MENC Collaborates with Smithsonian Jazz on Plans for 2009 Jazz Appreciation Month

MENC has participated in and supported Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), an effort based at the Smithsonian Institution, since its inception in 2002. Each year, the month of April sees concerts and other activities that celebrate jazz in our nation. On December 2, 2008, the education subcommittee of JAM met at MENC headquarters in the National Center for Music Educaiton to plan ways to draw public attention to the contributions that Jazz makes to the school music curriculum. Plans are under way for:

• A publicly-distributed multimedia presentation on "Why Jazz?"
• A campaign to get information to principals and music teachers alike about activities that they can leverage JAM activities in April.
• A coordinated effort to simplify access to jazz materials for teachers nationwide.

Updates about JAM will be posted on the MENC Web site Jazz Section.

Counterclockwise (from left): Kevin Struthers, Kennedy Center; Sarah Andrew Wilson, Wolf Trap; Luvenia George, author-educator; Mike Blakeslee, MENC; Carol Sue Fromboluti, consultant

--Elizabeth Lasko, December 8, 2008. © MENC: The National Association for Music Education