What is the Smithsonian doing to celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month?
The noted producer-musician Quincy Jones helped the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History announce the Jazz Appreciation Month initiative, at a press conference in July 2001. Branford Marsalis helped kick off the first JAM, in April 2002. The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the museum’s acclaimed 18-member big band, performed a weekend of concerts. There were lectures, educational offerings, and an exhibition. Also, in honor of Jazz Appreciation Month, the museum will continue to collaborate with other national institutions in a range of educational and outreach activities as it has in the past. To assist teachers, librarians, and others in celebrating JAM, the Museum has published a series of posters and the brochure How to Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month.
