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The only things that the United States has given to the world are skyscrapers, jazz, and
cocktails. That is all.
                                                                                      FEDERICO GARCÌA LORCA
                                                                                      1933

The first jazz record by an American band I ever owned was Ray Noble’s “Tiger Rag” (it had a drum break). The second, rather surprisingly, was The Washboard Rhythm Kings’ “I’m Gonna Play Down by the Ohio.” The third was Louis Armstrong’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” After that they came thick and fast. Sitting with a friend in his bedroom that overlooked the family tennis-court, I watched leaves drift down through long Sunday afternoons as we took it in turn to wind the portable HMV, and those…Americans, Bubber Miley, Frank Teschemaker, J.C. Higginbotham, spoke immediately to our understanding. Their rips, slurs, and distortions were something we understood perfectly. This was something we had found for ourselves, that wasn’t taught at school (what a prerequisite that is of nearly everything worthwhile!), and having found it, we made it bear all the enthusiasm usually directed at more established arts. There was nothing odd about this. It was happening to boys all over Europe and America. It just didn’t get into the papers. It was years before I found any music as commanding as Jimmy Noone’s “The Blues Jumped a Rabbit,” Armstrong’s “Knockin’ a Jug” or “Squeeze Me,” Bessie Smith’s “Backwater Blues,” or the Chicago Rhythm Kings “I Found a New Baby.”
                                                                                      PHILIP LARKIN
                                                                                      “All What Jazz?” 1970

As the poets Philip Larkin and Garcia Lorca attest, jazz is one of America’s most beguiling exports. Jazz in its myriad forms is the epitome of musical invention and borrowing—“beyond category” to use Duke Ellington’s superlative. The fans of jazz resist categorization too: Woody Allen, Leonard Bernstein, Robert Crumb, Clint Eastwood, Ralph Ellison, George Gershwin, Václav Havel, Catherine Zeta Jones, Walker Percy, George Santayana, Jean-Paul Sartre and Martin Scorsese. The history of jazz spans more than a century with an astonishing range of styles and feelings. Like America, jazz speaks with many voices.

Through recordings, lectures, readings and discussions, this course will introduce you to some of the many voices of jazz, including King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Ma Rainey, Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie, Roy Eldridge, Lionel Hampton, Chick Webb, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Charles Parker, John Coltraine, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Charles Mingus and others. No music theory background necessary.

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Wonderworks is a non-profit organization offering pre-college, after-school enrichment learning opportunities for high school students of special promise and ability.

Enrollment is free and open to all qualified students in grades 9 through 12.  To apply, fill out the form provided and mail to:

Be sure to include an e-mail address you can be reached at or through (either your own or that of a parent or teacher). If necessary, transportation may be arranged from campuses with sufficient enrollment. If you have questions or need additional information, please phone 713.301.4882 or e-mail info@wonderworkshouston.org.

The course will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis for qualified applicants. Applications must be received no later than 19 January to ensure full consideration; late applications will be considered if openings are available.

This program is made possible in part by a grant from HOUSTON ENDOWMENT INC.

For more information: info@wonderworkshouston.org