[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/Waprcfg8vRw" width="550" height="445" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]

Happy International Jazz Day, friends! The holiday started off with a launch concert at UNESCO HQ in Paris on April 27 (view above) and a sunrise concert today from Congo Square in New Orleans. We are beyond enthused to share that the conclusion of these worldwide events will be held in New York City!

The epic sunset concert will be tonight, April 30, at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in NYC with George Duke serving as Musical Director. The co-hosts of the event will include Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Quincy Jones. The event will be streamed live.

Confirmed are legends upon legends, many with whom we've worked with closely: Herbie Hancock, Tony Bennett, Terence Blanchard, Richard Bona, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Candido, Ron Carter, Vinnie Colaiuta, Robert Cray, Eli Degibri, Jack DeJohnette, Sheila E., Jimmy Heath, Hiromi, Zakir Hussain, Chaka Khan, Angelique Kidjo, Lang Lang, Joe Lovano, Romero Lubambo, Shankar Mahadevan, Wynton Marsalis, Hugh Masekela, Christian McBride, Danilo Pérez, Tineke Postma, Dianne Reeves, Troy Roberts, Bobby Sanabria, Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and Tarek Yamani.

Event Details
International Jazz Day Sunset Concert

Monday, April 30
7:30PM

United Nations General Assembly Hall
New York, NY

Facebook | Twitter | Official Site

Jazz is undergoing changes of monumental magnitude and importance. Icons Among Us: jazz in the present tense is a documentary film that captures the metamorphosis of jazz by showcasing the words, music, and spirit of the artists that are paving the way for an unprecedented musical revolution. Featuring Esperanza Spalding, Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Medeski Martin & Wood, Russell Gunn, Dianne Reeves, Ravi Coltrane, Nicholas Payton, and many more. For a taste, grab some downloads and watch some videos we posted a few weeks ago.

Enter here for your chance to win.

When you ask most people, "name a jazz musician today," 9 out of 10 times you will get the name of someone who is already dead. But jazz today is undergoing some monumental changes and in this documentary film — Icons Among Us: jazz in the present tense, by filmmakers Michael Rivoira, Lars Larson and Peter J. Vogt, the musicians take stage front and center to explain the nature of this metamorphosis. Featuring Esperanza Spalding, Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Medeski Martin & Wood, Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band, Russell Gunn, Dianne Reeves, Terence Blanchard, Bill Frisell, Ravi Coltrane, Nicholas Payton, Donald Harrison, Jr., Wayne Shorter and many more. This documentary brings you the rebellious, young, and gifted, responsible for quietly revolutionizing jazz under our noses.

Among those artists participating in the sound revolution is Donald Harrison, Jr. who is making bold moves in the jazz world experimenting to create some very unique compositions. Check out the title track of his latest album Quantum Leap and make sure you also take a peek at the track "NY 2000" featured on the film.

Donald Harrison, Jr. "Quantum Leap" [MP3]
 

Donald Harrison, Jr. "NY 2000" [MP3]
 

More Info

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/CYR621nvoh4" width="550" height="445" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]

The new CD from three-time Grammy award winning trumpet player and composer Terence Blanchard was recorded in March 2008 in Blanchard’s hometown of New Orleans at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Choices addresses the choices we all make in life – both as a society and on a personal level. "Life is all about expansion and evolution. We make choices every day, none of which are right or wrong. They are simply choices that allow us to explore the variety of what’s before us." -- Terence Blanchard

Accompanying Blanchard on the album are longstanding band members Fabian Almazan on piano, Derrick Hodge on bass and Kendrick Scott on drums, along with newcomer Walter Smith lll on saxophone, all of whom wrote significant track contributions to the CD as well. Guest artists include writer, speaker, educator and activist Dr. Cornel West, critically-acclaimed guitarist and Blanchard protégé Lionel Louke, and singer, musician and composer Bilal. West performs spoken word pieces on the album with Bilal providing vocals on several of the tracks.

Choices was premiered at a series of concerts at the Ogden in late July 2009 which were filmed for an upcoming documentary. It will also be accompanied by a worldwide tour featuring Terence and his band.

Stream songs, see tour dates and watch more webisodes

Buy Choices on Amazon