Mick Carlon is a 30-year veteran English/journalism teacher at both the high and middle school levels. A lifelong jazz fan, he regularly plays jazz in his classroom and has turned hundreds of students into jazz fans. He says, "I feel that if young people are simply exposed to the music and stories of American artists such as Duke Ellington, then they will make a friend for life.” He is the author of the middle-grade novels Riding on Duke's Train and Travels with Louis and a frequent contributor to Jazz Times.