“Jazz speaks for life” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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I N T E R N AT I O N A L J A Z Z D AY
n November 2011, during the UNESCO General Conference, the international community proclaimed April 30 as “International Jazz Day.” The Day is intended to raise awareness of the virtues of jazz as an educational tool, and a force for peace, unity, dialogue and enhanced cooperation among people. International Jazz Day brings together communities, schools, artists, historians, academics and jazz enthusiasts all over the world to celebrate and learn about the art of jazz, its roots, its future and its impact. Each year on April 30, this important international art form is celebrated around the world for 24 hours straight for promoting peace, dialogue among cultures, diversity, respect for human rights and human dignity, eradicating discrimination, promoting freedom of expression, fostering gender equality, and reinforcing the role of youth for social change. Many governments, civil society organizations, educational institutions and private citizens currently engaged in the promotion of jazz music are embracing the opportunity to foster greater appreciation not only for the music but also for the contribution it can make to building more inclusive societies.
• Jazz breaks down barriers and creates opportunities for mutual understanding and tolerance • Jazz is a vector of freedom of expression • Jazz is a symbol of unity and peace • Jazz reduces tensions between individuals, groups, and communities • Jazz encourages artistic innovation, improvisation, new forms of expression, and inclusion of traditional music forms into new ones • Jazz stimulates intercultural dialogue and empowers young people from marginalized societies
In December 2012, the United Nations General Assembly officially welcomed the decision by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to proclaim April 30 as International Jazz Day. The United Nations called upon its Member States to participate actively in the celebration of International Jazz Day in order to develop and increase intercultural exchanges and understanding between cultures for the purpose of mutual comprehension and tolerance. Today, International Jazz Day, April 30, is recognized on the official calendars of both the United Nations and UNESCO.
April 30, 2013 Jazz has long been recognized as America’s most important musical contribution to the world. 30, City 2013 Born at the turn of the 20th century in April the great of New Orleans, jazz now belongs to the citizens of every nation on earth.
Jazz has long been recognized as America’s most important musical contribution to the world. Born at the turn of 20thand century in the great City of New Orleans,and jazz now The universal language of the passion benevolence, jazz continues to symbolize nurture belongs to the citizens of every nation on earth. freedom and democracy. This captivating, intelligent, magnificent music that has been the heart and soul of my life, unites people of disparate
The universal language of passion and benevolence, jazz continues to symbolize andand cultures, religions and nationalities by fostering nurture freedom and democracy. This captivating, intelligent, magnificent music that has strengthening communication and partnerships. been the heart and soul of my life, unites people of disparate cultures, religions and The artfulness of jazz enhances the peace-making nationalities by fostering and strengtheningprocess communication and partnerships. Thewe all have and demonstrates just how much artfulness of jazz enhances the peace-making process and demonstrates much art in common. I have seen firsthandjust thathow no musical we all have in common. I have seen firsthand that no musical art form is more powerful form is more powerful as a diplomatic tool than jazz. as a diplomatic tool than jazz. This is the spirit of International Jazz Day.
This is the spirit of International Jazz Day. I am overjoyed that for one day each year on April
I am overjoyed that for one day each year on April 30th, people the world speak 30th, people around thearound world speak the same the same language–the international language of jazz–and celebrate, study, and perform language–the international language of jazz–and for 24 hours straight. Collaborations abound among study, jazz icons, scholars, composers, celebrate, and perform for 24 hours straight. musicians, dancers, writers andjazz thinkers who embrace the beauty, spiritdancers, and principles of Collaborations abound among icons, scholars, composers, musicians, writers and jazz, freelywho sharing experiences and performances small towns alland across thinkers embrace the beauty, spirit and principlesinofbig jazz,cities freelyand sharing experiences ourperformances seven continents. in big cities and small towns all across our seven continents. In my role Ambassador and Chairman of Thelonious the Thelonious In my roleasasUNESCO UNESCO Goodwill Goodwill Ambassador and Chairman of the Monk Monk Institute of Jazz, Iof would to thank theto Republic of Turkey, President Gül and Prime Minister Erdo gan ˘ for Institute Jazz,like I would like thank the Republic of Turkey, President Gül and Prime the warm welcome your country. I extend heartfelt thanks to themy municipality citizens Minister Erdoğan fortothe warm welcome to my your country. I extend heartfeltand thanks to Istanbul, our and Global Host City for this year’s Thank you the entire artistic and theofmunicipality citizens of Istanbul, our festivities. Global Host City fortothis year’sjazz, festivities. educational communities for artistic keepingand the music vital and an essential ingredient of our Thank you to the entire jazz, educational communities for keeping theworld’s music cultural fabric. vital and an essential ingredient of our world’s cultural fabric.
Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue and Chairman, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and Chairman, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz
Message from Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO,
on the occasion of International Jazz Day April 30, 2013
On International Jazz Day, the world comes together, in peace and harmony, to share a passion for music and to join forces for freedom and creativity. This is why UNESCO created International Jazz Day, celebrated for the first time in 2012, working with our Goodwill Ambassador and jazz giant, Herbie Hancock. Jazz draws roots from a great mix of peoples and cultures — from Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean. Nurtured in the United States, it is now woven into the fabric of every society, played across the world, enjoyed everywhere. This diversity makes jazz a powerful force for dialogue and understanding. Jazz provided the soundtrack for past struggles for dignity and civil rights. It remains today a force for social transformation, because it tells a story of freedom that all people share. One of the greatest cultural expressions of the 20th century, jazz is already capturing the spirit of the 21st. In times of change and uncertainty, we need the power of jazz more than ever before to bring people together and to strengthen respect for shared values. Young women and men, especially, need new tools of peace that speak to the heart. UNESCO is here to strengthen these tools and make the most of our cultural diversity, including through arts education to foster creativity and innovation. Jazz is here for us all, to give shape to our aspirations for respect, tolerance and freedom. This year, Istanbul will host the main celebration of International Jazz Day, reflecting this city’s unique history as a crossroads of cultures. For 24 hours straight, celebrations will occur across the world, through master classes, workshops, jazz talks and jam sessions, from Beirut to Beijing, Dakar to Rio. International Jazz Day is the moment for all of us to express our passion for peace. Everyone is invited and should join in…
Irina Bokova
Highlights of International Jazz Day 2012
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n November 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in order to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe. International Jazz Day is chaired and led by Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General, and legendary jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock, who serves as a UNESCO Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue and Chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. The Institute is the lead nonprofit organization charged with planning, promoting and producing this annual celebration, which began in 2012. UNESCO and United Nations missions, U.S. embassies and government outposts around the world hosted special events for the first annual International Jazz Day on April 30, 2012 to honor this revered musical art form. Universities, libraries, schools, community centers, performing arts venues and arts organizations of all disciplines around the world marked the day through concerts, education programs, seminars, lectures, book readings, public jam sessions, master classes, photo exhibitions, dance recitals, film and documentary screenings, theater presentations and spoken word performances. More than one billion people around the world
Artists from around the world assembled at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Congo Square in New Orleans, and the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York to celebrate the first annual International Jazz Day on April 30.
were reached through 2012 International Jazz Day programs and media coverage. UNESCO and the Thelonious Monk Institute presented three high-profile programs: a daylong celebration in Paris; a sunrise concert in New Orleans’ Congo Square, the birthplace of jazz; and a sunset concert at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York City. Among the world-renowned artists that participated were John Beasley, Tony Bennett, George Benson, Terence Blanchard, Richard Bona (Cameroon), Dee Dee Bridgewater, Candido (Cuba), Terri Lyne Carrington, Ron Carter, Robert Cray, Jack DeJohnette, George Duke, Sheila E., Herbie Hancock, Antonio Hart, Jimmy Heath, Hiromi (Japan), Zakir Hussain (India), Manu Katché (France), Chaka Khan, Angelique Kidjo (Benin), Lang Lang (China), Joe Lovano, Romero Lubambo (Brazil), Shankar Mahadevan (India), Tania Maria (Brazil), Ellis Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Hugh Masekela (South Africa), Christian McBride, Marcus Miller, Danilo Pérez (Panama), Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, Treme Brass Band and Stevie Wonder. Hosts included Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Quincy Jones. Each year, a daylong series of jazz events and a major evening performance will take place on International Jazz Day, alternating between cities of international significance on different continents. In addition to this centerpiece event broadcast worldwide, the Institute and UNESCO will continue their partnership to encourage UNESCO’s 195 member states to host jazz concerts and educational programs reaching people of all ages and backgrounds.
UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova and Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock kick off the International Jazz Day celebration at UNESCO’s Paris world headquarters
Hosts & Special Guests The hosts, special guests and artists appearing tonight have come together from all over the world to take part in an extraordinary International Jazz Day celebration concert at Istanbul’s historic Hagia Irene. The concert is being seen live and enjoyed by millions of people from all continents.
Herbie Hancock Herbie Hancock, a 14-time GRAMMY® Award winner, is a jazz icon who has been an integral part of every jazz movement since his arrival on the scene in the 1960s. The internationally renowned pianist and composer was born in Chicago and began playing piano at age 7. At age 20, Hancock was invited by Donald Byrd to join his band. Byrd later helped him secure a recording contract with Blue Note Records. Hancock’s debut album, Takin’ Off, included “Watermelon Man,” the first of many Top 10 hits. As a member of the Miles Davis Quintet, Hancock became one of the pioneers of modern jazz improvisation. His recordings during the ’70s combined electric jazz with funk and rock sounds in an innovative style that influenced a whole decade of music. In 1983, “Rockit,” from the platinum-selling Future Shock album, won Hancock a GRAMMY for Best R&B Instrumental. He received an Oscar in 1987 for Best Score, honoring his work on Round Midnight. In 2007, Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters won the GRAMMY Award for Album of the Year, making Hancock the first jazz musician to receive this honor in 44 years. His latest release is The Imagine Project, which was recorded all around the world with artists including India.Arie, Los Lobos and Seal. Hancock serves as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue and Chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.
Quincy Jones After six decades in the music business, Quincy Jones has attained legendary status, crossing all stylistic borders. Born in Chicago and raised in Seattle, Jones had befriended a young Ray Charles by age 13 and the two performed together in area clubs. Jones received a scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music, but soon left to perform with Lionel Hampton’s band and later work with Count Basie, Dinah Washington, Cannonball Adderley, the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, and his own all-star big band. In the 1960s, Jones became a vice president at Mercury Records. He also began composing for films, writing music for In Cold Blood, The Wiz and the television series “Roots.” In the 70s, he recorded albums that fused jazz, funk and soul, and helped craft the careers of Chaka Khan and Michael Jackson. Jones has pulled off several amazing feats, including the coordination of “We Are the World,” the comeback of Frank Sinatra, and a concert featuring Miles Davis presenting his classic works. He has received 27 GRAMMY Awards®, an Emmy and an Oscar, and founded the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation to support youth education in culture, music and technology. In 2010, top pop, R&B and hiphop artists came together to record contemporary versions of classics from Jones’ massive catalog on Q: Soul Bossa Nostra.
Martin Luther King III As the oldest son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King III is carrying the torch lit by his parents into the 21st century. King’s dedication to implementing strategic nonviolent action to rid the world of social, political and economic injustice has made him one of the nation’s most ardent advocates for the poor, oppressed and disillusioned. A graduate of Morehouse College, King was elected in 1986 to the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, where he represented more than 700,000 Georgia residents. He later initiated the King Summer Intern Program to provide employment opportunities for high school students; Hoops for Health, a charity basketball game that increases awareness of newborns suffering the effects of substance abuse; and A Call to Manhood, an event uniting young African-American males with positive adult role models. In 1998, King began his tenure as President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, where he aggressively fought injustices including police brutality and racial profiling. In 2006, King founded Realizing the Dream, which later merged with The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, where he served as President & CEO. In all his pursuits, King continues to serve as a passionate ambassador of his parents’ legacy of nonviolent social change.
Thelonious Monk, Jr. Thelonious Monk, Jr. had an extraordinary childhood. As the son of jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Monk, his home was the gathering place for Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and other legendary jazz musicians. Monk began playing drums after receiving his first pair of drumsticks from Max Roach and his first drum set from Art Blakey. He played for two years with his father’s band and was a member of Atlantic Records’ fusion band Natural Essence. He then formed the group “T.S. Monk” with his sister Barbara Monk and vocalist Yvonne Fletcher. The group recorded three albums and charted a Top 20 hit with its single “Bon Bon Vie” followed by “Too Much Too Soon.” In 1992, Monk formed a straight-ahead septet, which released several albums including the critically acclaimed The Charm. Monk celebrated his father’s 80th birthday with the all-star recording Monk on Monk. His most recent release, Higher Ground, ventures into smooth jazz and funk. Monk serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.
Cem Yılmaz Cem Yılmaz is a renowned Turkish comedian, actor, filmmaker and cartoonist. While studying at Bo˘gaziçi University’s Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, he started drawing comics for the Turkish humor magazine Leman. In 1995 he did his first stand-up comedy show at the Leman Culture Center, performing with no serious career intentions as a comedian. However, after the positive audience response, he continued his show and attracted larger crowds at the Be¸sikta¸s Cultural Center, where he has since appeared in more than a thousand stand-up comedy shows. Yılmaz’s film career began in 1998 with a costarring role in the comedy Everything’s Gonna Be Great, followed by a role in Vizontele. He achieved his greatest success by starring in and writing the sciencefiction parody G.O.R.A. Yılmaz went on to win two Sadri Alı¸sık awards for his roles in Organize I¸˙sler and The Magician. He has since repeated his box office success with A.R.O.G., the sequel to G.O.R.A., and the Western parody Yah¸si Batı. More recently, he co-starred alongside veteran actor Sener ¸ Sen ¸ in the police drama Hunting Season, and made a special appearance in the drama Zephyr.
Dale Barlow Dale Barlow is an original stylist on tenor saxophone and one of the most recognized jazz artists in Australia. Barlow was born in Sydney and began studying piano before switching to classical flute and clarinet and eventually tenor saxophone. He moved to New York in 1982 to study and soon found himself playing with some of the leading figures in jazz like Chet Baker, Sonny Rollins, Cedar Walton and Kenny Barron as well as pop artists including Bryan Ferry and Style Council. Over the next several years, he recorded and toured internationally with both American and Australian jazz artists, and in 1990 he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. In his home country, Barlow was a recognized face, appearing on television variety and talk shows. In recent years, he has toured throughout the world, playing saxophone, flute and the indigenous didgeridoo.
