KEEPING THE FAITH
Jazz Education at the Millennium

by Bill Fogarty


Think of the many things arrayed against the survival of jazz in our American culture:

• The near total abandonment of commercial radio to whatever forms of music promise the fastest buck and easiest exploitation of young markets.
  
• The piping in of dreadful music in the stores where we shop, doctors' offices where we wait, even the workplaces where many of us hold our jobs.
  
• The passing of a generation of restaurant and club operators who understood what jazz could do to build a faithful clientele, and whose successors are, to a great degree, under pressure from financial backers to cater to a more rock-oriented audience that drinks harder and faster than jazz people... and yes, one that generally lacks much in the way of musical smarts.
  
• Large-scale marketers of recorded music who won't bother stocking types of music that don't get the big promotional push on radio, including not only jazz but classical music, Broadway and other forms of musical substance.
  
• The wholesale misuse of the word "jazz" -- usually for commercial motives -- in order to give a stylish label to things that have little or nothing to do with jazz itself (i.e. "jazzercise" and certain "jazz festivals" best left unnamed).
  

The Paseo Academy Jazz Ensemble at The Smithsonian in April

I'll bet you can name other examples of the obstacles jazz faces in 1999. Obstacles that are a part of the same dumbing down that has given us local TV news, mind-numbing special effects movies and sound-bite political ads.

But hold on! All is not lost. There are still positive forces at work keeping jazz alive, and in some cases, even growing.

First and foremost, there is the incredible power of the music itself. For most of this century, jazz has reached out from humble, even scorned origins to make a profound mark on people all over the world. Fortunately, there are still enough of us who find it such balm for the soul and such a true and relentless medium of emotional expression, that it's hard to conceive of a world where it can't survive.

But, as powerful as it is, jazz still needs help, especially from those who live the music and who want to keep it in good health.

Which brings us to another positive, and vital, force: jazz education in the schools.

Mixed Trends
Take heart from these facts: Thirty years ago, less than 15 percent of college music programs in North America included jazz instruction. Today, among the 1,826 colleges and universities on the continent, approximately 1,200 have active jazz studies programs and more than 1,500 have at least one jazz ensemble. It's hard to determine how many jazz education programs exist in middle and senior high schools, but they too have increased dramatically since the 1960s.

One of the most widely known outfits dedicated to keeping jazz alive in the schools is the International Association of Jazz Educators. Formed in 1968 (and based next door in Manhattan, KS), the IAJE now has 8,000 members in 40 countries. It offers training for music instructors lacking in jazz pedagogy, a "Sisters in Jazz" collegiate competition to encourage women in jazz education, an Artist Outreach Network which schedules educational workshops by jazz artists in the cities where they are appearing, and many other educational opportunities. It has also received funding support for its many projects from such corporate entities as Nissan, Discover Card, the Walt Disney Corp., and BET (Black Entertainment Television).

Writing in the October, 1998, issue of Jazziz, IAJE executive director Bill McFarlin cites these positive advancements, but he also warns that not everything is rosy.

"Perhaps the most important issue at stake in the immediate future is a continuing trend to cut back or eliminate music programs in the elementary, middle and high schools. Nothing cuts to the bone more quickly than removing the opportunity for young people to have even the most basic exposure to music in these formative years."

Locally, Carroll Lewis has a perspective that dates back to the early 1950s. Retired since 1983, Dr. Lewis taught for 30 years in the secondary schools, spending most his career at Raytown South High School. In the last 16 years he has remained active as a consultant in the field of jazz education and has also kept a busy schedule as a jazz pianist.

"There are different priorities now in music education," Lewis says. "We used to teach jazz improvisation all summer to the kids. Now they spend all summer marching. You don't find an emphasis on jazz band anymore in most Missouri high schools, and that's a shame, because at Raytown South it was a high priority. There are still many good school jazz bands, though, especially at places like Liberty, Paseo and Grandview."

This despite "a marching frenzy," as Lewis says, that has taken hold at the secondary level.
"Today the schools demand that the music instructors present a good looking marching band, one that can win contests and get invited to big-time bowl games. Winning a state jazz competition pales beside that."

There is also the problem of time constraints, what with the proliferation of so many new student activities and interests.

"Today, a teacher has 30 minutes to try and teach the kids how to swing... and then they go home and listen to rock 'n' roll!"

But, Lewis isn't entirely pessimistic.

"The band directors will have to tough it out, and deal with school district budget cuts and everything. And they'll do it. They're still turning out some super musicians who have moved into good collegiate jazz programs like the ones at Central Missouri State University and UMKC."

Reasons for Hope
Another veteran Kansas City music educator is Bob Drummond who, for the last 17 years, has taught in the suburban Grandview schools, with another 10 years before that in Rolla, MO. Does Drummond think it's harder now to teach jazz?

"Not at Grandview! We have some great kids here who really want to play jazz. Maybe it's because of the Kansas City tradition, I don't know, but they sure do have the desire."

The desire, among other things, to rehearse at a very early hour.

