Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Theo Croker’s Dream … Manifested!
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
WBGO Jazz 88.3FM in Newark, N.J., recently launched its JazzPlayPlayJazz, an in-school jazz residency program that will bring classic jazz to 10 public schools in the city with a three-session program featuring live music and theater.
In the first session, students will see “On The Air,” a play about two fifth-graders who meet and enter WBGO’s jazz songwriting contest. Throughout the play, a jazz trio will perform various songs by Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Count Basie, among others.
On the second visit, bandleader Eli Yamin will present a 90-minute jazz composing workshop with students.
Two weeks later, the actors from “On The Air” return and perform the play, this time incorporating performances and songs by students who have been part of the residency.
“WBGO believes in the importance of jazz as a cultural art form,” said Cephas Bowles, WBGO general manager. “Educational outreach is an important part of the station’s mission and programming, and we know that young people who enjoy jazz from a young age grow up to be devotees.”
For more information, visit: www.wbgo.org
To record Dream Manifest (Dom Recs), Croker convened artists from his current and recent past ensembles, plus special guests.
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