Kids for Coltrane

What a gift it was to listen the Tri-M Chapter play Coltrane tunes along with their talented music director, Mr. Joseph Rutkowski. The performance was just brilliant and brought tears of joy to my eyes. On a beautiful evening in May I was invited to speak to this terrific group of gifted young musicians. They hosted my visit with exuberance and had respect for this powerful and important work. Prior to my discussion with these exquisite young people, I had the opportunity to chat with their principal Mr. Kaplan, which was also a highlight in my evening at Great Neck North. It was so uplifting to talk to an administrator who valued bringing  jazz to our youth.  I could feel him absorb all of my words when I spoke passionately about the importance of   bringing jazz and the history of  jazz to the youth in our schools.  This evening brought me such hope for the future. I wish these youngsters all the best in their future endeavors as they will soon be entering college life.  I know they will do great things!

My visit with Mr. Joseph Rutkowski and the Tri-M Chapter at Great Neck North High School.

Speaking with these brilliant young musicians was truly a gift to me. Their understanding of  John Coltrane’s work and life was so impressive. Congratulations to  Great Neck North High School for having such brilliant minds in their high school. I want to send a special thank you to the President of this chapter, Matthew Shore, for working with Mr. Rutkowski to make  this evening possible for all involved.

The music of John Coltrane…bringing hope and joy to the world.  It was wonderful to hear these young musicans play such incredible music.  Thank you again for the invitation!!

I am thrilled to announce that I have been selected to co-facilitate the Arts/Music/Drama group on http://www.Edutopia.org. This is an innovative on-line publication created by George Lucas and his team at the George Lucas Educational Foundation. If you are a teacher looking for creative ideas that will bring life to your curriculum through  visual arts, music, drama, and dance or an experienced arts educator, please join our group.  Edutopia is a place where educators can come together to share what works in public education!

I enjoyed  meeting  UFT President Michael Mulgrew on Lobby Day in Albany, New York.  On March 9,  I went with other educators to talk to state legislators about how the budget affects the children.   Michael Mulgrew spoke passionately about  the importance of breaking the current deadlock in Albany. 1200 educators came to Albany on this day to stand tall for our kids.

District 26 Union Representative  Mary Vaccaro speaks seriously about budget concerns and ideas for the future.  Mary and I took the bus together from Queens, New York to Albany.  Along with other Queens educators, we had an  audience with State Senator Frank Padavan who shared his thoughts and listened intently to the concerns. I had an opportunity to speak to Senator Padavan about an idea to save  money by using talented  New York educators as consultants  instead of reaching out of the country for expertise. He seemed to value this idea, and perhaps will share these thoughts with his fellow legislators. Btw, I am also happy to report Senator Padavan is a fan of the Kids for Coltrane. He attended a Kids for Coltrane performance a couple of years ago, and had a great time  seeing  the children dance and sing. It was terrific  seeing him again.  We will certainly invite him to our next show on June 9th at the Holliswood School.

I first had the pleasure of meeting Jazz legend Sonny Simmons last year when he so graciously shared his time and talent with my Kids for Coltrane students at the Holliswood School. This month I had the sincere pleasure and great opportunity to interview Sonny over lunch in New York City. There I was sitting with Sonny Simmons and his band mate Michael Marcus, dining at a fine restaurant looking over Columbus Circle. I reflected on the journey that got me to this day… when a musician of Sonny’s caliber and incredible life story would honor me with an interview. I will be writing about our conversation…so check back to my blog again soon.~ Thanks Sonny, you are one of a kind…a real gem.

Summary of my presentation entitled The Other Side of Art and Music.

It was an honor to be one of many presenters at the 50th Greater Metropolitan New York Social Studies Conference. The conference offered many enlightening and thought-provoking workshops. Doris Kearns Goodwin was the recipient of the Hubert Humphrey Humanitarian Award.

Sharing with educators my experience visiting John Coltrane’s Huntington, Long Island home.

I had a wonderful uplifting day sharing my project with New York City educators. There was a blizzard on the way, but many educators found their way to the UFT building at 52 Broadway to attend this wonderful conference.  I had the opportunity to present my journey. I shared what I have learned from the folks at  Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Smithsonian Institute, the National Endowment for the Arts,  the Jazz Foundation of  America, the Metropolitan Museum of Art  and Harvard’s Project Zero. The focus of the discussion highlighted jazz as it unfolded in American history. We discussed the struggle for civil rights, the pluralistic character of American culture, arts and culture as a reflection of historical events, jazz as a metaphor for American identity, the effect of technology on American culture, and arts and music as a means of self-expression.

