New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ John Beasley official website) Jazz artist and
Music Director for The Thelonious Monk
Institute of Jazz (TMIJ), John Beasley, will head to Istanbul to direct a global all-star list of 35 musicians at a gala concert to mark International Jazz Day including the likes of Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Al Jarreau, Robert Glasper and many others. The concert will be sponsored by UNESCO.
"This year, the program will have ensembles to illustrate the global migration of jazz with blues, hip-hop, raga, Afro-Cuban and Middle-Eastern sounds," says John Beasley,
Music Director. "It is exciting for me to bring together musicians from different countries, various genres, and all-ages to collaborate and play iconic songs; and show that there are no borders in jazz."
Herbie Hancock, UNESCO's
Goodwill Ambassador, championed a world day for jazz because of his belief about "the international diplomatic aspect of jazz and how it has throughout a major part of its history been a major force in bringing people of various countries and cultures together."
WHERE: Gala concert: Hagia Irene (4thC), outer courtyard of Topkapi Palace. Other events: 80 concerts in 30 countries
WHEN: Tuesday, April 30
Why Istanbul?
In 1934, Munir Ertegun, Turkey's first ambassador to Washington, allowed African- American jazz musicians to come in the Embassy's front door and play freely at a time when
America was deeply divided by racial segregation. His sons, Ahmet and Nesuhi, went on to launch America's first jazz and gospel label - Atlantic Records - which revolutionized America's musical universe and, eventually, the world by recording pathbreakers such as John Coltrane, Charlie Mingus, Dave Brubeck, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding. https://www.unesco.org/new/index.php?id=79075
UNESCO and Thelonious Monk
Institute of Jazz
Spurred by reaching 1 billion people at the inaugural concerts in 2012, UNESCO, in partnership with TMIJ will be organizing the second International Jazz Day on April 30th, 2013. This day is destined to raise awareness in the international community regarding jazz's virtues as an educational tool, as a vehicle for peace, unity, dialogue, and for enhanced cooperation between peoples. www.jazzday.com
