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Stanford University

Sulair: The Monterey Jazz Festival Collection

For Students 9th - 10th
This fabulous site describes the repository of the digitized collection of music from the Monterey Jazz Festival from 1958 which is housed on the Stanford University campus. On this site you can read about the performances, watch and...
Handout
National Women’s History Museum

National Women's History Museum: Hazel Scott

For Students 9th - 10th
Jazz pianist and singer Hazel Scott was not only the first African-American woman to host her own television show, but she also bravely stood up to the House Un-American Activities Committee and the Hollywood studio machine.
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American Movie Classics Company

The Film Site: The History of Film: The 1920's

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides information about the history of film.
Activity
PBS

Pbs: History Detectives: Investigations: Black Star Line [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
PBS had a series called "History Detectives." The video is no longer available for this episode, but this transcript of the video is. Read about the Black Star Line, envisioned by Marcus Garvey as a shipping company in which African...
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1890 1945: American Culture in the 1920s

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about jazz, flappers, and the Lost Generation.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Time for Jazz

For Students 8th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] A literary text about a girl named Lina who wanted to learn more about jazz music and its history. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Handout
Tennessee History For Kids

Tennessee History for Kids: Bessie Smith

For Students 3rd - 8th
Often known as the "Empress of the Blues," Bessie Smith influenced entire generations of blues, jazz, and rock musicians and was the highest-paid black entertainer of her time. This website will provide more information about Smith's...
Article
Other

Voice of America: American History: 1920s Were a Big Time for the Arts

For Students 9th - 10th
Voice of America offers an article about the arts in the Jazz Age including information about authors who wrote to protest what they saw happening in society. Read this article or listen to the narration of it.
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Other

Nlbpa: Negro Leagues Baseball History

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out about the history of early Negro baseball beginnings in the late 19th century before reading about the advent of the Negro National League in the 1920s. Baseball was the American pastime for everyone in the 1920s and 1930s.
Handout
PBS

Pbs: Biography of Dizzy Gillespie

For Students 9th - 10th
This PBS biography about trumpeter and jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie includes photos, multiple audio features, and links within the text to other famous musicians.
Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center: Musical Harlem

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
The Kennedy Center's ArtsEdge offers a great unit for introducing jazz to young scholars. Its use of Harlem as the "glue" which binds together elements such as jazz history and jazz terminology, makes it particularly effective for the...
Website
Other

Oculus Magazine: Free Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
A short description of the free jazz movement, and a timeline of important movements in jazz.
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Other

All About Jazz: Where to Begin?

For Students 9th - 10th
A guide to help a newcomer to jazz become familiar with the genre.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Modern Jazz Quartet (Mjq)

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ), an American musical ensemble noted for delicate percussion sonorities, innovations in jazz forms, and consistently high-performance standards sustained over a...
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Curated OER

The Red Hot Jazz Archive: A History of Jazz Before 1930

For Students 9th - 10th
A short essay that discusses the history of jazz before 1930. Includes links to a full archive of information and recordings related to jazz.
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Digital History

Digital History: The Roaring Twenties [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Read this comprehensive look at the Roaring Twenties, or Jazz Age. Read about Prohibition and its ramifications, women's gains, entertainment, and literature. Also find out about the resurgence of racial unrest and violence. A very good...
Website
Other

Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago

For Students 9th - 10th
Information about the Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Company, includes company history.
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Books and Movies

For Students 5th - 8th
A look at the literature and movies written and produced in the Jazz Age. See how the writers of the age reflected the consumer society and the emptiness of middle class. Movies appealed to mass culture and millions went to the movies...
Handout
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Comission

Explore Pa History: Billie Holiday

For Students 9th - 10th
Examine the life and historical contributions of renown jazz vocalist and Pennsylvania native, Billie Holiday in this concise biography.
Article
Scott Alexander

The Red Hot Jazz Archive: Origins of Big Band Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
Examines the progression from Ragtime and New Orleans jazz to Big Band.
Handout
Other

Unstrung History of American Guitar: The Guitar and the Birth of American Music

For Students 9th - 10th
The guitar in America began as an instrument used in popular music in the city and then branched out to minstrel shows, ragtime, and even jazz. Read about the history of this ubiquitous instrument and how it took on its American character.
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Old Values vs. New Values

For Students 9th - 10th
An overview of the clash between the old way of life of the Victorian Age and the new, the Jazz Age.
Lesson Plan
Yale University

Living Pictures Representing the History of Black Dance

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief history of black dance in America, includes dance pioneers in jazz dance, ballet, and modern dance.
Handout
Other

Down Beat: John Coltrane

For Students 9th - 10th
Biographical information, photos, and a discography of jazz great John Coltrane, whose work in the 1960s included excursions into free jazz.

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