John Beasley | MUSICAL DIRECTOR Pianist, composer, and music director John Beasley takes pride in being a musical chameleon and has an amazing track record to show for his versatility. Beasley grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana and by the time he was a teen was playing trumpet, oboe, drums, saxophone and flute. His interest in jazz was sparked after hearing a Bobby Timmons record. Beasley was offered an oboe scholarship to Juilliard but by that point his career had taken off and he was soon touring with Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard. Since then, his list of collaborators has grown long and varied, including Steely Dan, Barbra Streisand, Queen Latifah, Chaka Khan and James Brown. Beasley has performed on film scores for Erin Brokovich, Finding Nemo and The Godfather III. He recently received a GRAMMY nomination for his ninth album, Positootly! In 2012, Beasley released 3 Brave Souls, which features Darryl Jones and Ndugu Chancler, and he is currently touring with these band mates.
Rubén Blades Five-time GRAMMY Award-winning musician, singer, and songwriter Rubén Blades was born in Panama City, Panama. His father played the bongos and his mother was a pianist, singer, and radio actress. It was with his brother Luis that Blades made his first public performance as a singer. In 1970, he traveled to New York to record his first album, De Panama a Nueva York: Pete Rodriguez Presenta a Rubén Blades, then returned to Panama to finish his law degree. Blades’ musical career got a boost after he began singing with Ray Barretto’s salsa band. In 1976, Blades began collaborating with salsa musician Willie Colón. They created several successful albums, including Siembra, one of the most popular salsa albums ever. Blades made numerous solo recordings, such as Buscando América, Nothing But the Truth, and Mundo. Much of his work focused on social and political issues, and his hit “Patria” is regarded as Panama’s second national anthem. Blades has appeared in films including The Milagro Beanfield War, All the Pretty Horses and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. In 1994, Blades took a more active role in Panama’s politics and ran for President of Panama. A decade later, he was appointed Minister of Tourism.
Terence Blanchard Five-time GRAMMY Award winner Terence Blanchard has attained a unique position as an accomplished jazz artist, bandleader, film composer and educator. As a teenager, he studied with Ellis Marsalis at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. While attending Rutgers University, he was offered a position in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, where he served as musical director. Blanchard has composed for every Spike Lee film since Mo’ Better Blues and scored dozens of other films and television shows. From 2000 to 2011, he served as Artistic Director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance. In 2006, he appeared in and composed for Spike Lee’s documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts. Blanchard’s corresponding recording, A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina), received a GRAMMY for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. His latest Concord release is Choices. Blanchard is Artistic Director of Jazz at the Henry Mancini Institute in Miami and serves as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Jazz Creative Director.
PERFORMING AR TISTS Igor Butman Saxophonist and bandleader Igor Butman is Russia’s premier jazz artist. Butman was born in Leningrad and began playing clarinet at age 11. He studied music at the Rimsky-Korsakov College of Music and received much of his education from listening to nightly jazz broadcasts from Voice of America. In 1983, he joined the Oleg Lundstrem Big Band and was soon invited to play with the acclaimed Russian jazz group Allegro. Butman moved to the United States in 1987 to attend the Berklee College of Music. Saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. took Butman under his wing, featuring him in live performances and on recordings like Then & Now. In 1989, Butman moved to New York, where he played with some of the top players on the scene. He also recorded the solo album Falling Out with Eddie Gomez, Lyle Mays and Marvin Smith. He eventually moved back to Russia to serve as the bridge between the Moscow and New York jazz scenes. His most recent release is titled Magic Land and features an all-star band that includes Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, John Patitucci, Randy Brecker and Stefon Harris.
Terri Lyne Carrington Dynamic and endlessly creative, Terri Lyne Carrington is the drummer of choice for many of the most important figures in jazz. Born in Medford, Massachusetts, Carrington received her first set of drums at age 3. At 10, she had her first major performance with trumpet legend Clark Terry, and a year later received a full scholarship to the Berklee College of Music. As a teenager, Carrington performed and recorded with Kenny Barron, Buster Williams, Stan Getz and James Moody. In 1988, an invitation to become the drummer for “The Arsenio Hall Show” brought her to Los Angeles. Throughout the ’90s, she performed with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, and played alongside Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder on Hancock’s GRAMMY Award-winning Gershwin’s World. Carrington teaches at Berklee and serves as Artistic Director of the Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival. Her Concord debut, The Mosaic Project, features some of the most prominent female jazz artists including Geri Allen, Esperanza Spalding, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Cassandra Wilson and Dianne Reeves. This album received the 2012 GRAMMY Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Carrington’s latest release is Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue, a unique revisiting of music from the Duke Ellington recording of the same name.
Anat Cohen Anat Cohen is one of the most exciting new artists on the jazz scene. Cohen was born in Tel Aviv, Israel into a musical family. She attended the Tel Aviv School for the Arts, Thelma Yellin High School for the Arts, and Jaffa Music Conservatory. Cohen began playing clarinet at age 16, performing in the Jaffa Conservatory’s Dixieland band. She later attended the Berklee College of Music, where she developed a love for South American music. After graduation, Cohen moved to New York and began playing with the all-woman big band The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, Brazilian group Choro Ensemble, and Duduka Da Fonseca’s Samba Jazz Quintet. She also began playing in the 3 Cohens trio with her brothers, saxophonist Yuval and trumpeter Avishai. In 2005, Cohen started her own record label, Anzic Records, and released her debut CD, Place & Time, which All About Jazz named one of the year’s best debuts. Over the next several years, she continued releasing CDs as a solo artist and with the 3 Cohens, garnering rave reviews and gracing the cover of DownBeat magazine in 2012. Her most recent release is Claroscuro, which highlights her excellent band members Jason Lindner, Joe Martin and Daniel Freedman.
Vinnie Colaiuta Vinnie Colaiuta has been cited by Modern Drummer as the most important drummer of our time. Originally from Brownsville, Pennsylvania, he began playing drums as a child and received his first full drum kit from his parents at age 14. After attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Colaiuta relocated to Los Angeles and in 1978 was chosen as Frank Zappa’s principal drummer for studio and live performances. Colaiuta’s performances on several of Zappa’s albums are considered by many drummers to be among the most astounding ever recorded. Colaiuta went on to work with a long list of notable rock and pop artists, including Jeff Beck, Clannad, Faith Hill, Chaka Khan, Joni Mitchell, Sting and Barbra Streisand. He has also appeared with many notable jazz musicians, including Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Haslip and Quincy Jones. Colaiuta remains one of the most in-demand studio musicians, playing on countless albums and film soundtracks.
Imer Demirer Imer Demirer is one of the leading jazz trumpet players in Turkey. He was born in Ankara and began studying music at the Istanbul State Conservatory. In 1986, while still in school, he joined Ali Peret’s Istanbul Jazz Quartet and performed at festivals through Eastern Europe. After graduation, he became a part of Süheyl Denizci’s Turkish Radio Television Istanbul Radio Jazz Orchestra. Demirer has performed and recorded with the biggest names in Turkish jazz along with American jazz artists including Ricky Ford, Ari Honig, Aaron Goldberg and Orrin Evans. Demirer is also an educator and has taught at Istanbul Bilgi University. In 2009, he released his debut album You, Me, and Char.
