International Jazz Day to be Celebrated with All-Star Concerts in Paris, New Orleans and New York

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock will kick-off the first annual International Jazz Day with a full day of events including live performances, Master Classes, and discussions featuring Marcus Miller, Barbara Hendricks, Hugh Masekela, Dee Dee Bridgewater, plus much more. Please visit http://unesco.org for complete details.

The day will conclude in a concert of jazz luminaries including: Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Swan Berger, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Igor Butman, Terri Lyne Carrington, Gerald Clayton, Klaus Doldinger, Dominique Fillon, Antonio Hart, Barbara Hendricks, Nicole Slack Jones, Manu Katché, Eric Lagnini, Bireli Lagrene, Jean Felix Lalanne, Nguyen Le, Lionel Loueke, Michel El Malem, Tania Maria, Hugh Masekela, Marcus Miller, China Moses, Michael Rodriguez, Isphar Sarabski, Ben Williams, and many others. John Beasley will serve as Musical Director.

The concert will be streamed live at jazzday.com and monkinstitute.org

The inaugural International Jazz Day will be celebrated by millions worldwide on Monday, April 30, and will begin with an all-star sunrise concert in New Orleans' Congo Square, the birthplace of jazz and culiminate with a sunset concert at the United Nations. Presented by UNESCO in partnership with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, International Jazz Day will encourage and highlight intercultural dialogue and understanding through jazz, America's greatest contribution to the world of music.

Herbie Hancock will be joined in New Orleans by jazz luminaries Terence Blanchard, Ellis Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Kermit Ruffins, Treme Brass Band, and Jeff 'Tain' Watts and many more.

The sunrise concert from Congo Square is open to the public and begins at 7am (8am EDT), and will be video streamed live at Jazz Day and Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

We invite students and schools from around the world to join in the celebration of International Jazz Day and play "Watermelon Man" along with Herbie Hancock live from Congo Square, New Orleans at 8:15am EDT on April 30, 2012. Sheet music and an MP3 is available to download on JazzDay.com. Please video your performances of "Watermelon Man" and upload them to youtube.com and title them:International Jazz Day - Watermelon Man. Please include tags: JazzDay, April30, IntlJazzDay, HerbieHancock. Let us know the link and the musicians and where you performed and for how many people on this form. We'll post your videos and your photos on JazzDay.com.

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