Jazzed Up: World Celebrates International Jazz Day

On April 30, the world observes International Jazz Day, an annual event proclaimed by UNESCO to highlight the importance of jazz as a great power for promoting peace, unity, and cultural dialogue among nations across the globe.
Sputnik
Starting in 2012, on every April 30, celebrations and music events are held all over the world to raise international awareness about jazz, its roots, future, and influence. The day brings together artists and jazz enthusiasts, people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy music and learn more about the history of jazz.
According to UNESCO, International Jazz Day is designated to recognize this art form's role in promoting freedom of expression, diversity, and respect for human rights, fostering equality and eradicating any form of discrimination.
The program for International Jazz Day 2023, titled "A Jazz Journey around the World," encompasses over 190 countries, with concerts, art exhibits, workshops, and various educational activities to be held in order to make jazz’s legacy endure.
As the world is about to witness this great celebration of jazz music, Sputnik presents you with photos depicting famous jazz artists from different epochs reaching out to their audience through the power of music, and people having fun during jazz festivals.
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An undated picture of famous American jazz musician, composer, conductor and piano player Duke Ellington.

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US singer Nathalie Cole performs during the 45th Montreux Jazz Festival on late July 10, 2011 in Montreux.

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Youngsters raised in the traditional music of the Southern "shout bands" mirror the music of their elders as congregants of The United House of Prayer for All People gather for a public street baptism in Washington, D.C., on Memorial Day weekend, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

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American jazz and swing music singer Billie Holiday performs at the Downbeat club, a jazz club in New York City.

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This photo shows Lizzo performing "Jerome" at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles on November 24, 2019.

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This photo was taken during the 17th international music festival Koktebel Jazz Party in Crimea.

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American jazzman Louis Armstrong plays trumpet in his dressing room before a show in 1947 in a New York jazz cabaret.

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Visitors at the International Music Festival Koktebel Jazz Party - 2020 in Crimea.

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US Jazz bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding performs during a show organized by US music producer Quincy Jones at the 45th Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux on July 13, 2011.

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US trumpet player Miles Davis gives a lesson to French actress Jeanne Moreau in Paris on 05 December 1957. - Davis was asked by French director Louis Malle to improvise a music for his film "Elevator to the Gallows" in which Jeanne Moreau plays. (Photo by AFP)
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The audience dances as US producer and rapper Pharrell Williams performs with his funk rock group N.E.R.D on the Auditorium Stravinski stage during the opening night of the 42nd edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 4, 2008 in Montreux.

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Tara Middleton and Marshall Allen (R), 94, perform with the Sun Ra Arkestra at the 65th edition of the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, on August 2, 2019.

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Benny Goodman, American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader, widely known as the "King of Swing", playing in 1937.
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US singer-songwriter Mary J Blige performs on stage during the Nice Jazz Festival in Nice on July 19, 2017.

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Cuban singer Cimafunk hugs a woman during the music conga through the streets of Old Havana within the activities of the 35th Havana Jazz Plaza festival in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020.

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American jazz singer Nina Simone performs during the Pan-African festival in Algiers in July 1969.

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Drummer Justin Faulkner takes a solo as saxophonist Marcus Strickland listens on June 9, 2012 at Bohemian Caverns during the DC Jazz Festival in Washington.

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A young fan waves her cap during French-Cameroonian singer Sandra NKake's performance on June 25, 2013, during the first day of the 33rd Vienne Jazz Festival.

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Famed jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald performs at the Empire Room at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, March 30, 1971.

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The Maroto Jazz Trio band, made up of Diego Maroto on Saxophone, Jorge Molina on double bass and Edy Vega on drums, perform atop a van through neighborhoods in Mexico City, on August 29, 2020, amid the new coronavirus pandemic.

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Audience members dance the 'Sissy Bounce' during the 'Bounce Shakedown' at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Sunday, May 6, 2012.

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An undated picture of alto saxophonist and jazz composer Charlie Parker (1920-1955). He is considered by many to have been the father of the modern jazz style known as "bebop".

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People dance as the Brazilian trio "Jazz de Boteco" plays on the street in front of the "Bar do Nanam" bar in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 24, 2017.

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Jazz artist Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, accompanied by his wife, prepares to take off from Idlewild Airport, New York, October 27, 1957, for a concert tour of five South American countries.