school students were exposed to and taught jazz music.
Pontremoli eliminated the requirement that students participate in MSBOA festivals before being considered for performance, while allowing the MS- BOA to continue to recommend bands for the festival. In an effort to reach out to the community of Detroit and boost jazz studies in the public schools, Pruitt and the DJF staff collaborated with nearby universities to recruit college students to come to Detroit and work with the students, specifically on jazz music, and to prepare them for perfor- mance at the Festival. The partnership between DPS and the Detroit Jazz Fes- tival became known as the Jazz Infu- sion Program in 2009. It now includes partnerships with schools and colleges across the state of Michigan.
Currently in its fourth year, the Jazz Infusion Program has become the flagship for the Festival’s educational wing. In 2011, Chris Collins, head of Jazz Studies at Wayne State University, became Artistic Director of the Festival and with the help of the Erb Founda- tion, expanded DJF’s partnership with the Office of Fine Arts at DPS, then headed by Willie McAllister. The pro- gram continues to foster the education- al growth of young musicians at DPS and to provide a path for continuing Detroit’s rich jazz tradition, including DPS schools such as the Bates Acad- emy, Cass Technical High School, De- troit School of Arts, Duke Ellington Elementary-Middle School, Martin Lu- ther King, Jr. Senior High School, and Renaissance High School.1
Jazz Infusion’s Educators in Resi- dence—which include such notable jazz musicians as Wendell Harrison, Marion Hayden, Gayelynn McKinney, Russ Miller, Chuck Newsome (DJF Ed- ucational Coordinator), Ernie Rodgers, Dennis Wilson, and Nate Winn—work with students on the interpretation of classic jazz repertoire, improvisation, and general musicianship, as well as
working with band directors to tailor their curricula to fit the needs of the students. The program also provides schools with textbooks, musical equip- ment and visual and audio recordings.
The partnership between the DJF and DPS has resulted in the development of a musical community, important in any environment but especially important in an urban, economically disadvan- taged environment where young people are often stigmatized by institutional perceptions of inadequacy. In her book, Releasing the Imagination: Essays on Education, the Arts and Social Change (1995), Maxine Greene writes:
The stigma of … “lower socio- economic class” too frequently forces young persons to become the recipients of “treatment” or “training,” sometimes from the most benevolent motives on the part of those hoping to “help.” Far too seldom are such young people looked upon as beings capable of imagining, of choosing, and of acting from their own vantage points on perceived possibility.2
This perception of inadequacy can be self-fulfilling. At times, students’ goals and expectations are minimized be- cause they believe they are incapable of success. However, in a community where imagination is encouraged and reinforced by bonding with profession- al musicians and attainment of goals, DPS students can begin to imagine a successful future, reinforced not only by their mentors but also by the public at large as they perform throughout the year.
The students involved in the Jazz In- fusion Program are often recipients of scholarships and awards. Steven Jones, a trumpeter from Renaissance High School, attended Florida A & M Uni- versity on a full music scholarship, and graduated in 2012. During the Univer- sity of Michigan’s 2012 Jazz Festival, the Detroit School of Arts (DSA) Jazz
Band was awarded a plaque of excel- lence in jazz. During the same festival, Allen Dennard, a student at DSA, was given the Southeastern Michigan Jazz Association award and he subsequently went on to study jazz at the University of Michigan. DSA students Thomas Frost and Jabari Reynolds were award- ed scholarships to Berklee College of Music and Tennessee State University, respectively.
One of the most significant illustra- tions of the benefits of the partnership is seen at DPS’ annual Evening of Fine Arts, a showcase of Detroit’s best mu- sic students held each year at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. The Jazz Infusion Program’s Educators
in Residence,
who have worked with the students throughout the school year, often per- form with them before their family and friends who are able to recognize the benefits of the program from their stu- dents’ performances.
in news media, this free event has been attended by public school music educa- tors from around the country who hope to duplicate it in their own cities.
The students involved in jazz musician partnerships have become frontrun- ners in the development of a successful community. They are held up as mod- els of possibility to organizations trying to generate funding for public school arts programs. Where all students have agency in and enthusiasm about their shared goal, and where imagination re- leases previously unthinkable goals of success, this community of musicians is a magnet for young people hungry for a positive outlook. The relation- ships developed between students and jazz musicians have formed a positive support system that encourages stu- dents to reach out and try new musical experiences, strengthening themselves and their community. Marion Hayden, internationally
acclaimed jazz bass-
ist and participant in the Educators in Residence program, recalls fondly the “excellent instruction [she received] from DPS faculty and visiting artists
38
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