d States. More than any other established type of music, jazz is part of the culture of all Americans, and a familiarity with its essence is important to an overall cultural appreciation by students in the American classroom. This is the primary reason that so many jazz bands form in schools across the country, and why the competition should be able to draw a sufficient number of participating schools to give the event the necessary diversity and competitive level to ensure the excellence of the culminating concert.
In addition, the complexity of the jazz form answers one of the most important needs that prominent educational theorist Howard Gardner (1991) believes is necessary to effective secondary education. Peter Marris (1993) contends that an impulse toward conservatism is a natural part of human nature. Gardner observes that students are frequently more traditional than many adults, especially regarding their tastes in the arts. He suggests that teachers and schools should make a specific effort to combat this tendency to appreciate and understand only the simplest forms of art. He writes, "Students . . . move beyond these stereotypes [of conservative taste in music and the arts] only with difficulty and only following considerable informed experience in exploring the relevant arts, crafts, or other spheres of life" (1991, p. 178). Studying and performing the complex music forms of American jazz encourage sudents to understand and appreciate more sophisticated expressions in all the arts.
The competition also offers a forum for one of the crucial benefits that arts education has over the academic disciplines: an opportunity to perform for an audience. As Powell puts it, "Teachers in [music] classes have an advantage other teachers lack: the public accountability of an on-stage performance. It provides students and staff with a powerful incentive to do well" (1985, p. 137). By creating a situation in which so ma...