One day during a school visit, recording artist Melissa Walker told students to imagine they had tool belts under their chairs. Then, she began “filling” the belts with the skills and values jazz teaches, like listening, creativity, and community.

“There was someone in the audience taking photographs,” Walker said. “It was Bill May, head of arts performance for Newark Public Schools. He told me, ‘I loved that assembly program.’ I asked, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘Would you come do that in the schools?’ That’s really how it all began."

That moment in 2003 led Walker to create Jazz House Kids, a space where youth could experience the sense of belonging and expression that she noticed connected people across cultures while touring internationally in the 90s.

“I wanted to build a jazz house, “she said,” and we’ve been swinging doors open for 22 years, bringing young people and community members of all ages into a space to create, share their stories, be uplifted, and grow empathy for one another.”

The nonprofit Jazz House Kids, headquartered at 347 Bloomfield Ave. in Montclair, currently serves 168 students and has nurtured thousands since opening. Walker leads the organization with her husband, nine-time Grammy Award-winning bassist and Newport Jazz Festival artistic director Christian McBride, who serves as Jazz House’s artistic director and sits on its board.

Walker said Jazz House Kids is one of the few community arts organizations in New Jersey, exclusively dedicated to educating children through jazz. Its mission, she said, is to be a space for every student to access music education, mentoring, and real-world apprenticeship opportunities.

Jazz House Kids is funded through grants, donations and tuition, which averages about $3,000 annually. Financial aid is available on an as-needed basis, Walker said, noting that last year, Jazz House provided $156,000 in tuition assistance to 40% of its participants.

The program reaches over 40 school districts in New Jersey and New York with a variety of initiatives, including:

It also runs special initiatives for students with disabilities, including those with autism.

Elle Jardim, 61 of Basking Ridge, said Jazz House changed her life by accepting and nurturing her autistic son, Matthew Stern.

Stern, now 20, struggled with behavioral issues in 2018, the year he lost his aunt, his grandfather, and soon after, his father.

The following year, on her brother’s recommendation, Jardim enrolled him in Jazz House Kids, where he started with private lessons and eventually joined the ensemble.

“It just completely opened up his world, Jardim said. “You have to realize that his autism is pretty severe. It has helped him with his focus. This experience has taken our everyday life to a whole new level. To be able to see my son perform on stage, like, it’s the most amazing thing.”

Sinclair Powell began classical piano lessons at 7, but says she was ‘bored,’ so her musician mother thought jazz would excite her. Powell joined Jazz House Kids at 8 and discovered the drums at 12.

But it was Jazz House’s Chica Power program that developed her as an artist, she said. The five-week summer program led by women and designed for girls who play jazz empowers young women who are usually in male-dominated spaces. It also introduces them to influential female jazz musicians, past and present.

“It really helped me,” said Powell, of Montclair. “It made me more confident because being a drummer, and being the only girl in a lot of the bands that I’m in is very difficult, so I had that program for young women like me.”

Now 18, the Union Catholic High School senior has secured a scholarship to North Carolina Central University in Durham, where jazz legend Branford Marsalis is the artist-in-residence.

Pianist and composer Isaiah Thompson, 28, is a Jazz House Kids alum, who started with the organization when he was 11. He said Jazz House prepared him for a successful career.

“They’re not unkind, but they tell you the truth, which you’re going to have to figure out anyway, said Thompson, a West Orange native. “And so I think it saved us a lot of growing pains later on because from the time you were 12, they were showing you the reality of the music and why it’s sophisticated, why it’s hard to play... and what it was going to take for you to be able to play on a high level."

Since his Jazz House days, Thompson has attended Juilliard, studied Theology and the Arts at Fuller Theological Seminary, and recorded several albums that allowed him to explore different themes and musical techniques.

His latest album, “The Book of Isaiah: Modern Jazz Ministry,” set to be released June 6, reflects both his love for music and his spiritual journey.

Walker, best known for albums such as “May I Feel,” “Moment of Truth,” and “I Saw the Sky,” is still singing but puts the focus of her creative and musical expression in Jazz House to create a place for young people to engage with music.

“If Jazz House Kids didn’t exist, hundreds of young people wouldn’t have access to incredible artists, top-tier training, or a community of like-minded peers from all backgrounds,” Walker said. “My job now is to make sure there’s fertile ground for young people to truly engage with this music—and that those who want to pursue the arts have a real pathway.

“I deeply believe young people should be able to say, ‘I am an artist.’ Jazz House has reached over 50,000 students and employed hundreds of young artists. It’s amazing how one moment can change your life forever.”

For more information about Jazz House Kids, visit JazzHouseKids.org, email [email protected], or call 973-744-2273.

Ande Richards may be reached at [email protected].

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