Turkey to host International Jazz Day this year

The annual International Jazz Day, organized in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, Turkish culture and foreign ministries and Istanbul Jazz Festival, will be hosted this year in Istanbul on April 30. A meeting was held at the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) to promote the event and announce its program. Speaking to reporters prior to the meeting, Director of Sector for External Relations and Public Information of UNESCO Neil Ford said that jazz has been performed by the people fighting for freedom throughout the world and the International Jazz Day would be celebrated this year with many people from Turkey and abroad.  The Celebrations in Istanbul will kick off with a special early morning performance at Galatasaray High School, where UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter and others will present a special performance. The evening concert at Istanbul's Hagia Irene will feature performances by 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; clarinetists Anat Cohen and Husnu Senlendirici and Pedro Martinez on percussion.