Institute Chairman Herbie Hancock was featured on the February 21, 2021 edition of CBS Sunday Morning as part of a special segment on the renowned Fazioli piano brand. Watch the full segment below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BertiESWEI

Event registration for the worldwide 10th Anniversary celebration of International Jazz Day opened on January 6, with organizers across the globe invited to add their programming to the official calendar.

Registration at jazzday.com/register is free and open to all who plan to celebrate International Jazz Day on April 30, 2021.

Due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, the Institute encourages organizers to follow all relevant public health directives when planning, promoting and executing their events, and to present virtual/socially-distanced programming where necessary.

Each year, a variety of International Jazz Day programming is curated on and around April 30 by a massive global network of organizers and partners in more than 190 countries. The event size and format is completely up to the organizer, with creativity encouraged. Previously registered events run the gamut from performance-based presentations to community service initiatives, and have included:

• Concerts
• Jam sessions
• Charity fundraisers
• Art and photo exhibitions
• Book and poetry readings
• Academic conferences
• Workshops and master classes
• Visits to hospitals, detention centers and elder care homes
• Radio and television broadcasts
• Social media tributes
• Album-release parties
• Public discussions and debates
• Special learning units for elementary, middle and high school students
• Assembly programs
• Jazz scavenger hunts
• Jazz-inspired painting and drawing classes
• Multi-day festivals

…and other events.

In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic precipitated the first-ever virtual celebration of International Jazz Day, with a spectacular Virtual Global Concert receiving over 10 million views. Organizers from every corner of the globe submitted hundreds of socially-distanced tributes in honor of Jazz Day’s positive message. To promote student inclusion, the Institute presented a series of virtual education programs on Facebook Live in all six UN languages.

The 2021 celebration will mark International Jazz Day’s 10th Anniversary. While formal plans to celebrate the milestone are still being developed, organizers are encouraged to utilize the official hashtag, #JazzDay10, when promoting their plans for April 30 on the web and social media. Further details, including information on the 2021 All-Star Global Concert, will be announced early in the new year.

International Jazz Day is the world’s largest celebration of jazz as a force for peace, intercultural dialogue and international cooperation. The Institute is the primary nonprofit partner charged with coordinating the global program on behalf of the United Nations and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

UPDATE: Thanks to a generous contribution from a member of the Institute’s Board of Trustees, the first $50,000 in gifts received for Giving Tuesday will be matched. Make your gift count double today!

As 2020 draws to a close, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution in honor of Giving Tuesday (December 1, 2020). Your gift will help the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz provide life-changing jazz education opportunities for students in need across the United States and around the world.

For more than three decades, the Institute has offered all of its public school-based educational and outreach initiatives entirely free of charge to students, teachers, schools, families and communities. The Institute makes a special effort to serve students from at-risk and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. 

“I saw my kids grow musically and emotionally through the Hancock Institute’s Jazz in the Classroom program. My son was able to take the skills he learned in your program and win scholarships and participate in the Southern California Schools Honor Band and in the Hancock Institute/Los Angeles Unified School District All-City Jazz Band. His strength in music flourished as did his confidence as a performer. I am seeing this in my daughter as well and am extremely proud!” 

Parent of current and former Jazz in the Classroom students

Institute students learn the discipline and focus they need to succeed in school and beyond, with 100% of participants in our Jazz in the Classroom and National Performing Arts High Schools initiatives graduating from high school and more than 90% going on to college. 

Learning and performing jazz does far more than increase students’ technical knowledge; it fosters self-confidence and emotional growth. This is true for students like one recent alumnus of the Herbie Hancock Institute/LAUSD Beyond the Bell All-City Jazz Band in Los Angeles. He notes, “There’s not a day that goes by where I am not using some of the many skills I’ve learned from you. I thank you for all the knowledge, opportunities, gigs, and patience in developing my gift.”

Institute programs also help support band teachers and music educators by providing acclaimed guest teaching artists and advanced teaching methodologies all year long, completely free of charge. This work prompted one jazz instructor to write, “No other organization provides us with the kind of support like the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz. The Institute has done more for our students than any other organization.”

In spite of the significant, ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Institute’s commitment to continuing­–and expanding upon–this tradition of service and excellence remains undiminished.

With your help, we will begin 2021 on strong footing. Please consider showing your support on Giving Tuesday, December 1 with a tax-deductible gift. Any amount helps.

Interested in making a Giving Tuesday contribution? Just click here to access our secure online donation form.

Institute Chairman and 14-time Grammy and Oscar-winning pianist, composer and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue Herbie Hancock will take part in a virtual discussion to explore the question “What Is Hope?” on Monday, Nov. 2 as part of the 10 Questions interdisciplinary course and public event series conducted by the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture. 

