Jazz Appreciation Month Lesson Plan

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Jazz Appreciation Month was established to encourage musicians, schools, colleges, libraries, concert halls, museums, radio and television stations, and other organizations to develop programs to explore, perpetuate, and honor jazz as a national and world treasure.

Jazz Month Lesson Plan

Credit: MY HERO

April is Jazz Appreciation Month.

Does your school have a Jazz Band or students interested in jazz? Have them host a jazz performance for the school, community, or class. Film your event and share it with MY HERO during the month of April, Jazz Appreciation month.

Examples of Jazz from the MY HERO Library: Audio

Billie's Bounce (Charlie Parker)

By: Charlie Parker (1945 Atlantic Music Corp)

This is a rendition of Charlie Parker's acclaimed jazz tune 'Billie's Bounce'. As a musician, I highly look up to Charlie Parker. Nicknamed 'Bird'.

Musician Hero: George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue

George Gershwin, born in Brooklyn, New York on September 26, 1898, was the second son of Russian immigrants.

Wild Flower (Wayne Shorter)

By: Wayne Shorter (Blue Note 1965)

Wayne Shorter's 'Wild Flower' is rather unique in the sense that it is one of the few jazz waltzes. In 3/4 time, Wayne's harmonic sensibilities really flourish throughout the chordal changes of the tune. Its original album 'Speak No Evil' was a monumental

Daahoud (Clifford Brown)

By: Mainstream Records (1973)

We wanted to memorialize this wonderful composition by Clifford Brown as originally recorded by the Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet. We reworked it as a slightly more modern piece and extended the improvisations.

Satin Doll

Oscar Peterson performing in Montreal in 2004. One of his last performances.This performance was after his stroke and he's still rocking with only his right hand fully functional. Wow. this would be a great sound for someone with (2) functional hands!

Musician Hero: Bix Beiderbecke - Copenhagen

Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical approach and purity of tone, with such clarity of sound that one contemporary famously described it like "shooting bullets at a bell".

Hero's Hero: Duke Ellington by Wynton Marsalis

By: The My Hero Project

"Any time that something is difficult for me, I think about how Duke Ellington continued productivity under all kinds of relentless pressure"

Films | Watch short videos featuring the power of jazz music

Herb Alpert Medley (4:16)

Produced by:Wendy Milette

Herb Alpert performs at the Ann and Jerry Moss Theater at the opening of the Herb Alpert Educational Village in Santa Monica.

Black/White & All That Jazz (9:50)

By: Betty Bailey and Carol Lynde

Jazz musician Herb Jeffries lived as a man of color in segregated times. At age 96, he talks about his Irish and Sicilian heritage and how music transcends race.

Reunited:A Short Film about Music and the Human Spirit (4:47)

Max Thurlow, Nick Trumble

In this uplifting short film, directed by Max Thurlow and Nick Trumble, Noisey meets 93 year old jazz pianist Edward Hardy.

laying For Change: Peace Through Music (11:31)

Producer: Mark Johnson & Jonathan Walls

Playing for Change | Peace through Music

Dexter Gordon Documentary - "More Than You Know" (6:13)

Produced by:Leonard Malone

Gordon's sound was characterized as being "large" and spacious and he had a tendency to play behind the beat.

Discussion Questions

How is Jazz different from traditional music? How do jazz musicians create the unique collaborations that become their compositions?

What is it about the improvisational nature of jazz composition that allows the listener to have a truly individual experience?

Why do you think jazz has endured for nearly a century? What is its power...and its beauty?

Do you compose music? Do you make art? Have you ever choreographed a dance? Can you relate to the different jazz musicians and their individual creativity and the mastery of their chosen instruments?

Outcomes

Students can listen to the unique nature of jazz music in order to understand the role improvisation and creativity plays in composing a piece of jazz music.

Watching jazz performances in short films allows the viewer to see the unparalleled mastery of their art form that a musician has to have in order to undertake a jazz composition

Reading stories about the lives of these talented unique musicians reveals the personalities behind this significant category of modern music. In addition, the stories reveal the power of music and the heroic qualities necessary to compose these unique compositions

Looking at visual artists' interpretations of jazz music and the performers gives us an additional window into the soul of jazz.

Stories | Discover the personalities behind the music that has shaped our times

Duke Ellington

By: Wynton Marsalis

From My Hero: Extraordinary People on the Heroes Who Inspire Them: Pulitzer Prize-winning musician Wynton Marsalis writes about his hero, Duke Ellington

Billie Holiday

By: Leroux from Villeurbanne

"No two people on earth are alike, and it's got to be that way in music or it isn't music." Billie Holiday

Wynton Marsalis

By: The My Hero Project

Wynton Marsalis is dedicated to passing on the benefits of music education to young people.

Scott Joplin

By: Adam from Center Valley

Scott Joplin composed operatic and ragtime music and influenced early jazz.

Bessie Smith

By: Student from Virginia

Bessie Smith, 'Empress of the Blues,' left a rich legacy in jazz, blues and rock and roll with her unparalleled artistry and emotion.

Louis (Satchmo) Armstrong

By: Yusuke from San Diego

Louis (Satchmo) Armstrong was one of the most successful and influential jazz musicians in history. According to Wynton Marsalis, "You can't play a note on the horn that Louis hasn't already played…"

Benjamin (Benny) David Goodman

By: Lori from Warsaw, Ohio

Benjamin (Benny) David Goodman, the King of Swing, played the clarinet and helped launch the careers of many major names in jazz while breaking racial barriers.

Jakarta's International Javajazz Festival

By: Cheryl from Jakarta

Javajazz Festival was born from a dream. A dream to bring jazz musicians from all around the world into one single spot - the Jakarta Convention Center

Listen & Read Along

Ella Fitzgerald

By: Julie from Selden

Ella Fitzgerald was the First Lady of Song and used her success to help people of all races, cultures and beliefs.

Art | Jazz as Expressed by Visual Artists

Ella Fitzgerald

By: Carl Van Vechten

Aka First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz, and Lady Ella

Etta James

By: Eddy Crosby

King of jazz

By: Mititelu Maxim

An homage to Louis Armstrong

Learning Outcomes: Choose multi-media from this lesson plan to use in your classroom. Students will develop a deeper appreciation of jazz's cultural importance after viewing the media and considering the questions in the discussion guide.

Laura Nietzer