JAZZistry is an educational non-profit that uses live performance to
teach children and adults the story of jazz and its role in American
History, in order to:
• Expand how we view our society
• Cultivate a personal relationship with our history
• Demonstrate the benefit and beauty of our multicultural history
• Create new generations of jazz lovers.
JAZZistry's
CLASSROOM
CONNECTIONS
Jazz + History + Artisty
JAZZistry ARTIST VISIT
JAZZistry
BAND
Performance
Vincent York’s JAZZistry has several programmatic components. The outstanding
centerpiece of the model is the JAZZistry performance, a professional touring show that
has been providing innovative educational presentations in K-12 schools through
Southeast Michigan since 1994. By combining music, visual and performing arts, the
JAZZistry performance educates children and adults about the historical significance of
jazz. The program creates a deeper understanding of American musical roots and
cultural traditions, and expands appreciation of America as a multicultural society
Vincent York, the creator and Artistic Director of JAZZistry, leads a band of six
professional musicians in a musical tour that crosses both continents and centuries. The
story begins 400 years ago in West Africa with musical traditions that were carried to the
New World in the hearts of enslaved Africans. JAZZistry demonstrates how these
rhythmic and musical forms were integrated with European and Latin musical traditions
to shape new musical forms that are uniquely American. From the hymns of Colonial
churches to African American Spirituals and the Blues, from New Orleans Jazz to the
Harlem Renaissance, from Bebop all the way to Hip Hop, JAZZistry showcases the
evolution of America’s music as a demonstration of the multicultural integration that is
our cultural heritage.
The JAZZistry performance turns school auditoriums into multicultural musical time
machines, and literally, swings through the history lesson, connecting everyone to our
shared diverse heritage. Near the end of the performance, Vincent calls for student
volunteer Rappers to join the band on stage. Their performance shows how Rap is based
upon standard 1970’s jazz bass and rhythm lines, connecting it to earlier musical
traditions covered in the JAZZistry timeline. Students’ reactions are visible and audible as
they see how their music fits into the story. They see how the music, history and culture
connect us to each other and to our multicultural heritage. JAZZistry is a movement that
is much more than great music!
For many students, the JAZZistry Band performance will be the first time they have
experienced a live, professional, musical concert. The power and emotional connection of a
live performance can be a transforming experience. Many schools report students’ interest in
instrumental music classes increases dramatically following the JAZZistry Band visit. This is
an additional benefit of bringing JAZZistry into a community!
PAGE 1
Vincent York's JAZZistry www.jazzistry.org
The JAZZistry Artist Visit is an hourlong session where Vincent York
prepares students for the JAZZistry
band show. In his solo interaction with
student groups, he introduces all seven
of his instruments: flute, piccolo, oboe,
clarinet, alto-, tenor- and sopranosaxophones. It's an intimate opportunity
that is most effective when the group is
about 60 people.
Vincent begins by introducing all his
instruments and shows where they fit on
the history timeline. He shows that
music written as long ago as the 1840’s
is not very different from some popular
music that we hear today.
Vincent explains the foundations if we
understand how to listen to American
music, we will hear a musical evolution
clearly demonstrates the multicultural
truth about many aspects of American
culture: American music--and Jazz-- is a
unique composite of influences from
many great world cultures, whose lives
were woven together in the New World in
modern history. The people learned from
each other’s traditions, creating new,
uniquely American cultural phenomena
like jazz, now celebrated as America’s
gift to the world.
Vincent relates his personal childhood
introduction to jazz, starting with the
genius of Charlie Parker. He describes
the importance of "going back"-researching the past to understand the
present, and the current directions of
American music. The band demonstrates
how the Hip Hop so popular with kids
today is connected to this evolution with
help from audience members. Audience
members will never quite hear American
music the same way once they understnd
the concept of JAZZISTRY!
Elementary Packet #1 January 2010