DownBeat May 1993 [antikvár]

ON THE BEAT D01V\BEAT May 1993 Educational Tunml Vision by Dr. Donaldson Byrd I any have come lo view music I education (perhaps arts education in general) as a waste of school funds, or at least as a frill to be picked up or jettisoned according to political dictates. Despite the fact that instruction in music is required by law in many areas, the selection of the type of musical instruction (instrumental, choral, general music, etc.) is left almost entirely to the individual principals. If music holds a rather precarious position in the school curriculum, what place, if any, does jazz education have within it? Jazz is one of the few truly American art forms, and certainly one of the most influential and pervasive musics in the worid. The lament of the jazz player has long been that the music has not been respected in the land of its birth. How will American music education affect this situation? Will jazz remain a participatory art form, open to many influences and interpretations, a living music? Or will jazz be relegated to museums, designed to titillate the intellects of a select few? Regardless of literature expounding the values of the esthetic experience in the arts, music ed is constantly being justified on the grounds of its extra-musical/esthetic content (i.e., music as math, science. etc.X This line of vindication has obvious appeal, especially when dealing with those who are oblivious to the arts, and may be employed in defense of jazz education as well. The nationalistic merits have been mentioned above, but jazz goes much deeper. Jazz can be seen as musical democracy: as a cooperative music, a developer of interpersonal skills, and an expression of individuality simultaneously; it is logical and sequential thought of the highest order; its versatility and diversity in style and influences cross many social and cultural borders, quite reflective of the current "multiculturalism." And on a related note, jazz has always been a music of inclusion based on ability, not on race or gender. The present obsession with math and reading scores reminds one of the Sputnik shift to the sciences in the 1950s, yet another example of educational tunnel vision. Perhaps the most important aspect of jazz, and the arts in general, is the encouragement of creative thought; just think of the effects a few artists might have in the creative deficit that is American politics. From my tours around the world, lectures, and performances, these are some of the responses I've received from students, teachers, parents, and other concerned people. It has been stated that educators must become involved through organizations, committees, to assert themselves like those other academic areas, and fight to have their needs met. Jazz must be included in the textbooks, and put on the same basis as Western classical music. It is now called by many the American classical music. Jazz is exemplary of the First Amendment: freedom of expression, a liberty that should be extended to all. We have experienced educational shortsightedness many times before in American education. Let us break this circle of the same tired mistakes. To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr., let us now actively pursue, in a concerted fashion, by joining with other mindful people to accomplish this end: to enable the development of truly creative, enlightened, and feelingful people for the 21st century. Professor Donald Byrd teachcs at the Aaron Copland School of Music. Queens College and The New School in addition to performing as one of jazz's foremost trumpeters.