This chapter examines the formative role of public school music in shaping the lives and careers of Detroit’s stellar cast of kids who became major jazz artists and eminent classical music figures. A discussion of national trends in music education shifts to Detroit’s school music history. There follows a detailed account of music in a junior high and a comparison and contrast of two remarkable high schools: the all-black Miller High and the nationally renowned music program of the magnet school Cass Tech, exploring figures such as Yusuf Lateef and Ron Carter and looking at the career paths that followed high school training.
