coaching tomorrow’s jazz stars : NPR

For over 20 years, Montclair, N.J.’s Jazz Home Youngsters has constructed a repute for excellence in music training. Promising younger musicians stroll by way of its doorways and obtain the sort of coaching that may set them on the trail to jazz stardom. Artists like Isaiah J. Thompson, Julian Lee, Immanuel Wilkins and Matthew Whitaker all benefited from the one-of-a-kind expertise Jazz Home provides.

However simply as vital because the prodigies are the scholars who arrive having by no means heard jazz earlier than. Some might not be musical virtuosos or pursue music past highschool. In contrast to different comparable packages, Jazz Home Youngsters welcomes all college students, no matter ability degree. As founder and president Melissa Walker informed Jazz Night time, “Jazz Home would have its door swinging huge open to everybody.” That philosophy has all the time been central to her imaginative and prescient. Her dedication to inclusivity has led not solely to dozens of standout musicians, but in addition to a whole lot of alumni who discovered what it means to be a great particular person by way of the values of jazz.

I am one among them.

After I joined Jazz Home Youngsters at 14, I wasn’t simply hesitant — I used to be fully resistant. I could not have imagined that 11 years later, I might be working in jazz journalism, impressed by a program that reshaped how I take into consideration music, individuals and myself. Producing this episode of Jazz Night time in America seems like coming full circle.

SET LIST

• “Chinoiserie” (Duke Ellington) carried out by the Jazz Home Huge Band from the album Swinging with the Jazz Home Huge Band 
• “The Extra I See You” (Harry Warren) carried out by the Jazz Home Huge Band that includes Melissa Walker from the album Swinging with the Jazz Home Huge Band 
• “Gettin’ to It” (Christian McBride) carried out by the Jazz Home Huge Band that includes Christian McBride from the album Swinging with the Jazz Home Huge Band 
• “Blue Rondo à la Turk” (Dave Brubeck) carried out by Matthew Whitaker stay from the 2022 Montclair Jazz Pageant 
• “Enjoyable” (Nat Adderley) carried out by the Jazz Home Legacy Band* stay from the 2024 Montclair Jazz Pageant 
• “Yessaah” (Matthew Whitaker) carried out by Matthew Whitaker from the album On Their Shoulders: An Organ Tribute
• “Clementine” (Julian Lee) carried out by Julian Lee from the EP Clementine 
• “The Prophet” (Isaiah J. Thompson) carried out by Isaiah J. Thompson from the album The Guide of Isaiah: Trendy Jazz Ministry
• “Spring Flower, Sprung Flower” (Isaiah J. Thompson) carried out by Isaiah J. Thompson  from the album The Guide of Isaiah: Trendy Jazz Ministry

*Jazz Home Legacy Band: Caelan Cardello, piano; Wallace Roney Jr., trumpet; Julian Lee, tenor saxophone; Zoe Obadia, alto saxophone; Coleman Hughes, trombone; Lex Warshawsky, bass; Zach Adelman, drums.

Credit: Emily Springer and Sarah Geledi, writers and producers; Simon Rentner, consulting senior producer; Michel Martin, visitor host; Ron Scalzo, episode combine; Steven A. Williams, government producer; Suraya Mohamed, government producer at NPR Music.