August — October 2026 · With Tommy Boynton
A six-session workshop and the welcoming way into jazz singing at North Star — deepen your connection with jazz standards, build practical vocal jazz skills, and find your footing in the music. The starting point for everything else in our vocal program.
Format
6 sessions
over 3 months
Where
Jazz Central
Studios, MPLS
Tuition
$450 total
3 × $150
Your way into jazz singing.
The Jazz Singer's Playground is designed for vocalists who want to deepen their connection with jazz standards and build practical vocal jazz skills in a warm, supportive, no-pressure environment. It's our entry point into jazz singing — the place to start before stepping into North Star's other vocal spaces.
Led by vocalist and pianist Tommy Boynton, the workshop moves through the rich tradition of jazz singing — song forms, charts, key choices, and how to communicate with the musicians around you. You'll leave with a real foundation in jazz singing and a clear sense of where to go next in the vocal program. This is the third time North Star has run this class, and it keeps being a favorite starting point.
Course highlights
Over six sessions, this workshop builds the practical skills singers need to feel at home in jazz — on the page, in the right key, and in the room with other musicians. It's designed as a foundation you can build on.
Together, you'll:
The juicy material he covered, his patient teaching style, the knowledge he shared about music theory and jazz — it was SO great.
Time
5:30 – 7:30pm
2nd & 4th MondaysLocation
Jazz Central Studios
407 Central Ave SE, MinneapolisFormat
Vocal workshop
Six 2-hour sessions over three monthsTuition
$450 total
Three monthly installments · 15% off for NS membersSession dates
Aug 10 · Aug 24 · Sept 14 · Sept 28 · Oct 12 · Oct 26
Your Teacher
Voice & Piano
Tommy Boynton is a jazz singer, composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist living in St. Paul. As an artist and educator, he's grateful for the paths that have kept him actively creative and exploring — and he seeks to welcome everyone into experiencing and enjoying music free of judgment and shame. That spirit is exactly what makes the Jazz Singer's Playground the right place to begin.
Tommy is a current member of The Four Freshmen, the jazz vocal group that began in 1948 and has never stopped touring in the years since. He joined in 2015, singing the lead/top part while playing bass, and for the past five years has sung second harmony and played guitar. With the group he's performed at premiere rooms worldwide — the Cotton Club in Tokyo, the Blue Note in Beijing, the Dirty Dog Jazz Café, Live at Emmet's Place, the Oslo Jazz Festival, the Detroit Jazz Fest — and collaborated or recorded with Emmet Cohen, Russell Hall, Kyle Poole, Butch Miles, Ken Peplowski, Katie Thiroux, and more.
Locally, Tommy also teaches at Sarah Jane's Music School and MacPhail. He earned his BM in jazz voice from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Dominique Eade, Ran Blake, and Fred Hersch. In his spare time he composes song cycles, setting poetry to music — and is an avid cuddler of pets. More about Tommy →
I took the 6-session Jazz Singers Playground workshop with Tommy Boynton. The juicy material he covered, his patient teaching style, the knowledge he shared about music theory and jazz — it was SO great. Tommy's not only a wonderful singer, but also an amazing accompanist on the piano! What a treat to sing with him — and then to be joined the last 2 sessions by a bassist and drummer, too.North Star Member
Tommy is an excellent instructor/musician/human being! He leads the class with casual high expectation and always gives us appropriate critique. His combination of loving and knowing the genre combined with the ability to sing and play the piano so well make him perfect for this role.North Star Member
Enrollment
Tuition is $450 total (15% off for current North Star members), paid as three monthly installments of $150. Your first payment of $150 confirms your spot in the August cohort. We ask all participants to review our enrollment policies before signing up.
Still thinking it through? Book a call and we'll help you figure out if it's the right fit.
Questions? Email us anytime at hello@northstarjazzworkshops.com.