Community Jazz Partnerships
Seeking to develop relationships in the community beyond its summer Jazz Camp & Residency programs, Stanford Jazz Workshop offers assistance and support to public and charter school music departments throughout the year. Contributing the expertise and experience that has made SJW a leader in jazz education, we bring our faculty, as well as guest artists from outside the local area, into Peninsula, East Bay and San Francisco music classrooms. Students learn about concepts such as jazz harmony and improvisation, become familiar with the essential repertoire and discover the artists who created this uniquely American art form. SJW's faculty and staff work with each school on an individual basis to create dynamic and interactive presentations tailored just for them.

In October 2007, alto saxophonist Donald Harrison from New Orleans and his trio of young musicians (Victor Gould, piano, 19; Max Moran, bass, 18 and Joe Dyson, drums, 17), visited the KIPP Academy in San Lorenzo and Elmhurst Community Prep in Oakland. In addition to performing a range of mainstream jazz arrangements in the "Nouveau Swing" style for which Harrison is known, the group emphasized traditional songs from New Orleans. Donald, a Mardi Gras Indian Chief, took questions from the students and talked about how Hurricane Katrina affected him and his family. The group played Harrison's own arrangement of "When the Saints Go Marchin' In" as a melancholy dirge, a wide departure from the jaunty tempo with which most listeners are familiar. Harrison noted that he'd keep playing the song in this mournful style until New Orleans recovered and was restored to its former vibrancy. It was truly a special moment, and all of us present were grateful for the opportunity to share it with Donald and his outstanding young players.