Dad would put the speakers out on the front porch and people would drive up and down the street to hear me play. Fred Rogers' vivid memories of childhood may help explain why his songs are on target in addressing even the strongest feelings and fears of children. There are many fears we tend to forget. Neighborhood songs are repeated frequently from program to program because Rogers wants children to know them well and be able to draw on them when they are needed. Costa, a nationally recognized classical jazz pianist who held two Master of Fine Arts degrees from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, provided the elegant, upbeat and inventive arrangements that helped to give Rogers' songs a life of their own beyond the television set.
Jazz has a timeless quality and allows for improvisation.
That improvisation is part of the language of collaboration between Fred Rogers and John Costa. Together they created a topnotch musical team. Fred doesn't write simple tunes, and the jazz arrangements I do are very sophisticated, too. Michael Moricz, a pianist and composer, carries on the legacy of John Costa as the series' current musical director with the support of bassist Carl McVicker and percussionist Bobby Rawsthorne, who have been with the Neighborhood since its inception. Music is such an integral part of Fred Rogers' work that he has even structured each episode like a musical composition.