This past November, during the UNESCO General Conference, the international community proclaimed April 30th as “International Jazz Day”. Legendary jazz icon and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue Herbie Hancock has helped lead the festivities of this first annual celebration dedicated to raising awareness in the international community of the virtues of jazz by performing three separate concerts. The first event took place a few days ago on April 27th as Hancock and a number of other jazz greats performed at the UNESCO HQ in Paris. Today's festivities started off with a sunrise performance this morning from Congo Square in New Orleans, while an evening show at the United Nations in New York will conclude the day's celebrations. During all three concerts, Hancock has been joined by a number of iconic jazz legends including Wayne Shorter, Hugh Masekela, Jack DeJohnette, Ron Carter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Wynton Marsalis, Candido and many others. If you've missed any of the performances, you can watch them in their entirety at jazzday.com. In all, UNESCO, Herbie Hancock, and all the many participants have done a brilliant job in successfully creating an international spotlight on jazz music and the influence it's had around the world. Cheers to International Jazz Day!
To help celebrate, here a few jazz favorites to enjoy!
Max Roach - Absolutions
Charles Tolliver - On The Nile
Clifford Jordan Quartet - Glass Bead Games
Eric Dolphy - Burning Spear
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