George Duke Pianist and producer George Duke has had an astounding career, taking part in hundreds of musical projects and receiving numerous GRAMMY Awards and nominations. In the late ’60s, Duke formed a group with singer Al Jarreau that became the house band for San Francisco’s Half Note Club. He also performed locally with Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon. While collaborating with jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, Duke began creating the West Coast response to the fusion coming out of the East Coast. He then joined Frank Zappa’s band and performed with Dizzy Gillespie and Nancy Wilson as a member of Cannonball Adderley’s group. During this same period, Duke began working with Stanley Clarke, Airto Moreira, and Flora Purim, forming what would become his musical family for the next several decades. Throughout the ’70s, Duke released a series of dynamic fusion and funk albums, including the chart-topping Reach For It. In the decades that followed, Duke expanded his career as a recording artist, composer, and producer, working with Natalie Cole, Smokey Robinson, Dianne Reeves, Gladys Knight, and Miles Davis. Duke continues to record in a wide variety of styles and tour with his own group. In 2012, Duke was inducted into the Soul Music Hall of Fame.
James Genus James Genus is one of the top bass players on the jazz scene and one of the rare few who can apply his masterful artistry to both the upright and the electric bass. Born in Hampton, Virginia, Genus began playing guitar at age 6 and switched to bass at age 13. He attended Virginia Commonwealth University, where he studied with pianist Ellis Marsalis. After graduation, he moved to New York and became one of the city’s most in-demand musicians. His first professional music experience was with the Blue Note band, Out of the Blue. Since then, Genus has performed and recorded with dozens of major jazz artists including Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes, T.S. Monk, Chick Corea, Don Pullen, Horace Silver, Branford Marsalis, Bob James, Michel Camilo, Nat Adderley, Greg Osby, Benny Golson, Jon Faddis, Steps Ahead and the Brecker Brothers. He also has worked with renowned vocalists Anita Baker and Vanessa Williams, and the art-rock band Elysian Fields. Genus teaches at the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music, presents bass clinics around the world, and is a member of the Saturday Night Live Band. Most recently, Genus recorded with harmonica master Gregoire Maret for Maret’s self-titled album.
Robert Glasper GRAMMY Award-winning pianist and composer Robert Glasper is defining the cutting edge of modern music. Glasper attended the High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Houston, Texas before moving to New York to study at the New School. He established himself as an original and versatile pianist, performing with artists including Christian McBride, Kenny Garrett, Roy Hargrove and Mos Def. In 2004, he released his first CD, Mood, to critical acclaim. The following year, he was signed to Blue Note and released a trio of CDs, including the groundbreaking Double Booked, which featured the acoustic Robert Glasper Trio and the electric Robert Glasper Experiment. The album underscored Glasper’s original blend of hip-hop and modern jazz. By this time, he was also developing a reputation for his rhythmic experiments and radical re-workings of classic jazz and rock material. Glasper’s 2012 release Black Radio entered the Billboard charts at number one and received the 2013 GRAMMY Award for Best R&B album. The CD features hiphop and jazz artists including Lupe Fiasco, Erykah Badu, Musiq Soulchild, and KING along with Glasper’s own group.
PERFORMING AR TISTS Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain is a classical tabla virtuoso of the highest order and a chief architect of the contemporary world music movement. His exciting performances and masterful improvisational dexterity have established him as a national treasure in his native India, and gained him worldwide fame. A child prodigy, Hussain was touring by age 12. He came to the United States in 1970, performing his first concert at the Fillmore East in New York City with Ravi Shankar. Hussain’s contributions have been unique, with historic collaborations including Shakti, which he founded with John McLaughlin and L. Shankar, Remember Shakti, the Diga Rhythm Band, Planet Drum with Mickey Hart, Tabla Beat Science, Sangam with Charles Lloyd and Eric Harland, and recordings and performances with artists as diverse as George Harrison, Yo-Yo Ma, Joe Henderson, Van Morrison, Airto Moreira, Béla Fleck, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Cobham, Mark Morris, Rennie Harris, and the Kodo Drummers. Hussain has composed music for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Jazz Festival and 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and has scored for many films. Hussain’s extraordinary impact on the music world was honored in 2009, with four widely heralded, sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall.
Al Jarreau Al Jarreau has captivated a worldwide audience with his blend of jazz and soul music, amazing vocal skills, and scat techniques. With seven GRAMMY Awards and scores of international jazz and pop music awards, he has established himself as a legend in the music industry. Jarreau began his career as a rehabilitation counselor in San Francisco. Although he had been singing since the age of four, it wasn’t until his early 20s when he began singing in local clubs with George Duke that he decided that music would become his career. Jarreau relocated to Los Angeles and performed around the city. After several national television appearances, Jarreau was signed to Warner Bros. in 1975 and released his first album, We Got By, which received massive critical acclaim. In 1977, he won his first GRAMMY for Best Jazz Vocal Performance and topped many readers and critics polls. Jarreau’s 1981 album Breakin’ Away, which included the hit “We’re in This Love Together,” sold a million copies and made him one of the most recognized singers in music. Since that time, Jarreau has continued to release chart-topping albums that blend jazz and R&B. He was awarded a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star, commemorating his spectacular career.
Bilâl Karaman Guitar virtuoso Bilâl Karaman is one of the most outstanding young artists on Turkey’s jazz scene. Karaman received his bachelor’s degree in jazz performance from Istanbul Bilgi University, where he studied jazz as well as Turkish music. In 2009, he won first place in Istanbul’s jazz guitar competition, sponsored by Yahama, and has since released two albums, Bahane in 2011 and Patika in 2013. Karaman is in demand as a soloist for his unique, near East approach to jazz guitar. He has performed and recorded with renowned artists including Marcus Miller, Butch Morris and Ricky Ford, among others. A committed educator, Karaman founded Gitar Akademisi, Turkey’s first virtual guitar academy. Karaman lives in Istanbul and continues to spread Turkish jazz throughout Eastern Europe and beyond.
Ramsey Lewis Pianist and composer Ramsey Lewis has been an iconic leader in the contemporary jazz movement for more than 50 years. A native of Chicago, Lewis began taking piano lessons at age 4 and joined a jazz band at age 15. He captivated fans with his first album, Ramsey Lewis And The Gentlemen of Swing and went on to top the charts with “The In Crowd,” “Hang On Sloopy” and “Wade In The Water.” Throughout his illustrious career, Lewis has joined forces with countless artists. In 1984, he collaborated with Nancy Wilson on The Two of Us; in 1988, he recorded with London’s Philharmonia Orchestra for A Classic Encounter; and a year later he recorded a set of piano duets with Dr. Billy Taylor in We Meet Again. Lewis is a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master with three GRAMMY Awards and seven gold records to his credit. He helped organize the Ravinia Festival’s Jazz Mentor Program and serves as Artistic Director for the festival’s jazz series. Lewis recently released his 80th collection of songs titled Ramsey, Taking Another Look. He hosts “Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis,” a two-hour radio program that airs in more than 65 cities across the United States.
Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis is one of the most significant saxophonists in jazz since the 1960s and a musical leader of his generation. Marsalis grew up in New Orleans in one of the most renowned musical families. He attended the Berklee College of Music and began touring with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers as an alto saxophonist in 1981 alongside his younger brother Wynton. The brothers were soon invited to join Herbie Hancock on a Japanese tour. Marsalis later joined Wynton’s quintet alongside pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Robert Hurst, and drummer Jeff Watts. The group heralded a new wave of acoustic music rooted in the tradition of 1950s and ’60s jazz. In 1985, Marsalis joined Sting’s band, touring the world and performing on classic albums like The Dream of the Blue Turtles and Nothing Like the Sun. He appeared as an actor in the 1988 Spike Lee film School Daze and performed on the soundtrack. In 1992, Marsalis became the bandleader for the Tonight Show Band, a position that lasted for the next three years. After leaving the show, Marsalis committed himself fully to jazz, leading his own quartet. He, his father Ellis and his brothers Wynton, Jason and Delfeayo were named National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters in 2011.
Pedro Martinez Pedro “Pedrito” Martinez is one of the top Latin percussionists on the scene today and a brilliant performer who has thrilled audiences across the globe. Martinez was born in Havana, Cuba and began performing with some of the legends of Cuban music at age 11. At 25, he moved to Canada and soon after won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Hand Drums Competition. He later moved to New York, where he began playing with Paquito D’Rivera, Steve Turre, Stefon Harris, Joe Lovano and Sting. Martinez also became a member of the Afro-Cuban/Afro-Beat band Yerba Buena, which toured the world opening for Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson and Ray Charles. Martinez has appeared on the GRAMMY Award-winning Simpatico by Brian Lynch and Eddie Palmieri and on six GRAMMY-nominated albums. He currently performs with his band, the Pedro Martinez Group, playing a mix of Afro-Cuban rumba, bata rhythms, and the music of Yoruba and Santeria traditions. The group has released a live album and plans to record a studio album this year.
Hugh Masekela Legendary trumpeter Hugh Masekela has been a defining force in world music and human rights in Africa and around the globe. The iconic performer, composer, producer and activist is best known for his 1968 GRAMMY-nominated hit single, “Grazing in the Grass,” which sold over 4 million copies and made him an international star. Born in Witbank, South Africa, Masekela began playing piano as a child and later took up the trumpet. He escaped South Africa’s Apartheid oppression and attended London’s Guildhall School of Music. He later studied at the Manhattan School of Music. On his first night in New York, Masekela visited three different jazz clubs to hear John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Max Roach. Masekela has collaborated with numerous artists including Miriam Makeba, Dizzy Gillespie, Harry Belafonte, Herb Alpert, U2 and Fela Kuti. He played an integral role in Paul Simon’s tour behind the classic album Graceland, one of the first pop records to introduce world music to a broader public. In the 1980s, Masekela’s hit song Bring Him Back Home became an anthem for the Free Nelson Mandela movement. Masekela’s 2012 release, Jabulani, recalls several generations of music from South African wedding ceremonies.
Keiko Matsui Keiko Matsui is a contemporary jazz composer and keyboard player whose passionate music has won her legions of fans around the globe. Matsui grew up in Tokyo and began studying piano at a young age. Her early musical inspirations were Stevie Wonder, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Chick Corea. As a teenager, she studied music at the Yamaha Music Foundation and through the Foundation joined the Japanese fusion group Cosmos. After recording seven albums with the band, Matsui moved to the United States at age 19 and recorded her debut album, A Drop of Water. The success of the album led to Matsui being signed to MCA, where she released two acclaimed recordings. Over the years, she has released 33 albums, many of them topping the contemporary jazz charts. Matsui is also an activist and a champion of numerous causes. She has worked with and supported the Y-M National Breast Cancer Organization, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization, the National Marrow Donor Program, and the United Nations World Food Programme. Matsui’s latest CD, The Road… blends music from around the world and features Vinnie Colaiuta, Richard Bona, and many others.
PERFORMING AR TISTS John McLaughlin A revolutionary force in music, John McLaughlin has been forging his own path on guitar since the 1960s and is still pointing the way forward. Growing up in Yorkshire, England, McLaughlin studied violin and piano before gravitating to the guitar. He played in a variety of bands in London and later joined Tony Williams’ Lifetime band and moved to New York. McLaughlin soon found himself in the studio with Miles Davis recording what would become the classic album In a Silent Way. In 1971, he formed the Mahavishnu Orchestra, which brought together rock, jazz, and Eastern music and had a massive impact on musicians and music lovers around the world. The always creatively restless McLaughlin moved on to form Shakti, in which he played acoustic guitar and further immersed himself in Indian classical music. Throughout the following decades, he worked in a variety of groups and played on dozens of albums with artists including Stanley Clarke, Carlos Santana, Dexter Gordon and Wayne Shorter. McLaughlin’s latest album is titled Now Here This and features his current group, 4th Dimension.
Marcus Miller Marcus Miller is a modern pioneer of electric bass. He has influenced musicians around the globe as both a performer and a recording musician appearing on more than 500 albums. Miller was born in New York and raised in a musical family that included his uncle, pianist Wynton Kelly. By the age of 13, he was writing songs and playing clarinet, piano and bass. Two years later, he began working as a session musician around the city. For the next 15 years, Miller recorded with an amazing array of artists including Elton John, Grover Washington, Jr., Chaka Khan, LL Cool J, and Frank Sinatra. He also spent two years as the bassist for the Saturday Night Live Band. In 1980, he joined Miles Davis’ band as Davis was coming out of retirement. Miller’s contributions as a bass player, composer and producer defined Davis’ style throughout the ’80s. Over the course of his career, Miller has received two GRAMMY Awards and countless other honors. His most recent release, Renaissance, finds Miller pushing himself to new creative heights with the help of some of today’s up-and-coming artists including Kris Bowers, Louis Cato, and Sean Jones.
Milton Nascimento Milton Nascimento is a Brazilian singer, songwriter and guitarist whose powerful music and message has moved millions and has been the rallying cry of self-determination in Brazil. Nascimento was born in Rio de Janeiro and began his career playing in samba groups around the city. He moved to Belo Horizonte, where along with other artists and bands he created the Clube da Esquina movement, bringing together progressive rock, bossa nova and jazz. The musicians involved in this artist collective released the album Clube da Esquina, which received massive acclaim and gave Nascimento wider recognition. His song “Coracao de Estudante” commemorated a student killed by a police officer. The song was adopted as a theme for the Diretas Ja campaign, which fought for direct presidential campaigns in Brazil. In 1974, Wayne Shorter collaborated with Nascimento and recorded the album Native Dancer. The album brought Nascimento to the world stage and led to collaborations with Herbie Hancock, Peter Gabriel, James Taylor, Quincy Jones and George Duke. Throughout the years, Nascimento has released dozens of his own chart-topping albums. He is currently collaborating with American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz.
Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri has been a pioneering force in Latin jazz for more than five decades. Palmieri grew up in New York’s Spanish Harlem and was immersed in music from an early age. His brother Charlie Palmieri was an influential salsa pianist. In 1961, Palmieri formed his own group La Perfecta, which featured a trombone section in place of trumpets, a first in salsa music. The band’s unusual sound soon led them to major success in Latin music. Palmieri’s 1970 release Harlem River Drive brought him new acclaim with its blend of salsa, funk, soul, and jazz. Over the years, Palmieri has released dozens of albums and received nine GRAMMY Awards. He has also received an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music, a Chubb Fellowship Award from Yale University, the Harlem Renaissance Award, and many others. In 2011, Palmieri released his 50th anniversary DVD featuring live performance footage with his salsa orchestra. Most recently in 2013, Palmieri was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, the nation’s highest honor in jazz.
Alevtina Polyakova Alevtina Polyakova is a gifted musician, arranger, composer and singer who has the distinction of being Russia’s leading female jazz trombone player. Her performances combine virtuosity, power and tenderness with her creative improvisational ideas. As a composer, Polyakova has drawn praise from respected jazz musicians for her blending of African rhythms with Russian melodic language. A jazz performance student at the Gnesins Russian Academy of Music in Moscow, Polyakova has won numerous Russian and international musical contests. In 2009, after appearing as a soloist with the Igor Butman Orchestra, she launched her international career, going on to share the stage with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Randy Brecker, Wynton Marsalis, Natalie Cole and John Pizzarelli, among others. Polyakova has performed at prestigious concert venues in Russia and abroad, including the Iridium and Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in New York City.
Jean-Luc Ponty Jean-Luc Ponty is a visionary violin master who has made a lasting impact on modern music. Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians in Avranches, France. He studied at the Conservatiore National Superieur de Musique de Paris and graduated with the school’s highest award, Premier Prix. Ponty began performing classical music, all the while developing a love of jazz. The demands of both styles grew overwhelming and Ponty eventually decided to immerse himself fully in jazz. He released his debut album at age 22 and brought new life to the possibility of the violin as a solo voice in jazz. Several years later he was introduced to American audiences at a performance with the Modern Jazz Quartet at the Monterey Jazz Festival. In the 1970s, Ponty collaborated with a broad range of artists, including Frank Zappa, Elton John, George Duke and John McLaughlin. He has released 12 solo albums, all of which reached the Top 5 on the Billboard jazz charts. In recent years, Ponty has toured and recorded with Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola, and a group of West African musicians. His latest release, the critically acclaimed The Atacama Experience, features music that represents a journey through different lands and eras.
Dianne Reeves A four-time GRAMMY Award winner, Dianne Reeves is one of the premier vocalists on the worldwide music scene. A native of Denver, she began her career in Los Angeles as a studio vocalist working with Lenny White, Stanley Turrentine and Billy Childs. Reeves toured with Sergio Mendes and Harry Belafonte, then signed to Blue Note in 1987. Her self-titled Blue Note debut, featuring Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard and Tony Williams, was nominated for a GRAMMY. Reeves’ Blue Note releases in the ’90s established her place as an exceptional vocalist, and she was invited to perform at the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. In 2005, she appeared in the film Good Night, and Good Luck, performing a series of jazz standards. Reeves is currently touring alongside Angelique Kidjo and Lizz Wright with Sing The Truth!, a production honoring the music of great female artists.
Lee Ritenour GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist Lee Ritenour is an eclectic musician who has appeared on more than 3,000 sessions in virtually all styles of music. Ritenour played one of his first sessions at age 16 for the group The Mamas and the Papas and has never looked back. While continuing to play with pop groups, he began to make an impact as a jazz guitarist strongly influenced by Wes Montgomery. Ritenour’s albums in the ’70s demonstrated his love of jazz, pop and Brazilian music and were met with chart-topping success. He scored a crossover hit with “Is It You?” from his 1981 album, Rit. In the ’90s, Ritenour was a founding member of the contemporary jazz group Fourplay, whose first album spent an unprecedented 22 weeks at number one on the Billboard contemporary jazz charts. Along the way, he has appeared on albums by Deniece Williams, Dizzy Gillespie and Pink Floyd, and has received the top spot in numerous guitar polls. Ritenour’s most recent release is 6 String Theory, a celebration of the guitar that includes B.B. King, George Benson, Slash, John Scofield, Pat Martino and Mike Stern.
PERFORMING AR TISTS Christian Scott Christian Scott is an exciting new voice in jazz who is cutting his own path with an original style and sound. Scott grew up in New Orleans and began studying music with his uncle, saxophonist Donald Harrison, as a child. He attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, where he studied with Kent Jordan. Scott was accepted on a full scholarship to the Berklee College of Music, where he double majored in professional music and film scoring. He toured with his uncle and completed his debut CD while still a student at Berklee. In 2005, Scott was signed to Concord Records. The following year, he released the GRAMMY-nominated Rewind That and was named “One to Watch in 2006” by Billboard magazine. Now on his sixth release as a leader, Scott has moved to center stage in the jazz world, winning over fans and critics around the world. In 2010, he received the Edison Award for Best International Jazz Artist. Scott’s latest release, Christian aTunde Adjuah, is a two-disc, 23-song collection that includes ballads, ambient pieces and hardedged rock.
Hüsnü Şenlendirici Hüsnü Senlendirici ¸ is one of Turkey’s leading clarinetists and a leader in cross-cultural collaborations. Senlendirici ¸ began playing clarinet at the age of 5. He entered the Turkish Music State Conservatory at Istanbul Technical University in 1990. At the same time, he began performing at Turkish music festivals with percussionist Oktay Temiz along with his father, clarinetist Ergün Senlendirici, ¸ and the group Magnetic Band. In 1996, he founded the group Laco Tayfa and released the album In the Buzzbag, a collaboration with the American group Brooklyn Funk Essentials. Senlendirici ¸ released his first solo album in 2000. He was selected to participate in the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s project Anadolu Günesi, which brought him together with artists Kubat and Belkis Akkale along with a symphonic orchestra. His most recent release, The Joy of Clarinet, focuses on the instrument itself, with Senlendirici ¸ performing in a range of styles from ancient gypsy soul to ambient groove music.
Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter is one of the greatest jazz artists of all time. Dozens of his more than 200 compositions are standards performed by artists around the world. Shorter grew up in Newark, New Jersey and graduated from Arts High School. He attended New York University and then served in the Army while playing saxophone in groups with Horace Silver and Maynard Ferguson. In 1959, Shorter joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, where he soon became musical director. In 1964, the same year Shorter recorded Speak No Evil – his first record as a leader for Blue Note – Miles Davis invited him to join a quartet with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Shorter recorded 12 albums with Davis and provided much of the material for the group’s musical explorations. In 1970, Shorter and Joe Zawinul formed Weather Report, which became one of the most influential forces of the fusion era. In 2005, he won a GRAMMY Award for Beyond the Sound Barrier, taking his total to nine over the past 25 years. Shorter currently performs with his dynamic quartet, which includes Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade. His latest release, Without a Net, shows this quartet at its finest.
