Document text
http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend October 12, 2006 Kyle Cratchley, 8, does a rap of his ABC�s with Dave Tatrow of Wally's Warehouse Waifs at Oak Grove Elementary School in Medford Wednesday. The Waifs are providing kids all over Jackson County this week with an educational show on how music evolves over time and where jazz fits in. The 17th annual Medford Jazz Jubilee kicks off Friday. (Mail Tribune / Jim Craven) Starting on an up note Students get jazzed about the history of music in Jubilee precursor By Bill Varble Mail Tribune How does an ample-figured, 50-something white guy go about becoming a credible rapper? By putting his baseball cap on frontwards, for starters. This causes a gym full of kids to react, predictably, with howls of laughter. Turning the cap sideways and pulling the polo shirt down as low and baggy as it will go is a major, albeit still comical, improvement. But behind the madness is method. Dave Tatrow and his band, Wally's Warehouse Waifs, in town for Medford's Jazz Jubilee, are breaking down music theory 101 in a quickie class for little kids. It's early Wednesday morning at Oak Grove Elementary School. Moments earlier, the traditional jazz band from Michigan demonstrated the concept of melody with a bouncy version of a song even the youngest recognize, "Yankee Doodle." "What music doesn't have a melody," Tatrow asked hundreds of kids. Advertisement "Rap," came the answer. "Rap is not music," Tatrow said. "It's telling a story with rhythm." Did anybody want to hear the band do some rap? Well, sure, which is how we got to the baggy thing and the cap askew and Tatrow rapping, of all things, the alphabet. While Jazz Jubilee is sure to attract a predominantly older crowd to seven Medford venues Friday through Sunday in what's become a favorite stop on the traditional jazz circuit, an important, if lesser known, part of the event each year is an educational outreach to the younger set. Thousands of kids will see Wally's Warehouse Waifs or another group of jazz ambassadors, Beth Baker and the Dixie Fat Cats, this week in area schools. Over the years the Jubilee has raised more than $112,000 for band instruments for kids here. "They share the history of music and how jazz came about," says Jubilee volunteer Donna York. "They do it in a fun way." Tatrow, whose stage persona is the "Wally" of Wally's Waifs, says the secret is to keep it snappy and simple, but never condescending. "Don't talk below them," Tatrow says. "Don't treat them like they don't understand." The Waifs started their musical history lesson with the playful rondo from Mozart's Sonata in A, with a couple of band members contributing an absurd minuet. March music was represented by a Souza march, the feeling of folk music by "Dixie." A quick look at ragtime ("music that makes you want to dance") led into the blues, with Waif vocalist Charley Morris wailing lowdown and funky: "I had me a teacher/meanest one in town./Well I had me a teacher/meanest one in town./Gave me so much homework/I had no time to mess around." Jazz was introduced by Kid Ory's "Muskrat Ramble" and opened up to the key concept — improvisation — with "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and Morris' Ella Fitzgerald-esque "A Tisket, a Tasket." Which led to a quick journey through melody and rhythm from "Yankee Doodle" to "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" to rap. This led to Tatrow's rap ABCs, which ultimately leads to the audience participation part of the show. The star turns out to by 8-year-old Kyle Cratchley, of Medford, who proves to be not only a properly rhythmic rapper, but a killer break-dancer. "Please don't try that at home," Tatrow says when the applause dies down. Then, after a quick lesson in applause etiquette featuring Larry Shay, Mark Fisher and Joe Goodwin's "When You're Smiling," it's off to other kids waiting in other schools, four of them today alone, more waiting tomorrow. Nobody said ever jazz was easy. Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or [email protected] . Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Windermere Van Vleet Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Texas Electric Choice Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews Online poker at AbsolutePoker.com