"The jazz program at Grandview is extracurricular, which means 6:30 a.m. rehearsals," Drummond adds.

(You've heard of soccer moms? There must be a few Jazz Moms at Grandview!)

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"I think we're seeing more students today with an interest in jazz. Each semester I see more curiosity developing and I meet more and more young people who are up on the basics of jazz." -- Dick Wright, Professor of Jazz History, the University of Kansas.

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Like so many other schools, though, music budgets at Grandview have also been cut. There used to be two middle school teachers, for example, now there is one. For Drummond, however, there is a more important bottom line.

"It's the kids themselves who make the difference. They've all been to several jazz festivals now, and I know they've been inspired by musicians like Wynton Marsalis and the Basie band. Best of all, though, they've gone out and played at the grade schools, which helps kindle interest in the next generation of students."

"A lot of my kids talk about jazz the way other kids talk about Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire," says Clarence Smith, director of the jazz program at Paseo Academy. Though Paseo is part of the troubled Kansas City School District, Smith presides over a marvelously successful program.
"I know that finding kids with a taste for jazz is a problem for jazz programs nationally," Smith says. "But not here at Paseo. Here they are already focused on the music. I'm seeing more and more kids wanting to learn about jazz."

As Bob Drummond pointed out, an environment rich in jazz history and tradition doesn't hurt.

"Living in Kansas City is certainly part of this interest," Smith adds.

"By the time they're 13 or 14, a lot of these kids have been to the jazz camp that's offered by the 18th & Vine Authority, and that makes them hungry to develop themselves as improvisers."
Smith also gets a lot of help from the community, including professional musicians who live in the area. David Basse, Al Pearson, Gerald Dunn, Everette Freeman and Ahmad Alaadeen have all donated their time.

"Alaadeen is like a second father to some of these students," Smith says.

"And the 18th & Vine Authority has brought in some great artists who have worked with the kids, people like Clark Terry, Kenny Burrell, Paquito d'Rivera and Ted Nash. Tom Alexios, a writer for Down Beat who lives in Lawrence, is currently working to bring in others, including Max Roach."

Still, Smith is aware that Paseo is an oasis surrounded by near-desert as far as secondary jazz education is concerned.

"For many band directors, jazz is the ugly stepchild. The emphasis is on marching and symphonic music. And the problem there is that if the kids only get jazz once a week, you get jazz groups that sound like pep bands playing rock 'n' roll."

All of which makes Clarence Smith grateful for his program at Paseo.

"These kids really like to get in there and mix it up. They want to learn all about phrasing, styles and jazz history, and that's a very positive thing for the future of jazz."

Tomorrow's Audiences
Maintaining jazz as a vibrant part of our culture is also dependent on the continuation of an audience for the music. And no one knows that better than Dick Wright, the popular KANU radio host in Lawrence and a nationally recognized instructor of jazz history at the University of Kansas. Wright has been teaching jazz at KU for over 30 years and he continues to work diligently to get young people more tuned in to the music.

"I think we're seeing more students today with an interest in jazz," Wright says. "Each semester I see more curiosity developing and I meet more and more young people who are up on the basics of jazz.

"Now I'm not kidding myself; I understand that the majority of the 150 to 200 students who will be taking my course this fall are not really into jazz. But I do see more listening being done by these kids. They're asking more intelligent questions, and there's more of an awareness of what jazz is."

Wright urges jazz lovers to reach out whenever they can to encourage and promote an interest in jazz with today's students: the jazz audiences of tomorrow.

"For a long time we've just been treading water. But now I think we're getting to more young people than before. I see students of architecture, math, engineering and other disciplines developing an interest in jazz. Only about 1 or 2 percent of the students who take my course are music majors!"

And, incidentally, Professor Wright's course is an elective.

Be a Jazz Activist
As we've seen, there are mixed signals and trends when it comes to the next generation of jazz enthusiasts. There are positive signs, and there are issues in need of attention.

If today's jazz lover is really concerned about the future of jazz -- and jazz education -- what can he or she do? How can today's supporter of live and recorded jazz have an active role in keeping the music alive? The IAJE's Bill McFarlin has this suggestion.

"An important place to start is for everyone to support the public radio stations that feature recorded jazz. That is one of the most important ways jazz is passed along to a new generation."

In the Kansas City area those radio stations are KANU in Lawrence, KCUR and KKFI in Kansas City, and KCMW in Warrensburg. Each brings quality recorded jazz to the next generation of jazz fans and musicians, and each relies heavily on listener donations during pledge drives.

Beyond that there is always a more activist approach: jazz lovers can function as good citizens by speaking out for the preservation and expansion of jazz education in their own school districts. When district patrons bother to write, or when they attend school board meetings to make their views known, things have been known to happen.

In the meantime, jazz educators like Bill McFarlin, Carroll Lewis, Bob Drummond, Clarence Smith and Dick Wright have each done their part to keep this wonderful music alive.

The rest is up to those of us who want jazz, and jazz education, to remain in good health. Today, tomorrow, and well into the new millennium.


RETURN TO OCTOBER 1999 MAIN INDEX

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