A Multicultural Program honors differences and encourages respect for the cultures which make up America.

The cultural diversity of Jazz is, by its very nature, the most timely art form to be offered to children of today whose exposure to the world around them has never been greater. In the multi-cultural world of Jazz, every sound that's played, sung, composed, arranged or improvised, draws from the profound history of the journey that brought Jazz to America. This Journey encompasses countries of diverse backgrounds, ceremonies that uniquely honor its people, combinations of instruments indigenous to each country's natural resources and connections to their social fabric and a style of music that represents its vital importance in the evolution of the music and of the people who create it. Jazz Journey, in an Artist in Residency Program, offers children of all ages an interactive opportunity to participate in a learning experience not only about this extraordinary history but also about themselves as unique individuals. Improvisation, the essence of Jazz, opens up the door of creative expression in a way that is non-judgmental and accepting of each person's contribution. The broad expanse of the diverse cultures in Jazz, musically, geographically, and socially, provides a canvas of openness for each person to put her or his stamp on and contribute to the continuing development of what makes Jazz so accessible and pertinent in our lives. When all cultures express their personal contribution to humanity, a picture is created that respects the individuality within the spectrum of the whole picture. Each rhythmic pattern of a drum from Africa links to the Call and Response of the voices of struggle in the fields down south in America and makes a pathway north, just as the people did, into the big city sounds of freedom and originality. Jazz Journey is cultural diversity in its most potent form - as an artistic expression of all people connected to the music in their own souls in a symphony of life with others.

Jazz Journey - An Artist in Residency Program

Janet Lawson offers a performance which traces the history of Jazz, born in Africa and evolving through the journey of slaves to the Caribbean and the black churches of the south, through New Orleans to the big city Bop sounds.

		IN WEST AFRICA On a musical journey through Africa, students sing several different rhythms, imitating animal movements and other sounds of nature. These POLYTHYTHMS (Many rhythms at the same time) originated in Africa and are the roots of jazz music.
IN THE CARIBBEAN
		From Africa, we follow these sounds to the Caribbean. Here the whole body becomes the instrument. Students express the flavor of LATIN Music through specific body rhythms such as bottom wiggles, shoulder pops and elbow flaps while learning to sing a Caribbean song like "St. Thomas."

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