Kids, Meet Jazz: An Interview With The Founder Of JazzReach

This really is going to be about jazz and kids. See?

But a little prologue. The first set I saw on Saturday at Winter Jazz Fest featured a band called the Metta Quintet. In its incarnation that night, it featured a killer front line of Marcus Strickland (soprano and tenor saxes) and Greg Ward (alto sax), with a rhythm section of pianist Dave Bryant, bassist Josh Ginsburg and drummer Hans Schuman, the leader. They played an attractive set of post-bop tunes written by modern masters Strickland, Miguel Zenon, Yosvany Terry and Omer Avital.

If none of those names mean anything to you, relax: the point is that it was solid modern jazz by some top musicians of today. And it's a bit more than that. The Metta Quintet is the resident ensemble of JazzReach, a small-but-mighty nonprofit dedicated to creating and presenting multimedia jazz education programs to K-12 audiences across the country.

I did an unpaid internship with JazzReach in the summer of 2006, and occasionally stay in touch with Hans Schuman, JazzReach's founder/artistic director. He recently told me about a new program the group was presenting, called "Big Drum/Small World" — and I made it a point to preview some of the music on Saturday. It's a busy spell for Hans and co.: Brad Mehldau is playing a solo benefit concert for JazzReach tonight, Jan. 14, in two sets at the Highline Ballroom in New York. Soon after, the Metta Quintet goes on the road to New Mexico and California for a string of five programs.

The geek inside me saw the names involved in "Big Drum/Small World," and had to know more. The concerned jazz fan saw this as an opportunity to further investigate the question of young jazz audiences — in this case, very young jazz audiences — from someone who would know some answers. So I asked Hans a few questions about JazzReach's latest goings-on, via e-mail:

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So at Winter Jazz Fest, you played music from this new program you've been working on — at least it's new since I was in the office. Tell me about "Big Drum/Small World."

"Big Drum/Small World" is a program designed to highlight, celebrate and promote the globalization and ever-broadening definition of jazz. Living in New York City, we're privileged to have access to music and musicians from all over the world and have been able to witness, experience and hear the way that jazz has rapidly progressed as a "world" music over the last 10-20 years firsthand. Our goals and objectives for this program were to simply illuminate these developments in an immersive, engaging context for audiences nationwide. The program features all-new music that we commissioned especially for this program. Participating composers include; Miguel Zenon, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Lionel Loueke, Omer Avital, Yosvany Terry and our very own Marcus Strickland, among others.

And of course, in its full form, you're presenting this 1) with a multimedia component 2) for kids. Care to expand on that?

Yes, we've created, in effect, two versions of the "Big Drum/Small World" program; One for young audiences in grades 3-6, and another for general audiences. Like all JazzReach programs, both versions feature captivating video projections and lighting design and the educational version also features live narration and a lot of audience participation which is essential for that targeted age group.

We recently presented the debut performances of the educational version of the program here in New York last month and we were delighted to hear back from a teacher who said that in the seventeen years she's been teaching, "Big Drum/Small World" was one of the best trips she's ever taken a class on! She also said that upon their return to school, her kids were excited to hear more and learn more about jazz! Feedback like this is essential in so many ways. For one, it affirms that what we do is of value and makes an impact, and secondly, in challenging economic times like these, it simply adds fuel to our fire and encourages us to keep doing what we're doing.

 

All right, so take a show like "Big Drum/Small World." Who do you "sell" it to — who hires the band and the program? How do you meet these "buyers"? How do you get the word out about this program?

Our primary presenting partners ("buyers") are performing arts presenters and concert halls all over the country. From grand old 1,800-seat symphony halls, modern and refurbished theaters to 200-seat black box theaters, we're here to serve as many young people as possible, so whomever shares our convictions and mission to make the arts a part of everyday life, these are our partners. Over the last decade, we've visited over 65 venues in over 35 states and served over 175,000 young people through our programs! Over the last 8 years or so, we've participated as an exhibitor at the annual Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference here in New York. We'll often have a booth in the conference's exhibit hall which gives us a platform to promote our work to the thousand or more participating presenters from around the country who attend the conference.

And that's not all that JazzReach does, as I recall.

Right, while audience development is at the core of our mission — through the presentation of our repertoire of live, multimedia educational programs for young audiences — we often supplement these activities with clinics and masterclasses that aim to nurture student musicians and ensembles. We're also just as dedicated to developing recording projects that have a live "main stage" component for general audiences — often thematic or programmatic works like "Big Drum/Small World" or others such as 2006's "Subway Songs" (inspired by the cultural dynamism of the New York City subway experience) and 2002's "Going to Meet The Man" (inspired by the short stories of the celebrated American author, James Baldwin). Incidentally, we're aiming to record "Big Drum/Small World" late this spring and shooting for a fall 2010 release.

All accounts I've seen — yours and others — would have one believe that kids really get into JazzReach's programs. But do you think these programs have a lasting impact on elementary school children? Or, let me ask that in a different way: what's the role of jazz in an elementary education? What kinds of lessons does it offer that these young people will take away for life?

Well, if our young audiences weren't responsive to what we're doing, I'd have quit a long time ago. We can only hope that we've captured their attention and somehow elevated and/or enriched them in some meaningful, substantive way — that's our goal at least. It's funny, I generally remember the field-trips I took as a kid far more vividly than that which I was taught in the classroom (which I think is why we've designed our programs to be field trips rather than in-school performances). Otherwise, my memories of elementary school tend to be a blur of kickball games, playground banter, chocolate milk, tater tots and fish sticks.

