[Dixielandjazz] More about attracting young musicians to "old music" (not OKOM, but close)

[David Richoux]

Along the lines of what Steve Barbone has been posting,  in the San 
Jose Mercury News this morning - young musicians playing with older, 
learning while enjoying the old-time music...

Dave Richoux

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Young musicians star with bluegrass band
KIDS SHARE UNUSUAL TALENT -- AND UNUSUAL PASSION -- FOR GENRE
By Kimra McPherson
Mercury News

Some parents pass their love of music down to their children. For Annie 
Zacanti of Mountain View, things worked the other way around.

Her daughter, Frankie, 11, and son, Nico, 10, are two of the stars of 
the School of Bluegrass band. Only after they started playing guitar 
and banjo several years ago did Zacanti pick up an instrument herself.

Now when School of Bluegrass performs, Zacanti keeps rhythm on the bass.

``I'm more worried about making mistakes, and I'm not really listening 
to the kids,'' Zacanti said. ``You'd think it would be, `Oh, I'm such a 
proud mother,' but it's different when you're up there.''

Sure, adults play with School of Bluegrass -- but the younger members 
are the stars. In addition to the Nagle siblings, the band includes 
Molly, Sullivan and Michael Tuttle, the three children of Palo Alto 
bluegrass instructor Jack Tuttle. Since forming a year and a half ago, 
School of Bluegrass has jammed at Fandango Pizza in Palo Alto, the Palo 
Alto Children's Library, local farmers markets and even a festival in 
Missouri.

``It's unusual to have five kids this talented all in this area,'' said 
Tuttle, who plays fiddle with the band.

Tuttle, the son of a bluegrass musician, grew up playing banjo, 
mandolin and fiddle. He now teaches music full time at Gryphon Stringed 
Instruments in Palo Alto and edits Fiddler Magazine. It wasn't a given 
that his kids would play bluegrass, he said -- but he was sure going to 
give it a shot.

His oldest, 12-year-old Molly, started playing guitar when she was 8. 
Sullivan, 9, got his first lessons a few years later. Michael, 7, 
demanded to learn the mandolin just weeks before he turned 6.

``I didn't expect them to get this good this fast,'' Tuttle said.

At the same time, Tuttle had another talented youngster on his hands: 
his student Frankie Nagle. Frankie started taking guitar lessons when 
her kindergarten teacher suggested she learn an instrument. A mutual 
friend introduced Frankie and her mother to Tuttle. When Frankie 
started to excel at guitar and banjo, Zacanti wondered if Tuttle knew 
any other talented kids who could jam with her.

At first, Tuttle was stumped. Then, about a year and a half ago, it 
struck him: I do know those kids. They're mine.

The Tuttle children met Frankie and Nico Nagle when their parents 
arranged for them to play at an event at Parents Nursery School in Palo 
Alto. Playing music together was the easy part, Nico recalled -- the 
hard part was remembering everybody's name.

Since then, they've gotten to know each other's styles and favorite 
tunes.

``You get to play faster,'' Molly said of playing with the band. ``It 
was kind of fun getting to know more of other people's songs.''

Despite all the attention to music, neither family fits the ``Partridge 
Family'' stereotype. Yes, the Tuttles have eight or so guitars, 
mandolins and banjos in the living room. Yes, mother Maureen takes the 
occasional turn at the upright bass. And yes, the family dog is named 
Katy Daley after a bluegrass tune. But they don't all sit around and 
jam in the living room, Tuttle said. Mostly, the children just practice 
on their own.

It's a similar story at the Zacanti-Nagle residence. Frankie and Nico 
sometimes play along with bluegrass CDs or improvise with each other, 
Zacanti said. But they mostly do their own thing until it's time to 
prepare for a show.

And the five young players have interests outside of music. Michael 
plays tetherball with as much zeal as the mandolin. Molly likes 
shopping and the computer game ``The Sims.'' Sullivan, too, likes 
computer games. Frankie enjoys sewing and knitting, and Nico is into 
``The Simpsons'' and aviation. Except for bluegrass, they're typical 
kids.

Well, maybe not totally typical.

``If I didn't play bluegrass, I wouldn't play the banjo, and I'd just 
be normal,'' said Frankie, who carries her banjo in a hot-pink case. 
``I'd listen to Britney Spears. Not a good thing.''

The five aren't the only young bluegrass-lovers out there. Molly, a 
sixth-grader at Peninsula School in Menlo Park, has infiltrated the 
Little Billies, a group of ``all eighth-grade boys'' who play bluegrass 
together at her school. And now some third-graders at Palo Alto's 
Ohlone Elementary School are starting to like the music, thanks to 
Tuttle's occasional visits to Sullivan's class.

School of Bluegrass doesn't play together all that often, and they 
don't actively seek gigs, Tuttle said.

``It just seems a little bit early to worry about it,'' Tuttle said.

But when School of Bluegrass does play together, its members don't take 
long to hit their stride. At a practice before a recent performance, 
Michael got his chance for a ``break,'' or solo, on one tune, his leg 
swinging wildly to keep the beat. Nico teased Molly for coming up with 
a better solo than he'd heard her play before. And after a few false 
starts, Molly and Frankie got the harmonies down on the tune ``Banjo 
Pickin' Girl.''

``It's cool to see what other people are playing,'' Frankie said. ``It 
pushes you.''