No better time to give jazz a try than during Jazz Appreciation Month
Americans have decided to "assign" celebratory months to various cultural entities.
We mark February as Black History Month, and Women’s History Month takes place in March. Hispanic Heritage Month's span — September 15 to October 15 — actually straddles two distinct months, which makes sense once you know the opening date marks Independence Days for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua; and that Mexico and Chile celebrate their respective Independence Days on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18.
Other demarcated months and days take place, distinguished from federal and state holidays.
I am of two minds here. On the one hand, the fact that such designated recognitions have come into existence greatly saddens me. Cultural contributions go on year-round — and should be recognized accordingly.
Yet, because we as a country have a 200-plus year history deserving a poor grade, under-appreciating, stifling, disallowing and even attempting to destroy the very existence of said contributions, we have compensated for such misdeeds and — perhaps assuaged our guilt-ridden conscience in the process — by creating a set of concentrated, month-long cultural and historical “reparations.”
On the other hand, celebratory months — when at their best — can have an enormously positive impact; they potentially serve as great educators and knowledge-makers of us all. Special months expand and broaden our horizons; they teach tolerance, awareness and understanding; they underscore America’s unique place as not the only, but the ultimate, melting pot — something we should unilaterally embrace.
As Johnny Mercer wrote just about 80 years ago now, these specific months do “accentuate the positive.”
April is Jazz Appreciation Month. Those of us who toil within the jazz community celebrate this art form year-round. Gail Boyd’s pandemic-induced Alternate Venues For Jazz, which continues to thrive, owns a four-sentence — they’re one-word each — collective mantra that sums up the industry vibe nicely: “Eat. Sleep. Jazz. Repeat.”
That being said, I am greatly enjoying the measurable number of emails from all parts of the country housing localized information about what’s going on, what’s being produced during “JAM,” as we refer to it. The Smithsonian’s now 22-year-old initiative, initially an extremely under-the-radar, minimal endeavor has now bloomed — just as cherry blossoms do in the nation’s capital each year.
Coast-to-coast, jazz activity arrives in intensified fashion, with jazz organizations now making it a point to stuff their April schedules. Granted, I’m in the middle of it, but I would encourage people to simply go online, pick a random locale, attach Jazz Appreciation Month to it and see what pops.
Obviously, there are a greater number of goings-on taking place in larger municipalities, but I’m betting many less-populated spots, in one way or another, are part of the composite JAM picture.
The 2023 celebration is, interestingly enough, bookended by a pair of high-profile events, both visible to the world via webcast and available globally as audio-only programs. The month opened with the National Endowment for the Arts holding its Annual Jazz Masters Tribute Concert, featuring its recipients: violinist Regina Carter, saxophonist Kenny Garrett, drummer Louis Hayes and the late Sue Mingus, who oversaw and managed iconic bassist and her husband Charles Mingus’ musical contribution and legacy. The two-hour affair remains viewable on several sites including, of course, the NEA’s.
The month culminates with International Jazz Day, the UNESCO-sponsored global jazz day celebrated on April 30 in some 190 countries, representing every continent. The annual highlight — its global concert — will be broadcast nationally on PBS, premiering locally on KMOS-TV on April 28.
My suggestion for those of you who want to absorb some jazz: there’s no better time than to give this music a try, to show it some TLC than during Jazz Appreciation Month.
Jon W. Poses is executive director of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series. Reach him at jazznbsbl@socket.net.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: No better time to give jazz a try than during Jazz Appreciation Month
