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IN HARMONY

JUNIOR JAZZ

By Scott Borsky

Music lovers, of all ages, can be thankful to the jazz pioneers for giving us their talents and allowing jazz to blossom into many different trees.

It’s amazing how many different types of music young children adore. During my daily music sessions with youngsters they sing, dance and smile to rock & roll, rap, blues, ragtime, marches—just to name a few. It’s interesting to note that many of the varied styles of music that we listen to today were born out of jazz—specifically American Jazz. Music lovers, of all ages, can be thankful to the jazz pioneers for giving us their talents and allowing jazz to blossom into many different trees. In February, Please Touch Museum is offering a month-long celebration where young people can experience jazz through live performances, theater shows and craft activities. The month is centered around the 11th Annual Junior Jazz Weekend on February 22nd and 23rd.

A highlight of the Junior Jazz Weekend will be “Scat Cat’s Jr. Jazz Jamboree.” Simply put, the jamboree is about an alley cat that stumbles into a jazz club and receives a mini-history lesson in the world of jazz. Written by the museum’s theater experience coordinator Alice Gonglewski, this show uses a mixture of puppets, rhythmic body movements and music samples to give young children a taste of how jazz is made and who created it. Kids will be encouraged to become part of Please Touch Museum’s very unique big band, sing with “Scat Cat” and experience the different instruments and styles of jazz.

Among the other events of the month is a visit by New Jersey-based Marlin Simon and his band on Sunday, February 9th. They will provide the youth with their wonderful brand of Latin Jazz. I particularly recommend this event because I find that young children adore Latin-flavored music. For many reasons, Latin Jazz (which is characterized by Latin dances rhythms combined with jazz melodies) is the perfect music for young children to learn about movement, melody and tempo. Rhythms such as the mambo, cha-cha and samba are infectious with young hands, feet and bodies. In addition, a wide variety of Latin percussion instruments such as the bongos and cowbell are a staple of all of my classes.

This Latin music event will be partly sponsored by “Strings for Schools”. Truly a favorite organization of mine, the members of this wonderful group give the gift of music to kids throughout the Philadelphia area. This collection of very talented, good-hearted and good-deed filled musicians and educators have outreached in all parts of greater Philadelphia and have enriched the lives of over 1.5 million music-lovers. Their programs, all for not-profit, are designed to fill major voids in music education due to budget restrictions, music teacher shortage or socio-economic conditions. They absolutely inspire children toward a lifelong involvement in music. For more information, go to: www.stringsforschools.org.

Additional jazz events at the Please Touch Museum during February include a jazz harpist, jazz dance and a jazz concert by students from our local Settlement Music School . For a complete list of events, got to: www.pleasetouchmuseum.org or call (215) 963-0667.

If you have interest in getting into the swing of jazz this month I would suggest two of my favorite recordings for kids: “Fidgety Feet” by Steve Rashid. Winner of the Parent’s Choice Gold Award of the American Library Association, this recording for the whole family is a swingin’ good time. Through classic jazz tunes and humorous new melodies, Rashid introduces children to the world of jazz. Styles on the CD include dixieland, western swing and big band. My favorites include terrific renditions of “Old King Cole”, “It Don’t Mean a Thing” and “Mutiny in the Nursery”.

If you’re a fan of the actor John Lithgow, you’ll love his CD “Singin in the Bathtub”. This wonderful collection of zany sings features a 30-piece swing band as they juke-and-jive through terrific jazzy tunes with superbly creative lyrics. Highlights include “From the Indies to the Andes in His Undies”, “A-You’re Adorable” and “Everybody Eats When They Come To Our House”. Lithgow certainly possesses a child-like charm, and this recording attests to this loving quality.

Scott Borsky is a local music teacher, children’s performer and songwriter. Any questions about music for children or entertainment may be addressed to him at CantorScott@webtv.net or (215) 632-8934.