Examining almost 50 years of Sesame Street’s inseparable bond with modern music

With hip hop, Sesame Street showed its penchant for the music of the here and now. But over the years, they’ve also put the roots of popular music on display – particularly with Jazz. Today, we look at Jazz the way people look at paintings in a museum. It’s got this hallowed, ultra-serious, art-for-art’s sake vibe, but back then, George Benson, Dizzy Gillespie, Cab Calloway and even Nina Simone(!) didn’t take themselves so seriously that appearing with the likes of Two-Headed Monster and the Count was out of the question. If anything, these artists’ appearances prove just how seriously the show’s merit and positive influence has been taken throughout its run. Let’s revisit some of the finest Jazz that Sesame Street has to offer.

Dizzy Gillespie (1984)

John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie’s name is among those synonymous with the genre. Nobody played like Dizzy – nobody even tried. The trumpet virtuoso made an appearance late in his storied career, playing a piece for the kids of Sesame Street.

George Benson (1985)

A child prodigy, Benson performed for audiences from the tiny age of 7. He would grow to be one of the most successful jazz artists of all time, with multiplatinum sales and world tours that are well-attended to this day. Oh, and did you know that Whitney Houston’s blockbuster hit “The Greatest Love of All” was originally sung by Benson in 1977? Here he is with Michael Masser (the song’s co-writer) performing it on Sesame Street in 1985.

The Marsalis Family

The Marsalis clan is the first family of Jazz. Their history musicians and civil rights activists dates  back to Ellis Marsalis Sr’s hotel on the Mississippi River. Due to the South’s segregation laws, the Marsalis hotel played host to artists like Cab Calloway, Etta James, Ray Charles and Dinah Washington, as well as activists like Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall. Those musical surroundings clearly stayed in the family, as Ellis Jr. and his children Branford, Delfeayo, Jason and Wynton have achieved international acclaim for their contributions to the genre. They also have a relentless love for Sesame Street in common, as Branford, Wynton and Delfeayo have all played on Sesame Street over the last 30 years.

Delfeayo Marsalis & Victor Atkins – Sesame Street theme (2010)

Bradford Marsalis (aka Forrest Wimbledon) & Hoots the Owl – “Listen and Bounce it Back”

Wynton Marsalis’ Monster Music Class (1998)

Nina Simone (1972)

I started writing a whole missive on Nina’s greatness, but if you’ve made it this far, you already know. The most powerful voice in Jazz history made its appearance on Sesame Street in 1972, singing “To be Young, Gifted and Black”, a song Simone hoped “would make black children around the world feel good about themselves forever”. Among Simone’s endless contributions to the civil rights’ movement, this one might be her most poignant.

Cab Calloway (1981)

Cab Calloway’s orchestra were seen as lock-step with Duke Ellington’s at New York’s legendary Cotton Club. Which is to say that, by the time he hit his seventies, he really had nothing left to prove – save perhaps to his grandkids. In the 80’s, Calloway made two appearances on Sesame Street, performing with the Count and on two separate occasions with the Two-headed monster.

“Hi-de Ho Man” (with Two-headed Monster)

“Jump Jive” (also with Two-headed Monster”

“I want to Count” (with the Count)

Diana Krall (2001)

Modern-day blockbuster jazz vocalist and pianist (and no those words are not an oxymoron) Diana Krall appeared alongside Elmo, Telly and a variety of other muppets I admit I do not recognize in 2001. “Everybody’s Song” is about the joy of singing along to a great song, and how much better it is when you include everone. Look, not for nothing, but I’ve watched a lot of Sesame Street video at this juncture, and when it comes to female musical guests, I think Elmo’s a bit handsy.