Field Guide: A Field Guide to Clubs
Everything you need to know before you go to an arts event in a club setting
Jazz

Cuesheet: Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead
Be among the first to meet the next generation of jazz greats—this year’s graduating class of the international jazz residency Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead, a two-week program for emerging jazz musicians.
Jazz, Music

Cuesheet: Jason Moran & Bandwagon: Performance/Demo
Jason Moran, the new Artistic Advisor for Jazz at the Kennedy Center, performs with his acclaimed group The Bandwagon. In this high-energy performance and demonstration program, Moran explores improvisation, technique, and technological experimentation and guides students in what to listen for in jazz.
Jazz, Music

Cuesheet: Nnenna Freelon
Nnenna Freelon shows us what it takes to be a modern day jazz singer. In this performance/demonstration, she explores rhythm, melody, tempo, and improvisation.
Jazz, Music

Lesson: Rhythm & Improv: Jazz & Poetry
The musicality of words is an important element of poetry, and many poets carefully consider the sound of the words on the page. Students will listen to and analyze jazz music
Jazz, Poetry

KC Connection: Another Night by Kyle Abraham
Choreographer Kyle Abraham compares his choreography to gumbo, a Southern soup. Like a stew that includes many separate ingredients, his dances are a mixture of modern, ballet, social dance, and hip-hop.
Choreographers, Dance, Dance Legends, Jazz

Cuesheet: Danish Dance Theater: Love Songs
At this working rehearsal, the company presents Love Songs, an original work that explores human emotions and relationships, set to reinterpreted jazz classics originally sung by Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughn.
Jazz, Dance, Ballet

Lesson: Jazz Music, Dance, and Poetry
In this lesson, students will be introduced to jazz dance and jazz music. They will explore basic jazz dance movements, and will create a cinquain poem inspired by jazz music.
Dance, Jazz, Music, Poetry

Arts Quotes: Louis Armstrong
"What we play is life."
Music Legends, Jazz, Music

Arts Quotes: Benny Green
"A jazz musician is a juggler who uses harmonies instead of oranges."
Jazz, Music, Music Legends

Arts Quotes: Miles Davis
"Do not fear mistakes, there are none."
Jazz, Music, Music Legends

Arts Days: August 08, 1907: They Call Him “King”
What aspect of jazz did the great Benny Carter not master? This 1996 Kennedy Center Honoree played alto sax, clarinet, and trumpet. He composed and arranged songs, some of which, like “When Lights are Low,” are now considered jazz standards. And he was an in-demand bandleader for much of his career.

Largely self-taught, Carter began playing in Harlem nightspots in his teens. At 21, he made his first recordings with Charlie Johnson’s Orchestra, and in the 1930s, he lived in and toured Europe, spreading the gospel of this uniquely American music form.

This jazz legend shaped the big-band jazz sound more than just about any other musician before or since. As jazz great Miles Davis once said, "Everyone should listen to Benny Carter. He's a whole musical education."
America, Music, Music Legends, Jazz

Arts Days: August 09, 1930: The First Boop-Boop-Bee-Doop
Cartoonist Grim Natwick had no idea the little brunette who emerged from under his pen would captivate millions with her squeaky Brooklyn-accented voice and “va va voom” persona.

Betty Boop debuted in the cartoon Dizzy Dishes. She was originally drawn as half French poodle, half human (her famous hoop earrings, for example, were poodle ears in the beginning). But within a couple of years, the poodle parts were ditched, and Betty became the first animated sex symbol.

Modeled on a jazz-era flapper, she sported a large head on a small body, lending her a childlike quality. However, her developed figure and flirty gestures were decidedly those of a grown-up woman.
Cartoons, Comics, & Animation, Popular Culture, Jazz, Movies & Movie Stars

Arts Days: November 05, 1956: A First of Its Kind
When this 15-minute program debuted on this day in 1956, Cole became the first African American television show host. As a jazz singer and pianist with a large following of avid fans, Cole was excited to host the program, which featured performances by some of the biggest names in pop music.

