Ohio novices share music at 'Jazz Academy'

Yet the dynamics of the night and weekend courses offered inside the 5,000-square-foot near-east side Columbus facility are hardly pretentious.

Inside, adult vocalists hesitate to try impromptu scat singing alongside their peers. Pupils in a group piano lesson struggle through a basic rendition of "Jingle Bells." And teen guitarists smile while trying to pluck the tricky, rapid-fire notes that make up the 1963 surf-rock classic "Wipe Out."

So goes the activity during the Jazz Academy, for which a lack of experience or stage presence isn't considered a problem.

Instead, it is what administrators hope drives people to enroll.

"You have to find entry points. It's like knocking a golf ball around for 30 years and finally deciding to take lessons," said Bob Breithaupt, executive director of the nonprofit Jazz Arts Group, which opened the academy in the summer on the third floor of the newly refurbished Lincoln Theatre.

"Having an opportunity for raw amateurs to experience this kind of thing is very exciting."

Likewise, much of the class work - from learning to play guitar and drums to using GarageBand digital-mixing software - targets novices.

And the curricula aren't just bebop and big band, either.

"To the general public, the 'J-word' means a record bin, a genre," said Bradley Sowash, a Columbus pianist and composer who teaches at the academy.

"The way (the academy) defines jazz is non-classical playing," he said. "It's hip-hop and DJ stuff ... anytime musicians, playing with their eyes closed, work through an instrument to get their ideas out."

Thus, the White Stripes share syllabus space with Chuck Berry; YouTube and iTunes help facilitate instruction; and students learn how a dash of syncopated rhythm can easily jazz up, say, "Jingle Bells."

Having fun is key.

"This is a totally new experience," said student Dawn Mather, 51, a Shawnee Hills resident who has struggled with traditional piano lessons. "I don't want to read music. I just want to play and have a good time."

The program began in 2004 after the Jazz Arts Group conducted a feasibility study showing that Columbus could support such a concept - even though no other all-inclusive, broadly focused school exists in the United States, Breithaupt said.

A series of beginner classes were offered at Capital University, where Breithaupt teaches and heads the school's Music Business Department.

Yet the academy remained small-scale and relatively unknown until plans to refurbish the historic Lincoln were announced in 2007.

With no usage penciled in for the building's third floor, Breithaupt saw immediate potential in the then-unfinished space.

"It was magical," he said.

Now equipped with Apple computers, fiber-optic cables and a recording lab that mimics a real-life studio, the academy space cost roughly $650,000 after in-kind donations and some discounted materials. The Jazz Arts Group is renting the finished space.

Most courses run weekly for six weeks and cost $105. Registration for winter classes opened Nov. 1.

The student body is diverse, with some participants traveling from the suburbs of Dublin and Pataskala and others hailing from the nearby King-Lincoln District neighborhood.

Of the academy's 73 students, about 10 percent (who had to submit an essay explaining their reasons for participation and why they constitute "a good investment") receive financial aid.

The age of students spans several decades, placing senior citizens next to teenagers, with a range of birthdays and backgrounds in between.

That's intentional, said Carol Argiro, the academy director and the only full-time staff member, who recounted a memorable blues-guitar class offered during the academy's grand opening in the summer.

"Some of the kids played better than the adults," she said. "And the adults were able to tell the kids: 'Here are some venues where you can play as a minor.'

"We learn so much from each other."

Fourteen-year-old Leo Daugherty of West Jefferson recently began playing the guitar, taking a Jazz Academy camp in the summer and now a Saturday-morning class in which some students learn with ease.

"Being around people who are better than you can help," said Daugherty, adding that the small-group dynamic "makes you feel better."

Meanwhile, a jazz singing class featuring a range of skill levels included Lisa Lemond, who sang with a blues-rock band in Hawaii for 16 years. She enrolled to revive her lost pastime and bask in the building's past.

"All these jazz greats have played here," said the East Side resident, 44. "It feels awesome. I love the history."

Still, Argiro and Breithaupt know that debunking the mystique of the academy - and, for that matter, the jazz genre itself - will take time. The initial fall slate featured 21 classes but attracted only enough enrollments to continue with 10.

Administrators aren't discouraged.

Argiro, who formerly worked for the Dublin Arts Council and years ago helped run the Columbus Music Hall, ultimately sees the academy becoming a round-the-clock resource.

She envisions music workshops for mentally impaired adults; jazz and conversation hours aimed at senior citizens; and daytime drop-in courses targeting home-schooled students.

Already under way are programs for at-risk preschool and teen residents of the Weinland Park neighborhood near Ohio State University.

Building such identities with the Jazz Arts Group, she knows, could one day turn casual visitors into music lovers, audience members or even working musicians.

"It's a wonderfully creative space," Argiro said. "People love being here - to have the benefit of a group. We are a community space.

"You're part of something a little bit bigger than yourself."