{"id":14864,"date":"2025-07-15T12:14:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T12:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=14864"},"modified":"2025-07-16T10:56:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T10:56:13","slug":"finding-the-swing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2025\/07\/15\/finding-the-swing\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding The Swing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cThere is probably no better example of democracy than a jazz ensemble.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Image
Photo credit: Chris Duffey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These powerful words from Michelle Obama reflect a sentiment that underpins Dr Wesley Watkins\u2019 musical mission. Reading graduate \u2018Dr Wes\u2019, as he is known, is the founder of The Jazz & Democracy Project<\/a>\u00ae \u2013 a music integrated curriculum that uses jazz as a metaphor to bring democracy to life, with the aim of inspiring young people to become active, positive contributors to their communities. Dr Wes explained:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to educate young people to look at our society and its tensions through the lens of music, and in doing so, help them to perceive something either a little differently or to see something more clearly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

CONNECTED had the pleasure of speaking to Dr Wes after he received his honorary degree from the University of Reading in 2024. He shared some of his most memorable moments, what inspired him to set up The Jazz & Democracy Project\u00ae, and why he feels learning from modern musicians is important for the next generation.<\/p>\n

Composing connections<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Dr Wes\u2019 interest in music education was first sparked during his undergraduate studies at Stanford University and developed through his PhD which began at the University of Reading\u2019s International Centre for Research in Music Education (ICRME).<\/p>\n

It was on the Stanford-in-Oxford Programme where Dr Wes was introduced to Dr Nicholas Bannan<\/a> \u2013 an international composer, conductor and music researcher \u2013 who was lecturing at Reading\u2019s ICRME. It was Nicholas who encouraged Dr Wes to consider studying a postgraduate degree at Reading, and was later appointed as his PhD supervisor.<\/p>\n

Dr Wes shared: \u201cFrom the moment that I met Nick he took a real interest in me as an individual. He had proved that he believed in me and my work. I could have applied to Harvard or Stanford, but in the end Reading was the only place that I applied to for my PhD.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cTo this day, I feel incredibly lucky to have been taught by Nick. He connected me with so many different people and places including the Bedales School, Eton College and the Yehudi Menuhin School, where I was able to learn from some of the best music educators and institutions in the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Full circle<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Speaking about his experiences at Reading, Dr Wes shared some of his most memorable moments. He recalled: \u201cWhile I was studying on the Stanford Programme, Nick introduced me to a Reading undergraduate student who wanted to set up a gospel choir. I had recently directed Stanford Gospel Choir, so I had some experience doing this and I helped the student create the Reading University Gospel Society (RUGS). When I was at Oxford I directed RUGS rehearsals at the Bulmershe campus, and when I returned as a postgraduate student I was pleased to see that the society was still running.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the student singers \u2013 who also played percussion for the jazz band \u2013 suggested that the two groups collaborate. So, I wrote an arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie\u2019s \u201cSwing Low, Sweet Cadillac\u201d where RUGS and the jazz band played together to end the concert. It was one of my biggest highlights whilst I was at Reading.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ImageUpon completing his PhD, Dr Wes was unable to attend his graduation ceremony. However, last summer he was able to come full circle when the University presented him with an honorary degree.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI’m a very low-key person. I keep my head down and put all my efforts into my work and the students I teach. I don\u2019t expect people to know who I am as an individual, but I do want people to know about the work that I do and to respect it. So, when I heard that my work with The Jazz & Democracy Project\u00ae had been recognised by Reading, I was blown away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jazz and democracy<\/strong><\/h4>\n

After finishing his PhD in 2007, Dr Wes decided to put what he had learnt into practice and began working as an independent arts education consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area. His first role was helping an elementary school in Oakland integrate music into their curriculum, and he discovered how jazz could improve children\u2019s understanding of democracy. This was the beginning of what would later become The Jazz & Democracy Project\u00ae.<\/p>\n

