The Traditional Jazz Educators Network - Traditional Jazz Curriculum Project

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Traditional Jazz Curriculum Project

In partnership with the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park (NOJNHP), the Smithsonian Institution, and the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE), TJEN has produced in prototype form the first-ever curriculum package for the teaching of traditional jazz styles to high school and college students. This project will fulfill Goal #11 in the TJEN Action Plan. Funding to date has been provided by the National Park Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, a private donor, the Raynier Foundation and Institute, the American Federation of Jazz Societies, the National Park Service, and the Statesmen of Jazz.

The Traditional Jazz Curriculum Kit, intended for national distribution to high schools and colleges upon completion, will enable music teachers to teach young people how to perform traditional jazz (i.e., New Orleans styles and their outgrowths). The Kit contains lesson plans; music arrangements, transcriptions and lead sheets; a sampler CD; an instructional double-DVD; a resources guide; a jazz style guide; and a poster.

While scholastic jazz education programs are widespread, there currently exists no formalized curriculum for the teaching of New Orleans-derived styles. Relatively few young people are carrying forward the New Orleans music tradition, especially outside of New Orleans. The Traditional Jazz Curriculum Project will acquaint students nationwide with the music of Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Sidney Bechet, Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, Bunk Johnson, George Lewis, Lu Watters, Turk Murphy, Eddie Condon, and later exponents of traditional styles, including the top traditional jazz artists of today. The goal of the Traditional Jazz Curriculum Project is the national revitalization of traditional jazz styles through the increased participation of young people.

The curriculum package has been designed to augment existing scholastic music programs, and supports the National Standards for Music Education. Development of the prototype was carried out by a team comprising:

David Robinson Jr., founder of TJEN
Gayle Hazelwood, Superintendent, NOJNHP
Dr. John Edward Hasse, Curator of American Music, Smithsonian Institution
Greg Carroll, Director of Education, IAJE

with input from other experts in the field.

The Traditional Jazz Educators Network is an organization of teachers of traditional jazz formed in 1997 for the purpose of promoting and facilitating the teaching of traditional jazz history and performance techniques to young people.

The New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park is a unit of the National Park System created by Congress in 1994 for the purpose of preserving and interpreting the origins of jazz in New Orleans.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is a national center for research established in 1846, dedicated to public education and scholarship in the hopes of inspiring a broader understanding of our nation and its many people. Visit the Smithsonian's jazz programs on the internet.

The International Association for Jazz Education was a large, globally active organization existing from 1968-2008, dedicated to assuring the continued worldwide growth and development of jazz education.