- [Will] Coming up on "One Detroit".

Improv isn't just for comedians and actors.

We'll show you how it's changing the lives of some Detroit public school students.

Plus we'll talk with jazz bassist, Ron Carter about his legendary career and upcoming birthday celebration.

And we'll give you some ideas on how to spend this holiday weekend in Metro Detroit.

It's all coming up next on "One Detroit" - [Narrator 1] From Delta faucets to bare paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco.

Serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Support also provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit PBS.

- [Narrator 2] DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit PBS.

Among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan focused giving, we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Learn more at DTEFoundation.com.

- [Narrator 1] Nissan Foundation and viewers like you.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) - [Will] Just ahead on "One Detroit", we'll hear from the most recorded jazz bassist in the world.

Detroit's own, Ron Carter as he prepares to celebrate his 88th birthday.

And we'll let you know what's happening around town this weekend and beyond.

But first up, a program for students in the Detroit Public Schools community district is helping boost their self-confidence and life skills.

The Detroit Creativity Project uses improvisation to help elementary through high school students succeed.

The program was founded by actor and comedian, Marc Evan Jackson.

One Detroit's Chris Jordan caught up with Jackson and one of the project's well-known supporters, Detroit area native and former "Saturday Night Live" cast member, Tim Meadows.

He also got a chance to visit an improv class and talk with participants.

- Did you see that?

Whoa.

A meatball.

How did they know I was hungry?

- Anybody want some?

- Off the ground?

- Oh yeah.

- [Nancy] This is my favorite day of the year.

This is our spring student showcase.

We do this every single year.

We bring together kids from a lot of different schools who never get to meet each other or play together during the year and they all perform for friends and family and the public.

Some of the kids performing here today will have never performed really on stage in front of an audience.

They've done improv in the classroom, but this is their first performance in front of an audience.

- Is it spoiled?

- I think learning improv at this age is really good.

I mean, I wish I'd have learned when I was younger.

I think the thing that you learn from doing this, and I think you'll find it in the kids you meet here, they have a higher level of confidence in themselves.

They're able to like express themselves much better and I think for a teenager that's like huge.

- Who are you talking to?

- You don't see the camera up there?

- Detroit Creativity Project was begun in 2011 by a group of improvisers and performers who all met at The Second City theater when it was downtown.

- I am blessed to have been part of a generation of The Second City Detroit, the sadly now defunct Second City Detroit that was at the corner of Woodward and Montcalm at the Hockeytown Cafe next to the Fox Theater back in the late nineties.

And there is enough of a hit rate.

Enough of us have left there to go on to do fun and exciting things in entertainment that we get asked frequently here in Los Angeles, in the New York and various places like, "What was in the drinking water in Detroit in the late nineties?"

A lot of my friends that work as actors and directors and writers and musicians, we got together in 2011 and we said, "What should we be doing to give back to the city of Detroit?"

And it took about two cookouts at my house before we were like, "Oh, improvisation is what's made all of our lives great.

That's something that we should be sharing with the youth of Detroit."

So piloting a program in late 2011, early 2012, we began the Detroit Creativity Project.

We teach improv.

Improv is unscripted short form theater where you get a suggestion from the audience and create something from nothing.

We began teaching that in Detroit Middle and High Schools and it's just a wonderful skill set in addition to being fun and funny.

It carries with it some not so secret, really wonderful life side effects.

- It's adaptation, it's dealing with change.

It's any moment in your life realizing that something different might happen.

And if you can be cool about it and you can roll with it, then anybody else can look at you and just say, "Hey, that makes sense.

Maybe I can do that too."

- I like drama improv because I like to join things that like get me out of my comfort zone.

So like I join drama and debate because it can help with public speaking.

- Most of the time, the ones that is the most shy, even in walking in the hallway, now they're verbal.

According to their teachers, especially in math, they volunteer, they're more outspoken.

And they're like, "What did you do in that drama class?"

I'm like, "I didn't do anything.

Most of the time it's them."

When I watch Jason and Dana kind of pull some things out, the kids, I'm sitting back like, "Oh my goodness, look at this kid.

I remember when..." - It's a true pleasure to watch a student who goes from in their shell or even students who are super careful, they don't want to be wrong, they don't wanna make a mistake, it's super cool to watch those students go from that state to blossom into a young person that's empowered, that is connected to their own choices, their own voice, that are confident enough in their ideas to be able to share them and build with other people.

- Improv for me is like a expression of freedom.

It's like you don't really have to follow a set of rules, it's just you can freely express yourself.

Also to like really get in the rhythm of being in a social environment and expressing your feelings with other people.

- I love the creativity of improv because you can just say anything on the spot, whatever you're thinking in your mind, you just make it come to life.

