John Hasse Biography

During his thirty-three-year tenure at the National Museum of American History, Hasse curated exhibitions on Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Ray Charles. He also founded the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and international Jazz Appreciation Month.

Hasse’s books include Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington, Discover Jazz (co-author), and Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology (co-author). He is a contributor to The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and eight encyclopedias.

Hasse earned a B.A. Cum Laude from Carleton College, M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Indiana University, and two Honorary Doctorates. He has received two Grammy Award nominations and two ASCAP Deems Taylor Awards for excellence in writing on music and has been named a “Legend of Jazz Education.” Active in cultural diplomacy for the U.S. State Department, he has lectured on leadership, the arts, and music in 25 countries on six continents.

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