I smiled for 2 hours straight at this month’s Kids Open Stage at Ellington’s! We had 2 returning kids and a very enthusiastic new boy. And I was happy that Jasper was also there (my boy who is now a young man); he practically hosted the whole event and was, as he is, great with the kids.
Jasper and I sang Take Me Home, Country Roads, with the rhythm of our ukuleles sweetly synchronized. Once again, I could hear our voices meeting on a compassionate, common ground, in tune on levels beyond music. Perhaps it’s time for a Mother & Son set at my next gig…
The new boy was a piano player! He played many songs from a well-loved instruction book, and he sang along to a few of the pieces. His mom told me that he wrote the lyrics with his piano teacher, to enrich his learning and to make practising more fun. What a great idea! He was very proud to share his songs with us, and we were all very proud of him. For me, it shone upon another positive aspect of Kids Open Stage ~ loving emotions shared communally, one song at a time.
The United Jesters’ frontman returned, and at first he told me that he just came to be part of the audience. But then he changed his mind. He silenced and wowed the room with 2 original written works that could easily be from an award-winning novel. The imagery whisked me out of the room for a moment and put me into his written world. It was a dark and bloody world! That boy is a brilliant writer. If it was his desire, he could get a multimillion-dollar book publishing deal, or a lyric-writing contract with Metallica.
The returning girl danced her way into Ellington’s Café like a superstar diva! She bounced up and down until it was her turn to sing. Gleaming with confidence, she made up a song on the spot that I’m pretty sure was called, “I Like…” In a nutshell, she likes trees, food, cake, ice cream, tea, drums, that table, and that chair over there. And jazz, she really likes jaaazz. She likes eeeverythiiing in the world. That girl has a lucky mom!
After another song that was all about liking Jaaazz, we were treated to a darling verse of Lean On Me. I took the cue and invited her back up to join Jasper and I, doing the same song, all together with our ukuleles. I could hear the audience clapping to the beat, and I could see them swaying to the music. And one of the moms harmonized with her absolutely beautiful voice while her son hand drummed!
The harmonizing mom was keen to learn ukulele. She absorbed a mini uke lesson and strummed along on one of my in-house ukes. You Are My Sunshine, This Little Light of Mine, Rockin’ Robin. It was like some Uke Jam on a Kids Open Stage sandwich!
After the new boy had played all of his piano pieces, he got up on stage and sang a Remembrance Day song that he had learned at school. The returning girl ran up, grabbed the other microphone, and sang along! Get this: they don’t even go to the same school. That is one of the ways that Kids Open Stage is as unique as it is enjoyable. Now I’m looking forward to Christmas carols!
The next Kids Open Stage is on Saturday, November 29, 2-4pm at Full of Beans Coffee House & Roastery, 1348 Dundas St West, between Dufferin & Dovercourt ~ see Events page for details.
The next Kids Open Stage at Ellington’s Music & Café will be announced soon ~ stay tuned!
Maia Waern
November 18, 2014