MICK CARLON is a 27-year veteran English teacher and columnist for Jazz Times who believes that jazz music is America’s greatest contribution to world culture. Once a week in his classroom, Carlon incorporates jazz by using his favorite tunes to explore American culture of the 20th century. His first novel, "Riding on Duke's Train," about Duke Ellington, has been endorsed by many of the great jazz critics, including Nat Hentoff, Brian Morton, and Jack Bradley.