April is Jazz Appreciation Month


Featured Image: Nils Schirmer on Unsplash

April was designated as Jazz Appreciation Month starting in 2001 by John Edward Hasse, the curator of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution. Jazz Appreciation Month is an extension of Jazz Awareness Month, introduced by the Louisiana Jazz Federation in New Orleans in 1980. Schools, libraries, community organizations and other groups currently offer free educational programs and events to promote jazz awareness. Trumpeter Miles Davis is featured on the poster for Jazz Appreciation Month in 2023. He was a versatile musician associated with the bebop, cool jazz, and experimental jazz movements.


Jazz is regarded as the first unique style of music to emerge in America. It began in the late 1890s and early 1900s in the African American communities of New Orleans, though it was also influenced by Caribbean, Latin and European cultures. Ragtime, a popular style of music during that time, the blues, and the marches played by brass bands gave rise to a new type of music. Jazz soon became popular in other cities such as Chicago, New York City, and Kansas City. Radio broadcasts and early recordings allowed the music to reach even more listeners.


Jazz has helped to promote cultural and racial diversity and equality. The popularity of jazz during the 1920s and 1930s brought people of various ethnic backgrounds together, and many jazz musicians became familiar and respected figures in America and overseas. Jazz embodies the American ideals of freedom of expression, creativity, liberation, and diversity. It is associated with the Civil Rights Movement. Jazz has influenced and been influenced by other musical forms, such as rock, hip-hop, blues, and classical music. It has influenced fashion and literary movements as well.


Over the past 100 years, many different styles of jazz have emerged. Traditional, Dixieland, Swing, Big Band, bebop, and cool jazz were part of the first half of the 20th century. During the second half, musicians influenced by rock and rhythm and blues began adding electric piano, organ, guitar and bass guitar to their arrangements. Latin jazz, bossa nova, modal jazz, jazz fusion, avant-garde, modern, and freeform jazz were some of the subgenres to emerge. Jazz continues to evolve, as contemporary musicians compose and play nu jazz, electronica, and acid jazz.


Jazz is popular in many countries. Jazz Appreciation Month culminates with International Jazz Day on April 30. There will be many global live performances to mark the occasion. Jazz fans can check their local news outlets or look online to find events.


There are many ways to observe Jazz Appreciation Month. Revisit your favorite jazz album or jazz standards to evoke mellow moods and treasured memories. Explore new jazz releases or music by artists who seem interesting. Visit Night is Alive’s website for suggestions on new CDs. Read an autobiography by or biography about a famous jazz musician, or watch a movie or documentary about jazz. As the weather gets warmer, consider attending a live concert or jazz festival, or visit a nightclub.


Author: Patricia Martin

What are jazz songs usually about?

To answer this question, we must think about why we listen to music in the first place. Why do we pop in earbuds and jam to our favorite tune during our commute to work? Why do we play music at parties, weddings, funerals, and sports games? Why do we sing along to the radio?

Well, it’s because music is a powerful experience that has been a part of our shared human culture since prehistoric times. As you know, when you listen to a particularly satisfying song, your body undergoes a visceral reaction—you become giddy, you feel chills, or maybe you’re even moved to tears. There’s something magical and transcendent about how music can tap into a deeper part of ourselves. 

Jazz, like all music, expresses ideas and emotions that may be difficult to articulate through a normal conversation. We also must remember that jazz is a fundamentally diverse and wide-ranging genre, borrowing elements from other styles, like swing, bebop, blues, and hard bop, so there are not exactly strict distinctions when it comes to defining the subject material of jazz. Nonetheless, there are some recurring themes in jazz music that are best explained with examples. Check out the song list below to learn more about the themes of jazz!

The WJ3 All Stars – I’ve Never Been in Love Before

Probably the most obvious theme that first comes to mind when you think of jazz is love. With hits like John Coltrane’s “My One And Only Love,” Johnny Hartman’s “How Sweet It Is to Be in Love” and Nina Simone’s “I Love My Baby,” jazz definitely pays homage to the romantic passion that overcomes us all from time to time. 

Published in 1950, “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” is a great example of a jazz love song. It first appeared as a duet in the musical Guys and Dolls, sung by the main characters Sky Masterson and Sister Sarah Brown when they spontaneously realized that they had fallen in love. Now all at once it’s you, it’s you evermore… 

Since that first showing, the song has become a jazz standard, recorded by many artists including Shirley Bassey, Bing Crosby, and Doris Day. And most recently, the classic has been recorded by the WJ3 All Stars, offering a heartwarming, modern rendition that’ll sweep you off your feet on a romantic journey through the ages. 

Billie Holiday – Good Morning Heartache 

Unfortunately, lots of jazz songs about love means that there will also be lots of songs about heartbreak. It is utterly devastating when that all-consuming love turns sour and what better way to lament than through music, like Billie Holiday’s 1946 song, “Good Morning Heartache”  I’ve got those Monday blues straight through Sunday blues… 

Duke Ellington – Black, Brown, and Beige

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM2N8_H4me0

Since jazz was conceived by a fusion of traditional African music, brought to the country by enslaved peoples, and “New World” ideas of creative expression found in the cultural melting pot of Caribbean, French and Spanish cultures in New Orleans, it comes as no surprise that the genre often celebrates diversity. 

This extended jazz work, written in 1943, is composed of three movements that Ellington said offer, “a parallel to the history of the Negro in America.” The piece begins with a work song and spirituals, which represent the religious songs that black enslaved people sung, then it moves into more West Indian influences, a celebration of Emancipation and the conception of the blues. Lastly, the piece depicts the African Americans of the 1920s, 30s and World War II. 

The Lorca Hart Trio – Introspection on the 401

Jazz songs don’t always have lyrics and instrumental tunes can provide a listener with a wordless moment of introspection. As we’ve discussed, music often stirs up emotions and thoughts, thus providing an excellent backdrop to do some thinking. This new song from The Lorca Hart Trio creates just the right ambience to do some self-reflection as you drive down the road to work.  

If you’re interested in listening to more jazz songs, and uncovering more themes and meanings, I would recommend our albums, Lovers & Love Songs, and Colors of Jazz, both of which are available in our store and on all major music platforms! 

This post was written by Blog Editor, Jacqueline Knirnschild.

A Day in the Life of a Famous Jazz Drummer

When he left behind his hometown of Los Angeles in 1997 and moved to New York City, Willie Jones III knew it wouldn’t be easy to make his living as a jazz musician. Now, over ten years later, he has become one of the jazz capital’s best drummers.

The New York Times published an article on November 10, 2019 featuring Jones and exploring what a typical Sunday looks like for the busy jazz musician.

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