I'm a creative person.

I like to build stuff and make it come together as in one big assignment.

And I like working with people a lot.

- You become part of a community of people that are like-minded.

It's almost like, "Oh, I've met other people who are just like me."

You're weird just like me.

You like comedy just like me.

You're creative just like me.

And so it's really great 'cause you get strength from that.

(students clapping) - Devising the curriculum initially for the Detroit Creativity Project, the teaching of improv is fairly universal, but we had to pivot a little bit because we realize we're teaching this to, in some cases middle school students, in some cases high school students, and now we've even moved younger.

We have third graders and fourth graders in some of our programs.

- We've just got this amazing group of teaching artists.

They're all improvisers and performers and teachers themselves.

We have a social worker on staff.

We have people who have been teaching improv for decades and they're amazing with the students.

- Typically, every semester we've got about 10 to 15 classes in about 10 or 12 schools.

We are so fortunate to be partners with Detroit public schools and local area schools, Hamtramck, Lincoln Park where we just go in, we have the classroom teacher stay in the class and we teach improv games.

- There are contestants in a spelling bee.

The host will give you a word that is made up and the host is gonna ask you to spell it.

I'm a professional, I'm an actor and a drama teacher.

When I heard about Detroit Creativity Project and their mission to not only just teach improv skills, but use it too as a tool of empowerment, I signed up to be a teaching artist.

This is my fifth year.

Throughout these five years I've learned so much that has impacted me as a artist and just as a person.

There's a range of emotions.

What I would love to see from your characters before we even begin, I already know how your character feels.

My teaching style is more so reflexive of what I'm seeing.

So to today, I created a game based on what I was seeing from the students.

And that was these students at Bates are extremely intellectual.

They're very, very bright and they love to be engaged and they love to be challenged.

Finding ways to still move the group towards that freedom we talked about, "I ain't gotta be right, I ain't gotta have the right answer, I ain't gotta have the right statement," right, to push them there definitely takes you paying attention to the group and knowing what the group need.

Listening, watching, observing, and responding.

What was challenging?

What was easy about that second game?

- Okay, because since I had an accent with my voice that I was doing, it was like hard to keep my voice up.

- It really helps me because it helps my brain think of new things on the spot immediately.

- I was feeding off of everyone's energy.

Like when I heard one thing, I thought of another and I was like, "Oh, that could go there."

And then I added my own thing into it and it just became one.

- [Justin] Some of the activities are more focused on things like character building or emotion, point of view.

So we utilize the different games and warmups based on a specific skill that we're trying to work on.

For example, "Yes, and".

- "Yes, and" is probably the biggest rule in improv, which is just accepting an idea and then building on top of it.

So it doesn't always mean that you have to agree with the idea, but in the scene you accept it and you build upon it.

- And you're building together, you're working together, you're honoring what they're saying and adding to it.

Everybody shows up and does their part.

And it turns out that if you do that in real life, it goes better.

Improv is really only important for people who ever have to come across another human being in their life.

If you are on the planet Mars, maybe you shouldn't take an improv class.

If you're anybody other than that, you should take an improv class because what it shows you is that you're improvising all the time anyway.

There's no script for your day.

And it shows you that.

And then it teaches you that it matters how you approach it.

And it makes you a more curious, more interested, and therefore, more interesting person.

- Once the kids had like a first couple of classes, I was tuned in.

I'm like, "Oh, this is it."

And I was always taking notes.

Even some of the most troubled students, I think if they kind of tried improv, it would help them because it does bring out emotion.

It also teaches them how to deal with that.

It teaches them how to communicate.

- It truly opens your life up.

You realize that failure is not a lasting condition.

Not everything's going to go perfectly every day, but you realize it's not fatal, it's not a lasting condition, and you fear it less so it makes you more willing to go into the unknown.

It opens up what psychologists refer to as acceptance of uncertainty.

So it reduces the anxiety.

- After school, when I think of after school, I'm like, "Oh yay, I get to do improv today.

It's Monday."

And it actually makes me look forward to Mondays because everybody's just so fun here.

They help us like express our emotions and like they tell us that nothing's wrong.

- This is great 'cause I'm sure there's other people just like me in Detroit who are in public schools that have talent but don't know how to express it or don't know how to find out what they like.

And I think even with improv, it's not even about acting.

Sometimes it can be just about being able to like, have confidence in speaking in front of people and like trusting yourself.

- If every one of our students nails a job interview one day because they can think on their feet and have the confidence to know that they're gonna be okay in any situation, then this program is a success.

- We've seen improvement in test scores, we've seen improvement in attendance.

It helps with math and with reading.

- The progress, I'm one person I'm able to see in a student in less than a year, sometimes it's six weeks, I'm so excited by the discovery of their own voice, their own power, their own confidence Whatever they go on to do, they'll be great at it because they'll believe in themselves.

