The sweet sounds of jazz will fill the spring air throughout the month of April. The Jazz Arts Group of Columbus (JAG) will help celebrate the 10th anniversary of Jazz Appreciation Month locally with a host of activities all month long. Each April, Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) shines the spotlight on the extraordinary history of jazz and its importance in American culture. Through concerts, lectures, films, and other programs, JAM encourages people of all ages to attend concerts, listen to jazz on radio and recordings, read books about jazz, study the music, and support institutional jazz programs.

Helping to kick off the celebration is 24-year-old New Orleans singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist and all-around musical powerhouse Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews and Orleans Avenue, returning in support of their Grammy-nominated release, Backatown. The Jazz Academy will also present a series of "Cool School" workshops in conjunction with the "Birth of the Cool" concert event, including a month-long Guide-by-Cell tour inspired by the cool jazz movement and featuring the work of artists Man Ray, Romare Bearden, Stephen Longstreet and more. The Columbus Jazz Orchestra will salute the important musical figures that got their start at the Apollo including female jazz greats like Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Gladys Knight, and others in “A Night at the Apollo.” And closing out the month will be the multi-media tribute "Birth of the Cool" – Jazz Arts Group's recreation of the iconic 1949-50 Miles Davis recording sessions and a retrospective of mid-century art, design, and music in partnership with Denny Griffith and the Columbus College of Art and Design.

Jazz Arts Group will also hold a month-long voting campaign to complete the playlist of the "CJO by Request" performance May 20-21. The finale of the Columbus Jazz Orchestra 2010-11 season will allow the audience to program the entire playlist, including a last chance online campaign to choose one of three additional songs with their dollars. With a minimum contribution of $10, voters can help secure a spot in the playlist for their requests, and help support the operations of the Jazz Arts Group. The request with the most dollars at the end of the month will be declared the winner, and each person that votes will be entered into a contest to win a signed score of the final request!

Jazz Arts Group's activities celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month:

■Jazz Academy Guide-by-Cell tour "Birth of the Cool" at the Columbus Museum of Art from April 1 – 30, during museum hours.
■Jazz Academy workshop "Cool School: Jazz and Poetry" led by Williams Evans at the Thurber House on April 2, 4:00 PM and at the Columbus Museum of Art on April 16, 4:00 PM.
■Inside Track series concert featuring Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue with Stretch Lefty at the Capitol Theatre – Riffe Center on Sunday, April 3, 7:30 PM.
■PBJ and Jazz series concert featuring Joe Hunter at the Lincoln Theatre ballroom on Saturday, April 9, 11:00 AM.
■Columbus Jazz Orchestra's "A Night at the Apollo" featuring Marva Hicks at the Southern Theatre from April 13 – 17.
■Jazz Academy workshop "Cool School: The Birth of the Cool" led by Mark Flugge at the Jazz Academy on April 16, 2:00 PM.
■Inside Track series concert "Birth of the Cool" featuring Mark Flugge at the Lincoln Theatre on Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30, 8:00 PM.

For ticket and registration information on Jazz Arts Group performances and Jazz Academy workshops, please visit http://www.jazzartsgroup.org.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History will mark the 10th annual Jazz Appreciation Month in April with a month-long celebration of jazz featuring performances, talks, tours and family-oriented events. The museum launched JAM in 2001 as an annual event that pays tribute to jazz both as a historic and living American art form. It has since grown to include celebrations in all 50 states and 40 other countries. This year's 10th anniversary programming will examine the legacies of women in jazz and will kick off with a special donation ceremony related to the nation's first, integrated, female big band, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, founded in 1937 at the Piney Woods School, in Mississippi. The month-long jazz celebration will also highlight Mary Lou Williams, an innovative jazz pianist, composer and arranger who performed with Duke Ellington, among others.

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About the Jazz Arts Group:

The Jazz Arts Group of Columbus (JAG) is America's oldest not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to producing, performing and promoting jazz. JAG is the third largest performing arts organization in Columbus and consists of four focus areas: the Columbus Jazz Orchestra (CJO), one of the world's finest professional jazz orchestras; the Jazz Academy, JAG's extensive instructional programs educating both students and adults about jazz and American music; Inside Track, a new jazz and blues performance series produced at the historic Lincoln Theatre; and Affiliate Musicians, a program providing employment opportunities for professional musicians.