NAfME BLOG
Celebrating Jazz in the Classroom
Teachers Share Favorite Activities and Artists
This article first appeared in the January 2026 issue of Teaching Music.
To help music educators plan for Jazz Appreciation Month in April, Teaching Music asked members of NAfME’s Council for Jazz Education to share a teaching tip, provided below. For additional inspiration, TM also asked, “When did you fall in love with jazz?” Their responses may also trigger ideas for how you can participate in this annual heritage celebration.
“I fell in love with jazz in middle school when my private drum set teacher introduced me to the classic album Clifford Brown and Max Roach,” says Bill Leather, Band Director at Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie, Washington. “Max’s playing spoke to me because it is so melodic, in the pocket, and accessible to young people learning this music for the first time.”
Similarly, Berklee College of Music’s Professional Education Division Dean Lenora Helm Hammonds says that “at age 15, I was absolutely taken by the sound of John Coltrane’s horn when friends played one of his recordings at an after-school band rehearsal. Around that same time, I discovered Billie Holiday, and I decided then to attend Berklee College of Music to major in Voice and Film Scoring. I was so inspired and curious and had to learn more.”
“I fell in love with jazz my freshman year of high school when I switched from flute to trombone,” recounts Lisa Linde, Instrumental Music Director at Newton South High School in Newton, Massachusetts, and founder of the organization Jazzhers. “I will never forget the day I realized how much freedom I had in interpreting a jazz tune compared to being in a concert band. I don’t think I would have stayed in music if not for the creative freedom available in the jazz environment.”
Playing in a jazz style also ignited a spark for Megan Franke, Development Director for the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada. “When I joined my high school vocal jazz ensemble and jazz band, I got a thrill from singing and playing this new style of music, learning how to improvise, and growing with my peers who also had a passion for the genre.”
Some council members caught the proverbial jazz bug as early as middle school, while others jumped on board in college. All have gone on to make jazz an essential and meaningful part of their careers and lives.
When asked how they maintain their engagement with jazz, all of them cited listening as a top priority. Council members’ listening preferences may provide the spark to ignite a passion for jazz in one of your own students.
Bethany Robinson
Jazz Council Chair, Director of Jazz, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
Teaching Tip
One of my favorite ways to engage students in a jazz rehearsal is to get them moving to the music. Just having students stand up and dance or move back and forth and clap with a piece of music can really impact the feel when they return to play the piece.
Who They’re Listening To
Ben Williams, Christian McBride, Alexa Tarantino, Michael Mayo
Paul Carr
Executive Director, The Jazz Academy of Music, Silver Spring, Maryland
Teaching Tip
Whenever students enter your classroom or rehearsal space, have jazz playing in the background—something swing-based, preferably from before 2000. Immersing students in the sound of the music makes a big difference in how they hear and feel jazz.
Who They’re Listening To
I always return to the masters, but I also enjoy listening to peers from my generation—Branford Marsalis, Kenny Garrett, Vincent Herring, Eric Alexander, Tim Warfield, and others. At the same time, I keep an ear on the younger generation, including Emmet Cohen, Benny Benack, Braxton Cook, and the Anderson Twins.
Megan Franke
Development Director, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, Las Vegas, Nevada
Teaching Tip
Have combos or partners trade fours and eights, but require them to quote each other’s motives in their responses—training active listening and conversational improvisation. Great for instrumentalists and vocalists!
Who They’re Listening To
I am in love with Samara Joy currently. She’s like a hybrid of Sarah Vaughan’s gorgeous tone and Ella Fitzgerald’s incredible flexibility. Seeing her live in concert also cemented her other-worldly talent for me. Never blew a pitch, started each arrangement with an a cappella intro that was truly virtuosic.
Jeremy George
Director of Jazz Studies, Assistant Professor of Music Education, Huston-Tillotson University, Austin, Texas
Teaching Tip
Include the call and response in your daily warm up. This will help the students build their ear, understand intervals, and have a quicker response time as it relates to improvisation. “I play, you play,” even if it’s just dealing with five notes.
Who They’re Listening To
I’ve been on a Blue Mitchell kick lately, so I’ve been checking out his catalog the last couple weeks.
Roosevelt Griffin
Director of Jazz Studies, Northern Illinois University, Chicago, Illinois
Teaching Tip
Never underestimate the power of listening. Not just casual listening but really listening to recordings until you know the music inside out.
Who They’re Listening To
Marques Carroll on trumpet, Sean Jones, and quite a bit of Christian McBride. It changes quite often.
Lenora Helm Hammonds
Dean, Professional Education Division, Berklee College of Music/Boston Conservatory, Boston, Massachusetts
Teaching Tip
The late, great jazz educator and pianist Billy Taylor always reminded educators how important it is to teach the history as you are teaching the music. I remember seeing him at an IAJE International Association of Jazz Educators (now the Jazz Education Network) conference and informed him I was, at that time, beginning my career as a vocal jazz educator at North Carolina Central University. After congratulating me, he said, “make sure you teach them the history as you teach the music!” He explained that it didn’t have to be a fancy or complex pedagogical thing, just talk about the composer or share an anecdote about the arrangement or song right before introducing the piece in a concert. And he said to be sure to discuss that historical icon with your students. Being connected to the composer-arranger-musician in this way helps the students connect the dots that a person wrote the music they’re playing. It opens a door to discuss careers (arrangers, composers, copyright and publishing professionals) and humanizes the music.
Who They’re Listening To
I love listening to pianists, and I’ve been wearing the grooves off of my Tommy Flanagan recordings. But I equally enjoy some of the recordings of vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant. She’s a brilliant talent who can sing just about anything.
Bill Leather
Band Director, Mount Si High School, Snoqualmie, Washington
Teaching Tip
To get a crispier hi-hat sound, make sure your drummer is playing with their heel up in a fast motion to close the cymbals more quickly on beats 2 and 4 in the swing feel. This will help tighten up your entire ensemble!
Who They’re Listening To
Warren Wolf, Elvin Jones, Ingrid Jensen, Max Roach, Allison Miller, Maria Schneider
Lisa Linde
Instrumental Music Director, Newton South High School, Newton, Massachusetts
Teaching Tip
Learn a tune by ear with your students! How about Miles Davis’s “Blues By Five”? Learn the melody, learn the roots of the chord progression, transcribe some of the solos, and then play it in a concert, all with no music!
Who They’re Listening To
I just saw Lakecia Benjamin live—what a ball of fire!! Kenny Garrett and Brandon Woody have taken new importance to me this summer, as well as Alice Coltrane’s album Translinear Light and Alexa Tarantino’s new album The Roar and the Whisper.
Jeremy Lumpkin
Director of Bands, Hillgrove High School, Duluth, Georgia
Teaching Tip
My biggest tip is to provide your students with a meaningful jazz experience. This vocal art form is the closest to what they already listen to on a regular basis. Teaching jazz is no different than teaching any form of music—tone is tone, balance is balance, and blend is blend. You don’t have to be a soloist to be a great jazz educator. Just do it!
Who They’re Listening To
Immanuel Wilkins, Braxton Cook, Cannonball Adderley, Johnny Hodges & Gerry Mulligan, Seamus Blake, The Mingus Big Band, Patrick Bartley, Tia Fuller, McCoy Tyner, Hank Mobley, Sarah Hanahan, Sonny Stitt, Langston Hughes II, Snarky Puppy, Maurice Brown, Enrico Pieranunzi, Sam Greenfield, Michael Mayo, Jacob Mann
Compiled by NAfME staff member Laura Reed
Image at top: proksima / iStock / Getty Images Plus
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