The Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund recently announced its latest round of funding recipients, which meant good news for a small gang of talking musical instruments.

Trapeze Animation’s Razzberry Jazzberry Jam received a production grant, coming after Bell development money for the interactive component of the animated musical education program.

Razzberry, which has been picked up by CBC and Discovery Kids in Latin America, focuses on a group of musical instruments that live together in the House of Jam, which bears a striking resemblance to New Orleans jazz mecca Preservation Hall. The instruments play together to teach kids the basic principles of music such as rhythm and melody, while incorporating new instruments with each new episode.

The show is currently in production for animation and voice-over for its initial 13 x 30 run, with interactive production slated to begin in the next two months. It is expected to air on the Ceeb in early 2009.

The program’s companion site, jointhejam.com, will allow participants to get more involved with the characters, using USB instruments to explore the show and musical education in greater depth.

Razzberry received a huge boost from two major musical players. Yamaha is on board to help spark kids’ interest in instruments, and will provide tips to get them playing on the actual equipment. Meanwhile, the Royal Conservatory of Music will provide age-appropriate lessons for the show’s content.

Trapeze president Mike Kasprow, the show’s exec producer and creator, was also behind the Gemini Award-winning animated series Doodlez. While flipping channels, he saw the opportunity for a show focused on music education.

‘I looked around and saw that there weren’t any programs on TV that were strictly about music,’ he says. ‘There were shows like the Doodlebops that dealt with music or used music, but weren’t directly about music.’

Kasprow also sees great benefit in the synergies between the animation house and its parent company, interactive agency Trapeze Media, which allow for the development of kids programming in both the traditional and digital spaces all under one roof.

‘We have control and can build a brand identity alongside the content, so we can get eyeballs to the central site for the show, instead of getting someone else to do all the work in addition to the educational content,’ he says. ‘We don’t mind the effort, because we can work on both elements simultaneously.’

Other titles that made the cut in this month’s funding announcement for interactive production include Best Ed, Breakout!, D’Est en Ouest, Forgetful Not Forgotten, La Cache, My Life Me, Passchendaele, Turbo Dogs, The Listener, The Adrenaline Project and Toc Toc Doc.