[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 48 (Wednesday, March 26, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H2684-H2685]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   NATIONAL JAZZ PRESERVATION, EDUCATION AND PROMULGATION ACT OF 2014

  (Mr. CONYERS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, I am introducing a 
Jazz Appreciation Month piece of legislation entitled the ``National 
Jazz Preservation, Education and Promulgation Act of 2014.''
  In 1986, I introduced a bill in which simply sought to make a 
compelling statement about the importance of Jazz within American 
culture. Its final clause read:

       Now, therefore be it Resolved by the House of 
     Representatives (the Senate concurring), that it is the sense 
     of the Congress that jazz is hereby designated as a rare and 
     valuable national American treasure to which we should devote 
     our attention, support and resources to make certain it is 
     preserved, understood and promulgated.

  The jazz community came together in strong support of that 
legislation, and through many phone calls and letters generated enough 
cosponsorships to get House Concurrent Resolution 57 passed by the U.S. 
House of Representatives on September 23, 1987. The fact that the 23rd 
was John Coltrane's birthday made the accomplishment even more special 
for me and was able to secure approval of the bill by the U.S. Senate a 
little more than two months later, on December 4, 1987.
  During my work on that bill, which has come to be known as the ``Jazz 
Resolution,'' I saw it inspire successful jazz-related political 
activity at the local governmental level in New York City, in 
Philadelphia and in Washington, DC. While each of these legislative 
victories were a milestone for the music, with each making profound 
statements about the importance of jazz in those communities, none of 
them directed financial resources toward its support.

[[Page H2685]]

So, a couple of years later, I began working through the Congressional 
appropriations process to do just that.
  In the Fall of 1990, I secured funding for the creation of the 
Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. I was able to obtain additional 
funds for the Smithsonian's Jazz program on three subsequent occasions. 
The result has been the solidification of a comprehensive Jazz program 
that involves preservation, education and performance. I chose to focus 
my efforts on the Smithsonian Institution because it serves as the 
nation's treasure chest. It is where all things American that are 
historic and valued are kept. I wanted Jazz to have an appropriate and 
permanent place at the Smithsonian. It has that now.
  I want to express my special thanks to Dr. John Hasse, the 
Smithsonian's Curator of American Music, for his leadership and strong 
support for Jazz. I also want to congratulate him on establishing Jazz 
Appreciation Month (JAM). Today, is the kick-off of the 13th JAM, which 
has grown to become a global celebration of Jazz as America's classical 
music. I am pleased that John Coltrane, one of our nation's greatest 
musibians and composers, was selected to be the focus of the 2014 JAM 
poster and today's JAM activities. The ``Acknowledgement'' of his 
recording ``A Love Supreme'' 50 years ago in December 1964 is a great 
way to honor John Coltrane. The fact that his original score of that 
iconic composition is a part of the Smithsonian's collections and is on 
display there today is much appreciated.
  Jazz is now well over 100 years old. Scores of many remarkable 
compositions, artifacts, documents, and photographs are in private 
hands, at risk of getting damaged, lost, or being sold abroad. In 
addition, jazz education at the elementary and secondary school level 
is virtually impossible to find. As such, in order to ensure the 
continued prominence of Jazz as a part America's cultural heritage, I 
have just introduced H.R. 4280, the National Jazz Preservation, 
Education, and Promulgation Act of 2014. This legislation would enable 
the further implementation the mandate established in H. Con. Res. 57. 
It will help our nation preserve its jazz heritage, educate our youth 
about this national treasure, and encourage the promulgation of jazz by 
fostering opportunities for jazz artists to create and share their 
music with the public here and abroad.
  H.R. 4280 would authorize funding to establish a National Jazz 
Preservation Program at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum 
of American History. The Program would create oral and video histories 
of leading jazz artists, acquire, preserve and interpret artifacts, and 
conduct exhibitions and other educational activities that would enable 
generations of Americans to learn about and enjoy jazz. The Program 
would also work with local museums, educational institutions and 
community organizations to establish jazz collections and share 
artifacts between them.
  In addition, the legislation promotes jazz education in several ways. 
It encourages the introduction of jazz to our youth by authorizing 
funding to establish a Jazz Artists in the Schools Program. This 
program should be modeled on the successful one previously operated by 
the National Endowment for the Arts. It also authorizes funding for the 
development of jazz education curriculum and materials and their 
dissemination to educators at all levels. The bill authorizes funding 
for a Jazz Ambassadors Program. This program should be modeled on the 
historic one that the U.S. State Department launched back in 1956. That 
program sent noted American jazz musicians abroad to perform. My bill 
would enable young jazz musicians and jazz ensembles from secondary 
schools to be sent abroad on missions of goodwill, education, and 
cultural exchange.
  Finally, HR 4280 promotes the promulgation of jazz by authorizing 
funding to support a nationwide series of performances by jazz artists. 
This would be done through the establishment of a Jazz Appreciation 
Program at the Smithsonian Institution. This program would work through 
the network of Smithsonian Affiliates to host jazz concerts. The 
Affiliates network includes more than 180 museums, educational and 
cultural organizations in more than 40 states, Puerto Rico and Panama.
  I encourage all of you to take a look at and consider supporting H.R. 
4280. I also encourage you to share a copy of it with others that have 
an interest in America's jazz music.

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