APRIL IS JAZZ APPRECIATION MONTH

​Jazz Appreciation Month (fondly known as "JAM") was created right here at the National Museum of American History in 2002 to herald and celebrate the extraordinary heritage and history of jazz for the entire month of April.
JAM is intended to stimulate and encourage people of all ages to participate in jazz - to study the music, attend concerts, listen to jazz on radio and recordings, read books about jazz, and more.
This year, being the centennial of jazz icon Ella Fitzgerald, JAM 2017 will celebrate women in jazz. Beyond the traditional female vocalist, there are also many great composers, arrangers, orchestrators, and instrumentalists who have and continue to leave an indelible print on the history and future of jazz. 

Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) was one of the greatest American singers in any genre of music.  She had a warm and lovely voice, superb rhythmic sense, considerable versatility, a great range (three and a half octaves), meticulous intonation, and improvisatory gifts as a fine natural melodist.  With an unparalleled ability for mimicry and “scat” singing, Fitzgerald also produced melodic lines that put her in the category of great instrumental improvisers.  Known as a singer’s singer, she recorded some two thousand songs in her lifetime.
The Ella Fitzgerald Collection, including the Ella Fitzgerald Papers, was donated in 1996 to the National Museum of American History, which has led to a rich amount of resources available for jazz scholars, teachers, students and fans.