Now in its 18th year, Jazz Appreciation Month (or JAM) was created "to draw greater public attention to the extraordinary heritage and history of jazz and its importance as an American cultural heritage. In addition, JAM is intended to stimulate the current jazz scene 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 support institutional jazz programs."
This year, JAM "celebrates jazz beyond borders by looking at the dynamic ways jazz can unite people across the culture and geography," tying in to an upcoming tour of cities in North America, Europe and Asia by the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, with the intent of using "the power of music as a springboard into important discussions around diversity, identity, diplomacy, and innovation."
The featured artist for 2019 is Nat "King" Cole, who is cited as "an innovative artist, world influencer, and dynamic performer" who "pushed racial boundaries that sought to prevent him from success" and was the first African-American to host his own television series. You can learn more about Cole at the Smithsonian's website.
At the end of the month, jazz fans worldwide also will celebrate the eighth annual International Jazz Day on Tuesday, April 30. Sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Jazz Day is designed to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe.
The "global host city" for 2019 in Melbourne, Australia, which will serve as the site of an all-star International Jazz Day concert with artistic direction by pianist Herbie Hancock and Australian trumpeter James Morrison and featuring musicians from all around the world. There also will be hundreds of related events taking place in cities all over the world (though, alas, there are none scheduled here in St. Louis). Some of these performances will be live-streamed from the International Jazz Day website, though details are TBA.
In the meantime, if you'd like to plan your own festivities, the Smithsonian offers a list of "ways to celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month," and has produced a poster (pictured) depicting seven musicians - drummer Gene Krupa, trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, and Miles Davis, and trombonists J.J. Johnson, Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey - who "pushed boundaries of innovation, race, politics, and music."
The final part of a three-year series featuring a triptych of artwork by LeRoy Neiman, the 2019 posters were distributed for free to schools, libraries, music and jazz educators, music merchants and manufacturers, radio stations, arts presenters, and U.S. embassies worldwide, and are available to the general public as a downloadable PDF. You also can see and download commemorative posters from the previous 17 years of JAM here.
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