International Jazz Day: Celebrate!

Yes, today, April 30, is the big finale to the celebration of jazz we've all been having all month long: It's International Jazz Day. Special jazz events are planned around the world, from Albania to Zimbabwe. You can see the list of many of them on the International Jazz Day site. The Jazz Journalists Association itself is co-hosting events in six cities today.

JJA to Celebrate Jazz Day with Louis Armstrong House Museum

The Louis Armstrong House Museum and the Jazz Journalists Association will celebrate International Jazz Day,  April 30, 2013,  with a presentation of never-before-heard Armstrong recordings, a trumpet fanfare in honor of Louis,  and a soul food reception.


The event, Louis Armstrong at Freedomland: Never Before Heard Recordings of an American Icon, a Listening Session & Lecture, begins at 2pm and is free and open to the public. It will be held at the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center located  at 10001 Northern Boulevard in  Corona, Queens.  Reservations. can be made by calling the Louis Armstrong House Museum at 718.478.8274.

UPDATE 4/25: This event will also be livestreamed

International Jazz Day: Live webcast from Istanbul

On April 30th, 2013, International Jazz Day, Istanbul, Turkey will play host to a Global Concert, featuring Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter and many other jazz luminaries

The concert will be webcast live, online, at 9pm (Istanbul) / 7pm (London) / 2pm (New York) / 4am (Sydney - next day).  You can watch it here.

Thank you, Jazz Musicians

Thank a jazz musician today for creating beauty and joy all year round. There would be no Jazz Appreciation Month, no Jazz Day --no jazz-- without their dedicated work. No musician in the vicinity? Then how about going to see some live jazz this weekend? Can't do that? Then visit your favorite musician's website or Facebook page and leave a message.

JazzApril Begins: No Joke

JazzApril starts NOW: April is Jazz Appreciation Month (so named by the Smithsonian Institution), culminating on the 30th with International Jazz Day (a project of UNESCO, organized by the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz) — and both those initiatives are endorsed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. So the Jazz Journalists Association has launched a major media campaign called JazzApril in support of local jazz scenes taking advantage of JAM and IJD to raise awareness of the jazz resources all around us, and today posted bios + photos of 25 JJA “Jazz Heroes,” nominated by grassroots activists in 25 cities which will have parties to celebrate them, ask officials to proclaim their endorsements, and generally make noise to show that jazz is everywhere, in April and all year long.

YOU can participate in JazzApril

Whoever you are, wherever in the world you live, there's a way for you  to help spread the word about jazz during Jazz Appreciation Month (April) and Jazz Day (April 30) -- we're bundling both these celebrations together and calling it "JazzApril."

Whatever you want to call it, though, there's no doubt:
APRIL IS JAZZ MONTH.

Check the pages on this site for specific suggestions about what you can do to support JazzApril if you are a
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