Jazz Appreciation Month (fondly known as "JAM") was created at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in 2001 to recognize 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.
THE JAZZ AMBASSADORS
In the 1950's and '60's,tThe Cold War and Civil Rights movement collided when America asked Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman to travel as cultural ambassadors and combat racially-charged Soviet propaganda through their music.
Resources
Listen to The
Real Ambassadors The Jazz Musical by Louis Armstrong about his time as a
real Jazz Ambassador.
Louis Armstrong and Dave Brubeck wrote The Real Ambassadors, a musical in 1960, about their experiences on the Diplomatic Circuit as Jazz Ambassadors.
NPR Interview with Hugo Berkley, Filmmaker of The Jazz Ambassadors, 2018 documentary.
Smithsonian Jazz Appreciation Site.