He explained: \u201cI asked one of the 5th<\/sup> Grade teachers what his students had difficulty understanding so that we could come up with a musical solution. He said he felt his students weren\u2019t grasping the concept of what it means to be part of a democracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we started teaching the students in parallel \u2013 with the classroom teachers delivering their normal history lesson, while I added in separate lessons about jazz. I taught the students that the goal of a jazz band is to swing. Swing is both an era and a rhythmic feel, but philosophically it\u2019s also a buoyancy that is achieved when all the different components of the song are balanced. Everyone in the band has a role to play and when a band is swinging, everyone can feel it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut people interrupt the swing when, for example, someone in the band plays too loudly which disrupts the song\u2019s dynamic balance.<\/p>\n

\n

“A well-functioning jazz band tells us something about a well-functioning democratic process; and a malfunctioning jazz band tells us something about a malfunctioning democratic process. Everything falls apart as soon as someone stops striving to maintain the swing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After six months Dr Wes decided to see whether this novel method of teaching was having any impact. He said: \u201cI asked the class to give me an example of someone playing too loudly in society. A girl raised her hand and said, \u2018that\u2019s monarchy, because the people who wanted to settle in America were trying to escape the monarchy, and in a monarchy it’s about what the king wants \u2013 nobody else’s voice matters.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThis showed that what we were doing was making a difference. From that moment, I decided that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,\u201d Dr Wes shared.<\/p>\n

Upon discovering that this way of teaching had a profound impact on the students he taught, Dr Wes created The Jazz & Democracy Project<\/a>\u00ae within the San Francisco Bay Area. Fast forward sixteen years and he now lives in Sydney, Australia, teaching students of all ages in schools, colleges and universities across the world.<\/p>\n

\"ImageHe also trains other educators to use the curriculum in their classrooms through his own online professional development course<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dr Nicholas Bannan, said: \u201cI felt very fortunate to see Dr Wes in action exploring the parallels between musical creativity and political representation. He is a very charismatic musician and teacher, who has created an exceptional concept that addresses both aspects of fulfilling human potential, individually and collectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inspiring the next generation <\/strong><\/h4>\n

Dr Wes uses content from exclusive interviews with top musicians, including acclaimed singer and songwriter, Gregory Porter<\/a>, to shape part of his curriculum, as he believes learning from modern musicians is important for the next generation. He said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cYoung people need more role models who confront risk and grow as a result. In jazz the musicians live on the edge of failure \u2013 a performance could fall apart at any moment unless everyone is listening to each other.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cGregory Porter once told me, \u2018if you\u2019re not listening, not only can it cause chaos in the representation of the music, but it\u2019s a disrespect to the music\u2026even to the history of the music.\u2019 Balance or compromise cannot be achieved if you can\u2019t hear anything that may criticise your position. My goal is to teach students to continually evaluate their performance and that of others, and in doing so, encourage them to think critically and flexibly.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI want to help people find and learn how to maintain the swing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Dr Rebecca Berkley<\/a>, Associate Professor in Music Education at the University\u2019s Institute of Education, said: \u201cIn honouring Wesley with this degree, we recognise the great service he is doing to educate so many of us about democratic thinking and promoting jazz as an art form.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Find out about postgraduate research opportunities<\/a> at Reading, or discover more about The Jazz & Democracy Project<\/a>\u00ae.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThere is probably no better example of democracy than a jazz ensemble.\u201d\u00a0 These powerful words from Michelle Obama reflect a sentiment that underpins Dr Wesley Watkins\u2019 musical mission. Reading graduate \u2018Dr Wes\u2019, as he is known, is the founder of The Jazz & Democracy Project\u00ae \u2013 a music integrated curriculum that uses jazz as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":14865,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[54,21,34,168,57,103,167,68,56],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFinding The Swing - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dr Wesley Watkins, Reading graduate and founder of The Jazz & Democracy Project\u00ae, shares his musical mission with CONNECTED.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2025\/07\/15\/finding-the-swing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Finding The Swing - 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