Musicians Jazz Up Elementary Classes

Fourth- and fifth-graders at Saticoy Elementary School got down to the sounds of bebop and boogie-woogie this week, compliments of a performance by musicians with the Los Angeles Jazz Society.

The tunes of Duke Ellington rip-roared through the school’s auditorium and out into the courtyard. Hands clapped, toes tapped and groove things shook.

“Kids dig jazz,” said Greg Eicher, the band’s bassist. “They really do.”

For the past 12 Februarys, the jazz society has sent musicians into Los Angeles schools to expose children to the music the society calls “America’s only true art form.”

A few schools are picked in each council district and the musicians are dispersed to do their thing--educate the students on the history of jazz and tear it up musically.

“Jazz is a beautiful thing, and we want to make sure there’s an audience for it after we’re gone,” said Flip Manne, one of the society’s founders.

If the Saticoy performance was any indication, jazz just gained about 200 new fans.

Before the show, the students entered tentatively, unsure about the music they were going to hear.

Minutes later, once the solos were struck on the piano, bass, saxophone, trumpet and drums, the students never stopped moving.

Highlights of the show included Mel Lee’s drum solo and Eicher’s rendition of the “Jaws” music on his stand-up bass.

“It’s so great when you get a response from a kid,” Eicher said. “When you make that connection and see the kid keep the beat and enjoy the music. That’s why we all do this.”

Principal Cheryl Mueller couldn’t be happier with the program.

“After the first show, the students all stayed for autographs. They loved it,” she said.

Before and after songs, Eicher explained the different instruments and certain styles of jazz and how the music was created by African Americans at the turn of the century.

The climax of the show was when the band burst into the second line of “When the Saints Come Marching In.” During that number, trumpeter Ramon Flores grabbed teachers and students from the audience and led them in a dancing march through the auditorium.

“That’s what jazz is--it gets you moving,” Eicher said.