Jim Ketch’s Jazz Class

I am the unmusical person in my family. My father was a wonderful singer ( he had Andy Griffith as a music teacher at UNC), my mother plays the piano beautifully, my sister Margaret was a paid gospel singer in an African American Church in Kansas City and my sister Janet could really play the Saxophone! Then there was me. I was just the musical appreciation society in the family.

I thought music education was important, despite never being offered any myself. Carter played the Clarinet in school. At least she learned to read music.

Tonight at our church we had a Jazz night. The Durham Jazz band came and played outside while we had dinner then after dinner we all went into the fellowship hall to hear a lecture my our own Jim Ketch, retired head of the Jazz dept. at UNC and renowned Jazz trumpeter.

I have always appreciated and loved Jim’s playing which he so wonderfully donates for big church days, like Easter, along with the other talented Westminster Brass players. This was the first time in the the 23 years I have known him that I got to hear an actual lecture on Jazz by him. It was an enthralling almost hour and a half, which felt like about twenty minutes, it was so interesting. He included the Blues and Gospel in the lecture, but there was hardly enough time to touch on such a huge subject.

While Jim was lecturing Russ leaned over to me and said, “one of the only non-engineering classes I took as an under grad was Jazz.” This was a new bit of information about Russ I had never known before. So I really am the only person in the family with no musical knowledge.

I was inspired by Jim and now I want to learn more. Just add Music appreciation to my growing list of things to learn before I die. At this rate I will live forever because my list of things to learn is so long.