In a radiant display of cultural harmony, the 13th annual International Jazz Day (April 30) celebration wrapped up with a spectacular All-Star Global Concert at the new Palace of Arts and Culture in Tangier, Morocco. Hosted by acclaimed actor Jeremy Irons, the concert featured an international roster of renowned jazz artists from more than 190…
On April 30, the world celebrated International Jazz Day, the twelfth time this annual global event has honored the legacy and impact of jazz – the iconic American art form – on culture, education, and international cooperation. This year’s celebrations were hosted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and featured a…
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…
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 finale is seen during the International Jazz Day 2019 All-Star Global Concert at Hamer Hall on April 30, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images for Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz) Perhaps William Barton said it best in conversation at the event. “We’re unified onstage together. We’re speaking as one voice.” Barton,…
The legendary Mariinsky Theatre, home of the Kirov Ballet, and the site where Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and other towering figures in the history of music premiered their masterworks on stage, played host to a global all-star concert in commemoration of International Jazz Day 2018 on April 30. Leading up to this signature event, all across the historic…
The worldwide celebration of International Jazz Day 2017 culminated in an all-star global concert, hosted by actor Will Smith, in Havana’s historic Gran Teatro de La Havana Alicia Alonso, Cuba. The special gala, broadcast to 125 countries, was attended by Cuba’s First Vice President Miguel Diaz Canel, UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova, various ministers, diplomatsm…
[video_lightbox_youtube video_id=”9upB10NUgJ8&rel=true” width=”640″ height=”480″ anchor=”https://icapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/jazzday-vid-still-e1475876356761.jpg”] See the video of the Jazz Day performance. The sounds of International Jazz Day 2016 blared from nearly every continent on April 30. The annual event actually kicked off on the evening of the 29th, with a multi-site celebration in Washington, D.C., and hundreds of locations around the world. At…
“In essence, jazz is a music of peace, and this has never been so important, to fight against new forms of hatred, racism and discrimination and to strengthen humanity as a single community, sharing a past and a destiny,” said Irina Bokova, in her message for this year’s International Jazz Day — April 30. The…
The ancient city of Osaka, with its 1,400 years of history, stepped into the global spotlight today. Known for being Japan’s economic and cultural hub, as well as for its legendary history as Japan’s “jazz mecca” in the early-to-mid 1920s, Osaka hosted International Jazz Day 2014, which concluded in a spectacular All-Star Global Concert in…