Judson Manor resident George Havens' class, The Giants Who Created Jazz in New Orleans, kicked off to a great start a few weeks ago with over 30 students, including residents from Judson Park and South Franklin Circle, and friends from the community.

Havens has provided students with a detailed syllabus, plus their own binder with a wealth of historical information. 

At a recent class, he covered the early influencers, Buddy Bolden and Freddie Keppard, and played a couple of their acoustic recordings, including Keppard's "Stockyard Strut." The drumming on these primitive recordings, Havens noted, were often wood blocks, because regular drums would have overpowered the other instruments during recording sessions.