UNESCO officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in an effort to unite countries around the world and to preserve one of the world’s heritage music genres.
Last year, International Jazz Day was celebrated in full force across 195 countries around the world and culminated in a concert in Melbourne featuring artists from 35 countries headed by artistic director Herbie Hancock and Australian star James Morrison.
Watch last year’s spectacular concert here:
This year, the 9th incarnation of International Jazz Day which was originally scheduled to play in South Africa, is celebrated in the comfort of our homes and streamed live. Herbie Hancock hosts again and artists across the globe will perform live on jazzday.comÂ
Expect performances by UNESCO Artists for Peach Marcus Miller,John McLaughlin, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Jane Monheit, Alune Wade, John Beasley, Ben Williams, Lizz Wright, John Scofield, Igor Butman, Evgeny Pobozhiy, Youn Sun Nah, A Bu, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves and Joey DeFrancesco, among others.
International Jazz Day is chaired and led by UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay and legendary jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock, who serves as a UNESCO Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue and Chairman of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz. The Institute is the lead nonprofit organization charged with planning, promoting and producing this annual celebration.
Herbie Hancock explains:
Herbie Hancock needs no introduction and his career has seen through Jazz’s most inventive, innovative times. Even non-jazz listeners will recognise of some of Hancock’s famous tunes: Cantaloupe, Watermelon Man and Maiden Voyage being three of the most recognisable. He stands as one of America’s music greats and treasures.
