by Paul Klemperer

One of the musical hats I wear is that of educator, teaching both jazz technique and jazz history. I find, and conversations with other teachers in Austin give evidence that I'm not alone, that there is a strong interest in jazz from the next generation of local players, but that the jazz scene overall is a pretty amorphous entity. Maybe that's just the nature of jazz, or at least the various styles of music that are grouped under the "jazz" umbrella.

So I am no longer surprised when a young person's idea of jazz may be anything from Louis Armstrong to Maynard Ferguson to Brian Setzer to Kenny G. Jazz itself is a big house full of distantly related offspring, and the way a young person first encounters any of these offspring is a matter of happenstance.

I try to teach jazz history in an inclusive way, showing where the many branches sprouted from the trunk. It is always tempting to assert my aesthetic preferences, to say which style is a cultural "rip-off" and which is the "real deal." If I am explaining the socio-economic history of the music, it is often essential to examine questions of authenticity, exploitation, and of how stylistic choices can be the result of economic pressures. I talk about Tin Pan Alley, mass marketing of musical fads, racism in the recording industry, and related issues. But this is within the area of jazz history. Teaching jazz technique is a different matter.

The first rule of thumb in teaching is that if students aren't interested they won't learn. You ccccan make them interested by putting the fear of God into them (which several of my teachers did to me). Then they will study out of fear and in the process learn something that they may later appreciate. Yes, it is tempting, but since the years of my tender childhood they have outlawed corporal punishment. So teachers nowadays must rely more on inspiration than intimidation. Most will admit, though often grudgingly, that the former has a greater lasting impact than the latter. So the question is how to inspire these kids to want to learn.

The first thing I ask my young students is what kind of music they listen to, what do they like. If their interests include jazz, or a jazz-related music like rock, blues, show tunes or pop, there is a point of connection to the larger body of the jazz tradition. Then, as we work on the songs they like, I can bring in aspects of jazz technique, such as rhythmic syncopations and variations, melodic embellishments, licks derived from the blues scale, and so on. They may be playing "Louie, Louie" in middle school band, or maybe their parents like Henry Mancini. A lot of my students want to play music they have heard in a movie. In fact, many of them believe Louis Armstrong was the guy who sang on the soundtrack of Good Morning, Vietnam. There are many points of entry into the world of jazz.

Austin schools seem to be availing themselves of more resources for jazz education. The Austin Jazz Workshop, a project led by saxophonist Mike Mellingeeenger, has been holding concerts and workshops in schools here since 1994. This year they will give a total of 85 performances. The Austin School of Music has a regular "Rock n' Roll Camp" and is adding more classes on improvisational music to help buddinnng improvisers develop their potential. Band directors in middle and high schools use arrangements of tunes by Duke Ellington and George Gershwin, not just Andrew Lloyd Weber and John Williams. One of my students, an 11-year-old alto sax player, was leaaarning the swing chestnut piece "In The Mood" in band practice. Since the song had blues roots, I was able to show her how to play some blues riffs based on it. She dug it.

For those kids who start to appreciate and play jazz in middle and high school, AAustin has a lot of opportunities for playing. But there should be, and there will be, more. We need more band camps, more in-school workshops, more inspirational classes and demonstrations by visiting jazz performers, and more jam sessions open to youngg players. I remember getting to see Dizzy Gillespie jam with the Modern Jazz Quartet when I was an impressionable fourteen-year-old sax player in Boston. That inspired me! I remember getting to play at jam sessions with scary, grizzled jazz veterans, my ears wide open, trying to absorb what I could. Of course, in those days it was easier for a teenager to sneak into a smoky nightclub. But nowadays jazz is more accessible on many levels, and if we give the next generation more opportunities to appreciate it and play it, our jazz community will grow deep with lasting roots.