[Dixielandjazz] Early concert gives kids a taste of jazz

[David Richoux]

Hi all,

This was in the morning paper...

Dave Richoux

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Early concert gives kids a taste of jazz
SHOW AT STANFORD ATTRACTS HUNDREDS
By Kim Vo
Mercury News
Before the music, there was the crying.

Babies wailed, parents chatted and toddlers scampered along the rows of 
Stanford University's Dinkelspiel Auditorium. But soon the room was 
filled with a different type of noise: a swinging rendition of ``You 
Are My Sunshine.''

That lively version followed an unorthodox ``Twinkle, Twinkle Little 
Star'' and a moody piece about a girl named Mary losing her lamb.

``Sometimes in jazz music,'' saxophonist Jim Nadel explained to his 
audience of children younger than 7, ``we may change the melody a 
little bit.''

Jazz is rarely associated with children or early mornings, but the 
Stanford Jazz Workshop hosts an Early Bird Jazz concert every year for 
families. Hundreds attend the free sessions, which are divided into two 
age groups.

``We want to provide something fun and educational for kids . . . and 
to introduce kids to music, not jazz but all music,'' said education 
director Michael Zisman, who also plays the bass. ``We always want to 
prepare our next audiences.''

This was a casual concert. The lights remained on and children were 
encouraged to move and sing along as musicians demonstrated the 
different sounds produced by voices and hands, strings and wind.

Though one baby in a stocking cap managed to sleep through it all, most 
children seemed taken with the joyful sounds coming from the stage. 
They bounced -- often off-beat -- on their mothers' laps or toddled 
toward the front to get a closer look.

They also learned big phrases like ``polyphonic round'' and words that 
sounded like gibberish: ``boogie-woogie.''

Kenji Greenberg, 4, later considered what instruments he might one day 
play.

``What's that big violin called?'' he asked, referring to the bass. ``I 
even like the drums.''

Two-year-old Enola Talbert was still singing ``Twinkle, Twinkle'' after 
the concert. The girl is a big music fan, and recently put together two 
Legos to build a ``piano,'' said her mother, Johanna Talbert of San 
Mateo.

``We've exposed her since she was a baby,'' Talbert said. ``For us, 
this is a normal thing.''

Vocalist Amber Hines, who started Saturday's concert encouraging 
children to rub their bellies to awaken their ``music spirit,'' said 
it's important for children to learn about music. It wasn't until she 
was 20, she said, that she ``found music.''

``I can't imagine what'd be different if I was exposed to it earlier.''