Racist attitudes held by some, however, prevented the show from reaching success. You see, advertising agencies were unable to convince enough clients to buy commercial time during the show. When the program was cancelled, a bitterly disappointed Cole remarked that “Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.”
Innovators & Pioneers, Television, Jazz

Arts Days: March 14, 1933: On Q
Quincy Jones, a 2001 KC Honoree, wears an extraordinary number of hats in musical genres from jazz to hip-hop. As a composer, he’s created music for movies like The Color Purple and The Pawnbroker, and TV shows like The Cosby Show. As an arranger, he’s shaped songs for artists ranging from Peggy Lee to Sarah Vaughan. As a record producer—someone who oversees a recording from start to finish—he enjoyed unparalleled success working on Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Off the Wall, which have collectively sold tens of millions of copies. Playing his trumpet, Jones toured the world in the 1950s with Dizzy Gillespie and other jazz greats. And as a conductor, he led Frank Sinatra’s band and others in live concerts and recordings.
Music Legends, Music, Hip Hop, Jazz

Arts Days: January 16, 1938: All Jazzed Up
Though jazz music originated in the early 1900s, it took several decades until it was commonly recognized as a serious musical form.

While there’s no way of putting an exact date on when this happened, jazz music did make history on this day in 1938. The prominent New York City music venue Carnegie Hall hosted its first jazz concert, performed by the Benny Goodman Orchestra. Guest artists included Count Basie and members of the Basie and Duke Ellington orchestras.

Initially, Goodman was hesitant to play at Carnegie Hall fearing mainstream audiences were not ready to accept jazz music. He was happy to be proven wrong by the 2,760 sold-out seats.
Art Venues, Innovators & Pioneers, Music Legends, Jazz

Arts Days: January 07, 1924: George’s Big Break
At 15, American composer and pianist George Gershwin dropped out of school to pursue his passion for music. He got a job in New York City playing the piano for a popular music publisher, and immediately began writing his own music. He had his first national hit, "Swanee," at age 20, but it was another five years until he composed "Rhapsody in Blue."

Written in less than three weeks, the composition's soaring clarinet solo launched Gershwin’s career and began a new era in American music. He went on to write some of America's most popular and important original music, often for Broadway or the concert hall, including the musical scores for Funny Face, An American in Paris, and Porgy and Bess.
Composers, Innovators & Pioneers, Music Legends, Jazz

Video Series: Five(ish) Minute Dance Lesson: Swing
Get on the dance floor with dance instructors Nina and Bobby! Learn East Coast Swing, Charleston, and Lindy Hop in three instructional videos.
Dance, Music, Jazz, Popular Culture

Website: Jazz in Time
Take part in this in-depth exploration of one of America's richest musical forms, the jazz movement, which is investigated through interactive web content and music clips.
Jazz, History, Music, Music Legends

Audio Series: Swing! Swing! Swing!
Louis Armstrong said, “If you can’t feel Swing, you’ll never know it.” Well after hearing this pod-cast series, we’re sure you’ll feel it; we’re sure that you will swing. There was a time when Swing was the most popular dance music in America and the music is so important that it’s still alive today in dance halls, clubs and weddings all over the country. This four-part series explores and demonstrates Swing music in many of its forms (not just Swing Jazz, but Western Swing and Gypsy Swing) and shows you where the music came from and where it lives in America today. Our podcasts are narrated by Connaitre Miller of the award-winning group Afro-Blue at Howard University and features the voices of today’s major stars of Swing Music various styles.
Music, Jazz, Music Legends, Musical Instruments

Article: Hear With Your Eyes: Jazz and Art
Romare Bearden makes music with his art. Learn how to “hear” a painting
Blues, Jazz, Music, Music Legends, Visual Arts

Lesson: Musical Harlem
Students will learn to identify musical styles and musicians associated with Harlem, focusing on jazz.
Geography, History, Jazz, Music, America

Arts Quotes: Duke Ellington
"Playing "bop" is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing."
Jazz, Music, Music Legends, Composers, America

Arts Quotes: Duke Ellington
"Music is my mistress, and she plays second fiddle to no one."
Jazz, Music, Music Legends, Composers, America

Arts Days: August 21, 1906: The Count of Jazz
As a jazz bandleader, pianist, and composer, Count Basie had few peers. He learned to play piano as a youngster, making up music to go with the early silent films of the day.

Working in Harlem and Kansas City, Missouri, Basie absorbed the regional styles of jazz into his own signature “jumping” sound, which referred to his spare piano, pulsating rhythm section, and riffs—a series of notes that are repeated throughout a song—created by his horn players. His band was less formal than others, demonstrating a new lightness and solo originality.

This 1981 Kennedy Center Honoree made jazz history night after night in concert halls and clubs around the world.
America, Composers, Jazz, Music, Music Legends