The first of five curricular units, about the advent of jazz and the role of African-Americans in creating it, will be available in February. The complete kit will be released in September.
Wynton Marsalis, artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, said that the project would bring a whole new audience to jazz, by linking jazz to history. "Jazz music gives us a different, more homegrown mythology, with heroes like Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington. Jazz provides a voice for some of our nation's most significant historic events."
Jazz at Lincoln Center provides year-round jazz programming at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall, with performance by its in-house ensembles, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and guest artists. The organization also produces broadcast events and educational programs.