April is Jazz Appreciation Month and AFT, one of the national co-sponsors of the observance, has developed a content-rich curriculum that includes the arts and music.

Rich resources from the AFT include ”The Neglected Muse: Why Music Is an Essential Liberal Art“ and an interview with jazz great Wynton Marsalis from AFT’s quartrly journal “American Educator” and an “American Teacher” magazine feature on the importance of instruction in the arts. View that article here.

AFT explains that Jazz Appreciation Month is celebrated in April for two reasons: First, April is near the end of the school year student jazz ensembles culminate year-long preparations and play at their best.

Second, April is also the birth month of a number of leading figures in jazz, including: Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Bessie Smith, Johnny Dodds, Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus, Lionel Hampton, Gerry Mulligan, Shorty Rogers, Tito Puente, and Herbie Hancock.

Jazz Appreciation Month is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History with the support of the U.S. Congress, numerous federal agencies and departments, non-governmental organizations, including AFT, foundations and broadcasting networks.