Phase 1

The first classroom jam was called “The Ballad Of Jane And Pablo”. It’s a song about a lonely teenage girl, Jane Lopez, who moves from Mexico to Chicago, speaks no English, and gets swept off her feet by a slightly older Pablo Cantino, who then abandons her directly after getting her pregnant. The verses conclude with Jane facing very difficult life-or-death decisions. Meanwhile, the final chorus about Pablo gives listeners the crucial pieces to construct critical interpretations:

All the girls said, “!Que sueno!”
All the girls said, “He so fine!”
All the girls said
All the girls said
All the girls said

Classroom Jams creator & founder Marc Furigay performed “The Ballad Of Jane And Pablo” one day in 1998 to 4 consecutive English classes at Roberto Clemente High School in Chicago, IL. The goal was to provide students a meaningful example of an abstract concept they were supposed to master. With “The Ballad Of Jane And Pablo”, Marc hoped his students would demonstrate a better understanding of irony than they had the previous day with a more difficult text.

The song was an instant hit in every class: moods improved, natural performers opened up, the kids were excited and on task. After the song was performed (often accompanied by enthusiastic, impromptu percussion), students ripped right in to provocative, insightful – and uncommonly frank – discussions of meaningful issues: teenage sex and pregnancy, foreign languages and loneliness, poetry and irony, romance and high-school dances. The debut jam – and the discussions that followed – also yielded the best writing from the most students Marc had seen to that date. The song had struck a chord: kids listened, discussed, and composed responses that suggested they learned a tremendous amount and were far more mature and capable than most of their behavior might indicate. Marc has been writing and performing classroom jams in raw, live acoustic form ever since.

Phase 2

At the end of the 2003-2004 school year, Marc traded in full-time teaching to build Classroom Jams the company. Phase 2 saw Marc assembling a home recording studio and composing, rehearsing and recording the raw material for the Classroom Jams debut album The Shakespeare Sessions. While working on the music, Marc also authored and revised material for The Shakespeare Sessions Teacher’s Guide, designed the company website, and outlined a vision for a global educational entertainment company. Once the musical material matured, Marc worked with several recording studios to find the right combination of gear and engineers to produce the final debut product. Key players in the musical production include Steve Ursino of Windber, PA, Jack Campitelli at Fishtank Audio, Jeff Lane at Chicago Recording Studios, and Trevor Sadler at Mastermind Productions. Finally, Marc recruited graphic designer Ryan Moeck to execute the artwork and packaging for the album.

Phase 3

On November 13, 2007, Marc launched Classroom Jams as an educational entertainment company specializing in global social vision and rock 'n' roll soul. Marc gives special thanks to Christopher Merrill Web Design for top-shelf help throughout the development process.