Here a a few of my favorite links.  Check back often.  I hope to continuously update this section.  Please email me if you have any suggestions for additions or if any of the posted links turn out to be dead ends.     ---Joe Gill

The Smithsonian Institution and the Grammy Foundation, along with a dozen other national and international organizations, has designated April, 2002 as the first ever Jazz Appreciation Month. Jazz is among America's greatest cultural achievements and exports to the world.  John Edward Hasse, Curator of American Music at the Smithsonian's Nation Museum of American History recently wrote in the March issue of the Jazz Education Journal:

"Jazz Appreciation Month seeks to raise public awareness of jazz as one of America's - and the world's - cultural treasures and to nourish an appetites for the music. It will provide teachers with added reason, opportunity, and ideas for teaching their students about this art form. It will encourage people to take jazz more seriously as a vital part of America's cultural patrimony, as well as to enjoy the music's verve, pulse, and power. JAM will stimulate people to attend concerts, listen to jazz on radio, purchase jazz recordings, read books about jazz, and support jazz programs."

The Paris High School Jazz Band has performed it's Spring Concert in the month of April in 28 of the past 30 years.  Let the celebration continue!

The Ken Burns documentary series, JAZZ, made its debut in January, 2001 on most PBS television stations. The 19 hour, 10 episode series was an absolute gas!  If you missed the telecast there are a variety of audio-visual products available to suit the taste of every jazz fan.  The complete video series is available in both VHS and DVD formats from PBS and Warner Home Video.  Verve and Columbia Legacy (click here for the Legacy Flash version) have released a twenty-track single CD that highlights some of the best music from the series, as well as a five-CD box set companion and 23 individual artist discs!  Also available is a 512 page hardcover book entitled Ken Burns Jazz: A History of America's Music.  These pieces of history would be great additions to any jazz aficionado's library!

For more information about the series, go to the film's web site where you can access transcripts from the numerous interviews featured in the film.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Online is the homepage of the world's largest not-for-profit arts organization committed to promoting the appreciation and understanding of jazz through performance, education, and preservation. The site includes biographies of guest performers, essays on the jazz genre, information about the Essentially Ellington competition, and a calendar of their musical, lecture, and film presentations.  Jazz at Lincoln Center is located in New York City and is currently constructing a new building - Frederick R. Rose Hall - the first-ever education, performance, and broadcast facility exclusively devoted to Jazz. The center's artistic director is Wynton Marsalis.  Click here to read an article about Marsalis that was published in the August/September, 2002 issue of Teacher Magazine.

The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Wynton Marsalis is scheduled to perform at the U of I's Krannert Center in the Foellinger Great Hall on Thursday, April 3, 2002 at 8 p.m.  This ensemble is the leading Big Band in the world today.  You won't want to miss this concert.  Tickets are in the thirty dollar range.  More information is available by clicking here.

For those of us who live a thousand miles away from New York City, there is a way to enjoy  Jazz at Lincoln Center's jazz offerings.  A weekly radio program, Jazz from Lincoln Center, hosted by Ed Bradley is broadcast on WCBU-FM Peoria at 9 p.m. Sundays (89.9).  This Peabody Award-winning radio series features jazz performances at Lincoln Center with musician interviews.  It can be heard in RealAudio on demand.  Click on the Listen to JFLC link. 

Recently I had the opportunity to participate in a jazz workshop held at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, MO.  Located in the legendary 18th and Vine jazz district, the museum is entertaining as well as educational for young and old alike.  Exhibits on Ellington, Armstrong, Parker and Fitzgerald each contain their own audio listening station, personal artifacts and rare photographs.  An interactive display introduces the visitor to the instrumental sections of the jazz band and allows you to experiment with the musical components of jazz.  There is a resource room with hundreds of recordings, a working, smoke-free jazz club on site and the "Wee-Bop" Room for children under age 8.  The museum is great fun and while you're there be sure to visit the The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum located in the same complex. 

The Red Hot Jazz Archive is a place to study and enjoy the music of the early "Jazzmen".  It presents pictures, essays, discographies, and biographies of jazz musicians and their bands from the very beginning of jazz in 1895 until about 1930. The site is an experiment in using multimedia technology.

Jamey Aebersold is the definitive source for jazz improvisation study materials.  Jazz books, music, play-a-long CDs and recordings of all the legendary jazz artists are available on his web site.  Be sure to request his free 86 page catalog or call 1-800-456-1388.

Telarc has long been noted for its "state of the art" recordings of contemporary artists and ensembles.  Their web site offers easy navigation to all of their jazz, blues and classical offerings as well as free audio downloads and extensive information on their jazz artists.  Special thanks to Michael Bishop, Telarc recording engineer for sending us several promotional CDs.  These jazz recordings are available to all jazz band members and their parents.  Please contact Mr. Gill during rehearsal or via email if you wish to check out any of these wonderful recordings.  Also, be sure to read about Michael Bishop's special effects work at Telarc.

On the left is arguably the single most significant jazz portrait taken in the 20th century. No one believed anyone could gather this many talents and temperments so very early on a summer morning but it all happened like magic, and the world was immediately smitten when this picture was published in Esquire magazine January 1959. This was Art Kane's first assignment as a professional photographer.  Fifty-seven of the most influencial jazz artists of the day gathered on 126th Street in Harlem.  To learn more about the musicians in this historic photo, go to the Jazz History @ Harlem site for an interactive lesson.

Check out Cheap-CDs.com for on-line purchase of compact disks. The service provides a very friendly search engine for all of their musical offerings and their prices are very competitive.  Also, be sure to visit our Jazz Listening List page for more links to online recordings.

Another great source for Big Band Jazz recordings is Sierra Music.  The company's main focus is the publication of written musical arrangements so their CD offerings are rather small (about 30 recordings) but include some of the best and often the most difficult to find recordings from the past forty years.  This is a good source for Stan Kenton's music.  Check them out online and phone in an order by calling 1-800-255-6551.

The J. W. Pepper Music Company of Eden Prairie, Minnesota has an extensive online version of their printed music catalog.  The site includes a search engine, audio clips, first page score samples and online ordering.  I find it a  good resource for "hard to locate" music.

For free online interactive ear training, visit Good Ear.  The website includes sections for beginners and lessons on intervals, chords, scales, cadences and jazz chords.

Trombonists will want to visit the web site of jazz trombonist Christoper Smith. Hints on improvisation, jazz techniques and plunger work can be accessed on his F.A.Q. page.

Looking for a comprehensive fingering chart for the altissimo register on your sax?  Check out the Woodwind Fingering Guide website.  Included are the basic, trill and alternate fingerings for all of the traditional woodwinds as well as fingerings for the less common instruments - the tin whistle, Irish Uillean pipes, the Shakuhachi flute and even the sarrusophone!

Want to listen to some good jazz radio online?  Go to WBGO 88.3FM out of Newark, New Jersey.  You'll need Real Player to enjoy the 24 hour jazz programing.

DownBeat.com gives visitors an online taste of its magazine offerings.  News, bios, CD reviews and music downloads are plentiful on this site.

The Jazz Resource Site provides links to artists, festivals and educational centers.

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Last Update:  April 13, 2004