Transcript

MUSIC

Aditeya:

Let's have some fun 

with things that rhyme

welcome Kids 

it's poetry time!

Hip Hip Hurray!

Welcome everyone to Kids’ Poetry Club with me, Little Dazzy Donuts, and a massive THANK YOU to Aditeya, who read our introduction poem this week, and is our special star of the episode. Right now, I’m on my way into the Club to see how Queenie and Chicken are getting on with building a stage in the garden behind the Club. They’re getting it all ready for a big “thank you” concert they’re holding later to say thank you to all of their friends for helping with the garden over the Summer.

As I’m not quite at the Club yet, why don’t we take advantage of this time to do our Club registration? This is where you get to shout out your name and get a Club point for being here. So, on the count of three, shout out your name so that I can hear you through your phone, computer, or radio.

Let the drum roll begin. Here goes …. One. Two. Three! ….. Excellent!

Well, I just arrived at the Club. Let’s head around the back to the garden and see how Queenie and Chicken are getting on with the stage.

SOUND (Gate)

Hi Queenie … Hi Chicken.

SOUND (Chicken)

Queenie: Oh, hi Little Dazzy Donuts! We’ll be with you in a mo. We’re just working on a really delicate part of the construction … So, Chicken, you pull on the rope to raise the beam …. Excellent, it’s working …. Keep pulling …. The beam is almost up at the top, over the stage. Oh, hang on, the beam is dropping again, Chicken – pull harder.

SOUND (Chicken)

Queenie: Oh my gosh! Chicken – your feet are off the ground.

Hang on, Queenie. I’ll jump in to help Chicken. I think the beam is heavier than she is, and so the beam is actually raising poor Chicken up rather than the other way around. Okay, let’s pull together, Chicken.

Queenie: It’s working! It’s working! Okay, pull just a little further. Perfect – now, hold it there while I nail it into place …… There we go. That’s not going anywhere now so you can let go of the rope. Thank you! I’ll climb back down the ladder now.

Well, your stage is definitely coming together nicely.

Queenie: It is. That beam is for the spotlights to light up the musicians … Gosh, it’s going to be a wonderful concert.

So, who’s coming to see the concert?

Queenie: Well, there’s the Chicken Jazz Quartet – they’re playing all of the music for us. Then, we’ve invited everyone who has helped us with the garden over the Summer, as a way of saying thank you! So, that’s all of the animals, including Shasta and all of the sheep. Then, Bill Ding’s coming along as he helped with the farm stand … and Chef Katie is coming along too … and Postie Dale said that he’d pop by with his seagull delivery team. Oh, and I invited Tom and Art from the Tom & Art Drive-Time Show. We listened to their radio show every afternoon, and so it feels like they’re a part of the garden as much as anyone else.

It sounds like you’re going to have a lot of fun.

Queenie: We are. It will be so wonderful to thank everyone, and also have fun listening to some great music. Well, we better get the lights attached to the beam now. Little Dazzy Donuts, while we do that, do you have a poem that you can read to us?

I do, Queenie. I have three poems here that fit well with the musical theme of our day, today. Why don’t I read this one first, it’s called “Band”. It’s about a musician who joins a band, but it doesn’t quite go to plan.  Here, I’ll read the poem now:

I joined the band,

but just couldn’t play.

None of the sounds

came out the right way.

On brass, I’d suck

when I really show blow.

On the strings, I was holding

the wrong end of the bow.

On drums, I tried playing

with my hands not with sticks.

That crash wasn’t cymbals,

I was banging two bricks.

I failed with the oboe,

the flute, and bassoon.

I just came across

as a music buffoon.

I guess that my racket

was too tough to withstand,

and despite all of my trying.

I’ve been banned … from the band.

So, Queenie – how’s it going with the stage?

Queenie: Well, the stage is ready – I’m delighted to report. It looks perfect for the show. The spotlights are up and are … ummm … they’re spotting, I suppose. So, everything is ready for the concert!

SOUND (Chicken) 

Queenie: Oh yes – there is that too, Chicken. The stage is ready, but we’re a little worried because one of Chicken’s quartet is poorly and may not make it … and you can’t exactly have a jazz quartet with just three musicians. I mean – what even is that? A tri-tet. Who ever heard of that?

Actually, I think three musicians would be a trio rather than a tri-tet.

Queenie: Oh, okay … but the Chicken Trio just doesn’t sound as good. Plus all of the invitations we’ve sent around say that the concert stars the Chicken Jazz Quartet.

Do you play any instruments, Queenie. Perhaps you could join the quartet just for the concert. After all, the concert is to thank people for helping with the garden, and you’ve been a big part of the garden together with Chicken.

