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Sign up for our monthly email alertsChord Changes on the Chalkboard
How Public School Teachers Shaped Jazz and the Music of New Orleans
Series: Studies in Jazz #41
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SUBJECTS
Area Studies » African American Studies
History » American History » Twentieth Century
Music » Jazz
AWARD(S)
New Orleans International Music Colloquium Award for Excellence in Music Writing 2003
REVIEWS
"This is a paperbound reprint of a 2002 book. Kennedy (history, Dillard U. and U. of New Orleans) examines the influence of New Orleans public school teachers in promoting the study of jazz. Drawing on 80 interviews with these musician-teachers as well as historical records, he traces their contributions from the early 20th century to the present, and profiles Clyde Kerr Sr. and Yvonne Busch. He describes the important role of public school administrators, the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, and interactions students had with musicians such as Wynton Marsalis. Appendices chart the musical influences of Kerr, Busch, Bert Braud, Clyde Kerr Jr., and Ellis Marsalis Jr., who wrote the foreword."
— REFERENCE & RESEARCH BOOK NEWS
DESCRIPTION
The world's fascination with New Orleans stems from the allure of the music of the city—music that owes its origins and development to many sources. Until now, popular and scholarly books, dissertations, and articles that attempt to explain these sources have failed to recognize the unsung heroes of the New Orleans jazz scene: the teachers in its public schools. Through more than 90 original interviews and extensive research in New Orleans' historical collections, Dr. Kennedy documents ways that public school teachers pushed an often unwilling urban institution to become an important structure that transmitted jazz and the other musical traditions of the city to future musicians.
Music legends from Louis Armstrong to Ellis Marsalis Jr.—who also provides the foreword—are just two of the many well-known former students of the New Orleans public schools. Chord Changes on the Chalkboard shows that, particularly after the 1920s, public school students benefited not only from the study of instrumental music and theory, but also from direct exposure to musicians, many of whom were invited to perform for the students. The impact the teachers had on generations of musicians and music fans is undeniable, yet their teaching techniques are only part of the story. In addition to the successes enjoyed with their students, the teachers' own musical experiences, recordings, and performances are also examined.
The interaction between teachers and students in New Orleans public school classrooms opens a new field of research for music historians, and this book is the first to document ways in which public school teachers acted as mentors to shape the future of jazz and the music of New Orleans. An important addition to its field, Chord Changes on a Chalkboard will provide invaluable information for jazz fans and historians, music scholars and students, and it is also useful reading for any public school teacher. A must for any music library, it should also be a welcome addition to any collection supporting African-American history or popular culture.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Al Kennedy worked as a communications coordinator in the public information office of the New Orleans Public Schools for 21 years. During this period, he began a series of interviews with retired teachers, principals, and superintendents. Much of his research has focused on the lives of music teachers who taught in the city's public schools and on the history of public education in New Orleans. Kennedy has conducted additional research through UNO's Ethel and Herman L. Midlo International Center for New Orleans Studies, and he has taught as a member of the part-time history faculty at Dillard University and UNO.