Hancock, a professor at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, will be joined by award-winning author, screenwriter and producer Tananarive Due, who is also a lecturer in UCLA’s Department of African American Studies, as well as Ramesh Srinivasan, a professor in UCLA’s Department of Information Studies and director of the UC Digital Cultures Lab. The conversation will be led by Victoria Marks, associate dean of academic affairs of the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture and professor in the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance.

The election eve discussion, which is free to watch with registration, is the second event in the 2020 installment of 10 Questions, an annual series that invites the public to join UCLA students in the virtual classroom to engage in vibrant conversation alongside leading faculty and distinguished alumni from across the university. This year’s series, 10 Questions: Reckoning, addresses the most urgent set of questions yet – COVID-19, the climate crisis, social and political turmoil unlike anything we have seen in a generation–and, of course, a presidential election.

Register today to watch the discussion on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020 at 7 pm PST.

The Institute is continuing its virtual jazz education programming in the 2020-2021 school year to support public school students across America. As schools restart instruction amid the ongoing pandemic, core programs such as Jazz in the Classroom and the National Performing Arts High Schools initiative are being offered fully online to all participants. Institute teaching artists have begun regular daily and weekly after-school sessions with student musicians in Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Plano (Texas), San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. As always, the Institute offers all of its programming entirely free of charge to participating students, teachers, schools and communities.

As part of the Institute’s educational efforts in Los Angeles, 10 middle and high school band programs are participating in Jazz in the Classroom. Virtual sessions focus on music theory, ear training, tune learning and other vital skills, as well as serving as a fun, collaborative way for students to spend time with their peers. With the 2020-2021 school year program, the Institute is proud to mark more than 20 years of collaboration with the Los Angeles Unified School District and Beyond the Bell Branch Music and Entertainment Education.

The National Performing Arts High Schools program is giving students from public performing arts programs throughout the United States the opportunity to deepen their understanding of advanced jazz concepts, even while socially distancing. Led by Dr. JB Dyas, the Institute’s Vice President for Education and Curriculum Development, National Performing Arts High Schools provides weekly 1-2 hour virtual seminars on everything from chord voicings to transposition. Since many students in the program hope to go on to careers in the arts, the sessions are also geared toward allowing students to build relationships with other promising young musicians who are hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles away.

These and the Institute’s additional 2020-2021 school year programs build on the momentum from the summer months, when the Institute rapidly deployed distance learning initiatives to keep thousands of students engaged while self-isolating and socially distancing. These were an enormous success, with offerings like BeBop to Hip-Hop and Jazz in America reaching young learners across the United States and in over 40 countries worldwide. The culminating virtual showcase for BeBop to Hip-Hop, which was streamed live on Facebook and YouTube, featured original music videos by the program’s student creators and reached more than two million viewers globally.

As part of this summer’s free virtual BeBop to Hip-Hop program, offered in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a hundred students from across the country and around the world collaborated virtually on original projects over the course of 10-weeks while taking part in regular online masterclasses. Watch the culminating presentation featuring debut performances, artist shoutouts, session highlights and much more on Saturday, September 19 beginning at 2 pm PT / 5 pm ET:

Aspiring producers, musicians and rappers created new music with guidance from renowned hip-hop artists and producers DJ Khalil, Hi-Tek, Imani of the Pharcyde, DJ Spark, Tariq Beats, Mike & Keys, Nikki Grier and Antman Wonder, along with world-class jazz musicians Terri Lyne Carrington and Gerald Clayton.

The Institute’s BeBop to Hip-Hop online summer program was offered at no cost to participants and made possible by support from AT&T.

Renowned jazz drummer, composer, bandleader and educator Terri Lyne Carrington will serve as guest artist for the July 16 installment of the Institute’s BeBop to Hip-Hop online summer program. Carrington will bring to bear her unparalleled experience bridging jazz and numerous other genres, including hip-hop, providing constructive feedback on students’ original musical creations and sharing her insight from more than four decades as a leading professional musician.

Since the program kicked off on June 25, participants have learned from some of the most recognizable names in hip-hop production, including DJ Khalil, Mike and Keys and Imani of the Pharcyde, to name a few. Students, representing a range of talents and interests from jazz drumming to rapping to production, have already begun collaborating on projects with their peers from across the United States.

The Institute’s ongoing BeBop to Hip-Hop online summer program is provided at no cost to participants for up to 100 students across the country. Aspiring producers, musicians and rappers create music with guidance from renowned music industry professionals, and expand their network by working virtually with other promising young students. The application is still open for observers to join the weekly virtual sessions and participate in the Q&A component. Click here to apply or email dseeff@hancockinstitute.org.

To date, Carrington has performed on over 100 recordings and has worked extensively with luminaries such as Al Jarreau, Stan Getz, Woody Shaw, Clark Terry, Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves, James Moody, the Yellowjackets, Esperanza Spalding, and many more. A three-time GRAMMY Award winner, she received an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music and currently serves as Founder and Artistic Director for the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice.

