The 10th anniversary celebration of International Jazz Day on April 30 will feature an All-Star Global Concert presented as a live webcast at 5 p.m. EDT via YouTube, Facebook, jazzday.com, UN Web TV, UNESCO, and U.S. State Department outlets. At 9 p.m., EDT, International Jazz Day 10th Anniversary Celebration will air on PBS TV stations across the country including WNET in New York and WHYY in Philadelphia.
The Global Concert will be hosted by actor Michael Douglas. NEA Jazz Master Herbie Hancock, shown above, is Artistic Director and pianist/bandleader John Beasley is Musical Director. The New York segment will feature performances by 14 artists including tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana, pianist Cyrus Chestnut, and vocalist Veronica Swift.
The PBS special, hosted by actors Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, and Will Smith, will feature a two-hour retrospective highlighting performances by a wide selection of musical stars over the past decade. Among them are Hancock, vocalists Tony Bennett and Aretha Franklin, and bassist Christian McBride.
Pianist Yoko Miwa, to be profiled in the May 2021 issue of Jersey Jazz Magazine, will be celebrating the day with a special performance as part of the Embassy Jazz Series presented at 5 p.m. EDT by Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. This show is in partnership with UNESCO, the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, the Embassy of Japan and Blues Alley Jazz. A free streaming pass is available at bluesalleylive.com.