JAZZ by Walter Dean Myers and Illustrated by Christopher Myers

Meyers, Walter Dean.  Jazz.  Ill. Christopher Meyers.  New York:  Holiday House.  2009.  ISBN 978-0823421732.

SUMMARY AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Walter Dean Myers’ poetry collection is a celebration of jazz music and the musicians that have spread jazz music around the world.  Myers lyrical verses feel like music, moving fast and slow across the pages.  Myers’ son, Christopher, provided the illustrations and these two talented men have created an exciting jazz experience through poetry and art.  

The poetry is soulful and full of deep emotion.  In "Be-Bop" the music sounds like pure joy with "Oh bippety-bop bop, oh whee! / OH WHEE! / A Bippety-bop square / can't mess with me!"  The sad notes of lost love are heard in “Session II.”  It begins with “Mercy, mercy, mercy / Please have mercy Mr. Slide Trombone/My baby’s gone and left me."  You can feel the rhythm in “Twenty-Finger Jack” and by the end of the poem the reader might feel like tapping toes or singing along.  Myers uses rhyme to create a strong beat with “My knees don’t like it / but feet just got to dance / My heels can’t follow / but my toes will take a chance.”

The instruments take on human qualities when Myers uses figurative language in "America's Music" with "Strings crying like a midnight widow … A clarinet sassing its way through a Sunday-night sermon."  He highlights the many types of jazz, showing an appreciation for each type.  A variety of text types are used throughout the collection.  Handwritten refrains are merged with typed text.  The placement of text varies from horizontal, vertical and on a slant.  The variety adds energy to the book and creates interest.  

Walter Dean Myers opens the book with a short introduction to jazz music, beginning in the early 1800's.  He honors the musicians that laid the foundation for all of the varieties of jazz that we now know today.  He also included a glossary of jazz terms in the back of the book and a jazz time line.  Readers will enjoy the poetry and art work and will also learn about the history and origins of jazz music.   

The artistic work of Christopher Myers is stunning.  His choice of rich colors add vibrancy to the book.  Most poems feature a single individual, painted in deep hues upon contrasting backgrounds.  The tribute to Louis Armstrong is big and bold.  The reader will need to turn the book sideways to view the full length Louis standing tall, blowing his horn.  It is a dramatic scene.  Myers use of color, light and shading create dramatic effects and give depth to each scene.  Each image is filled with movement and emotion.  Musicians are swaying, bending and dancing.  They are also lost in the music with eyes close, out-stretched hands or heads thrown back.  The illustrations support and extend the poetry and provide the reader with a satisfying experience for the eyes and the ears.  This title has been recognized as a Corretta Scott King Honor Award book.  This high quality title will be enjoyed by poetry and jazz lovers alike. 

SPOTLIGHT ON A POEM

"It's Jazz" highlights the "hot" jazz of New Orleans.  Introduce the students to a sample of New Orleans jazz by playing a portion of the video titled, "Marchin' to New Orleans" found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Jlz4d3F7s.  Allow students time to respond to the music.  Project the image and poem from the book onto a screen so the students can see the poem with the accompanying art work.  Read the poem aloud twice, with music playing softly in the background.  Invite students to follow along and finally read it again with the class.  Explain any unfamiliar words and allow students time to respond to the music and the poetry.   

“It’s Jazz”

“I hear the call of the coronet

I hear a swinging clarinet

They’re playing HOT jazz in the heat

Of old New Orleans

The rattling banjo pays its dues

They’re playing HOT jazz in the heat

Of old New Orleans

There’s a crazy syncopation

And it’s tearing through the nation

And it’s bringing sweet elation

To every single tune

It’s jazz

There a drummer rat-a-tatting

There a patent shoe that’s patting

While a laid-back cat is scatting

About flying to the moon

It’s jazz

In the Heat of New Orleans

EXTENSIONS

Many types of jazz can be found on YouTube, including many of the names listed in the Jazz Time Line from the back of Myers' book.  Students may choose to listen to many types of jazz and learn more about specific artists.  Learn more about Walter Dean Myers at http://walterdeanmyers.net.  Look for the video interview with the author.  Get to know Christopher Myers while listening to his interview at https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLLxDwKxHx1yJahnGRpP8KklETmQqXS58s&v=a0rJ93QYxnE.