Photo Courtesy: UNESCO.org
Tomorrow is the second annual International Jazz Day. Organized by UNESCO and the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz, the festival’s official host city this year is Istanbul. From UNESCO.org:
“Turkey has an age-old tradition of jazz. Munir Ertegun, Turkish Republic’s first ambassador to Washington in the 1930’s, opened his embassy’s parlors to African American jazz musicians, who gathered there to play freely in a socio-historical context which was deeply divided by racial segregation at the time. Inspired by this legacy, the ambassador’s sons, Ahmet and Nesuhi, went on to establish the United States’ first jazz and gospel label in 1947 – Atlantic Records – which was seminal in spreading the beauty of jazz music around the world.”
If you are interested in listening to some Turkish jazz musicians, Soundcloud offers a number of recorded performances from Istanbul’s Nardis Jazz Club. If you won’t have time to catch a concert tomorrow, consider giving them a listen.