By Peter E. Leggett, Walker West Music Academy

At Walker West Music Academy, we know that parents play a pivotal role in developing young musicians. Today, we are celebrating two Walker West parents for the years they dedicated to helping their children explore, learn and grow through music.

Danita and Dewayne Jackson gave their sons DeVante and DeCarlo opportunities to develop their skills and helped them establish a regular routine for music practice and listening.

In fact, they insisted that DeVante, 20, and DeCarlo, 19, practice for an hour and listen to jazz for an hour every day. It wasn’t always easy. Danita said that for several years their sons needed to be pushed to practice. Once they were in high school and playing in multiple bands, however, they became more self-motivated.

The efforts of parents and sons paid off in music scholarships for both boys. Today DeVante is a tenor sax player at Augsburg College, and DeCarlo is a trumpeter attending the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada.

DeVante and DeCarlo have played in numerous bands, including their own groups Public New Sense, Byzantine and Northern. They’ve played with their friends’ bands, including Allan Kindom, the Jack Breen Quartet, Bomba de Luz, Paper Airplane Society of America and others.

The Jacksons took private music lessons at Walker West and participated in Walker West’s youth jazz ensembles. DeVante studied with Tom Zosel and Felix James while DeCarlo studied with Solomon Parham, Felix James and Mike Vossick.

The Walker West Difference

The Walker West jazz ensembles helped DeVante and DeCarlo develop as musicians and as young men, according to their parents. Playing in front of audiences helped them better understand why it was important to practice. It also helped them develop important life skills such as being prepared, showing up on time and working within a group.

Playing in the jazz ensembles also gave them visibility in the community. “People we didn’t know would come up to them in the grocery store and say, ‘Didn’t I see you playing at this event?'” Dewayne said.

From Student to Role Model to Teacher

Walker West provided opportunities for the boys to be a role model s and teachers. They were inspired as young students by listening to the Walker West senior jazz ensemble, and, in time, they became the senior players who were inspiring others. DeVante and DeCarlo also served as teachers in the Walker West Summer Music Enrichment Program, which helped them learn how to speak to young students and help them learn.

They even helped their mother learn to read music when Danita began playing handbells in her church bell choir. “I go to them and they help me count out my part,” she said.

Dewayne and Danita’s advice to Walker West parents? Keep on them about practicing and don’t let them quit!

This is the first in a series of posts profiling members of the Walker West Music Academy community —parents, students, donors and friends.