JazzReach: Janus Jaunting & The Story of Jazz

Directions for the Teacher

This guide facilitates an exploration of JazzReach and their educational performance production, Janus Jaunting, featuring the Metta Quintet. Designed for K–12 students, these activities examine jazz as a uniquely American art form and "national treasure," its roots in West African rhythms and blues, the mechanics of improvisation, and the role of ensemble collaboration. Students will explore ostinato patterns, polyrhythms, soundscapes, and how jazz fosters creative expression and cultural storytelling across generations.

About the Artists

Established in 1994, JazzReach is a nationally recognized non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the story and sound of jazz to young audiences. Through engaging, multimedia educational mainstage productions like Janus Jaunting—featuring the acclaimed Metta Quintet alongside special guests—JazzReach integrates live music with visual projections, commentary, and audience interaction. Declared a "national treasure" by the U.S. Congress, jazz offers students a rich opportunity to explore dynamic musical forms, American history, and shared human experiences.

Watch & Listen

Introduce students to the high-energy performances and educational spirit of JazzReach through the video gallery below. These clips highlight live ensemble communication, virtuosic solo improvisation, and interactive storytelling in concert settings.

Discussion Prompts

• For Elementary Students: How do the musicians in the Metta Quintet talk to each other using their instruments without speaking words? What clues tell you when a musician is making up a solo on the spot?
• For Middle School Students: How did jazz evolve from African rhythmic traditions, work songs, and blues into a distinctly American art form? How does listening to live jazz differ from listening to recorded studio music?
• For High School Students: Jazz has frequently served as a catalyst for civil rights, social commentary, and cultural integration. In what ways do the historical movements represented in jazz repertoire reflect broader societal shifts in American history?

Activities & Extensions

• Elementary – Ostinato Patterns & Call-and-Response (Music / Movement): Introduce basic rhythm by having students create body percussion ostinatos (repeating patterns of claps, snaps, and stomps). Practice call-and-response variations with the class. Standard: MU.K.O.3.1
• Middle School – Polyrhythms & Ensemble Layering (Math / Music): Divide the classroom into four groups to perform overlapping beats (polyrhythms). Connect these rhythmic fractions and meter subdivisions to mathematical patterns and timing. Standard: MA.6.NS.1.1
• High School – Jazz as American Social History (US History / Music): Research the intersection of jazz with historical moments such as the Harlem Renaissance or the Civil Rights Movement. Analyze how jazz reflects citizenship, leadership, and global thinking. Standard: MU.68.F.3.1
• Cross-Curricular – Sense of Sound & Creative Expression (ELA / SEL): Have students explore daily environmental soundscapes and write about how listening to different musical genres and live instrumentation impacts their emotions and focus. Standard: ELA.K12.EE.4.1
• Critical Thinking – Evaluating Unfamiliar Works (Music Criticism): Practice active listening strategies to analyze and evaluate live or recorded jazz performances, refining generalizations about the genre. Standard: MU.912.C.1.1

Relevant Standards

Grades K–5

• MU.K.O.3.1: Respond to musical elements (e.g., rhythm, tempo) through physical movement or expression.
• MU.2.H.1.1: Identify how music relates to everyday life and different occasions.
• ELA.K12.EE.4.1: Use appropriate collaborative techniques and active listening skills when engaging in discussions in a variety of situations.
• SS.2.G.1.2: Use maps and globes to introduce cultural features of various regions.

Grades 6–8

• MU.68.F.3.1: Describe how studying music can enhance citizenship, leadership, and global thinking.
• MU.68.H.1.3: Describe how American music has been influenced by other cultures.
• MU.68.O.3.1: Describe how the combination of instrumentation and expressive elements in a musical work can convey a specific thought, idea, mood, and/or image.
• MA.6.NS.1.1: Interpret and compute quotients of fractions, and solve word problems involving division of fractions by fractions.

Grades 9–12

• MU.912.C.1.1: Apply listening strategies to promote appreciation and understanding of unfamiliar musical works.
• MU.912.H.1.4: Analyze how Western music has been influenced by historical and current world cultures.
• MU.912.H.2.3: Analyze the evolution of a music genre.
• MA.K12.MTR.5.1: Use patterns and structure to help understand and connect mathematical concepts.