Handout
Other

Old Time Jazz Online

For Students 9th - 10th
Choose and listen to jazz music from the 1800s to today. Listen to artists such as Buck Johnson, Kid Ory, Woody Herman, Ella Fitzgerald, and many more.
Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Archive: New Orleans Jazz: Music!

For Students 9th - 10th
Dozens of audio clips of New Orleans-style jazz music from different time periods: 1920s and 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, and the year 2000.
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: A Brief History of Jazz!

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson plan that helps learners explore the roots of jazz music and some of the important jazz musicians in history.
Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Smithsonian Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
Smithsonian Jazz is home to several online exhibits, an interactive "Duke Ellington class," recordings, publications, oral histories, and similar resources.
Website
PBS

Pbs: Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns

For Students 9th - 10th
The companion website for a documentary film about jazz is home to a storehouse of resources and unique features about the historical, cultural, and artistic significance of jazz. With a timeline of key events in the history of jazz,...
Website
Other

A Passion for Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource is dedicated to all topics related to jazz music, such as jazz history and jazz theory.
Website
Other

Jazz Break

For Students 9th - 10th
Site dedicated to French and international jazz music. News, interviews, and reviews.
Website
Other

Uncovering the Best Music C Ds for Children

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Fred Koch, the music columnist for "Chicago Parents" magazine, points parents to the best music available on CDs for children. He segments recommendations into several categories--holiday music, orchestral music, jazz, music for older...
Online Course
Yale University

Yale University: Open Yale Courses: Listening to Music

For Students 9th - 10th
Twenty-three university-level lectures on how to listen to and how to appreciate Western music. Emphasis is on classical music but jazz, pop, the blues, and rock are also considered.
Graphic
National Geographic

National Geographic: Geostories: The Geography of Jazz

For Students 5th - 9th
Explore this Geostory as it traces the roots of jazz from its humble beginnings in the southern United States to becoming one of the most widely recognized musical styles in the world.
Website
Other

Visual Jazz Publications

For Students 9th - 10th
This company produces educational materials to help you succeed in jazz improvisation and sight reading. Of note on their site is "The Art of Improvisation," a free download that guides you through the improvisational process.
eBook
Stanford University

Comparison of Free Jazz to 20th Century Classical Music

For Students 9th - 10th
A very indepth examination of free jazz. Site contains music theory and specific illustrated examples.
Graphic
New York Times

New York Times: Listening to Jazz C Ds With Sonny Rollins

For Students 9th - 10th
Sonny Rollins, legendary tenor saxophonist, invites us to listen to selections from four of his favorite jazz performances. Hear snipets of these jazz classics from the 1930s and 1940s: "Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" (Fats...
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
Other

Down Beat: Cecil Taylor

For Students 9th - 10th
A detailed site containing information in the following sections: photos, biography, and archived news articles about avant-garde pianist/composer Cecil Taylor.
Handout
Other

Down Beat: Albert Ayler

For Students 9th - 10th
A detailed article containing the following sections: biography, discography, photos, and news articles about Albert Ayler.
Unit Plan
Other

Jazz Improvisation Primer

For Students 9th - 10th
An info-packed lesson on jazz improvisation and jazz history. Very useful for musicians aspiring to play in the jazz idiom.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Jazz and Math: The Beat Goes On

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson will require students to collect data through listening, counting and timing. They will use ratios, rates, and proportions to report data. They will also demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of rhythm and tempo in music.
Article
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Jazz and the African American Literary Tradition

For Students 9th - 10th
Article explores the influence of jazz on African American literature from the early history of jazz, noted jazz artists, the black-white tensions within jazz, to its literary influence after World War II.
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.
PPT
Other

Alien Travel Guide: Musical Styles

For Students 9th - 10th
A descriptive site on the many styles of music. There is information on everything from chamber music to rap.
Website
Other

Southern Music

For Students 9th - 10th
Read a simple history of southern music from the 1900s to 1990, complete with in-text links to information on popular musicians and events related to country music. Included are dates for upcoming country music events, as well as a small...
Website
PBS

Pbs: Sweet Old Song (The Music of Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong)

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about and listen to jazz, blues, folk, and country musician Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong and his roots in America's musical past. "Sweet Old Song" tells the story of the music and art partnership between Armstrong and his...
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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