Earshot Jazz Education: Reaching and Teaching Younger Ears

Originally published in Earshot Jazz April 2014

A saxophone plays softly behind the stage curtain. In front of the curtain, Eva Abram says, “I want to tell you a story, a story about two inquisitive kids – Ozzie and Samantha,” enchanting the 450 students at Campbell Hill Elementary School in Renton. Abram launches into a yarn about two youngsters stopping in front of a record store to admire the album covers of famous jazz artists like John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery and Chet Baker. Ozzie and Samantha ignore the “CLOSED” sign and decide to investigate what’s behind the unlocked door. Inside they meet the proprietor, Miss Delia, who shows them a hidden music studio where a live jazz quartet is jamming.



Over the next hour, the story explores where jazz came from, what makes music jazz, what types of jazz are there and what roles the different instruments play. Students in the audience are invited to try their wings at scat singing with Cab Calloway’s jubilant “Minnie the Moocher” and dancing to Herbie Hancock’s funky “Chameleon.”

Earshot Jazz developed this educational program to introduce Seattle’s young ears to the fun sound of jazz. Many Seattle area Middle and High Schools have renowned jazz education programs, but Elementary Schools don’t typically include jazz in their curricula. Earshot Jazz board member Femi Lakeru, led the way to develop a presentation targeted at that gap.

Lakeru searched for existing programs that might serve as a model for Earshot. A program in Detroit, created by Vincent York, contained plenty of good content, but Lakeru felt that it lacked an engaging story necessary for reaching young children. Through the Seattle Storytellers Guild, Lakeru found New Orleans born and University of Washington graduate Eva Abrams. “I’ve been pulled into this world of storytelling and acting because stories have a magical way of showing us the beauty of each other’s culture and the beauty within ourselves,” she says on her website. For Earshot, Abrams’ magic entrances children with the beauty of jazz.

A video about the program is available on YouTube at http://youtu.be/PczeUNA1Nfs. Schools interested in this engaging program of professional performers should contact Earshot Jazz. Meanwhile, Lakeru is developing a committee of educators to continue to refine and improve the quality of the program.