International Celebration Made for Memorable 2012 in Jazz

December 28, 2012

Wynton Marsalis performs during the International Jazz Day Concert held at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York, April 30, 2012.

2012 was marked by International Jazz Day which made its United States debut in New Orleans, Louisiana and in dozens of cities across the globe.

International Jazz Day unfolded in Congo Square, where in the 19th century, musicians, dancers and onlookers once celebrated on Sunday afternoons. According to Herbie Hancock, a Goodwill Ambassador for the event’s organizers, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Congo Square was the perfect setting to mark its inauguration.

“If you think about the fact that New Orleans was really the birthplace of jazz, and particularly Congo Square, there is no other place that would truly represent the birthplace and sunrise and so forth,” Hancock said.

Hancock was referring to the sunrise concert in Congo Square where he performed his jazz standard “Watermelon Man.” The lineup there included local favorites Terence Blanchard, Ellis Marsalis, Kermit Ruffins and many more. There were also star-studded concerts in New York and Paris promoting jazz as a universal language of freedom and creativity.

Festivals

The Yosvany Terry Quartet performs at the inaugural Jazz & Colors Festival, Nov. 10, 2012, in New York's Central Park.