Esperanza Spalding Esperanza Spalding is a dynamic bassist, singer and composer who is cutting her own unique creative path. Only 28 years old, she is the first jazz musician to win a GRAMMY Award for Best New Artist. Spalding grew up in Portland, Oregon and was drawn to music when she saw Yo-Yo Ma perform on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” She began playing cello at age 5 and discovered the bass while attending Northwest Academy, a performing arts high school in Oregon. Spalding entered the Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship and after her first semester was invited to perform with Patti Austin on the “For Ella” tour. She also studied with Joe Lovano, who later invited her to join his band. Upon graduation, Spalding returned to Berklee as a teacher. Since then, her career has taken off with performances at the White House and Nobel Peace Concert, and her chart topping releases Esperanza, Chamber Music Society and Radio Music Society, which includes a 12-piece, world-class band.
PERFORMING AR TISTS Joss Stone Joss Stone has been passionate about soul music since she was a little girl. By the time she was in her early teens, she had begun to hone her now trademark gravelly yet lustrous vocals by singing along to Aretha’s Franklin records. Stone began pursuing a singing career at 13 and secured a record deal at 15, releasing The Soul Sessions. Her second album, 2004’s Mind Body & Soul, earned Stone three GRAMMY nominations, including one for Best New Artist. In 2007, Stone released Introducing Joss Stone, which debuted on the Billboard charts at number two, marking the highest U.S. debut ever for a female British solo artist. Stone has performed onstage with James Brown, Gladys Knight, Blondie, Smokey Robinson and Melissa Etheridge, among others. She has contributed to albums by Jeff Beck and Ringo Starr, played the Super Bowl pregame show, and performed at the GRAMMY Awards, winning one of her own in 2006. In recent years, she has collaborated with Mick Jagger, Dave Stewart and Damien Marley. Stone’s 2012 follow up to her multi-million selling debut album is The Soul Sessions Volume 2, which was recorded in Nashville with Ernie Isley, Delbert McClinton and Clayton Ivey.
Joe Louis Walker Joe Louis Walker is one of the most heralded blues artists of our time. A powerhouse guitar virtuoso, unique singer and prolific songwriter, he has toured extensively throughout his career, performed at the world’s most renowned music festivals, and earned a legion of dedicated fans. Walker was born in San Francisco and first picked up the guitar at age 8. By 16, he was a known quantity on the Bay Area music scene and his work was heavily influenced by vocalists like James Brown, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. Walker attended San Francisco State University, where he received a degree in music and English. He has performed or recorded with the likes of Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Shemekia Copeland, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker, BB King, Huey Lewis, Taj Mahal, Branford Marsalis, John Mayall, Thelonious Monk, Bonnie Raitt, Ike Turner and Muddy Waters. Walker is a multiple GRAMMY and W.C. Handy Award winner whose discography includes 18 solo albums, two live DVDs, and countless compilations and guest appearances. Still recording and touring, Walker is already being referred to within the blues world as a living legend. His latest release, Hellfire, highlights Walker’s searing blues guitar, passionate vocals and wailing harmonica playing.
Ben Williams Ben Williams is a world-class musician who is setting a new standard for the bass. Williams grew up in Washington, D.C. and was drawn to music at an early age after seeing a bass in the corner of Congressman John Conyers’ office, where his mother worked. He attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and participated in the Thelonious Monk Institute’s outreach programs. After high school, Williams was accepted into the music program at Michigan State University, where he studied with Rodney Whitaker. He went on attend the Juilliard jazz program and study with Ben Wolfe. In 2009, Williams won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition, a win that included a recording contract with Concord Records. Williams has performed with Jacky Terrasson, Wynton Marsalis, Pat Metheny, Terence Blanchard, Benny Golson and Stefon Harris’ Blackout. His debut release, the highly acclaimed State of Art, showcases him playing a variety of genres, from jazz to R&B to hip-hop.
Liu Yuan Liu Yuan is one of the most successful jazz artists to emerge from China. Born in Beijing, Yuan grew up listening to his father play suona, a traditional Chinese wind instrument Yuan began studying the instrument and eventually performed with a traveling group. At 19, he heard jazz performed for the first time in a club in Hungary while on tour. The music had a powerful impact on Yuan, leading him to purchase a saxophone and begin teaching himself jazz by listening to Grover Washington, Jr. on the only recording he was able to acquire at the time. In the 1980s, he was a founding member of China’s first major rock band, Cui Jian. Yuan’s instruments of choice are tenor and baritone saxophone and he occasionally plays a modernized version of a suona. In recent years, Yuan has continued to perform jazz and rock and has become manager of the Chinese jazz club CD Jazz Café.
PA R T ICIPATING COUNTRIES International Jazz Day 2013 is being celebrated today around the globe in the following countries: Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Côte d’Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo
Denmark Djibouti Dominica Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Guatemala Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Conakry Guyana Haiti Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia
Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norway Oman Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Republic of Korea Republic of Moldova Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa San Marino São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad & Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
“Jazz as we know it would not exist without the blues”
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he blues, perhaps more than any other music, is jazz’s greatest influence. From the creation of jazz a century ago to the modern jazz of today, the blues has been a benchmark for jazz musicians. As the blues and jazz continue to evolve, the connection remains unbroken. Dockery Farms is considered by many, including blues legend B.B. King, to be the birthplace of the blues. This historic plantation community, located on the banks of the Sunflower River near Cleveland, Mississippi, was established by Will Dockery in 1895 to produce cotton — America’s most important export of the 19th and early 20th century. African Americans who came to Dockery Farms to cultivate cotton created a culture through their work in the fields that inspired the music we know as the blues. By the 1920s, Dockery Farms had grown to a community of several thousand workers and was home to a number of blues pioneers, among them Henry Sloan, Willie Brown, Tommy Johnson, Roebuck “Pop” Staples and, most famous of all, Charley Patton, the acknowledged “father of the blues.” It was at Dockery that these musicians lived and learned from one another. They played with now-legendary blues figures such as Robert Johnson, Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson and Howlin’ Wolf in the boarding houses and commissary at Dockery,
and in the juke joints of neighboring towns. Ultimately, these artists left Dockery on the plantation’s Pea Vine Railroad and traveled north to record their new music. While no one would have imagined it at the time, their songs would influence the development of popular music around the world. Over the years, countless blues fans have made their way to Dockery Farms to see the property firsthand. Recently, Dockery Farms was added to the National Register of Historic Places. To honor its historic and musical legacy, the nonprofit Dockery Farms Foundation (www.dockeryfarms.org) has been established to preserve the property’s buildings and use them as a public educational resource. Remarkably, five of the six structures that made up the commercial center of the plantation still stand today, looking much like they did when built by Will Dockery. Time has taken its toll, however, and the Foundation is overseeing the restoration of the buildings to ensure their long-term structural integrity, and to prepare Dockery Farms for use as a year-round educational and tourism destination. The Blues and Jazz: Two American Classics (www.thebluesandjazz.org) is a free, Internet-based blues and social studies curriculum for 5th, 8th and 11th grade public school students that traces the blues and its vital importance to history and culture. This curriculum is made possible through the generous support of Carolyn C. Powers and William C. Powers.
