International Jazz Day is an International Day declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2011 "to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe." It is celebrated annually on April 30. The idea came from jazz pianist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock. Jazz Day is chaired by Hancock and the UNESCO Director-General. The celebration is recognized on the calendars of both UNESCO and the United Nations.
The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz (formerly the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz), an American NGO also chaired by Hancock, is the lead organizational partner for Jazz Day. The Institute coordinates activities in the UNESCO member states as well as the Global Host Celebration. Events in the Host City culminate in an All-Star Global Concert, which involves numerous jazz musicians from around the world performing in or around an historical landmark.
The 2022 celebration of International Jazz Day featured an All-Star Global Concert at the United Nations General Assembly Hall, with Herbie Hancock, Gregory Porter, Shemekia Copeland, Marcus Miller, Mark Whitfield, Hiromi, Linda Oh, David Sanborn, Randy Brecker, Ravi Coltrane, Zakir Hussain, Brian Blade and others.
Nearly 200 countries participate in International Jazz Day every year. In addition to concerts and jam sessions, events include workshops, conferences, and community outreach. The official registry of worldwide events is hosted on jazzday.com where they are displayed and indexed alphabetically by country. Jazzday.com lists notable examples of events organized over the past ten years:
A teacher in Tuscaloosa organized a workshop on how to use jazz to inspire leadership and innovation.
A venue in Bogotá, Colombia, produced a day of public education programs including classes, concerts, and jam sessions.
In Yangon, Myanmar, organizers invited a jazz guitarist to give performances and educational workshops with local musicians.
A conservatory in Kathmandu, Nepal, hosted local and traveling musicians for joint concerts, followed by an open jam session. The event was broadcast live on the radio.
A record producer in Tehran, Iran, organized a series of concerts with local musicians at an historic cultural center.
A mobile jazz club in Alcoy, Spain, attempted to set the record for largest jazz jam session in Spanish history, bringing together more than 100 musicians in Alcoy's Plaza de Dins.
A planetarium in Ukraine hosted a jazz concert accompanied by a 3D-video show.
The International Jazz Day website also collects jazz education materials. These include content from the Smithsonian Institution in the United States, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the New York Jazz Workshop, Jamey Aebersold Jazz, the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, Norwegian music technology firm oiid, the online STEAM curriculum Math, Science & Music, and the Universidad Veracruzana.
UNESCO's official description of International Jazz Day places the annual celebration in the context of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, maintaining that Jazz Day "integrates culture in sustainable development frameworks", "promotes human rights and fundamental freedoms", and "protects and promote the diversity of cultural expressions."
After his designation as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue on July 22, 2011, Herbie Hancock announced his intention to create an International Day celebrating the diplomatic role of jazz. In November 2011, following a favorable recommendation by the 187th Executive Board, UNESCO's General Conference proclaimed April 30 as International Jazz Day, recognizing jazz as "a means to develop and increase intercultural exchanges and understanding between cultures for the purpose of mutual comprehension and tolerance." The date of April 30 was proposed to position International Jazz Day as the culmination of the Smithsonian Institution's April Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), though no formal connection exists between JAM and International Jazz Day.
The United Nations General Assembly formally recognized International Jazz Day on its official calendar in December 2012.
The inaugural International Jazz Day celebration took place in three parts. On April 27, Hancock hosted a daylong education program and evening concert at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. Educational activities included public panel discussions and lectures throughout the World Heritage Centre. The evening concert featured more than two dozen musicians and included remarks by Hancock, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, United States Permanent Representative to UNESCO David Killion, and TSF Jazz Program Director Sebastien Vidal.
The second part took place at sunrise on the following Monday, April 30, in Congo Square in New Orleans. Hosted by actor Harry Shearer with remarks by New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, the event consisted of performances by Herbie Hancock, trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, the Treme Brass Band, vocalist Stephanie Jordan, pianist Ellis Marsalis, drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, and trumpeter Terence Blanchard.
Notable among the performances was a rendition of Herbie Hancock's composition "Watermelon Man", which Hancock led with students from the Thelonious Monk Institute's Performing Arts High School program. Event producers organized simultaneous performances by student groups in Paris, Rio de Janeiro, and Cape Town, which were streamed live and broadcast by CNN and CBS This Morning.