UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova (left) and Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock. Photo: UNESCO/Francis Barrier |
UNESCO
Director-General Irina Bokova, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie
Hancock, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and the Republic of Turkey
are pleased to announce that the main event for the second annual
International Jazz Day will be hosted by Turkey in the city of
Istanbul.
“International
Jazz Day” programme was announced at a press meeting on Tuesday, 19
February under the moderation of Istanbul Jazz Festival Director
Pelin Opcin with the participation of Director of Sector for External
Relations and Public Information, UNESCO Neil Ford, President of
Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Tom Carter, Head of Department for
Cultural Diplomacy, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Cem Kahyaoğlu and
the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of
Turkey Directorate General for Promotion Deputy Director General
Levent Demirel.
Held
every year on 30th April, International Jazz Day brings together
communities, schools and groups from across the world to celebrate
jazz, learn about its roots and highlight its important role as
a form
of communication that transcends differences.
This
year, the main concert for International Jazz Day will be held in
Istanbul, Turkey. UNESCO’s Director-General, Irina Bokova, stated,
“I am delighted to announce that Istanbul will serve as the Host
City for the 2013 International Jazz Day celebration on 30thApril.
A meeting
place of global cultures, Istanbul is an ideal
location to highlight the extensive influence of
jazz. Official celebrations,
concerts and educational programs will take place in Istanbul and
around the globe, expanding on the tremendous success of last year’s
inaugural International Jazz Day.”
Taken
forward in partnership with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz,
International Jazz Day was adopted by UNESCO Member States on the
initiative of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock, in order to
encourage and highlight jazz’s unique power for advancing
intercultural dialogue and understanding across the world.
International Jazz Day is recognized on the official calendars of
UNESCO and the United Nations. Its programs and events will be
coordinated with all 195 Member States of UNESCO. “International
Jazz Day is a means to highlight, support, and leverage the unifying
attributes of music through worldwide celebratory events and
activities on 30thApril each year.” said Herbie Hancock. “On
International Jazz Day, jazz is celebrated, studied, and performed
around the world for 24 hours straight. Collaborations abound among
jazz icons, scholars, composers, musicians, dancers, writers, and
thinkers who embrace the beauty, spirit, and principles of jazz,
freely sharing experiences and performances in our big cities and in
our small towns, all across our seven continents.”
Turkey’s
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmet Davutoğlu and its Minister of
Culture and Tourism, Ӧmer Ҫelik, stated: “Turkey welcomes the
opportunity to host UNESCO’s International Jazz Day on 29-30 April,
2013, in Istanbul. On this occasion we shall celebrate jazz
music not only as a global language of the
human soul, but also as that of more inclusive societies, mutually
enhancing civilizations and UNESCO ideals.”
Tom
Carter, President of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, said,
“The Institute is pleased to partner with UNESCO and the Republic
of Turkey to present the second annual International Jazz Day. Last
year’s celebration reached more than one billion people through
educational programs, performances and media coverage. This is a
phenomenal figure that we believe will be surpassed in 2013.”
Celebrations
in Istanbul will kick
off with a special early morning performance
for high school students conducted by Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter
and others. The evening concert at Istanbul’s famed Hagia Irene
will feature performances by stellar musicians from around the world,
including pianists John Beasley, George Duke, Robert Glasper, Herbie
Hancock, Abdullah Ibrahim, Keiko Matsui and Eddie Palmieri; vocalists
Al Jarreau, Milton Nascimento and Dianne Reeves; trumpeters Hugh
Masekela, Imer Demirer and Christian Scott; bassists James Genus,
Marcus Miller, and Ben Williams; drummers Terri Lyne Carrington and
Vinnie Colaiuta; guitarists Bilal Karaman, John McLaughlin, Lee
Ritenour and Joe Louis Walker; saxophonists Dale Barlow, Igor Butman,
Jimmy Heath, Wayne Shorter and Liu Yuan; clarinetists Anat Cohen and
Hüsnü Şenlendirici; violinist Jean-Luc Ponty; Pedro Martinez on
percussion and other special guests to be announced in the weeks
ahead. John Beasley will be the event’s musical director.
Dating
back to the 4th century, the Hagia Irene, located in the outer
courtyard of Topkapi Palace – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – is
regarded as an international treasure for music lovers because of its
brilliant atmosphere and enchanting acoustics. The concert will be
streamed live on
the internet via the UNESCO, U.S. State
Department and Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz websites, and will
be taped for future broadcast on public television stations around
the world.
In addition,
the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz will work with UNESCO and its
195 Member States, national commissions, UNESCO networks, UNESCO
Associated Schools, universities and institutes, public radio, public
television, and NGOs to organize and promote Jazz Day events
worldwide. Libraries, schools, performing arts centers, artists and
arts organizations of all disciplines throughout the world will be
encouraged to celebrate the day through presentations, concerts, and
other jazz-focused activities.
To
date, nearly 80 events have been organized in more than 30 countries,
including Argentina, Australia, the Republic of Korea, France, Gabon,
Malaysia and Trinidad and Tobago. In Armenia, the Municipality of
Yerevan is organizing an open-air concert and will introduce jazz
history and jazz performance in several schools around Yerevan. In
Mexico, more than ten jazz concerts are scheduled throughout
the country.
Denmark will host “Jazz as a Verb” in Copenhagen, a day seminar
and evening concert for both Danish and international musicians. In
India, Jazz Goa in will celebrate the Day with a mega event featuring
jazz artists from all over the world. In Swaziland, a special program
“Jazz across Borders and Cultures” will include workshops, jam
sessions, and concerts over three days. Additional events are being
confirmed each day.
UNESCO,
the Republic of Turkey, and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz are
pleased that the Istanbul Jazz Festival, organized by the Istanbul
Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) is serving as the 2013 Host
City Partner. The Istanbul Jazz Festival will play an integral role
in the coordination and production of the all-star concert in
Istanbul.