Now in its 20th 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 is recognizing "the historical legacy of pianist, singer, songwriter, storyteller, and civil rights activist Nina Simone," who is featured on the poster created this year by Duke Ellington School of the Arts sophomore visual arts student Naa Anyele Sowah-de Jesus.
At the end of the month, jazz fans worldwide also will celebrate the tenth annual International Jazz Day on Friday, 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.
Due to the COVID pandemic, the all-star concert associated with International Jazz Day will be held online again this year, but there also are dozens of local and regional events scheduled both online and in person for that day. A complete schedule of International Jazz Day events can be found on jazzday.com, and jazz fans and musicians also are invited to post their videos and audio recordings."
As for Jazz Appreciation Month, the Smithsonian offers a list of ways to celebrate, and has produced a poster (pictured) of Simone.
The 2021 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 19 years of JAM here.
