Six-year-old
Myah Carr lost five teeth recently, most of them in the front. With plenty of
space between teeth while she waits for the big ones to grow in, Wednesday
might have been the perfect time to learn to play the trombone from a leading professional jazz
musician, Brian Culbertson.
Culbertson donated a couple of hours to
teach jazz and blues to interested young musicians inside the music room at
Southfield High School, a free session known as master music class.
Myah, a student at Southfield Christian
School, passed on the opportunity, since “she's more into singing,” according
to her father, Rodney Carr.
But who knows? Maybe Myah will
pick up the instrument some day and learn from her brother, 9-year-old Myles
Carr, who was among about a dozen youth who played along with and under the
tutelage of Culbertson.
Myles Carr pretty much had his own
cheering section, with Myah and his father enjoying the music, along with his
mother, Lori Carr. “I learned that you have to keep the
beat going,” said Myles Carr, a student at Roeper School in Birmingham.
That was especially true in the final 15
minutes when Culbertson, on the piano, and the young musicians combined for an
impromptu finish.
“I didn't say anything but, ‘Play
together,' and you came up with an idea,” said Culbertson, congratulating the
youth on the extended finale. “That was cool. Have fun with it, that's what
it's about. It's a lot of hard work, but when you get to a certain point you
say it's all worth it.
“I'll see you all on the road in a few
years.”
Judging by the smiles on the faces of
the young musicians, they all enjoyed the learning experience.
“I like his style, his jazz,” said
14-year-old Southfield resident Clifford Lyons, a recent Levey Middle School
graduate who will be a freshman in the fall at University High School Academy.
“One-on-one, he helps you, makes you better.”
Most of the musicians are still in the
beginning stages of their music career, and Culbertson said he mostly taught
them “basic notes in a blues scale.”
Culbertson, a 38-year-old native of
Decatur, Ill., and currently living in Los Angeles, was in town to play a
concert at Chene Park in Detroit. He was the guest instructor, thanks to the
invitation of Deidre McGraw, a 1984 Southfield High graduate and friend of
Culbertson who lives in Chicago.
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