[Dixielandjazz] Fresh Air Fund - Jazz Camp

[Stephen Barbone]

List mates:

Here is a great idea. Not so important what kind of jazz it is, but the
fact that jazz becomes a focal point at a summer camp for kids from low
income families in New York City. This could be done all over the world
using trad jazz, with a little help from Jazz Societies, Jazz Bands and
Jazz Publications..

We sponsor jazz camps for young musicians. Why not jazz camps for the
young audience?

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

July 28, 2002  New York Times

Enjoying Fresh Air, and the Jazz in It

By KARI HASKELL

At Camp Mariah it was, "Hold the hot meal; the special of the day is
cool jazz."

This month, the dining hall at Mariah, a Fresh Air Fund camp in
Fishkill, N.Y., was the setting for the 2002 Fresh Air
Jazz Festival, produced by JazzReach, a nonprofit group committed to
jazz education. That afternoon, campers became
hipsters. Instead of the clatter of cutlery, there were the snapping of
fingers and the tapping of toes. And the Metta Quintet was serving up
something special.

After two performances, more than 600 campers were left with an appetite
for jazz, and a better appreciation of role models and mentors.

The campers, 8 to 16 years old, represented five camps in Fishkill run
by the Fresh Air Fund, a nonprofit organization that has been providing
country vacations to children from low-income New York City
neighborhoods for 125 years.

Being more familiar with rap, many of the children were not sure what to
expect. A few of the youngest ones did not quite get the sophisticated
rhythms, and their attention wandered like a jazzy bass line. But for
many others, it was a chance to hear live what they had experienced only
through recordings or the radio.

Once onstage, the Metta Quintet wailed. Helen Sung played a thunderous
piano; Marcus Strickland blazed on tenor and
soprano saxophone; the bassist, Joshua Ginsburg, showed his dexterity;
and Hans Schuman, founder of JazzReach and its quintet, molded and
steered the tempo with his delicate cymbal work. In the final number,
Mark Gross poured emotion out of an alto sax.

"I like the saxophone," said LeChell Rush, 11, of Brooklyn. "It has a
nice tune and it is nice and loud."

Vernice Miller, the festival's master of ceremonies, guided the campers
through the musical adventure. She began with a short history of jazz
and its role in American history.

Doug Weitz, Camp Mariah's director, said: "It's important for kids to
understand the roots of American music, and jazz is American as
anything, African-American as anything. These kids need to understand
where the music they love comes from." Jazz offers subtle — and larger —
lessons than just enjoyment, Mr. Weitz said. "Jazz musicians adapt
together and work together and achieve this one sound," he said. "At
camp the kids also learn to work with others and realize what is
perceived as different is a strength."

Gaining strength by following the example of others was the major theme.
Each original composition was chosen to pay
tribute to a musician's role model or mentor. After a piece was played,
the musician who had chosen it spoke about the role model who inspired
the choice. In some cases, it was a jazz legend, like Thelonious Monk.
In others, it was a parent, a brother or a favorite teacher.

After the concert, Kewanda Wilson, 12, of Manhattan, thought about
mentors. "My mother, she inspires me to do stuff," said Kewanda. "If I
say I don't like something, she would tell me not to quit and when I
finish I learn to like it."

Throughout the year, the quintet, a revolving ensemble of professional
musicians, performs multimedia programs at places like the Kennedy
Center in Washington, the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Music Center of
Los Angeles County. This year, the group released its first CD, "Going
to Meet the Man," inspired by the short stories of James Baldwin.

At the Fresh Air Fund camps, music education is one of the many courses
in a curriculum that varies from place to place.
The first Fresh Air Jazz Festival was produced by Mr. Schuman in 1999 at
Camp Mariah, with financing from Kenneth Cole.

The second festival was made possible this year through a $10,000 grant
to JazzReach from the Music for Youth Foundation, a nonprofit Manhattan
group that supports music education for underprivileged children. The
group will perform again at Camp Mariah on Aug. 14.

"JazzReach encourages an outreach to kids to music that they aren't
familiar with," said Timothy J. Thomas, executive director of the Music
for Youth Foundation. "They don't simplify music; they give them full-on
artistic performance, and we hope it will inspire kids to pick up an
instrument."

Mr. Schuman said he hoped to spark more interest in jazz."After every
concert," he said, "I just want jazz to equal fun."

To become a host family or register a child for the Fresh Air Fund, call
(800) 367-0003. Tax Deductible contributions may be sent to 633 Third
Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017. For more information on the Web, visit
www.freshair.org.