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Industrial High School Band, 1930-1931. Band director John T. “Fess” Whatley at far right.

Bandleader John T. "Fess" Whatley stands at far left in the center row. Many of Whatley's students would go on to professional careers as jazz musicians.

In this short excerpt, Frank Adams recalls, from his years as a school band director, one parent’s resourceful innovation in the face of limited resources. Recorded by Burgin Mathews on September 9, 2009, in Frank Adams’s office at the Alabama Jazz…