Music, a global universal language, connects people from different walks of life. It is a powerful agent of social change, reaching millions of people, raising awareness of social, economic, cultural, and environmental facets of development. Recognizing this potential, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, positions music as one of the seven creative fields to support its member cities in their common quest to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
On the occasion of the 2021 International Jazz Day, Creative Cities of Music will continue to celebrate this Day to recognize the uniting power of jazz to promote peace, cooperation and intercultural dialogue. As in the previous years, Creative Cities will organize a diverse array of activities spanning from live concert to exhibitions and film screenings.
As a part of the 25th edition of the Jazz festival “Jazz al Parque”, Bogota (Colombia) in collaboration with the District Institute of Arts will launch on 30 April, a transmedia project that aims to traces back the history of the Festival and its impact on the development of jazz in Bogota. The project will encapsulate an audiovisual series "Jazz Mutante", a podcast series "Jazz al Podcast", a digital musical compilation "Jazz al Parque, 25 years in 25 themes", a virtual music bank with scores of the Big Band Bogota, and a book with multimedia content about the Festival from an interdisciplinary perspective. The project will further aim to provide free access to the materials to encourage citizens to learn, research, and study the city’s jazz history. To know more, kindly visit: https://jazzalparque.gov.co/.
With the successful organization of last year’s virtual edition of the Jazz Day celebration, Llíria (Spain) will continue to mobilize its local music talents to spread the universal values of Jazz Music with its traditional street jazz festival “El DesenJazz” from 30 April to 2 May. In cooperation with Granada (Spain), a UNESCO Creative City of Literature, the event will also aim to create new synergies among musicians and cultural practitioners, while strengthening inter-city cooperation, especially during these challenging times. The virtual concert from Llíria can be accessed here: https://youtu.be/rcqJ8aQVG-M.
As the historic epicenter of the creation of Swing, Kansas City (United States of America) will seize International Jazz Day to pay tribute to the iconic women jazz artists of the city. Through “Kansas City Women of Jazz” concert, the city also aims to highlight the new generations of Jazz musicians that embraces the style and heritage of their predecessors. In addition, the Kansas City Museum will make available a musical archive related to the city’s great contributions to jazz music, for both educational and entertainment purposes. To attend the virtual concert, kindly visit: https://youtu.be/K3r6Iuw4O5A
Katowice (Poland) will launch the 10th edition of the Katowice JazzArt Festival. Starting 30 April, the festival will organize virtually various multidisciplinary activities including concerts, exhibitions, talks and discussions as well as film screenings, to showcase the city’s vibrant music scene. Live events featuring international artists are also foreseen to be held in the coming months. For more information visit: www.miasto-ogrodow.eu.
To further support artists and musicians in times of the pandemic, Mannheim (Germany) together with Enjoy Jazz Festival and Alte Feuerwache Mannheim, will organize a fundraising concert featuring local and national Jazz artists. This edition of the concert will continue to raise funds to support the artists in need. The concert will feature Alexandra Lehmler and other German Jazz musicians. To attend the virtual concert, kindly visit: https://www.youtube.com/enjoyjazzfestival.
Pesaro (Italy), in collaboration with Associazione Marchigiana Attività Teatrali (AMAT) and Pesaro Jazz Club, will open the doors of Teatro Rossini Opera theatre to its audience for the first long-awaited concert with the Pesaro Jazz Club Band. The audience will be treated to an evening of classic jazz music as well as original compositions by the Band. For further information related to the event can be found here: https://www.amatmarche.net/amat-in-english/
To know more about International Jazz Day, visit: https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/jazzday