ABSTRACT
A few years ago, Ted Aoki was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Western Ontario. The university also awarded a doctorate to Oscar Peterson around the same time. My first thought was, How fitting! My mind made a lazy connection between these two men, even though they are from different walks of life. As an educator, Ted was a technical virtuoso. He did more than hold the line of a melody; he was a master of improvisation. Each one of his pedagogical gestures was played simply and was always understated, but just one of his subtle shifts in key could change everything. When I was his student, Ted once said to me, “Your work is so hot. Try to make it more cool.” Ted always played his curriculum theory cool—never, ever hot.
