International Jazz Festival Promotes Peace
an article by Joe

I have always been a big fan of jazz music and its related art forms. So I was very pleased the other day when I came across a picture of American music legends Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Carlos Santana at an exhibition promoting the United Nations’ International Decade for a Culture of Peace for the Children of the World.

Jazz is usually acknowledged as the only uniquely "American" art form, and its roots run deep in decades of civil rights struggles in this country. It is perhaps not so surprising, then, to see these famous American jazz musicians at the forefront of the international movement for a culture of peace and non-violence.

The Culture of Peace exhibition, which brings together "the ideas of hundreds of people and organizations dedicated to finding a path to lasting peace," was featured this July at the 38th annual Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

The jazz festival itself is a peace-promoting event, according to its founder, Claude Nobs. Hancock, Shorter, and Santana presented Nobs with the "Humanity in the Arts Peace Award" on behalf of the International Committee of Artists for Peace (ICAP). At the ceremony, which took place in front of the Culture of Peace exhibit, Nobs observed that the jazz festival, its performers, and the exhibit all shared "an appeal for heightening public awareness and participation in peace efforts."

For a longer report on the Jazz festival, click here.

For more information on the Culture of Peace exhibition, click here.

DISCUSSION

Question(s) related to this article:

What place does music have in the peace movement?


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THE ARTS AND A CULTURE OF PEACE

LATEST READER COMMENT:

This is a response to curious...

I think it is great that you hear unique music.  I really enjoy seeing live shows myself.

In response to your comments I thought about the current paradigm that exists in the western world that promotes pop music which has many messages in its lyrics and presentations that are not in accord with the 8 keys.  I think if that already established system could be used to promote the 8 keys youth would really respond.  
The difficulty arises when people are taugh and pressured or uninformed about acting in accordance with the keys.  So they get drunk, and eat junk food, instead of respecting their own body.  But if a positive and truthful message could be put out I think the generation that grows up on that music will have a lot of common sense.

So folk music communities like the ones you may participate in are great.. . ...more.

This report was posted on September 2, 2004. The moderator is Joanne.

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