JAZZ is all to do with grown-ups, isn't it? It's only to be played in dark bars hidden in low-key alleyways.

The music is God, and you must sit in respectful silence, except for those with the cred and courage to acknowledge a particularly magnificent cello riff with a hearty "Yeah!".

Well, that's old hat. Melbourne International Jazz Festival organisers have discovered a younger - much younger - crowd who want to express themselves.

At the festival's Jazz for Kids concerts at the BMW Edge theatre in Federation Square last year, there were packed houses.

The young mob got pretty wild. A seven-year-old boy from the audience strode onstage and jammed out some impromptu blues on the piano.

Program director Sophie Brous says improvisation is a universal language. What else can you say to that except "Yeah"!

Though the program for the April-May festival is yet to be finalised, Jazz for Kids will be back in a big way and in bigger venues. New to the 2010 program are closed sessions for children to learn jazz from the masters.

The Melbourne International Jazz Festival is on April 30-May 5. Details: melbournejazz.com

Other Jazz Festivals:

January: Coolart Jazz Festival, Coolart Homestead, Somers

February: Grampians Jazz Festival, Halls Gap

March: Inverloch Jazz Festival

May: Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival

November: Phillip Island Jazz Festival