Ballard High School jazz students had the chance to learn from a pair of internationally acclaimed musicians, as well as some most likely soon-to-be internationally acclaimed musicians, when the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz brought its peer-to-peer jazz education program to the school April 29.

Saxophonist Antonio Hart, vocalist Lisa Henry and Thelonious Monk, Jr. brought six of the best jazz musicians from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts to five Seattle high schools this week to work side by side with students.

Ballard High School jazz band teacher Michael James said his students were definitely excited for the visit. They didn't know all the details about the institute, but Thelonious Monk is a big name in jazz history, he said.

J.B. Dyas, vice president of education and curriculum development at the institute, said the idea is for six Los Angeles High School musicians to teach next to their Ballard counterparts the same way Thelonious Monk learned by sitting next to Dizzy Gillespie.

"Kids learn so much more from each other than they ever do from us," Dyas said.

He said jazz instructors will often complain that their students picked something up from the visiting students that the instructors had been trying to teach them all semester.

James said it is always good for students to see their peers perform, especially when those peers have dedicated most of their lives to musical training.

In addition, the Ballard jazz students were able to get the perspective of a professional performing artist in the form of Antonio Hart, who plays with great jazz musicians all the time, James said.

Before working with the jazz students, the visitors from the Thelonious Monk Institute put on a performance for the general student population.

Dyas said jazz is important to American history and culture, and there is a need to develop jazz audiences for the future.

When students hear their peers say there is more to music than rock and hip hop, they listen, Dyas said.

James said his favorite part of the day was seeing the enjoyment non-jazz students got out of the performance.

"I think the other students just got excited about jazz, which is very cool," he said.

Dyas said the Los Angeles high school musicians are passionate about music and are using that to do something with their lives. Their performances can inspire other students to follow their own passion, he said.

"Find your passion early in life and be persistent," he said. "That's the message."