Jazz at the White House

On Monday, June 15th, Michelle Obama hosted an afternoon of jazz education at the White House. 150 high school students were invited to take part in demonstrations, clinics, discussions, and to attend a concert featuring trumpeter and jazz pedagogue Wynton Marsalis and clarinetist extraordinaire Paquito D'Rivera.

The event was organized in part by Washington, D.C.'s Duke Ellington Jazz Festival. As Ben Ratliff suggested in his New York Times piece, the afternoon was a symbol of the current administration's dedication to jazz and the arts.

Sean Jones, whose album The Search Within I reviewed here, was another of the clinicians at the White House. The lessons of the afternoon focused on jazz and American history, the blues, swing, and Duke Ellington.

Photo of Wynton Marsalis and Paquito D'Rivera © Alex Wong / Getty Images