Every year, the Smithsonian Jazz Institute deems April as Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) and launches a national campaign to celebrate jazz. The motivating belief behind JAM is that “many people do not fully appreciate the joys, power, and glories of jazz.” Their major focus rests upon many levels of education. K-12 educators, especially music teachers, receive information about JAM and support in the form of lesson plans as well as event ideas. The Smithsonian partners with a variety of professional music organizations such as the Grammy Foundation, Music Educator’s National Conference, National Public Radio, and the Public Broadcasting System, in order to spread the word about jazz. They develop, support, and promote nationwide JAM events, ranging from simple celebrations to large-scale concerts. Smithsonian Jazz puts a good deal of energy into promoting jazz during April, and their efforts help keep the art form alive.

Most of the JAM promotion revolves around traditional jazz, but the Smithsonian group does a fair job including Latin Jazz into the mixture. Their literature encourages teachers, students, and fans to create a special “focus on the jazz legends whose birthdays fall in April” - a list that includes not only Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Charles Mingus, but also Mongo Santamaria and Tito Puente! Their collection of lesson plans includes one listening activity that focuses upon Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, and the use of Afro-Cuban rhythms. Smithsonian Jazz has recorded a good number of jazz artists reading promotional blurbs on jazz appreciation month, for use on radio and podcasts - this collection of artists includes both Paquito D’Rivera (recorded twice, reading in English and Spanish) and Arturo O’Farrill (reading in Spanish). Fortunately, the people at the Smithsonian are looking beyond the traditional image of jazz and including a healthy dose of Latin Jazz.

One of the wonderful principles that JAM promotes is that every move towards spreading jazz into the general public makes a difference. Invite friends over for a listening party at your house - if you’ve got a large jazz collection, this is a great opportunity to introduce friends to some new music. Share your love for jazz with your children. Playing classic jazz in the car or during dinner is a great conversation starter and a fun way to connect with your kids. Support live music by attending a concert with friends, family members, or co-workers; this always brings people together, creates memories, and spreads the jazz influence. Teachers, musicians, radio programmers, or public television stations can program special shows around jazz during April, reaching a wide audience. Regardless of whether you reach one person or thousands, bringing new audience members into jazz ensures the survival of the art form.

My primary mission behind the Latin Jazz Corner is the promotion of high quality Latin Jazz and the education of the general public, so I’d love to encourage activity around Latin Jazz during Jazz Appreciation Month. Over the next few weeks, I’ll focus some posts upon ideas to help spread the gospel of Latin Jazz. I’ve also got some new LJC features that I’ll debut soon to celebrate Latin Jazz and the musicians that make it happen. I’ll be using Twitter daily to spread some ideas about Latin Jazz as well as naming a Latin Jazz Track of the Day. If you have ideas for ways that LJC can help support Latin Jazz, please e-mail me! I’m hoping to do my part to keep Latin Jazz alive, especially during jazz appreciation month.

If you’d like to help LJC support Latin Jazz during jazz appreciation month, here’s some things that you can do:

*Support an LJC Spotlight Artist by purchasing their CD.

*Check out the Smithsonian Jazz recommendations for celebrating jazz appreciation month and apply their suggestions to Latin Jazz.

Let’s join together and keep Latin Jazz alive!

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