The
“musically vibrant and culturally rich city” of Havana, Cuba, will host the
main concert of this year’s International Jazz Day, to be celebrated worldwide
on April 30, according to the Paris-based United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In a joint
announcement, the agency’s director-general Irina Bokova and American jazz
musician Herbie Hancock (a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador) said that the Day will
culminate with an All-Star Global Concert presented at the Gran Teatro de La
Habana Alicia Alonso.
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| The Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso |
The show will
take place under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of Cuba, the Cuban
Institute of Music and the Cuban National Commission for UNESCO, and it will be
live streamed by the UN agency.
Hancock and
legendary Cuban musician Chucho Valdés will serve as the artistic directors of
the Global Concert, while U.S. pianist, arranger and composer John Beasley and
Cuban pianist Emilio Vega will be the musical co-directors. The show will also
feature an “extraordinary array of artists from around the world paying tribute
to the international art form of jazz”, UNESCO says.
The list of
performers include Richard Bona, Kenny
Garrett, Marcus Miller and Esperanza Spalding of the United States; Till
Brönner of Germany; A Bu of China; Igor Butman of the Russian Federation;
Takuya Kuroda of Japan; Dhafer Youssef
of Tunisia; and many others.
“UNESCO is
proud to be associated once again with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz,
as well as with the Instituto Cubano de la Música, to raise the flag for jazz,
for freedom, for creativity, for diversity and for unity,” Bokova said in a
statement. “This year’s focus on Cuba is testament to the power of jazz to
build bridges and join women and men together around shared values and
aspirations.”
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| The Global Concert's Musical Co-Director John Beasley. (Photo: Eric Wolfinger) |
The aim of
International Jazz Day - now in its sixth edition - is to highlight the “power of jazz as a force for
freedom and creativity”, UNESCO says.
It also seeks to "promote intercultural dialogue through respect and
understanding”, and to unite people from “all corners of the globe”.
Throughout
the day, numerous musicians and educators from Cuba and around the world will
participate in a range of free jazz performances, master classes, improvisational
workshops, jam sessions and community outreach initiatives, the agency says.
“Programs
will take place at schools, arts venues, community centers, jazz clubs and
parks across the city of Havana and throughout Cuba beginning on Monday, April
24th and leading up to the festivities on April 30th,” according to UNESCO.
The
organizers said that these programs “will be among the thousands of
International Jazz Day live performances, educational activities, and community
service programs taking place in more than 190 countries on all continents”.
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| A scene from last year's Jazz Day. (Photo: S. Mundinger) |
Speaking
about the day and Havana’s role, Hancock said: “Afro-Cuban jazz and its rich
history have played a pivotal role in the evolution and enrichment of the
entire jazz genre. The incomparable trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie along with
beloved Cuban musicians Mario Bauzá, Machito and Chano Pozo, infused American
jazz with Afro-Cuban rhythms to create a brand new, energetic sound that
defined modern music.”
The Havana show
comes five months after the death of former Cuban leader and revolutionary
Fidel Castro, and after that of jazz vocalist Al Jarreau who performed in earlier events.
Last year, the Global Concert took place at the
White House, hosted by then President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle
Obama.
For an article and interviews about the 2016 event, please click on the following link to INPS news:
