DALLAS/March 22, 2016 — The Dallas Jazz Appreciation Month consortium, better known as D’JAM, announced that its annual community celebration of jazz will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Saturday, April 9, 2016, in the lobby of the Dallas City Performance Hall, 2520 Flora Street in the Dallas Arts District. Free and open to the public, the event will feature:

• Music by groups including the Sammons Jazz Ensemble led by James Gilyard , Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Jazz institute Combo and Toho & The Hot Hops from the University of North Texas.
• A complimentary tasting of craft beers from the award-winning North Coast Brewing Co.
• Free jazz CDs.
• Free posters, including the special “Great Day in Dallas” poster signed by photographer Jesse Hornbuckle.
• D’JAM Jazz Legends Awards presentation in four categories — Artist, Educator, Supporter and Innovator.

Jazz fans will not go hungry that day, thanks to Jorge’s Tex Mex Café in One Arts Plaza. The popular restaurant is offering a 20% discount on the entire food bill from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on April 9; valet parking will cost only $5 with validation from Jorge’s. Snacks and other beverages will also be available for sale at the Performance Hall concession stand. For more information, including a calendar of all D’JAM events in North Texas, visit www.jazzdallas.com.

Designed to showcase the many forms and presentations of jazz, including music, theater, film and dance, this year’s D’JAM is sponsored by North Coast Brewing Co. and Downtown Dallas Inc. Organizers include the Bishop Arts Theatre Jazz Series, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, CBS/Oasis, Dallas Jazz Piano Society, GDYO Jazz Institute, KERA Art&Seek, Sammons Center for the Arts - Sammons Jazz and Sammons Cabaret, South Dallas Cultural Center, Tuesday Nite Jazz, University of North Texas College of Music/Division of Jazz Studies, University of Texas at Dallas School of Arts and Humanities and Uptown Jazz Dallas.

About Jazz Appreciation Month and Day

International, national and local organizations strive to energize and celebrate the American jazz scene and inspire people of all ages to participate in jazz — to study, attend concerts, listen to the radio and recordings, read books and support institutional programs. Nationally, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History has sponsored Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) each April by since 2004 to draw public attention to the glories of American Jazz. In 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated April 30 as International Jazz Day. In honor of this important global initiative, a number of jazz presenters, jazz educators and jazz supporters in Dallas created D’JAM in 2012 to coordinate local jazz events. For more information, visit www.jazzdallas.com for North Texas events, www.smithsonianjazz.org for the national perspective or www.jazzday.com for activities around the world.

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