The 9th International Jazz Day was celebrated online
This year, International Jazz Day was held online for the first time. Commenting on the situation, Herbert Hancock, the driving force behind the Day and the largest jazz musician of our time, called on people to “band together and spread the ethics of Jazz Day’s global movement around the planet.” He added that people should “use this as a golden opportunity for humankind to reconnect, especially in the midst of all this isolation and uncertainty.”
International Jazz Day was established by UNESCO in November 2011. Ever since, this unique musical genre has been celebrated annually on April 30th around the world. The main events are held in an International Jazz Day capital, which is chosen every year by representatives of a special commission.
Countries across the globe celebrate Jazz Day on a grand scale, with live jazz concerts from independent groups and performances by famous jazz musicians. Seminars and conferences devoted to jazz history are organized on various sites and stages and contests are held for the chance to meet talented musicians. The event always includes music events, festivals and concerts by world-famous stars, like Igor Butman, Quincy Jones, Chucho Valdés, Wayne Shorter, and Marcus Miller.
Cape Town was supposed to be the capital of International Jazz Day this year. However, when the coronavirus pandemic brought the entire world to a halt, the celebrations were moved online.
For International Jazz Day 2020, jazz-lovers were a treated to an all-day virtual studio hosted by the renowned Herbie Hancock, who is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Jazz Performance, a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, an Oscar winner and a 14-time Grammy winner. Celebrations kicked of at 1 P.M. Moscow time on the official Facebook page for International Jazz Day. Events were held in a variety of languages and millions of musicians around the world performed online concerts and led conferences, webinars, master classes and even get-togethers over Zoom. Jazz was played on every continent without exception.
In Russia, the #stayhomejazzchallenge was launched at the initiative of Igor Butman, a famous saxophonist and organizer of several jazz clubs. Out of the hundreds of young jazz musicians who submitted applications from their home studios, the twenty most interesting quarantine videos were selected by a jury and presented to the virtual court of jazz-lovers. Even Igor Butman joined the challenge, performing with his Quartet, as well as popular jazz singer Larisa Dolina and a number of other special guests.
Rossiya Segodnya News Agency collaborated with the Koktebel Jazz Party Festival to hold “Doctor Jazz Party”, a seven-hour online concert in honor of International Jazz Day. The charity marathon was held in support of national healthcare workers and aimed to unite the world’s best musicians and renowned doctors, serving as a national call to unite in the face of coronavirus infection. According to the founder of the Koktebel Jazz Party, Russian TV journalist Dmitry Kiselev, “jazz has always been a kind of music that offers a feeling of freedom and hope” and “right now, when people need support, it is becoming a spiritual and emotional outlet.”
From Russia to China, 30 bands across the world performed in the marathon. Every foreign guest invited to the event agreed to participate without pay.
Doctors were, of course, the most important participants in the marathon, many of whom were already jazz connoisseurs themselves. In their emotional video messages, they appealed to the audience to stop and think, and support their colleagues across the country. In turn, Igor Ikonnikov, the Art Director of the Marathon, said that it was time for people to help and participate in any way they can. The event was dedicated to the doctors around the world who are courageously fighting the coronavirus infection. Music was a way to express gratitude for their difficult and selfless work.
Irina Sheykhetova