They'll have the confidence and the experience of communicating with others and working with others.

So whatever they decide to do, they're gonna be great at it.

- [Will] April is jazz appreciation month and jazz bassist, Ron Carter has a lot to celebrate.

The Detroit area native is the most recorded jazz bassist in history.

And he will mark his 88th birthday with six days of performances at the Blue Note New York, beginning on April 29th.

"One Detroit" contributor, Cecelia Sharpe of 90.9 WRCJ spoke with Carter about his musical training, how he found jazz and the special sauce he adds to music.

(upbeat music) (bass playing) - So you started playing the cello at the age of 10 and then switched to bass at Cass Tech High School.

And you were classically trained throughout that time and all the way during your time at Eastman and you transitioned to jazz.

What made you transition to jazz?

- I started about 12 playing the cello.

I was a cellist for a really long time and I was a cellist until my senior year at Cass Tech.

And I noticed that two things were happening, Ms. Sharpe.

One, when the PTA meetings and teacher faculty meetings would have meetings, conventions, they would go around to the Detroit School Music department and pick out some music ensembles to forth what we call wallpaper music during these conventions.

As an African American kid, I never got those offers and I thought I'd played good as everybody else.

And I was very good at math.

I looked around one day at the bass player when the orchestra was graduating, and if he left, there'd be no bass player.

(Cecelia laughs) And my addition said, "Okay, well if I said no one left but me playing the bass, then they'd have to call me."

And, so Eastman School of Music was having auditions at this time for incoming freshman students for the coming Fall term.

And I got a chance to audition as a bass player and he decided that I was a good candidate to get a scholarship to go to Eastman as a bass player.

So my classical training went from Cass Tech underrepresented person of color to Eastman School of Music with a better odds of getting chance to play music that I had been studying all my life as a classical player.

And as I'm at Eastman third year, fourth year, I'm still getting better and better at instrument, I'm realizing I'm feeling the same kind of draft, and that's to say that they post notices on the bulletin board, but they've never explained to the people of color what that really meant for them as far as jobs, auditions here and auditions there.

And they didn't really encourage us to investigate the bulletin boards.

And now I'm playing in the local jazz band.

So I was having a chance to play opposite, really some great bass players.

Isaac Smith, Carmen McRae and Sam Jones with "Cannonball" and Teddy Kotick with Horace Silver, some really good players who encouraged me.

They said, "You seem to have a good idea about the bass.

You should come to New York when you graduate."

And I turned the page and these guys from New York said, "Hey man, there's work in New York.

You can play the bass in New York.

Don't be stuck.

Come on to New York and join us."

- So you found the encouragement from other people.

- Yes.

- And it brought you into jazz.

- Correctly.

- Yes.

- Mm.

Now I noticed on your first two recordings, you were playing quite a bit of cello.

Was it the style of music that was being played or was it your desire to continue to incorporate the cello that caused you to record on the cello as well?

- I just thought I had enough experience to play the instrument.

I didn't know if I could make a record on it 'cause playing is one thing, but to go into the studio and play the same instrument with another environment, with the pressure and the limited space and the limited time and these wonderful players who are already more experienced than I am, it's a whole nother kettle of fish.

Am I a big fish in a small pond or can I go with the sharks?

And these guys are the sharks, you know?

- And you wanna test out to see if you can swim with the sharks.

- I went to school with these guys.

Yeah, they gave me a lesson every night.

There's another page in the book of how to get better at doing this.

Yes.

- We know that you worked with Miles Davis and Cannonball Adderley, but you were also working with artists like Roberta Flack, Gil Scott-Heron on "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised".

You worked with "Black Star", you worked with a tribe called "Quest".

What is the importance to you of staying versatile as an artist and collaborating with various artists?

- Ms. Sharpe, I've always been surprised when my name ends up in the same barrel as all these other bass players.

Certain artists in this industry look for something that makes their music do something other than what they can conceive of.

Who is gonna be the special pepper in this sauce?

Who has the right wine for this meal?

My name has come to the top several times that they feel that my input, however they would define it, it's what their special sauce for this record is backed on track for this baseline needs to make their product do.

They can only imagine this.

- Only with the Ron Carter sauce.

- Yes.

(chuckles) - Can't bottle it.

Can't even bottle it.

- No.

One of a kind.

- I heard in another conversation.

I interpreted as you talking about the value of saying no, the power of saying no.

- Yes.

- And understanding your value and your worth.

Can you speak to that, not only as a musician, but to any individual who is watching understanding the power of saying no as it relates to your value?

- I think two things gotta be on the table, Ms. Sharpe One, this person in question has to have a set of values.