Queenie: Me? Oh, I hadn’t thought of that. Well, I’m not very musical. When it comes to playing instruments, I really specialize.

Specialize on what?

Queenie: On the triangle.

Okay, so Chicken, do you have a place for a triangle in your quartet for the concert?

SOUND (Chicken)

Queenie: YIPPEE!!!!!! That’s so exciting. I promise not to let you down, Chicken. I’ll head into the Club to find my triangle – I know it’s in there somewhere.

I’ll come with you, Queenie, and help you to look.

SOUND (Chicken)

Queenie: Excellent – thanks, Chicken. You stay here and put out a few tables and chairs for those joining us. We’ll be back in a mo.

SOUND (Gate … gravel …. Door)

Queenie: Well, I know the triangle is in here somewhere. While I look for it, could you read a poem, Little Dazzy Donuts?

Of course, Queenie. I have one here that’s all about someone joining a band, but not actually knowing that they were doing that. It’s called “My Music Lesson”. Here. I’ll read the poem to you now:

On that fateful day,

I approached the room

with a packet of pectin,

and a wooden spoon,

a box full of berries

an armful of jars,

as many bags of sugar

as I could fit in the car.

I opened the door,

with my confidence high,

but once inside

what first caught my eye

was someone with a trumpet,

and one at the drums,

a musician standing up

playing a bass using thumbs.

I guess that night

was my first music lesson

of learning what it means

to attend a jam session!

So, Queenie – any luck finding the triangle?

Queenie: Oh, no luck yet – but I know it’s here somewhere.

Once you’ve found it, how do you feel about playing triangle in the concert?

Queenie: I feel okay – but I am worried that Chicken’s Jazz Quartet plays jazz. They sound so amazing – but I feel bad that I don’t know much about jazz. Surely I can’t be in a jazz quartet for a concert when I don’t know about jazz. That would be wrong. But what can I do about it?

I know, why don’t you call up the DJ who does the jazz show on the local radio station, and ask her some questions?

Queenie: You mean Lady Day the DJ and the Jazz Brunch Show?

Exactly – that’s her.

Queenie: What a fantastic idea. If anyone knows about jazz, it’s Lady Day – and she sounds so nice when she’s doing her show … ummm … what time is it?

It’s 11am.

Queenie: Perfect – she’ll be on the air right now. Can you look for my triangle while I call her?

Of course I can!

SOUND (Phone)

Lady Day: Hi! This is the Jazz Brunch request line.. Who’s calling today?

Queenie: Oh hi Lady Day! It’s Queenie. I’m a friend of Tom’s and Art’s from the Drive-Time Show.

Lady Day: Oh, hi Queenie. I’ve heard you on the radio. Didn’t you win the Quizzapalooza recently?

Queenie: I did! That was me!!

Lady Day: Well, thank you for calling Jazz Brunch. Do you have a particular jazz track you want to hear today?

Queenie: Oh, I really want to hear them all. Every single one. But I don’t know enough about jazz to pick one. My best friend is Chicken, from the famous Chicken Jazz Quartet – and here I am, knowing so little about it. I therefore want to learn about jazz so I can play triangle with her quartet at a concert later today. I also want to know about jazz because it’s a big part of my best friend’s life.

Lady Day: Well, that’s a lovely thought, Queenie. Why don’t we answer a few basic questions today, and then perhaps you could phone back again another day so that we can explore it further? Now, what would your first question be?

Queenie: Ummm … how about … what is jazz? That feels a good place to start.

Lady Day: It’s the perfect place to start. Well, jazz is a music genre, in the same way as hip-hop, country, or R&B all are. Like all music genres, jazz covers a wide spectrum of music – and so you can listen to a tremendous variety of jazz, which is one of the things that makes it so wonderful.

Queenie: I’ve taken my first step – thank you. So, what makes a piece of music “jazz”?

Lady Day: As you listen, you’ll notice that there are certain things that are common to a lot of jazz music. The first is the instruments used – in jazz, you’ll often find saxophones, trumpets, pianos, double basses, and drums. Another is that most jazz is very rhythmic and has a swing to it. It’s tough to listen to jazz and not tap your feet or snap your fingers. Then, there are the musicians – unlike those in orchestras who try to play music the exact way it was composed, jazz musicians are innovators who improvise around the tune, and so play the same tune many different ways. As they do that, jazz bands allow their musicians to take it in turns to play solos or lead the music – and so, within one tune, you’ll hear how the spotlight is on different instruments .

Queenie: It sounds like a lot of fun. When I watch the Chicken Jazz Quartet, I’ve always enjoyed how the musicians take it in turn to be in the spotlight. Chicken’s there with the saxophone for a while, and then others take over. And you’re right, my feet are tapping too – actually, they more than tap – I think they bounce around a LOT! Talking of musicians, I’ve noticed that Chicken has a few posters on her walls at home of people playing the saxophone. She has one of a man called Ben Webster, and one of Johnny Hodges, and a really cool one of Coleman Hawkins. Are these all famous jazz musicians?

