Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month during April!

The Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society is preparing to celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month during April with several special events.

Jazz Appreciation Month was designated by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in 2001 and the U.S. Congress passed legislation in 2003 that declared April as Jazz Appreciation Month.

“The intention of the celebration is to draw public attention to the glories of jazz as both a historical and living treasure,” says Katrina Lehr-McKinney, executive coordinator of the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society. “This is the fifth year we’ve put together special events for JAM.”

Throughout April, events around the United States will play a part in heightening the awareness of America’s only indigenous art form - jazz music.

Jazz Appreciation Month events in the Sioux Falls community include (insights from Katrina Lehr-McKinney in italic):

• Jazz film Sunday series at Monk’s House of Ale Repute. All films start at 7pm.
• April 5: Calle 54
• April 12: One Night with Blue Note
• April 19: Bird
• April 26: A Great Day in Harlem

This jazz film series is a new venture for us and we are very excited that Monk’s is willing to expand their usual film offerings to focus on jazz music! The films selected are a wonderful mix of documentary, live performance footage, and drama.

• The All City Middle School Jazz Ensemble/Augustana Northlanders Jazz Band concert April 7^th at 7:30pm at Kresge Recital Hall on the Augustana College Campus. Guest clinician/composer Doug Beach will also perform. The All City Ensemble will premier a piece by Mr. Beach entitled “Sioux Falls Fusion,” commissioned for the All City Middle School Jazz Ensemble.

The All City Jazz Ensemble program has been in existence since 2002. The program gives students an opportunity to learn about jazz improvisation and performance at an in-depth level. Two scholarships are awarded each year to students in this group as well, so they can go on to study jazz privately or at Augie’s band camp.

• Jazz 101 – For Adults: JazzFest 2009 Artist Preview April 14^th at CJ Callaway’s Event Center at 7:30pm
  

Jazz 101 is a great event for anyone interested in learning more about the jazz and blues musicians that are presented at JazzFest or on our concert series. Dr. Paul Schilf does a great job keeping the evening a fun yet educational experience for those with all levels of background on the music.

• Downtown Jazz Crawl on April 25^th
• Touch of Europe – Jazzed from 8pm to midnight
• Paramount Studio – Terry Brooks from 9-11pm
• Latitude 44 – Brian Hanagan Group from 9pm to close
• Monk’s House of Ale Repute – Dan Peterson Trio from 7-10pm
• A Taste of the Big Apple – John Kelly & Co. from 5-7pm, West Coast Jazz Trio from 7-9pm
• Michelle’s Coffee – Geoff Gunderson from 7-9pm
• Wild Sage Grille – Jim McKinney Trio from 6-9pm

Last year, we had crawlers from Brookings, Iowa, and several surrounding communities take part in the evening. Making an evening out and visiting all the Jazz Crawl locations is a great time! You can have appetizers and drinks at one location, dinner at another, dessert at a third, and so on! It’s truly a great event that benefits both downtown businesses and local jazz musicians!

• Barnes & Noble Book Fair Fundraiser for the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society April 26^th. Special in-store performance by Dakota Jazz Collective at 3pm. A percentage of most purchases will be donated to the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society!

We hope that our fans will come down to Barnes & Noble on the 26^th to help us raise funding for our Educational Fund, which provides scholarships and education events to students in Sioux Falls and throughout South Dakota. You’ll also want to hang out and listen to Dakota Jazz Collective’s set at 3PM!

For more information about Jazz Appreciation Month events, visit the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society’s website, www.sfjb.org.