And all that jazz

The Elmont Union Free School District’s Jazz Masters program has been turning musically talented students on to the blues and jazz genres for the past nine years. The program, which focuses on improvisation and higher tempos, is highly selective — students have to be recommended by their music teachers before participating.

“They are soloing and improvising; they’re making things up at the top of their head,” said Anthony Pino, who has been the program’s director since its inception in 2002, and who has taught music for Kindergarten to sixth-grade students at the Gotham Avenue School for the past 11 years. Pino also directs the school’s marching band. “If you go to see some other middle schools’ jazz bands, a solo will be written out, but Jazz Masters students improvise,” he said. “It is true self expression … you can play Beethoven or Bach, which is fun, but with this program, they are really playing their own.”

Through improvisation, students in the program have learned courage and confidence, Pino added. “None of them are afraid to get up in solo; in the past, they were a little more timid,” he said. “They have to literally just stand up, and it’s just them in the rhythm section playing, and they’re being heard by hundreds of people. I don’t think I could have done that when I was in the 5th or 6th grade.”

Pino said Jazz Masters began with traditional big band instruments, such as saxophones, trumpets and trombones, but now includes additional instrumentals for a more modern jazz and blues sound, including flutes, clarinets, the piano and, sometimes, a guitar. The program brings in an average of 22 students per year, and many students in the program go on to play jazz in high school, and even years after, Pino added.

Elmont’s Jazz Masters program trains students by first teaching them how to play the blues, Pino said, and then students move on to faster-paced, jazz music. “It is like seeing a flower blossom,” Pino said about watching students in the program make progress. “Most of them are really learning jazz and blues for the first time.” Pino, who plays the drums, encourages students during practice by sometimes playing along with them, and filling in as a drummer during concerts, when needed.