This year’s edition of the Lagos International Jazz Festival will take place from April 30 to May 2, the organisers, Inspiro Productions, have said.
Ayoola Sadare, who runs the company behind the premier jazz fiesta, said in a statement that after two highly successful past editions and now on its third edition, the festival which is modelled after the world famous Cape Town International Jazz Festival, is designed to offer visitors and residents in Lagos world class entertainment.
“This year, the festival is going a step higher by incorporating both the Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) and International Jazz Day to its programme,” Sadare said.
The month of April annually is JAM, and worldwide a number of programmes to promote jazz both as a historical and contemporary art form are held with concerts, lectures, workshops and exhibitions.
He explained that the long term goal of the festival is still to establish Lagos as a vibrant jazz tourism destination alongside cities like Cape Town, Montreal, Montreux, New Orleans, London and Tokyo among others.
“And each year the festival holds, we are hopefully on course. The Lagos International Jazz Festival is a landmark event that is positioned to be an icon on Nigeria’s arts and culture calendar that will attract jazz and contemporary music-lovers to the city and help deepen the tourism realities of Lagos State and by extension Nigeria,” he stated.
The festival, Sadare said, places Nigeria level with every other famous and successful jazz festival globally and also builds the capacity of our home-based musicians, giving them access to the international platform as they interact with high profile music legends from various countries of the world.
The JAM culminates with the International Jazz Day on April 30, and this was officially designated in November 2011 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe. International Jazz Day brings together communities, schools, artistes, historians, academics and jazz enthusiasts all over the world to celebrate and learn about jazz and its roots, future and impact; raise awareness of the need for inter-cultural dialogue and mutual understanding; and reinforce international cooperation and communication.
Each year, on April 30, this international art form is recognised for promoting peace, dialogue among cultures, diversity, and respect for human rights and human dignity, eradicating discrimination, promoting freedom of expression, fostering gender equality, and reinforcing the role of youth for social change. In December 2012, the UN General Assembly formally welcomed the decision by the UNESCO General Conference to proclaim April 30 as International Jazz Day. The UN and UNESCO now recognise International Jazz Day on their official calendars.
The performing artistes, venue and programmes of the 2015 edition of the festival will be unveiled soon.
