Today is fourth International Jazz Day and it’s being marked throughout the world.
After Paris, Istanbul and Osaka, central celebration will again be held in the capital of France, while many musical events are going to take place in 196 countries of the world.
At the central concert at UNESCO headquaters in Paris, among others performing will be pianists Eliane Elias, Antonio Faraò, Isfar Sarabski and Herbie Hancock; trumpeters Till Brönner, Hugh Masekela and Claudio Roditi; vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater, Al Jarreau, Annie Lennox, Rudy Pérez and Dianne Reeves; saxophonists Igor Butman, Femi Kuti, Guillaume Perret and Wayne Shorter; bassists James Genus, Marcus Miller and Ben Williams; guitarist Lee Ritenour; drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, percussionist Mino Cinelu and oudist Dhafer Youssef.
“The birth of jazz in France”, says the official statement of UNESCO, under whose patronage the day is being marked, “coincide with the arrival of American Harlem Fighters battalion to the country in 1917, their long marches made it possible for France’s people to make first contact with a new musical expression, jazz”.
You can watch tonight’s concert in Paris via live streaming at www.jazzday.com starting at 19.00.