OR International Jazz Day the day is celebrated every year April 30th. The date was proclaimed by UNESCO in November 2011, following a recommendation from 187th Executive Council. The aim is to highlight this legendary musical genre and its diplomatic role in uniting people around the world, promoting peace, intercultural dialogue, tolerance and mutual understanding.
The idea to create this day came from the iconic pianist Herbie Hancock and celebrations include live presentations, virtual lectures, discussion panels AND performances by artists from all over the worldreflecting the global and unifying nature of jazz.
In 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the celebrations took place virtually, with the participation of musicians such as Danilo Pérez, Igor Butman, Dee Dee Bridgewater, among others, broadcasting live lessons and performances. OR Global concert 2020 consisted of pre-recorded performances and messages from artists around the world, as well as clips from previous International Jazz Day performances.
This special day is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the impact of jazz as an art form that transcends cultural and geographic barriers, uniting people through its universal language.
The origin of Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated in WEmore precisely in the region of New Orleans, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. With deep roots African-American culturejazz is known for its non-linear rhythm and improvisation, which is one of its most distinctive characteristics.
The history of the genre is marked by mix of cultures, melodies AND rhythms. After the abolition of slavery in the US in 1863, African Americans began to gravitate towards Western instruments, resulting in a cultural fusion that eventually led to the birth of jazz. The neighborhood of StoryvilleIn New Orleanswas one of the places where this sonic effervescence took shape, in the bars known as Honky Tonks.
Over time, jazz has evolved and given rise to many subgenres, such as swing, bebop, hard bop, cool jazz, and soul jazz, among others. Names like Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker AND Gillespie giddy these are just some of the important names who have contributed to shaping and spreading jazz around the world.
Brazilian jazz artists express their opinion on the genre in the country
To the Brazil of the 21st century, new exponents of the genre are emerging and conquering audiences and admirers. This is the case of the musician Jonathan Ferrwho has gained more and more importance in the Brazilian jazz scene, mainly thanks to the fusion of genres that can be seen in his works.
For Ferrhis biggest challenge is to conquer an audience that does not yet interact with jazz: “Jazz in Brazil is still pseudo-elite. Many people can’t feel part of it, due to this over-educated prejudice, as if you have to have a lot of prior knowledge to understand jazz”explains. “For me, mixing jazz with hip hop and electronica, I have always seen the style as a way to break down established ideas and produce new listening experiences for those who have always been outside this circle. My challenge The biggest thing was attracting an outside jazz audience to listen to my music. And I was very happy when some people told me they didn’t listen to jazz until they met me.He adds.
Already Leudji Luna she is convinced that jazz still lacks popular appeal and explains her experience in the genre: “I tackled jazz from the first album, but especially from the second album, where I purposely wanted there to be elements of jazz, for there to be a jazz band. I went to Kenya because I wanted to bring that identity too. For me, the The challenge of making jazz is about making music in Brazil. Jazz is not pop music, so I think the challenge is to make this genre more popular.”
Another name that stands out in the new avant-garde of Brazilian jazz, that of the singer Zudizilla highlights several challenges for the genre to gain more listeners in Brazil, in what he considers a territory with cultural pluralities: “I’m happy to be cited as someone who establishes himself as one of the connoisseurs who respect jazz, which everyone knows is the trunk of the rap family tree, and the difficulties of jazz in Brazil are not so different from those of the rest of the world as physical spaces in which to perform or have fun where you are, perhaps you will never appreciate it.”
And it continues like this: “Jazz depends a lot on the good will of the listeners because it is not made for them: it is music for music and this makes it a little difficult at this time when the musical product is offered to us, sometimes even in excess. Apart by the fact that in Brazil there are already national and regional rhythms that can easily occupy the space of jazz and this is a great difficulty that we must be happy to have, but obviously this makes the people who love and practice the modality of which jazz sometimes it needs to work harder to make it available to everyone because everyone deserves good jazz for their life and soul.closes.
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
