Clearwater Middle School discovered a way to jazz up music education through a major project called "We Has Jazz''.

The musical, which showed last Thursday and Friday (28 & 29), featured performances by the students at Clearwater and the feeder schools of Francis Patton Primary, St. George's Preparatory, East End Primary, and St. David's Primary.

The show was the brainchild of Clearwater's music teacher Leroy Simmons.

Mr. Simmons discovered the script and realised the play could be turned into a major production that would teach the students about jazz, local history, and music production.

And in an attempt to bring local flavour to the show, Mr. Simmons rewrote parts of the script with a uniquely Bermudian flair.

"We've tried to highlight a few Bermudian artists such as Shine Hayward and Jahstice ... we made mention of Hubie's because it's such a well-known place for local jazz,'' said Mr. Simmons.

"We wanted the students to gain an understanding and appreciation for jazz, which is generally viewed as `old people's music'. Our kids are learning so much -- not just about jazz, but about life skills like organisation, planning, cooperation, and focus.

"Hopefully, they will not just develop an appreciation for jazz, but also for quality music production,'' Mr. Simmons added.

Kori Hinds, a 13-year-old student in M2 who plays Louis `Satchmo' Armstrong in the production, explained the basic concept of the play.

"Satchmo played the trumpet, and he has big puffy cheeks, and a really deep voice like me,'' said Kori. I'm an actor in the play. We're all outside a jazz club and all of a sudden all of these passed-on jazz musicians appear.

"The children are confused and they want to know what jazz is,'' he added.

Thirteen-year-old Jenee James described her character, the infamous Billie Holiday, as "the lady who sings the blues''. "She's sexy,'' she added.

Although the students may not trade in their reggae CD's for old Bessie Smith records, the project has exposed them to different kinds of music.

Jenee confessed: "I didn't know anything about jazz before ... and I still can't listen to that Saturday night jazz because I want to hear singing.'' And Kori admitted discovering the roots of his favourite contemporary music through studying the history of jazz. "I appreciate jazz because it helped make the music we listen to today, like rap and reggae,'' Kori said.

The charismatic student said the performance helped him develop skills for a career in acting.

"In the future I want to be an actor, and I've taken this opportunity to practise for the Hollywood star thing,'' he boldly announced. The show also featured performances by Suzette Harvey and the CedarBridge Dancers, groups In Motion and For Real, and the Teacher's Jazz Ensemble.