The 3rd edition of the International Jazz Festival in Uzbekistan will be held from 30th March to 30th April 2017 under the auspices of the UNESCO Office in Tashkent.
Organized by the State Conservatory, the State Jazz Orchestra named after B. Zakirov, and the Ilkhom Theatre Jazz Club, supported by the Ministry of Culture as well as a number of embassies, the Festival will feature local musicians and guests from Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Latvia, Switzerland and Turkey.
The Festival aims to give the opportunity to jazz musicians from Uzbekistan and abroad to celebrate this universal language of peace, cultural diversity and inter-cultural dialogue through a series of events to be held in Tashkent and other cities of Uzbekistan:
- concerts and jam session (improvisation)
- master classes
- meeting with audience
April 30 was officially designated as International Jazz Day by UNESCO in November 2011 in order to highlight jazz and its role in uniting people in all corners of the globe. The United Nations General Assembly formally welcomed this decision to proclaim April 30 as International Jazz Day in December 2012. The month of April is widely recognized as Jazz Appreciation Month.
The International Jazz Day contributes to acknowledging the power of jazz in promoting peace, dialogue among cultures, diversity, and respect for human rights and human dignity. International Jazz Day brings together communities, schools, artists, historians, academics, and music fans all over the world to celebrate and learn about jazz and its roots, future and impact.
Until this year, the International Jazz Day has been celebrated five times. The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz will announce the International Jazz Day 2017 Global Host City soon. Over 190 countries on all seven continents will celebrate International Jazz Day through thousands of performances and programmes. Uzbekistan joins the international community to celebrate jazz with its third edition of the International Jazz Festival in Uzbekistan, which will involve plenty of foreign guests, a variety of performances and styles, as well as a dense schedule of events. During the whole month, the festival will delight jazz fans in the capital of Uzbekistan - Tashkent, as well as in Samarkand, Bukhara and Kokand. In particular, the following musicians and bands will perform:
The opening concert of the State Jazz Orchestra named after Botir Zokirov
Germany - jazz trio NORD FX
India – Dhruv Ghanekar's Jazz Band
Indonesia – Dwiki Dharmawan World Peace Jazz Band
Latvia - acoustic guitar trio AG 3'0 and singer Aija Vitolina
Turkey - Berkay Toprak - Yunus Muti Quintet
Switzerland – trio Where is Africa?
Czech Republic – saxophonist Michal Wróblewski
Estonia – singer Kadri Voorand and guitarist Marek Talts, as well as conductor and composer Siim Aimla, under whose conduct the State Jazz Orchestra named after B. Zakirov will perform.
