Small heads will be boppin' and tiny feet will be stompin' this February as Please Touch Museum celebrates the 15th Annual Junior Jazz Festival, the only area event to introduce young children to the wonderful world of jazz through live music, dance and theater performances.

The Atrium will adopt a groovy jazz club atmosphere for a month's worth of concerts and special activities that focus on musical expression and the history of jazz. Children can dress up and pretend to perform on the jazz club stage, make music with instruments and 'glass chimes' (glasses filled with different amounts of water), and create their own musical scores by placing stickers of musical notes onto composition paper. They'll also explore storytelling and collage art like the great African American artist Romare Bearden, whose work was greatly influenced by jazz music.

Kids will also be able to learn a bit of jazz history taking in a Please Touch Playhouse performance of “Scat Cat's Junior Jazz Jamboree." This interactive show tells the “tail" of an everyday alley cat who happens upon “Max Roach" who teaches her the history of jazz. Max also introduces her to some of the well known artists who made it popular - Stingray Charles, Duck Ellington, and Piggy Lee. This Please Touch Playhouse original production will be performed Mondays through Fridays in February at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and is free with museum admission.

Please Touch Museum's 15th Annual Junior Jazz Festival is sponsored by The Sunoco Foundation.

Performance Schedule
*All performances will take place at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and are free with museum admission.

Saturday and Sunday, February 3 and 4
Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble
One of Philadelphia's more innovative and progressive jazz groups, Warren Oree and The Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble has been a favorite fixture of Junior Jazz for more than a decade, introducing young children to jazz with fun, interactive performances. Formed in 1979, the band has performed throughout the world and has recorded eight CDs of uniquely styled jazz originals and standard compositions. Since 1990, Oree has been lecturing and presenting workshops on jazz, music composition, and other aspects of music and its business at libraries, public and private schools, and universities.

Saturday and Sunday, February 10 and 11
Erin Flynn
Kids of all ages get up and dance along with Chicago-based singer- songwriter Erin Flynn, who creates and performs fun concerts backed by a rockin' band that plays original music and traditional tunes with a twist. Flynn, a former theater coordinator at Please Touch Museum, has a master's degree in early childhood education and teaches at The Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago where she performs her original children's music shows and sings with the bluegrass band, Sunnyside Up.

Saturday, Sunday and Monday, February 17, 18 and 19
Luis “Louie" Miranda
Louie Miranda is a family entertainer and educator who performs Latin jazz in highly interactive family-oriented concerts that blend sophisticated rhythms with inspiring lyrics to create music that teaches as it entertains.

Saturday, February 24
David Sherick
The improvisational percussion of David Sherick will have kids and their grown-ups stomping their feet throughout the Atrium.

Sunday, February 25
Fandango
Everyone dances in their seats when Philadelphia's premiere Afro-Cuban and Brazilian percussion ensemble visits the Junior Jazz Festival.

Please Touch Museum is dedicated to enriching the lives of children by providing learning opportunities through play. Recognized locally and nationally as one of the best children's museums, Please Touch is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Admission is $9.95 for adults and children age one and over. Children under one are free. For more information, please call 215-963-0667.