[Dixielandjazz] Youthful musicians...our "future"?

[Jim_Russell at baruch.cuny.edu]

In this vein here are a few items/thoughts:

My son pulled my wife and I into trad jazz.  He started playing violin at 3
and jazz at 5.  He sits in regularly with bands in and around NYC and
played at Hot Steamed and Great CT last summer.  He is now 8.5 and has been
asked to play at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival.  For more
information, his web site is at http://www.jonathanjazz.com.

He has received a great deal of support and training from many of the
musicians that he has played with, most notably Ed Polcer.  Ed and a few
folks like him are the reason Jonathan can perform so well.  Jonathan's
talent and training can only go so far.

I feel that the key to getting more youth into trad jazz is through keeping
the doors open (I watched the "sitting-in" thread closely) and reaching out
wherever possible.  This should also be at an earlier age than what most
folks seem to think.  If more kids got the exposure to jazz at five, then
they would have something to compare to pop, rap or hip-hop that might make
those genres pale in comparison.

Jonathan has also played for kids and camps in Harlem.  For some of the
kids, this was their first chance to hear jazz or to touch an instrument.
The kids certainly responded to seeing someone their age, or younger,
playing.  For us, this is a necessary part of both Jonathan's up-bringing
and for how we can make a difference in our community.  But I am troubled
by the thought that some of the 4-12 year old kids in Harlem did not know
what jazz was.

There is a growing movement within the string education community to
incorporate jazz into the elementary school curriculum.  ASTA (American
String Teachers Association) has actually added an improv element into
their standards.  There already seems to be a good body of support for
middle and high school kids (generally ones that are already in a school
jazz program) through camps and competitions.  But I suspect that some kids
get drawn away from creating their own music or from jazz before they even
get to middle school.

One thing that has disturbed me is the lack of support from some audiences
for youth bands.  While the musicians often get a great deal of
satisfaction in playing with and teaching younger musicians, many audiences
don't even show up for the event.  We've only been to the two festivals
above so this may not be the case generally.

JIM