History Explorer Results (6)
Related Books (15)
Resource Type(s):
Interactives & Media, Worksheets
Though not as well-known as figures such as Duke Ellington or Ella Fitzgerald, John Levy made significant contributions to jazz music, both as a bassist and as the first black personal manager in jazz. In this episode of History Explorer, Sarah Coffee interviews Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orche
Resource Type(s):
Interactives & Media, Lessons & Activities
This kit of guided listening activities and streaming music offers an engaging way of introducing students to jazz. It traces Louis Armstrong's career as a musician, from influences in African rhythms and New Orleans marches through performances in the 1960's and 70's. It could also be used as an
Resource Type(s):
Reference Materials, Lessons & Activities
Children and adults can enjoy exploring the story behind one of America’s pioneers of jazz music, Duke Ellington, through children's literature, museum collections, and hands-on activities. Focused around Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, a picture book biography of t
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Born in New Orleans in 1901, jazz musician Louis Armstrong (d. 1971)was known for his distinctive trumpet-playing and vocal style. He often improvised jazz riffs using his voice rather than his instrument, “scatting” notes and melodies rather than singing actual words. Armstrong transformed t
Resource Type(s):
Reference Materials, Primary Sources, Interactives & Media
Through brief biographies of the composers, primary source documents, and media clips, students will learn about the collaboration of these two great jazz composers and the process involved in writing and recording two of the most celebrated jazz pieces. This website examines two jazz standa
Resource Type(s):
Reference Materials
For a good part of the twentieth century, Harlem’s Apollo Theater was one of the most prestigious, important, and well-known venues for black entertainers. In this post, students will learn about the Schiffman family, who ran the Apollo from 1934 to 1976. In 1946, Frank Schiffman
Reading Level:
Pre-School,Early Elementary School
Three little bears receive musical instruments for their birthday and learn to play them.
Reading Level:
Late Elementary School
A personal account of the Jazz Age, the Harlem Renaissance, the Savoy Ballroom, and Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, through the eyes of Norman Miller.
Reading Level:
High School
Traces the history of the blues from its African roots through the 90s, with a focus on key artists ranging from Louis Armstrong to Muddy Waters and B.B. King.
Reading Level:
Early Elementary School
A fly, who speaks jazz, seeks directions to town from animals and insects who respond to him with their sounds. The fly uses these sounds to jazz up his band’s music.
Author:
Carole Boston Weatherford
Reading Level:
Early Elementary School,Late Elementary School
An overview of the evolution of jazz and jazz styles told in poetry. Each page includes a four-line poem and full-page illustration.