April is Jazz Month

In case you haven’t noticed, dropping factoids about Gene Krupa, Eddie Condon and Frankie Trumbauer into general conversation doesn’t excite people the way they used to. As the years go by and the number of people who do not fully appreciate the joys, power and glories of jazz increases, those of us in the know need to become more active about sharing the music with others. We need to make Nat Hentoff proud. Apparently, we can do this officially starting April 1, as next month is Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM).

An inititive begun by the Behring Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, JAM aims to “draw greater public attention to the extraordinary heritage and history of jazz.” The Berhing Center folks want us to stimulate the current jazz scene by attending jazz concerts, listening to jazz records and radio, reading books on jazz and to do it all with people who don’t know Mingus from Monk.

If you’re not the creative sort and need help finding a special way to celebrate jazz in April, check out the Smithsonian-prepared 112 Ways to Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month. My favorite from the list: “Listen to a radio station that plays genuine jazz.” Why, what could they mean by “genuine jazz”?

To find JAM events being held in your area, visit www.jazzsmithsonian.org/jam/jam_calendar.asp. More information on JAM can be found at www.jazzsmithsonian.org/jam/jam_start.asp.

Originally Published March 29, 2003