ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Michael Palter and his wife, Lynne Jackson, opened their Jazz is a Rainbow presentation at the Ford Elementary School by pretending Lynne was a puppet.
BY DILLON DURST
LYNN — After years of performing as a jazz musician, Michael Palter wants to pull students out of the classroom and onto the stage.
In the 1990s, the Lynn native launched “Jazz is a Rainbow,” a vocal program for kids. Palter, 74, encouraged fifth graders at the Ford Elementary School on Wednesday to audition for the program’s newest project, “The Harlem Strut.”
The play teaches the history of the Harlem Renaissance, a movement that attracted black artists, writers and musicians from the south to Harlem, New York in the 1920s and 1930s.
Palter said his former students learned much about themselves and their history through the initiative as they collaborated in an ensemble. He said jazz and the Renaissance was, and still is, crucial to race relations, and noted that it influenced modern musicians.
“Beyonce wouldn’t exist without the Renaissance,” he said.
Joanne LaRivee, the school’s principal, said the history of the movement is important for Lynn children to learn, given the city’s diversity.
Palter introduced the presentation by linking the Renaissance to slavery. At the conclusion, several students wanted to audition for the project.
Cynthia Chan, 11, said she thinks the project sounds cool. She said it could also help her learn to be a better actor, a profession she’s interested in learning more about.
Eleven-year-old Timothy Melendez said he probably won’t audition, but enjoyed the presentation.
Palter said “Harlem Strut” isn’t a summer camp for super-talented kids. Instead, he’s looking for “ordinary kids who think they might be able to sing and act.”
Two notable alumni of “Jazz is a Rainbow” are Lynn natives Alex Newell and Khalil Flemming. Newell starred in the TV show “Glee,” while Flemming worked as an intern on the set of “Sesame Street.”
“Some of the kids have really gone on to great things,” Palter said of the program.
Auditions will be held at Lynn Arts June 4. Rehearsals are scheduled for Monday, August 15 through Thursday, August 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The final performance will be held on August 27 at the Black Box Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
Dillon Durst can be reached at ddurst@itemlive.com.