Lady Day: They are, Queenie. You know, there was a time when jazz was the most listened to music, and a lot of famous jazz musicians came out of that era. Starting in the 1920s and through the next 40-50 years, jazz musicians were household names, and jazz music was played nightly in clubs around the world. Throughout that period, new styles of jazz emerged, and jazz became the innovative and wide ranging type of music that it is today.

Queenie: Oh, so jazz hasn’t been around forever, I suppose. In that case, where did it come from?

Lady Day: Well, it’s often said that jazz is a truly American form of music. It originated in the Southern United States, in and around New Orleans in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and was influenced heavily by the music and experiences of African-Americans, and other music that grew up out of African music, like the blues and ragtime. You’ll notice as you listen to jazz that many of the great musicians have been African-American.

Queenie: It sounds like jazz was a gift that America gave to the world. Now, if there are people out there who haven’t heard any jazz, who would you recommend they listen to in order to get a sense of what jazz is?

Lady Day: The best way of learning about jazz is to listen to it. I’d recommend someone listens to a few of the jazz greats from over the decades. If you do that, you’ll hear a wonderful variety of music, and see how jazz styles differ. Why not start by listening to four jazz greats, and see what you think? I’d recommend: Ella Fitzgerald, who was an amazing singer; Duke Ellington who led one of the most successful jazz bands of all time and was an accomplished composer; Miles Davis, who played trumpet and was one of the most innovative jazz musicians of all time; and then Louis Armstrong, who also played trumpet – his music was more traditional, but his impact on the popularity of jazz was enormous.  So, try those four just for starters. Depending what you like, there are then thousands of musicians you can listen to, and many thousands of jazz albums and tunes.

Queenie: Wow! You have been so helpful – thank you! I’m going to listen to all of those musicians, and try out some different types of jazz. As I do that, I’m sure that I’ll have more questions.

Lady Day: That’s okay, Queenie. You can call up any time. I love the idea that the Jazz Brunch not only plays jazz, but also helps people to learn more about the music too.

Queenie: Thanks again. And don’t forget that you’re very welcome to come to the concert later. It’s at the garden behind the Club, and we’re inviting people who have helped with the garden over the Summer… and you’ve definitely done that now.

Lady Day: Thanks, Queenie – how wonderful to be invited. I’ll be there. See you later.

SOUND (Click)

So, Queenie – how did it go calling the Jazz Brunch?

Queenie: Oh, it went really well. Lady Day is such a wonderful DJ! I feel so much better now that I know a little about jazz. Obviously, I have a lot more to learn, but I’ve made a great first step.

Well, the good news is that I found your triangle. Here it is! Now, why don’t I read us one more poem before we head back out to the garden to help Chicken finalize preparations for the concert? This final poem is called “The Music Pioneer” and is all about someone who plays instruments in a very different way. I’ll read the poem to you now.

The drum kit's located center stage,

the brass off to its right,

the strings are lined up to the left,
for my solo show tonight.

Yet my drum sticks are safely in a bag,
my bows are in a case,
my pedals sit up on a shelf,
my mouthpiece locked away.

I’ve heard it said I am unique:

a music pioneer.
As when on stage to perform a show,
I play everything by ear!

Well, sadly, that was our final poem for the episode. Queenie - why don’t you take your triangle out to the garden ready for the concert, and I’ll join you after I’ve said goodbye to everyone?

Queenie: Sounds like a plan. I’m so excited for the concert. See you in a mo!

SOUND (Door)

Well, before I rejoin Chicken and Queenie outside, let me first remind everyone that there are lots of ways to join in with the club. If you go to kidspoetryclub.com, you can see the PodSnack video for the episode and also download the episode’s PodPack of activities. They’re all free. Plus there’s information on how to send your poems and drawings into the club, including your poem and art entries into the Autumn/Fall competition on the topic of gratitude – so, what you’re thankful for, grateful for, and appreciative of. You’ll find everything you need at kidspoetryclub.com.

It has been so lovely to spend time with you! Thank you for joining me, Queenie, Chicken, and Lady Day from the Jazz Brunch radio show. I hope you enjoyed yourself, and hope you’ll be back for more next time the Club meets. Join us again next week when we’ll have a brand new topic, and new poems.

As always, let's finish with our short goodbye poem:

We've had some fun 

with things that rhymed

goodbye Kids 

until next time!

This is Little Dazzy Donuts saying .... keep rhyming!!!

MUSIC

SOUND (Jazz …. Triangle …. Applause)