In 2019, Carrington was named a Doris Duke Artist, a prestigious acknowledgment recognizing her past and ongoing contributions to jazz music. Her current band project, Terri Lyne Carrington and Social Science (a collaboration with Aaron Parks and Matthew Stevens), released their debut album, Waiting Game, in November 2019 on Motema Music. Carrington, who recently topped three categories in the 2020 DownBeat Critics Poll, is the first female instrumentalist to win the poll’s Jazz Artist of the Year category.

Offerings include Jazz in America, BeBop to Hip-Hop, Jazz in the Classroom and Performing Arts High Schools Program

WASHINGTON, DC – The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz has unveiled an ambitious slate of live, online educational programs and webinars to take place this summer for elementary, middle and high school students from across the country and around the globe. All of the programs are offered to participants at no cost, but registration is required. The Jazz in America and BeBop to Hip-Hop summer programs are made possible by support from AT&T.

Institute Chairman Herbie Hancock noted, “The Institute’s online jazz education programs will teach students of all ages and musical abilities about the truly American spirit of the music of jazz and its essential elements of improvisation and creativity. These free programs will help students navigate this challenging time and keep them focused on their future. The Institute is committed to keeping students engaged in meaningful pursuits this summer, especially as many summer programs across the nation have been canceled.”

Jazz in America is an innovative, internet-based jazz curriculum for social studies, American history and general music classes. Developed by the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, the curriculum aims to provide students with a basic understanding of jazz as a musical form, along with appreciation of the profound contributions jazz has made to America’s cultural and civic life. The 24-session webinar series taught by Dr. JB Dyas, the Institute’s Vice President of Education and Curriculum Development, offers mini-courses for students in grades 10-12 (June 22-July 8), grades 7-9 (July 13-29) and grades 4-6 (August 3-12). Participants from the United States and over 30 countries have enrolled in the first course.

BeBop to Hip-Hop is a 10-week program for high school students from June 25 to August 27. Aspiring producers, musicians and rappers will create music with guidance from renowned music industry professionals including DJ Khalil, Hi-Tek, Mike & Keys, Tariq Beats, and others to be announced shortly. Students will have opportunities to collaborate virtually on original music projects and the program will culminate with a unique online public concert presentation. Hancock Institute West Coast Director Daniel Seeff stated, “This program will provide a rare opportunity for students around the country to develop their artistic vision with guidance from successful professionals who can give them invaluable feedback from their years of experience in the music industry.”

Jazz in the Classroom, the Institute’s highly-regarded series of programs tailored to help public school students develop an understanding of and appreciation for jazz music, shares the positive aspects of jazz with young people who would not otherwise have opportunities to learn about this national treasure. Weekly online programs will be extended over the summer at three District of Columbia public schools: Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Roosevelt High School and Wilson High School.

Institute Director of Special Projects Leonard Brown said, “If not for these intensive, virtual sessions, many of these students would regress in their musical abilities over the summer months. Through these lessons, students will not only maintain, but further develop their music skills.” On the West Coast, members of the Herbie Hancock/LAUSD Beyond the Bell All-City Jazz Band will participate in virtual master classes and group instruction. The All-City Big Band, under the co-direction of Dr. Dyas and Beyond the Bell Branch Music and Entertainment Education Coordinator Anthony “Tony” White, comprises the top high school music students enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest public school district. 

The Performing Arts High Schools Program provides intensive jazz training for exceptionally gifted and motivated student musicians at 12 public performing arts high schools in 10 cities across the country. Dr. Dyas will host virtual forums throughout the summer to provide students with opportunities to network and focus on tune learning, practicing and listening. Said Dr. Dyas, “The richness of these webinars lie in the fact that we can get together from all parts of the country, and grow as jazz musicians and people.”

After graduating in mid-June, the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA Class of 2020 fellows are already hard at work teaching the Global Jazz: Ongoing Conversations online summer intensive program at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Led by UCLA Global Jazz Studies faculty, the week-long program brings together performers from around the world. Students will participate in master classes, lessons, composition workshops and performances throughout the week, with collaborative classes and lessons designed around each student’s needs using online platforms as an extended global classroom.

For more information and complete details on all of the programs and to register, please visit hancockinstitute.org.

Download the full press release.

Additional support is made possible by United Airlines, the official airline of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz.

Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz

The mission of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz is to offer the world’s most promising young musicians college level training by internationally acclaimed jazz masters and to present public school music education programs for young people around the world. The Institute preserves, perpetuates and expands jazz as a global art form, and utilizes jazz as a means to unite people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities. All of the Institute’s programs are provided free of charge to students, schools and communities worldwide. These programs use jazz as the medium to encourage imaginative thinking, creativity, positive self-image, and respect for one’s own and others’ cultural heritage. hancockinstitute.org