He has to believe in some things that are in his favor.

And once he convinces himself that they are so important to his being and nothing's gonna change him from this concept of what he's responsible for, those two letters controlled his career.

N-O.

You know, years ago, and it's still not that far back, clubs when they hire a band for a week, in the restaurant, they have a special menu for the band.

I'm not sure you're familiar with that, but they have a menu for the audience.

And someday went to this gig and I had worked all day making records, I was in school, wherever I was, and I asked for something to eat and the guy said, "We got a special menu for you guys."

I said, "Oh wow, what is that?"

He didn't answer but gave me a different menu.

I said, "Wait a minute, where's the menu serving that the people have?

I'm equal to that.

I need that kind of nourishment."

He said, "Well, you know, the policy of the club is it gives you many..." "No, no, man.

That's your policy.

That's not mine.

I wanna eat the same kind of quality of food that you make that you think the customer is well worthy of.

And evidently some of the things that I'm not worth that.

Well, no.

No menu, no music.

Goodnight."

And I kind of accepted that view as that's my view of knowing when no is critical to my viewing of my survival and what I think I need to be able to make my presence not just necessary, but physically capable of doing the job I'm being hired to do.

- Do you have any advice for people on building that confidence to say no?

- Ms. Sharpe, I think what they have to do is what really feels good to them when they see them in the mirror.

I think they have to understand that they're representing their view to a bunch of strangers every night.

People see you walk on the stage as a guy holding an instrument.

They have no idea what this person's values are once they stop playing.

I want these people to know that I am somebody.

I'm playing the bass two shows a night.

That's for like the hour and a half, but for the other 21 hours of the day, I got something else going on up here that I'm responsible for and I'm not playing the bass.

Look at what else I do.

What else am I in favor of?

And what else can I say no to and feel okay?

(chuckles) - We have to talk about the big 88.

So you're celebrating for six days, April 29th through May 4th.

- Yes.

- Tell us about what people can really get into to celebrate Ron Carter turning 88 years old.

- They're watching someone who never conceived of being this age.

I always thought I'm a musician and I'm playing music.

Cello, classical, jazz, bass, whatever it is, that's what I'm doing to be breathing.

People see the culmination of 75 years of trying to play the best I can every night for whoever else I'm playing with.

They will see me be overwhelmed by the love of the people I'm playing with that week.

The big band, the quartet, the trio, the duos.

They would come to see me pouring myself out as I do every night when I play for these people.

Focused in on one week for the birthday.

And I'm just thrilled to know that I'll be able to look around and see these people who say they love me and they mean it.

(bass playing) (audience laughing) (bass playing) (audience cheering) - [Will] There's a lot to do in Metro Detroit this holiday weekend.

In addition to Easter and Passover activities, you can check out some concerts, plays, and events for Arab American Heritage Month.

Here's Peter Whorf from 90.9 WRCJ with today's "One Detroit Weekend".

- Hey there, Peter Whorf from 90.9 WRCJ here with your guide to upcoming events in Metro Detroit.

First up, Planet Ant Theater's Farm Team presents their world premier of original production of "Awakened", a retelling of the classic, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" fairytale at Planet Ant Theater through April 26th.

On Friday, April 18th, get ready to relive the 2000s when Club 2000 takes over El Club in southwest Detroit and brings the boy band "B5" with them.

So put on your best 2000s era clothes and get ready for a night of nostalgia.

April is National Arab American Heritage Month, and what better way to honor it than to enjoy some of the best Arab American cuisine around.

On Saturday, April 19th, the Arab American National Museum is holding the "Yalla Eat!"

culinary walking tour where you'll get to sample food from grocery stores, restaurants, by shops and bakeries into East Dearborn.

With Easter this weekend, Canterbury Village is holding its "Eggstravaganza" when eggs will fall from the Easter bunnies owned helicopter and kids can go searching for them.

There's also going to be a petting zoo, lawn and games, magic shows, and so much more.

And on Easter Sunday, April 20th, the gospel meets the blues at Harpos for the "Concert of Colors" neighborhood series.

Detroit legends, Thornetta Davis, Rev.

Robert Jones and the Jones family, and "Nikki 'D' & The Sisters of Thunder" will all perform.

And of course there's so much more going on.

So stay tuned for a few more suggestions.

Have a great weekend.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) - [Will] That'll do it for this week's "One Detroit".

Thanks for watching.

Head to the "One Detroit" website for all the stories we're working on.

Follow us on social media and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

- [Narrator 1] From Delta faucets to bare paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco.

Serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Support also provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit PBS.

- [Narrator 2] DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit PBS.

Among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan focused giving, we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Learn more at DTEFoundation.com.

- [Narrator 1] Nissan Foundation and viewers like you.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (bright music)