Vocalist Louise Rogers has been teaching jazz to young children, so this collaborative CD with husband Rich Strong on bass will serve as a terrific way for elementary music teachers to expose their students to the fun and joy of improvising. Rogers has an attractive, expressive voice, while Strong's melodic pulse is more than sufficient instrumental backing for the vocals. Aside from the opening number, which features only the adults, Rogers typically has the youngsters matching her pitch by singing a brief riff and having them follow in unison or scatting, though there are times, such as in "Animal Blues," where each child sings a chorus alone. The five children obviously enjoy working with Rogers, and they do their best to master the lessons they received leading up to the recording session. It's refreshing to hear "Dat Dere" with Alex Strong (the son of Rogers and Strong) singing the child parts in Oscar Brown, Jr.'s comical lyric. Teachers will probably benefit by playing no more than one or two tracks at a time for their students to keep from overwhelming them. It's always a pleasure to see music educators exposing kids to jazz early on, as Louise Rogers has done with this superb teaching tool.
© Ken Dryden /TiVo