Here's kind of an open-ended question, but since you work with kids, you might have some unique insights: what makes a kid into a life-long jazz fan? And to follow that up: is that even a part of what you're after?

Well, our goal is to provide the highest quality, most engaging, immersive experience for our young audiences. Ideally, these experiences will (hopefully) elicit the impression that "jazz is good, fun and accessible." First and foremost, what makes a life-long jazz fan are parents, community and an educational system that embraces, promotes and encourages an appreciation for and participation in the arts. Our (JazzReach's) function is to capture their imaginations and ignite the sparks of awareness, appreciation and curiosity, but I strongly believe that it's the community's role and responsibility to fan that flame.

Ultimately, it would also seem that a school district or concert presenter would need to have the budget and the technical capacity to book a program. What about underfunded school districts? And do you have any thoughts on the continual diminishing of budgets for music programs in schools in general?

In New York City, we offer discounts to schools that can't meet our ticket price (typically less the cost of a movie) and sometimes even offer seats at no cost (if they would otherwise go empty). As a result of the current economic downturn we are facing unprecedented challenges. Our funding is down and so is the funding at the institutions who present our work. Woefully, educational budgets (at arts institutions) are generally the first to get cut in times of crisis because they are often deemed the least lucrative and as a result, less "essential." As of today, our 2010-2011 Season remains uncertain ... we'll see, it's a work in progress. Nevertheless, in light of it all, we hope for the best and will continue to persevere.

This upcoming Brad Mehldau concert is a benefit for the organization. Which raises two questions. How are you funded? And how did you get Brad to do this for you?

With the exception of the fees we generate for our services (which comprises approximately 1/3 of our total operating budget), we are solely reliant on contributed revenue to make what we do possible. However, in light of current challenges, we're actively exploring alternate ways of generating more streams of earned revenue so that we're less reliant on contributions and more self-sustaining.

Regarding Brad Mehldau, we couldn't be more honored and grateful for his kind participation and support. He and I moved to New York around the same time and played a lot together around town before he got swept up by Warner Bros. which incidentally, was around the same time I established JazzReach. I also commissioned him to write two tunes for Metta Quintet's first record (Going to Meet The Man, 2002) and we've just remained friendly over the years. When I asked him if he'd consider supporting our efforts by performing a benefit concert, he just said "yes," so it just a matter of finding a window of availability. I've found the jazz community as a whole to be incredibly supportive of our endeavors. I would say about 95% of the time when we've requested the cooperation of various musicians, they've said yes without any hesitation. Other artists who have performed at JazzReach benefits have included Jack DeJohnette, Christian McBride, Jason Moran, Bruce Hornsby, Antonio Sanchez, Sam Yahel, John Patitucci, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano, Kenny Garrett, John Scofield, Nick Payton, Ravi Coltrane, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Jane Monheit to name a few.

Hans, you, of course, are a musician. And I remember you told me you were at Berklee College Of Music in the early '90s, when a whole bunch of killing cats were but students in Boston. But your Web site says JazzReach was founded in 1994. So take me back to then: why did you start doing this sort of thing? Why didn't you follow some of your now more famous peers and try to make it primarily as a player?

Good question! Yeah, Berklee was a great and inspiring experience! SO many great musicians were there at that time! Donny McCaslin, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Seamus Blake, Jim Black, Dwayne Burno, Roy Hargrove, Geoff Keezer, Ingrid Jensen, Jorge Rossy (and his late sister Mercedes), Antonio Hart, Mark Gross, Chris Cheek and too many others to name. As for why I chose to establish JazzReach (rather than pursue a career solely as a player) is because I saw a void that needed to be filled. Young people simply have NO access to jazz music. It's not included in the everyday classroom curriculum, and often overlooked by mainstream popular media, and so they're just not aware. With some degree of foresight, I felt the outcome of this neglect (for lack of a better word) would be a significantly diminished audience for the art form (which, according to a recent NEA survey on audience participation in the arts, has proven accurate). As I considered establishing the organization, I felt that I could either complain about it or do something about it. Further, people who use their skill sets in ways that in some way improve or enhance the quality of life of others or affect social change have always inspired me. I do battle with my own narcissism all the time and sometimes (mostly in times of crisis) wish that my only responsibility was to nurture my own talent, but find great value and reward in providing young people with their first jazz experience. There's this perception that just because what we do targets young people, it's not "serious" or "as" serious as if we were performing for an older audience. But I put a great deal of thought and creativity into developing thoughtful, contextual programs that engage, captivate and illuminate the vitality and many facets of this great art form.

And now, it is what it is. What's kept you coming into work every day? I mean, you obviously believe in your mission so much that you've crafted this whole organization around it. How does one sustain that belief?

Alvin Ailey once said something like (and I paraphrase), "art functions as a mirror and illuminates how beautiful we all are." The fact that millions upon millions of young people throughout this country may very well go through their lives without hearing a note of jazz music, historic or contemporary, is a complete social and cultural travesty. And if I can in any way make a difference (however miniscule), I will continue to forge ahead and do my best to hold up that mirror for as long as I'm able.

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More information about JazzReach is available at its Web site, jazzreach.org