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Cool School at the Green Charter School

  
It’s a mild spring morning at Samuel J Green Charter School in uptown New Orleans where leap testing has just concluded a few days before. All the anxiety and tension of the prior months have left the building giving way to awe, curiosity and enthusiasm.

It’s Wonder Week and while the older students are going on field trips and engaging in a variety of exciting experiences, the younger school students, normally not a part of the festivities, are in for a big surprise. Jazz Musician Delfeayo Marsalis and his band are presenting a single session of Swinging with the Cool School that teaches about Jazz, Blues, history and New Orleans culture.


Children from the kindergarten through third grade classes are ushered into the cafeteria where four men with musical instruments are apparently about to do something potentially interesting. Once everyone was seated and quiet, Marsalis begins by introducing the members of the band, asking the students if they know the names of the instruments and each one’s role in a jazz band.

In a city like New Orleans young people are often exposed to music and musicians early on through family members and community events. Some even start to play and perform as soon as they can comfortably hold an instrument. It’s not unusual to find very young elementary school students who are able to recognize jazz and blues when they hear it and what’s more, enjoy it.

The kids are thrilled with the engaging, interactive performance. Handheld percussion instruments are handed out and dozens of students have the opportunity to get up in front of their friends briefly to join the band and “sit in” on a few numbers. They especially enjoy participating in the band’s swinging and singing rendition of Ellington’s C Jam Blues, in which the entire audience is encouraged to sing “Boom, boom!” and punch their fists into the air imitating the bass drum.
 

Along with learning about the instruments and blues form, the students are treated to a variety of American songs including Blue Bossa, What A Wonderful World and the theme song from the cartoon Flintstones. During the band’s final number When the Saints Go Marching In, Marsalis gives the kids permission to leave their seats and dance. The energetic 2nd line version provides the perfect ending to a perfect day of Swinging with the Cool School.