Poetry - Jazz by Walter Dean Myers, Illustrated by Christopher Myers

Jazz is an absolutely glorious feast for the eyes, ears, and body! Walter Dean Myers manages to capture the sultry rhythm, staccato beat, and languid purr of good jazz music. His poems are perfectly paired with the fantastic art of his son. I love this book! To me this is an example of literature, music, and art combined to bring out the best of all three. With the free flowing verse that ebbs and flows like the jazz you would hear on Bourbon Street, students will feel the give and take of the verse. They will see that poetry doesn't have to rhyme and most importantly, it isn't always boring!

I was curious to see what grade levels this book is recommended for and tended to find grades 5-9. I decided to look at the Ohio music standards to see if I could incorporable Jazz into the high school curriculum. With little effort I found benchmarks in Historical Culture and Social Contexts, Analyzing and Responding, Valuing Music/Aesthetic Reflection, and Connections, Relationships, and Applications from grade K-12 where this book could be easily used to supplement instruction. Who knew a picture/poetry book could pack such a punch!

Myers includes a very nice, concise history of jazz music, glossary of jazz terms, jazz music timeline to round out the book. I think this book would appeal to all ages from middle to high school, especially to those music kids, those interested in African American music and history, and history buffs in general. Jazz could easily be used as a supplemental text in an English/Language Arts class, Social Studies and History classes, art, and music classes. I just think this is an all around gem of a book!

I think I would read any of the poems and share the artwork to help hook students. Pairing the book with recordings of some good jazz music, and/or videos of famous jazz men and women would help seal the deal. Who can resist the puffed out cheeks of Louis Armstrong, the amazing Wynton Marsalis, or the dulcet tones of Ella Fitzgerald, to name a few of the greats? This book can really open some doors!

The first poem in Jazz is aptly titled, Jazz.

Start with rhythm

Start with the heart

Drumming in tongues

Along the Nile

A black man's drum

Speaks

LOVE

Start with RHYTHM

Start with

the HEART

Worksongs

Gospel

triumph

Despair

Voices

Lifted

From the soul