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UNESCO Organizes Concert to Celebrate Jazz as a Way of Life
On 30 April 2024, the UNESCO South Asia Regional Office celebrated International Jazz Day by organizing an International Jazz Concert in collaboration with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Alliance Française de Delhi, the Polish Institute, the Embassy of the Czech Republic and India Habitat Centre. The concert, held at the Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre in New Delhi, drew a packed audience of jazz enthusiasts from the city.
International Jazz Day, proclaimed by UNESCO in 2011, recognizes jazz as a global language that fosters creativity, dialogue, and intercultural exchange.
Jazz is based on the core principles of artistic freedom, musical exploration, and dialogue between instruments, peoples, and cultures. Jazz Day is an opportunity to celebrate the transformative power of jazz music, its educational potential, and its capacity to foster inclusiveness, cultivate empathy and promote collaboration.
The concert featured musicians from around the world, offering a rich and dynamic musical experience. Performers from the Netherlands, France, Poland and India came together to celebrate jazz.
The evening began with a performance by the Polish musician duo, Kuba Wójcik and Piotr Damasiewicz, who showcased their avant-garde approach to jazz, accompanied by Indian percussionist Karan Chitra Deshmukh on percussion.
Representing the Indian jazz scene, drummer and composer Tarun Balani collaborated with guitarist Siddharth Gautam to deliver a minimalist set of improvised music.
Following that, the Dutch-French-Indian group 'Soundscapes’ featuring Frank Bilsen from the Netherlands, Julien Perez from France, and Indian artists Karan Chitra Deshmukh and Debasmita Bhattacharya, presented a mesmerizing jazz-fusion of Indian and Western music.
The concert culminated with a performance by an ensemble comprising Dhruv Sangari, Sahil Vasudeva, Makrand Sanon, Suhel Saeed Khan, Siraj Khan, Sameer Khan and Arina. This group captured the audience with their exploration of the intersections of Sufi Qawwali, Argentinian Tango and Jazz, presented through an orchestral arrangement.
“It is evident from the event that young Indian musicians are willing to experiment and take risks. If more support and systems can be set up to support this, it has a lot of potential given the incredible talent and history of music India possesses,” said Sahil Vasudeva, on the growing jazz movement in India.
The event also featured a preview of the exhibition ‘From New Orleans to Bombay: The Journey of Jazz in India’, curated by the American Institute of Indian Studies, in collaboration with UNESCO and the India International Centre. This exhibition is open to the public from 1 to 10 May between 11 AM and 7 PM at the India International Centre Annexe in New Delhi.
Through the International Jazz Day, UNESCO celebrates diversity, creativity, and collaboration, and the concert showcased jazz’s unique ability to bridge cultural divides and deepen appreciation and understanding of the arts.
For more information, contact:
Junhi Han: j.han@unesco.org
