Celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month !
Jazz Appreciation Month (fondly known as “JAM”) was created by John Hasse at the Smithsonian museum in 2001 to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary heritage and history of jazz for the entire month of April. JAM is intended to stimulate and encourage people of all ages to participate in jazz – to study the music, attend concerts, listen to jazz on radio and recordings, read books about jazz, and more. Some of the wonderful ways that teachers can promote JAM celebrations are:
- Read your class a jazz poem
- Show your students jazz-related artwork or have them create their own artwork inspired by jazz
- Go to Today in Jazz History and find an anniversary that you could use with your students.
- Have your students write a skit or play based on the life of a great jazz musician and organize a student production of that play
- Create a lesson or activity on one of the jazz legends whose birthday falls in April: Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Dodds, Lionel Hampton, Charles Mingus, Gerry Mulligan, Shorty Rogers, Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, Freddie Hubbard, Randy Weston, or Herbie Hancock.
- Search for lesson plans and jazz teaching resources through Jazz in America
- Join the Jazz Educators Network or the National Association for Music Education
- Connect with a local jazz society or organization and see if they offer any jazz education programs. Some of the engaging ways that students can enjoy and promote the spirit of JAM are:
- Organize a jam session with your friends or through your music teacher
- Learn a new piece of music by one of your favorite jazz musicians
- Attend a jazz concert at a local concert hall, performing arts organization, church, school, college, or jazz society
- Watch a jazz documentary, film, or performance
- Follow your favorite musicians or groups on social media
- Read Gene Seymour’s overview of the music, Jazz: The Great American Art
- Read Langston Hughes’s First Book of Jazz
- Read a biography about one of your favorite jazz musicians
- Ask your teacher to organize an in-class or after school jazz appreciation activity
- Connect with a local jazz society or organization and see if they offer any jazz education programs. Remember to enjoy and embrace the appreciation for the musical art form of jazz all year round !
