Jazz Appreciation Month

03/01/2017

The countdown to Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) has begun! Have you seen the 2017 JAM Poster from Smithsonian Jazz?

One month until Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) 2017! Are you ready?

As the founder of JAM, here at the National Museum of American History we are thrilled to unveil this year's JAM poster and theme: Women in Jazz! JAM 2017 invites all jazz fans, musicians, students, teachers, and enthusiasts to find ways celebrate the indelible print women have had on the history of jazz.

Learn more about the poster and the 2017 Limited Release Free Poster Giveaway right here: http://s.si.edu/JazzPosters

06/26/2015

Did you know that Pittsburgh is a musical place of invention?

Check out this video that explores the sounds of Pittsburgh jazz and the story of how the city was key in the music's growth and evolution.

Want to explore other places of invention? Search and add your own here: http://invention.si.edu/places-invention/map

Presented by The Senator John Heinz History Center and MCG Jazz as part of the Smithsonian's PLACES OF INVENTION Affiliates Project, made possible thanks to ...

06/23/2015

Happy Birthday, Milt Hinton!

06/09/2015

Happy Birthday, Les Paul!

Today in 1915: Les Paul - guitarist, inventor, and innovator - is born in Wisconsin.

On the blog, we count down five of our most intriguing guitars in his honor, from jazz to blues to rock n roll: http://bit.ly/guitarhist

Happy 100th Birthday, Les Paul!June 9, 2015, is an important day for the guitar and music world: It is the centennial of the birth of electric guitar icon and innovator, Les Paul, who was born in 1915 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. An American jazz, blues, and country guitarist and songwriter, Les Paul is …

05/31/2015

NPR's Arun Rath had been dying to interview the renowned jazz drummer for years. When he got the chance, it turned out Heath had some questions for him, as well.

05/21/2015

Today in 1904: Pianist and vocalist Fats Waller, an innovator of jazz piano, is born in NYC.

Learn more about Fats here: http://ow.ly/NccxI

In October 1922, Waller made his recording debut as a soloist for Okeh with Muscle Shoals Blues and Binningham Blues. He began a series of recordings the same year as accompanist for several blues singers including Sara Martin, Alberta Hunter, and Maude Mills. In 1923, a collaboration with Clarence…

05/14/2015

Today in Jazz History: Soprano saxophonist and clarinetist Sidney Bechet is born in New Orleans in 1897.

Learn more about Bechet: http://ow.ly/MEuYZ

In 1924 and 1925 Bechet made a group of recordings with Armstrong which were variously issued under the names Clarence Williams's Blue Five and the Red Onion Jazz Babies. These constitute one of the most important bodies of New Orleans jazz, and were influential with musicians of the time. (On one o…

05/08/2015

Today in Jazz History: Gene Krupa and His Orchestra record "Let Me Off Uptown" in 1941.

Did you know that Krupa's drums live at Smithsonian Jazz at the National Museum of American History? Read about Krupa and his drumset here: http://ow.ly/MEo4f

Rising to fame with the Benny Goodman band, Gene Krupa was the first superstar drummer