don't come to class and sit on Facebook or watch Youtube videos. Listen to what the man is saying. His stories are intense and personal, and what's more is his passion for relaying his interests and experiences to his students. It helps to have an appreciation for Caribbean musics, I admit I probably wouldn't listen to every genre explored in this class recreationally. But the point is that to understand modern hip-hop, reggaeton, and reggae, you need to have the background of the earlier colonial music styles. Each lecture consists of the hypnotic voice of Washburne, paired with musical examples from each genre explored. The course covers musics of Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.

midterm, final and paper. lot of leeway on paper topic.

Professor Washburne is one of the best professors I've ever had at Columbia. He's humorous, approachable, and interesting. He's obviously knowledgeable, and I learned more in that class than I have in most classes at Columbia. His lectures are interesting and informative--when he lectures, he tells a story; I never fall asleep in that class. I know much more than just music history; I know now the personal lives of the musicians, the politics behind the music, and so on. He's an excellent teacher.