Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts and Jamaica Music Museum join in celebrating International Jazz Day today, Sunday, April 30, 2023, at the Vera Moody Concert Hall at 5:00 pm.

The concert will feature the School of Music faculty, including Orville Hammond, Gerd Beyens, Ibo Cooper, Rueben Betty, Ruth Browne, Eljay Reid Derek Been, and Trevelle Clarke-Whyne performing styles associated with the diverse characteristics of jazz.

The JaMM Repertory Quintet specialising in Jamaican jazz composers and performers’ music will pay tribute to late tenor saxophonist Wilton Gaynair, the Jamaican international master.

Students from the Edna Manley College and Alpha School Band will complete the musical offerings.

The events commemorating the day include a tribute mural honouring women in music who have contributed to the development of the School of Music.

A workshop and masterclass opened to educators, musicians, students, and jazz fans will further fulfil the educational mandate of International Jazz Day led by the director of the Jamaica Music Museum Herbie Miller and The JD Allen Trio on Monday, May 1.

International Jazz Day was declared in 2012 and is used to draw public attention to jazz and its extraordinary heritage.

These events are part of the UNESCO global campaign to promote peace and dialogue through jazz. They are also in keeping with the organisation’s requirement that Kingston, as a UNESCO city of music, fulfil its mandate to offer a diverse palate of musical and cultural forms.