Today is International Jazz Day, as decreed by Herbie Hancock and UNESCO. The centerpiece events are two all-star concerts, held at sunrise and sunset. The sunrise show was held in Congo Square in New Orleans, seemingly a nod to the dawn of jazz. Tonight's evening program takes the "international" part of International Jazz Day quite literally:
The worldwide programs and events will conclude in New York City at the United Nations General Assembly Hall with an historic sunset concert certain to be one of the most heralded jazz celebrations of all time, with confirmed artists including Herbie Hancock, Tony Bennett, Terence Blanchard, Richard Bona, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Candido, Ron Carter, Vinnie Colaiuta, Robert Cray, Eli Degibri, Jack DeJohnette, Sheila E., Jimmy Heath, Hiromi, Zakir Hussain, Chaka Khan, Angelique Kidjo, Lang Lang, Joe Lovano, Romero Lubambo, Shankar Mahadevan, Wynton Marsalis, Hugh Masekela, Christian McBride, Danilo Pérez, Tineke Postma, Dianne Reeves, Troy Roberts, Bobby Sanabria, Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and Tarek Yamani. George Duke will serve as Musical Director. Confirmed Co-Hosts include Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Quincy Jones.
That lineup promises improvising musicians from Cameroon, Cuba, Israel, Japan, India, Benin, China, Brazil, South Africa, Panama, The Netherlands, Australia, Lebanon and, of course, the multicultural United States.
Tonight's show begins at 7:30 p.m. ET and can be streamed live online at jazzday.com. This morning's show is already archived, along with the International Jazz Day kickoff event last week in Paris.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.