Happy Jazz Appreciation Month: April
April every year is National Jazz Appreciation Month, a month to honor those great jazz musicians and jazz music in general out there. Everyone has a favorite! I am sharing my favorite 2025 list of the fifteen jazz artists of all time. . .
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A Brief History:
Origination: Jazz Appreciation Month is an annual event in April that celebrates the history and heritage of jazz music, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. It aims to increase public awareness of this American art form through activities like listening to jazz, attending concerts, and exploring related events. Launched in 2001, it encourages participation by promoting jazz music, history, and sharing experiences with others, helping to preserve and promote appreciation for jazz.
jazz-festival651-buddy-rich courtesy of Openverse
Top 15, Counting Down:
- Number 15: The Gadd Gang, featuring Steve Gadd
- Number 14: Lonnie Liston Smith
- Number 13: Clifford Marshall Van Buren
- Number 12: Spyro Gyro
- Number 11: The Crusaders
- Number 10: David Lanz, noted for playing with Paul Speer
- Number 9: Billy Cobham, who has played with Miles Davis
- Number 8: Joe Jackson’s Jumpin’ Jive, featuring Joe Jackson
- Number 7: The Buddy Rich Band, featuring Buddy Rich (I met him personally: concert in Oakbrook Center-early 1980s) who also played with Tommy Dorsey,
- Number 6: Billy Cobham (I met him personally twice: at Jazz Appreciation Center in the mid-1980’s & at PASIC)
- Number 5: Omar Hakim (I met him personally: PASIC)
- Number 4: Kenny G.
- Number3: Pat Metheny Group, featuring Pat Metheny
- Number 2: The Rippingtons, featuring Russ Freeman
- Number 1: Patrick O’Hearn, also known for being with Mark Isham, Missing Persons (band)
Kenny G courtesy of Openverse
A Few Facts:
I am sharing some important, and not so trivial info on jazz. . .
Types of Jazz:
- Early Jazz:
- Ragtime: An early form of jazz distinguished by its syncopated rhythms and a consistent, robust bass line.
- Classic Jazz or Dixieland: Initial jazz styles that emerged in New Orleans, known for their collective improvisation.
- Chicago Style: A variation of New Orleans jazz that places greater emphasis on improvisation.
- Modern Jazz:
- Swing: A significant influence on jazz during the 1930s and 1940s, recognized for its danceable rhythm and the incorporation of big bands.
- Bebop: A rapid and intricate style that developed in the 1940s, characterized by complex melodies and improvisation.
- Cool Jazz: A more laid-back and subtle style that surfaced in the late 1940s and 1950s.
- Hard Bop: A style influenced by blues that evolved from bebop in the 1950s.
- Modal Jazz: A genre that utilizes modes rather than conventional chord progressions, gaining popularity in the 1950s and 1960s.
- Free Jazz: An avant-garde genre that prioritizes collective improvisation and ignores traditional chord progressions.
- Jazz Fusion: A genre that merges jazz with rock, funk, and other musical styles.
- Jazz Related:
- Latin Jazz: Integrates Latin rhythms and instruments into jazz.
- Gypsy Jazz: A style heavily influenced by American swing, French musette, and Eastern European folk traditions.
- Smooth Jazz: A widely appreciated genre characterized by its easy-listening qualities and crossover jazz elements.
- Acid Jazz: A style that fuses jazz with funk, soul, and hip-hop.
- Nu Jazz: A modern genre that incorporates contemporary musical influences such as electronica and hip-hop.
Lisbon Jazz at river boarder courtesy of Openverse
The Present:
People still love their jazz. . .the sound, The listening, the playing and the players!
The Future:
The future definitely needs young recruits to take the stages being jazz musicians all across the world, and into the future. . .
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Cuban Jazz courtesy of Openverse
National Jazz Appreciation Month