I want to send out a special thank you to Rozella Kirschgaessner, ATSS/UFT President/Chairperson for appreciating the significance of  this work.

Here is a clip of Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond discussing what she learned about education from high achieving schools throughout the world. This video is from Edutopia which was created by the innovative genius George Lucas. ~ Thank you Dr. Darling-Hammond and Mr. George Lucas for illuminating the way.

I had the extreme pleasure of being invited to the NEA Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony and Concert by Joann Stevens who is the program manager for Jazz Appreciation Month at the Smithsonian Institute. The awards ceremony honors the great jazz masters. I was breathing rarefied air! Give yourself a gift and research the lives and music of these outstanding artists, and you will never be the same. I know jazz music and my journey understanding its impact on the United States and the rest of the world certainly brought me enlightenment and enrichment. On this evening in January, I watched as brilliant artists were given respect and praise in the beautiful Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center. The 2010 NEA Jazz Masters are Muhal Richard Abrams, Kenny Barron, Bill Holman, Bobby Hutcherson, Yusef Lateef, Annie Ross, and Cedar Walton. George Avakian received the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy. This event was heard worldwide. Jimmy Heath (2003) and Jimmy Cobb (2009) both past recipients of the award were presenters this year. It was especially thrilling to see them because of their connection to John Coltrane. I would also like to note that another one of my favorite people, writer Nat Hentoff, also received a Jazz Masters Award in 2004. Rocco Landesman, NEA Chairman wrote, “Jazz is the field that probably best exemplifies the fact that art works. Since its creation on American soil some hundred or so years ago, jazz has brought joy to millions of people around the world, created a new lexicon for performing and listening to music and presented a new canon of American songs performed by musicians all over the world over.” Jazz certainly has influenced all genres of music since its inception. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. said it is triumphant music, and I couldn’t agree more. Congratulations to this year’s recipients for receiving the highest honor in jazz, and a heartfelt thank you to blues and jazz musicians throughout the world.

Drawing by Louis Vignapiano

The House unanimously passsed H.Res. 894, honoring the 50th anniversay of the Miles Davis recording Kind of Blue and reaffirmed jazz as a national treasure. Leading this effort was Representative John Conyers Jr. of  Michigan. This album brought jazz into the mainstream and influenced musicians all over the world.  Miles Davis recorded this masterpiece with his sextet which consisted of  John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb.  I called Representative Conyers office to thank him for his dedication to jazz and tell him about the Kids for Coltrane.  To help celebrate this special honor, I plan on going to see and  hear Jimmy Cobb at the Iridium in New York City this weekend.  I will certainly share Kind of Blue with my young students.

During this holiday season, I wish you all moments that create exquisite memories.  I pray  that we all move toward living our lives at higher levels of consciousness, and we walk down our individual paths with the virtues to guide us. My students will tell you that the virtue I value the most is honesty…without it in your life everything else is askew. What gifts do you want to give your family and friends?…Of course we give material things and we do it with care, but the real gift you give to society is yourself. Live a life with internal power and your existence becomes a gift.  Move toward what is noble in your life and you will feel life’s energy…be attracted to what uplifts and dignifies.  The greatest gifts human beings give one another are art and love.  What is created from the soul whether it be visual art or music emerges from what is graciously the truth of a human being. Great artists understand that what they offer is a gift to humanity…and they are grateful  for the power that they share with the world. Remember that all life is sacred and that beauty lives in all forms.  Dr. David Hawkins writes, ” What of a true teacher? In the first place,  a universal hallmark is that the true teacher never controls anyone’s life in any way-instead, they merely explain how to advance consciousness.” We learn the lessons of life and move toward self discovery and growth…we evolve.  So during this holiday season, and as you move forward in your lives  embrace  love,  joy, peace and enlightenment. Forgive yourself and others as we make human mistakes, learn from those mistakes. Remember to be compassionate to  yourself and others. Live a life in truth…find your power in integrity and increase your capacity for compassion…this is my holiday wish and wish for the new year for all of you and myself. I would like to take this moment to tell all my friends and family who have truly loved me through the years…this love has been such a gift to me.  My most beautiful blessings have been my children Victoria and Anthony, and the honor that has been bestowed upon me to teach other people’s children… I am truly grateful.  I will leave you with the words of Emily Dickinson as we end 2009…see you in 2010…with love and smiles,

Christine Termini Passarella

“If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.”

I would like to send a special holiday wish to our soldiers and their families. Wishing you all love and protection.