By Michael Fortuna

When someone says "Spring Break," one immediately thinks of high school and college students lounging around on the beach to soak up some rays.

For Leesburg (Fla.) High School sophomore Theo Croker, Spring Break meant getting in a New York state of mind.

For four days, beginning March 19, Croker spent almost every waking moment in New York with Wynton Marsalis, artistic director for Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Some of that time was spent with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra during rehearsals for a Louis Armstrong tribute concert on Friday, March 23. Croker, who is the grandson of legendary trumpeter Doc Cheatham, also got to play trumpet with the group on a couple of tunes.

Although he wasn't nervous about playing, "I was nervous about who I was playing with," Croker said. "It's not just Wynton, it's Ryan Kisor, Seneca Black, Marcus Printup, Farid Barron, Rodney Whitaker, Wyclef Gordon, Ronald Westray, Wess Anderson, Walter Blanding Jr., Victor Goines; I'm nervous because I'm playing with all of them, but I did fine."

The fun started Monday night, when Marsalis took Croker to an open jam session at St. Nick's Pub in Harlem. Croker said that seven or eight musicians were in line to get up on stage to play, "so don't hog up their time unless you've got something to say on your horn."

After Marsalis took some choruses, he introduced Croker to the audience, and it was his turn to play.

"After that, it was more like people were into what I was playing, and they wanted to hear more," Croker said.

"He sounded good," Marsalis said in a recent telephone interview. "All those older musicians are always encouraging, they're happy to see the younger musicians playing. Some of they guys were saying, 'Man, who is that?'"

Tuesday was probably the big day for Croker. He got to sit on Jazz at Lincoln Center's press conference announcing the 2001-2002 season. The orchestra played several tunes, including the Duke Ellington version of "The Nutcracker Suite."

"That just blew me away because the band, they're so tight," Croker said. "When they all hit a note together, it sounds like one person, just one big, loud instrument."

Marsalis then took Croker to a press conference at the United Nations building where Secretary-General Kofi Annan named Marsalis U.N. Messenger of Peace.

"It's fortunate that I dressed appropriately," Croker said. "Otherwise I would have been out of luck."

Croker then spent part of Tuesday and most of Wednesday hanging around with the orchestra during rehearsals.

"We always have the younger musicians around, and we encourage that," Marsalis said.

One thing Croker took away from the sessions is a deeper appreciation of Louis Armstrong.

"I had listened to him before that, always just out of respect for him," Croker said. "But I never understood him. When I came back, I understood more fully the importance of him, and I understand his sound.

"They (the orchestra) were kind of the amp of (Armstrong's) soul. They played everything exactly like he would play it, but they put themselves into it," he said. "Then I kind of understood why you need to know Louis."

Marsalis says that the future looks bright for Croker.

"He has the tools, the intelligence and the ability and the talents," he said. "He knows that the most important thing is to practice, to develop your intelligence, to develop your integrity, and to develop a conception of who you are and where you want to be."

To sum up the week's events, Croker put it this way: "A lot of swinging."