THE GLOBAL REACH OF JAZZ
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he music known as jazz has entered its second century, and it continues to evolve as it did in its first — as an ever-expanding and inclusive forum for individual expression, cooperative interaction and cultural synthesis. An art form that first took shape in the African-American communities of the Southern United States and emerged as a distinctive musical vernacular in the cultural hothouse of New Orleans, jazz quickly spread throughout the United States and the world. It is world music in the truest sense, speaking a language of unity and peace that all can understand and to which all can contribute. From its inception, jazz music was a cultural hybrid, blending African-based rhythmic and vocal styles that had developed throughout the United States and the Caribbean with the instrumentation and forms of European music. Through the spontaneity of improvisation, jazz presented a way to structure collective invention, providing harmonic and rhythmic rules and colorful instrumental sounds that stressed both personal invention and shared responsibility. Give-and-take is so much a part of jazz performance that even the music’s greatest individual geniuses built their successes on the contributions of their partners, with each musician making maximum use of this creative freedom within the boundaries of ensemble interaction. A music so vibrant and affirmative was bound to spread beyond New Orleans, and to grow ever more inclusive along the way. By 1917, when jazz was first documented in the recording studios of New York, several of its early innovators were already being heard in and exerting an influence on the composers and musicians of Paris. These three cities were each the site of major International Jazz Day 2012 tributes, and remain essential hubs of jazz activity. Yet, jazz has been welcomed in all corners of the world, just as it has incorporated lessons learned from the music of Brazil, Cuba, India and many of the 195 nations in which jazz is also being celebrated on International Jazz Day. Jazz has long stood for the breaking down of ethnic, religious and gender barriers, and it is no surprise that the community of jazz artists, not to mention jazz fans, is exceptionally diverse. In the 1920s, Louis Armstrong was holding after-hours jam sessions with Bix Beiderbecke and recording with Jack Teagarden. A decade later, Benny Goodman made Teddy Wilson and Lionel Hampton part of his public performances, integrating the bandstand nearly a decade before Jackie Robinson integrated the baseball diamond. The history of the jazz orchestra was fed early on by Mary Lou Williams, and has been sustained in recent decades by Toshiko Akiyoshi, a Japanese woman born in Manchuria. Django Reinhardt, an early paragon of jazz guitar, was a gypsy born in Belgium. Tonight’s concert, featuring men and women from Australia, Brazil, China, Cuba, France, India, Israel, Japan, Panama, Russia, South Africa, Turkey and the United Kingdom as well as the United States, showcases the worldwide impact of jazz. One need not possess a degree in jazz to receive its message. Come to the music with open ears and an open heart — in the spirit in which jazz is created — and you will be moved. – Bob Blumenthal
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From top, l-r: • Ahmet M. Ertegun and Nesuhi Ertegun • Ahmet M. Ertegun, Mezz Mezzrow, Art Hodes, Nesuhi Ertegun, Herb Abramson, Benny Morton, Jay Higginbotham, Henry Allen, Lou McGarity, Lester Young, and Sadi Coylin • Johnny Hodges, Rex William Stewart, Adele Girard, Harry Carney, Barney Bigard, and Joe Marsala • Johnny Hodges and Lawrence Brown • Tommy Myles and John Malachi
here is a fascinating history of the relationship between Turkey and jazz. It began in 1934 when Mehmet Munir Ertegun was named Turkey’s ambassador to Washington, D.C., and came with his wife Hayrunisa and sons Nesuhi and Ahmet to the nation’s capital. When they arrived, Nesuhi, age 17, and Ahmet, age 11, immersed themselves in Washington’s thriving jazz scene, frequenting the Howard Theatre to hear Duke Ellington and other favorites. “I got my education in music at the Howard,” Ahmet later declared. As the brothers became friendly with jazz legends including Duke Ellington, Lena Horne and Jelly Roll Morton, they decided to put on their own concerts. During this time, all the wellknown big bands, including those led by Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Jimmie Lunceford, toured Washington, and they would often play on Saturday nights. The Ertegun brothers invited these musicians over to the ambassador’s residence for Sunday lunch. After lunch, jam sessions would inevitably develop. In 1943, The Washington Post called these gatherings, which featured Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter, Lester Young and many other jazz greats “Washington’s most famous private jam sessions.” In 1947, Ahmet founded Atlantic Records, where he helped move African-American music into the mainstream of American pop culture, launching the careers of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and the Drifters, to name a few. Nesuhi headed the label’s jazz department, producing significant recordings by jazz legends including Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Herbie Mann, Charles Mingus and the Modern Jazz Quartet. Decades later, Nesuhi remarked that watching Ellington’s band jamming at the mansion “was one of the biggest thrills of my life.” He recalled, “…once there was an embassy party, and I was having some musicians over at the same time. We were really getting kind of loud, and I was worried that maybe the people outside could hear us. At about that time, my father peered in and said, ‘Can you leave the door open? That music sounds awfully good.’” Namik Tan, Turkey’s current ambassador to Washington, paid tribute to this tradition by launching the Ertegun Jazz Series at the same Washington residence in 2011. On International Jazz Day 2013, we honor and commemorate the two brothers who, through jazz, helped build a strong bridge between the people of Turkey, the United States and the world, proving once again that jazz knows no boundaries. Portraits from the William P. Gottlieb Collection at The Library of Congress. All portraits taken at the Turkish Embassy, Washington, D.C. in the 1930s and ‘40s.
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) works to create the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values. It is through this dialogue that UNESCO accomplishes its mission to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information. UNESCO’s overarching objectives include: attaining quality education for all and lifelong learning; mobilizing science knowledge and policy for sustainable development; addressing emerging social and ethical challenges; fostering cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and a culture of peace; and building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication. www.unesco.org
Republic of Turkey
The Republic of Turkey is the Official Partner of the 2013 International Jazz Day Global Celebration. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (www.mfa.gov.tr/default.en.mfa) and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (www.goturkey.com) have been the leading governmental bodies playing an instrumental role in the preparation and implementation of the 2013 International Jazz Day celebration in Istanbul. The Republic of Turkey has a long tradition of presenting jazz, dating back to the 1930s when Ambassador Munir Ertegun and his sons Ahmet and Nesuhi first embraced this music and introduced it throughout Turkey. This strong support for jazz has continued to the present day, with the Istanbul Jazz Festival, one of the world’s leading jazz festivals, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz
The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz was created in memory of Thelonious Monk, the legendary jazz pianist and composer who believed the best way to learn jazz was from a master of the music. The Institute follows that same philosophy, and for more than 25 years has brought students together with renowned jazz artists and educators. The Institute is a nonprofit education organization committed to its mission of offering the world’s most promising young musicians college level training by internationally acclaimed jazz masters and presenting public school-based music education programs for young people around the world. All of these programs are provided free of charge to the students and schools, filling a tremendous void in arts education. www.monkinstitute.org
Istanbul Jazz Festival, Organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture & Arts (IKSV), is the 2013 Host City Partner International Jazz Day 2013 in Istanbul is made possible through the generous support of: Carolyn C. Powers Akbank Jaeger-LeCoultre Turkish Airlines Arçelik Vodafone Turkey Beyoglu ˘ Municipality Google Lisa and Mehmet Oz
William C. Powers Garanti Bank Microsoft United Airlines Park Hyatt Istanbul Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Katherine J. Andrews Foundation Procter & Gamble Carol W. Wilner
THE LONGTIME SUPPORTERS OF
Jazz
in Turkey AKBANK AND
GARANTI˙ BANK A R E P R O U D PA R T N E R S O F
International Jazz Day 2013 I˙ STANBUL