Best Music Class - WeBop! At Jazz at Lincoln Center - Best of New York Kids 2012 -- New York Magazine

Skip to content, or skip to search.

Skip to content, or skip to search.

Best Music Class

  • WeBop! At Jazz at Lincoln Center

    33 W. 60th St., nr. Broadway; 212-258-9922; jalc.org/webop

    No pandering, no nursery rhymes, no saccharine kiddie music. Teachers at Jazz at Lincoln Center�all schooled in early childhood education and musical or jazz performance�make sure kids and their parents get an authentic introduction to the genre by grounding sessions in true jazz. (�A-Tisket, A-Tasket� and �My Favorite Things��the Ella Fitzgerald and John Coltrane versions, respectively�are on the playlist.) And not just taped music, either: Each workshop ($330) features live musicians, usually a pianist, and every fourth and eighth week, a jazz quartet accompanies the merriment. Classes are keyed by age group from 8 months to 5 years, and each one works through various instruments and musical principles (swinging, tempo, call-and-response, riffing). Little ones can also hone their natural improvisation skills, learning from such greats as Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Lady Ella herself. Graduates can keep the music going at home with a newly issued WeBop! CD.

From the