When the Cab Calloway School of the Arts expanded from being a public middle school to adding high school classes, Marty Lassman was the Vocal Music Teacher for both the school's middle and high schools. In 1997, he was invited to bring a few high school singers to be Bob McGrath's backup singers for a performance at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington, Delaware. Bob McGrath was key to Sesame Street and wrote several songs including Sing, The People in Your Neighborhood, and the Sesame Street Theme Song. The singers enjoyed that performing experience so much that Marty created an after-school jazz choir named the JazzChords of Calloway.

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The JazzChords quickly became the top-performing ensemble in the school. They performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, in Disneyworld, at the Hard Rock Cafe in NYC, for a Justin Beiber event, and on several occasions at the request of Delaware's Governor and US Senators.

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In 2015, the Music School of Delaware asked Marty to create jazz choirs as part of their school's offerings. The adult choir, Small Wonder Jazz Singers, was created. That name was chosen because, at one time, Delaware's motto was 'Delaware: Small Wonder'. When Marty retired from teaching in 2019, he continued to direct and grow that choir at the Music School of Delaware.

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In June 2024, the choir became independent of the Music School of Delaware. Our new name is Keynote Jazz Singers because the words 'key' and 'note' are musical terms, and because we aspire to be the best jazz/pop choir in the state. (This has already been attained since we are the only jazz/pop choir in Delaware.)

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We have already in one year's time performed at several Assisted Living Centers, at the Rockwood Holiday Open House, at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Mill Creek, and at the New Castle County Ice Cream Festival.

 

We continue to search for performance opportunities because we offer such a unique musical experience to audiences. We come prepared for almost any size event since we bring our own keyboard. microphones, and PA system. When budgets allow, we perform with a bass player, percussionist, and either a sax or trumpet player in addition to the keyboard player. At other times, we can perform with just the keyboard as accompaniment.