To promote jazz, one thing that I did today was access WBGO 88.3fm…

To promote jazz, one thing that I did today was access WBGO 88.3fm a jazz radio station out of Newark, New Jersey. I accessed it through the internet via wbgo.org. The radio announcer was promoting a classic by Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht and Marc Blitzstein. It was “Mack The Knife.” You know the lyrics:

Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear

Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear
And it shows them pearly white
Just a jackknife has old Macheath, babe
And he keeps it, ah, out of sight
Ya know when that shark bites with his teeth, babe
Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves, oh, wears old Macheath, babe
So there’s never, never a trace of red

Now on the sidewalk, huh, huh, whoo sunny morning, un huh
Lies a body just oozin’ life, eek
And someone’s sneakin’ ’round the corner
Could that someone be Mack the Knife?

Who can forget that classic performed by Bobby Darin? It became one of his great jazz standards. But did you also know that it was performed by hundreds of other artist including Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Tito Puente, Bing Crosby, Sonny Rollins, Jimmy Smith, Eartha Kitt, Tony Bennet, Peggy Lee, The Doors, Sting, Marvin Gaye, Kenny Garrett and a whole lot more? Even Ella Fitzgerald recorded a live version of the song in 1960 (Ella in Berlin: Mack The Knife) in which, after forgetting the lyrics after the first verse, she improvised new lyrics in a performance that earned her a Grammy Award.

I’m sure I’ll be singing and humming this song throughout the day, so anybody who I come in contact with will get a chance to see how I promote jazz, especially to the youth. Let’s make Bobby Darin’s version of the song the “Jazz Album of the Day,” but not before wishing Glenn Miller a ‘Happy Birthday.” But before leaving; “What Can You Do To Promote Jazz, Especially To Our Youth?”