Free jazz concerts and classes at Free Library of Philadelphia

April is Jazz Appreciation Month, and as part of the celebration, the Free Library of Philadelphia is hosting concerts and classes in many of its branches.

On a recent Friday afternoon, just in time for students leaving school for the day, drummer Leon Jordan Sr. and his Renaissance Sextet took up residency in the children’s section of Germantown’s Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library.

The semicircular design of the Coleman Library meant that the band, set up in the recessed area known as “The Pit,” could be heard throughout the three floors above. Typically used for children’s storybook readings, The Pit became a makeshift stage for the sextet’s hour-long performance honoring the compositions of jazz artists from the region.

As the band played songs by jazz greats like Hank Mobley, Clifford Brown, and Jaco Pastorius — along with new tunes by band members Dave Posmontier and Andrew Neu, and a Philly Soul classic by Leon Huff — curious teens wandered down the stairs, snapping pictures on their phones, or toying with a table full of Legos as they tapped their feet. Some threaded beads onto necklaces, while one drew pictures at a nearby table, snapping her fingers in time with the groove.

While the band played with the same swinging spirit that they might have brought to a nightclub gig, the setting provided the opportunity for a bit of music education on the side. Between songs, musician Phaedra Jordan read brief profiles of each of the composers.

The concert is one of the Jazz Appreciation Month events sponsored by the Recording Academy’s Music Performance Trust Fund and the American Federation of Musicians, Local 77.

Jordan and company will bring the same program to the Falls of Schuylkill Library on April 26 (joined by vocalist Alexandra Day).

Local 77 will bring the Festival Jazz Trombone Quartet to Walnut Street West on April 22 and the Eastwick Library on April 26, with a repertoire that stretches from jazz pioneers W.C. Handy and Scott Joplin to the likes of Irving Berlin and Henry Mancini. On April 24, vocalist Najwa Parkins and trumpeter Fareed Simpson-Hankins will colead a performance at Mount Airy’s Lovett Memorial Library.

The month draws to a close April 28 with drummer Jerry Tannenbaum leading his band through a demonstration of the evolving styles of jazz through the ages.

All events are free. Information can be found at libwww.freelibrary.org/calendar/. Search for “Jazz.”