Among the cherished goals of ICAP is the ongoing expansion of global friendships as a golden pathway to peace. And the friendship with Billy Kenoi, former mayor of Hawaii County, who established the Annual Hilo World Peace Festival on Hawaii’s Big Island, was a treasure. Mr. Kenoi, who died in January 2021, at the way-too-young…
A new two-hour documentary on PBS, the U.S. public television network, shines a spotlight on preeminent jazz bassist Ron Carter. Ron Carter: Finding the Right Note is a deep dive into the artistry and wisdom acquired over the lifetime of Mr. Carter, who holds the Guinness Book world record for most-recorded jazz bass player in…
On April 30, the 11th annual International Jazz Day saw celebrations in the form of live musical eruptions in more than 180 nations. The main highlight of the annual commemoration is an All-Star Global Concert. This year, woven together in an event livestreamed via the internet, the anchoring venue was the United Nations General Assembly…
“Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.” “Creativity and artistic endeavors have a mission that goes far beyond just making music for the sake of music.” — Herbie Hancock Beyond just looking or sounding beautiful, great art speaks to us in a way that transcends verbal communication. And as such, it holds…
As a recent article in DownBeat magazine — the veritable jazz publication of record — said of Herbie Hancock, he is “a musician of multitudes.” Herbie’s career, spanning a remarkable seven decades, has been a vehicle for presenting a multitude of versatility, innovation, and youthful energy. All three of those themes were certainly on display…
“Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life . . .” (Olympic Charter – Fundamental Principle 1) The recently concluded Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, followed by the Paralympics, were,…
(the following article was excerpted with permission from the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz) Through an inspired collaboration with 14-time GRAMMY and Academy Award-winning pianist and composer Herbie Hancock along with an award-winning team of animators from Atomic Kid Studios, the Young Academic Research Group (YAM) at the Touro Graduate School of Education in New…
For the second straight year, because of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, International Jazz Day took on a form significantly modified from how it had been conducted during its first eight years. This year’s celebration—the 10th annual—was marked by a two-hour concert video that expressed the spirit of this unique musical art form with which…
The ancient Greek myth of Iphigenia is being given a fresh operatic reimagining by ICAP co-president and jazz saxophone titan Wayne Shorter, in collaboration with Grammy-winning bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding. The opera sprang from an idea Mr. Shorter had after reading Goethe’s interpretation of classical Greek playwright Euripides’s final play, Iphigenia in Aulis (written circa 408-06…
A group conversation can unfold like a jazz performance with each participant taking his or her moment to solo with verve before seamlessly rejoining the group effort. Such was the case on September 18, when a group of jazz luminaries gathered on Zoom to discuss the musical wisdom of the late, great Miles Davis. ICAP…