Give your used instruments a good home

Maybe your son and daughter asked for a guitar. Maybe he or she couldn’t play like Eric Clapton or Bonnie Raitt right away, so maybe that guitar has been doing nothing but gathering dust.
You can help put it to much better use.
“We’re starting a campaign for people to recycle instruments they might have sitting in their basement or their closet, that they’re not using,” Dan Baker said. “We can get them refurbished for a fraction of the price that we would pay to buy a new one. And the ones that we don’t find students for, we can sell for a fundraising activity.”
The instruments – guitars, drums and things that you blow into – are for the Washington Jazz Society’s Afterschool Music Program, for which Baker is serving as administrator.
The program, which organizers hope to launch by the start of October, provides qualifying students with instruments along with free private music lessons and lesson books.
Targeted initially are students in the 12-to-15 age range, many of whom are no longer provided with instruments once they reach middle school. Youngsters throughout the area are invited to apply.
“The goal is to learn how to appreciate music, and maybe some of them will have a special talent or interest,” Ken Baker, jazz society president and Dan’s father, explained. “If they complete the program, then they get to keep the instrument and the music that they had while they were doing this.”
The recent award of a $50,000 grant by the Washington County Community Foundation is making the program possible. The Bakers are lining up instructors, and the key component now is securing various instruments for participants.
Fifteen spots are available for the first round of a dozen weekly lessons.
“They’ll set a goal with the teacher at the beginning of each 12 weeks, personal goals, since every student progresses at a different speed,” Dan Baker said.
Perhaps the guitar players among the participants will aspire to play like Dan, who serves as house guitarist for the society’s Homegrown Jazz Brunch series, which takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sundays at the Presidents Pub, 88 N. Main St., Washington.
The event offers an opportunity to take in performances by musicians of exceptional pedigree. The featured performer on Sept. 2, for example, is David Throckmorton, who toured with legendary trumpet player Maynard Ferguson (1928-2006).
Making two brunch appearances, on Sept. 23 and Nov. 11 is Jeff Lashway, who played piano in a duet with Ferguson on his final recording.
Jazz society members take great pride in the artists they bring to the brunches.
“One day I was listening to Sirius, on the jazz station,” Ken Baker recalled, “and they say, ‘Richie Cole is going to be playing in New England, then he’s playing in the state of Washington.’ I thought, Richie just played for us last week.”
The highly regarded saxophonist joins the likes of former brunch headliners Harold Betters, Kenny Blake and the band CrossCurrent, with bass player Dave Holland, an alumnus of Miles Davis’ group.
As for the remainder of 2018, performers include:
- Deja Groove Quartet featuring Jack Pettit, Sept. 16
- Mark Lucas, Oct. 7
- Vintage Jazz with Jim Cope, Oct. 21
- Tony Janflone Sr. with Tony Janflone Jr., Nov. 25
Dan Baker is the featured performer on the other Sundays.
Baker can be reached at 724-747-5139 or info@washingtonjazzsociety.com for more information about the Afterschool Music Program and the Homegrown Jazz Brunch.