International Jazz Day: Understanding this wonderful genre of music, top quotes

New Delhi, Apr 30: Today is International Jazz Day which is celebrated annually on April 30 with an aim to increase awareness about this wonderful genre of music. Jazz encompasses wide range of musical styles and the diversity is vast that it is hard to define.

Attempts have been made to define jazz from the perspective of other musical traditions, such as European music history or African music. Although jazz is considered difficult to define, in part because it contains many subgenres, improvisation is one of its defining elements. The centrality of improvisation is attributed to the influence of earlier forms of music such as blues, a form of folk music which arose in part from the work songs and field hollers of African-American slaves on plantations, as per Wikipedia.

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.

International Jazz Day brings together communities, schools, artists, 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 intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding; and reinforce international cooperation and communication. Each year on April 30, this international art form is recognized 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.

Top quotes of jazz music:

"If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know." - Louis Armstrong

"Life is a lot like jazz - it's best when you improvise." - George Gershwin

"A problem is a chance for you to do your best." - Duke Ellington

"All of the sounds of the earth are like music." - Oscar Hammerstein

"Anytime you strike the drums, you have to be aware that you're creating a musical event." - Vinnie Colaiuta

"As long as you've got your horn in your mouth, you're developing." - Zoot Sims

"Bass is ace!" - Karen O

"Bass players are always the intellectual kind, but nobody knows it." - Stanley Clarke