Brown headlines SATCHMO’S Jazz and culture festival in Lagos

Satchmo’s Jazz and Culture Festival, Lagos (SJL), is set to commence on April, 27 with an exciting line up of events, including festive threads of jazz (and nu-jazz) music, as well as jazz-inspired visual and literary artists.

SJL has the mandate of UNESCO IJD to produce the International Jazz Day event in Nigeria for the second year running. The event is expected to encourage interaction between art, business and culture, as well as fashion, film and spoken word events. It will also feature the second August Agboola O’Browne Lecture, while providing non-stop excitement for all age groups.

Holding at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, and other venues, participating galleries, restaurants, and hotels, the festival will reach thousands of live attendees and visitors throughout Lagos. It will also see an impressive lineup of international artists such as, Grammy Award-winning Norman Brown, Rick Braun, Carlo Rossi and The Organic Jam and Jon Scott. Some of Nigeria’s foremost Jazz artists like, Femi Leye, Sax Tee, Imoleayo Balogun, Phebean and Godwin Strings will also be performing.

In November 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in order to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe. Chaired and led by Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General, and legendary jazz pianist and composer, Herbie Hancock, International Jazz Day is the one day each year that jazz is celebrated worldwide, bringing together people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities in 196 countries.

On that day, this art form is recognised for promoting peace, dialogue among cultures, diversity, and respect for human dignity, eradicating discrimination, fostering gender equality, and promoting individual expression.
The pre-countdown events will begin on April 27 at the Oriental Hotel, the day after, the event moves to The Blowfish. The main IJD countdown event will follow on April 29 at Oriental Hotel, this will set the stage for the UNESCO International Jazz Day Concert on April 30.