Jazz Trip

By AVA SCHEIBLER ‘22

Over March vacation, Milton Academy jazz students traveled to South Africa. In an interview, Mr. Sinicrope revealed that the trip focused on more than just the exploration of the country and practicing jazz— it allowed Milton Academy students to connect with the people of South Africa, specifically people who live in vastly different situations. This was the twelfth jazz trip to South Africa. They originally began when Abdullah Ibrahim, a well known and respected South African musician, visited Milton Academy, heard its jazz students perform, and knew that they had to come visit South Africa. Along with the help of a former English teacher, a Johannesburg City Council woman for more than twelve years, the students, Ibrahim, and Mr. Sinicrope created this trip. Since the first trip in 2001, Ibrahim has had a significant role in Milton Academy jazz. He will also receive the upcoming National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Award in Washington DC next week.

Throughout the trip, the jazz students performed in many different concerts, collecting real-life practice and gaining unforgettable experiences. According to Mr. Sinicrope, concerts were at a place similar to Quincy Market, a jazz club, and the African Leadership Academy, which is a high school for youth training to be leaders from nineteen different countries in Africa. The students also performed in many townships, which are poorer towns in South Africa that, during apartheid, were racially segregated; often, they were some of the only places where black people could live. The students also went on a trip to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and many prominent activists were imprisoned during apartheid. This experience would have been powerful in its own right, but the students’ tour guide was a former prisoner himself, and so everything he told the group was from his own past experiences.

When asked to compare American and South African jazz, Mr. Sinicrope described South African jazz as “simpler,” “infectious,” “freeing,” and “joyful.” He also said that many South Africa jazz songs carry meaning, and that music as a whole was very important to South Africa in gaining its freedom. For some of the songs the students played, the audiences only needed to hear the introduction before they would start screaming and dancing, because they knew some of the songs so well. Some songs, especially jazz songs, carry special meaning and representation for the people of South Africa. During the time of apartheid, the government would not allow anyone to straightforwardly say that people of color were being oppressed, so many songs carried hidden messages. One such song translates to “The Bellowing Bull,” which people knew signified the oppression and power of people of color. Because of such connections to the music, Milton Academy students were playing for audiences who really cared, and who had strong connections to South African music. Although the people in the townships were very different both culturally and economically, a shared love of jazz transcended those differences. Mr. Sinicrope reflected that “as soon as we [would] play the music, the audience would go ‘these guys care enough to play our music?’” and instantly connections were formed.

Mr. Sinicrope also spoke about this trip’s learning opportunities. When the students performed, the audiences started dancing and moving their bodies to the music. The improvement between Milton Academy students’ first and last concert was tremendous, and that kind of development could never have been learned in a classroom. Although a classroom environment has its benefits, getting to perform repeatedly for people who really cared taught the students more in two weeks than they could have learned in many months.

Image Courtesy of Nate Jean-Baptiste ‘19