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| The official poster for the Korea Jazz Association's "International Jazz Day Eve Concert" / Courtesy of KJA |
By Park Han-sol
Jazz musicians in Korea, who have paved the way in cultivating the appeal of the musical genre in the country, will perform April 29, the eve of International Jazz Day, the Korea Jazz Association (KJA) announced Thursday.
In 2011, UNESCO designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in recognition of the genre's cultural and diplomatic role in uniting people from all walks of life around the world. Since then, musicians in nearly 100 countries have celebrated the day by hosting their uniquely styled performances.
But in Korea, jazz is still viewed and treated as a non-mainstream form of music, the KJA explained. As a result, not enough attempts have been made in the past to lead a large-scale, official movement regarding the genre.
Aiming to change such an atmosphere, an ensemble of Korean jazz musicians from the first to third generations will perform together at the Textile Center Building in Gangnam, Seoul in the evening of April 29. The event will be livestreamed on Naver TV.
The featured artists include legendary jazz musicians here such as Woongsan, Shin Kwan Woong, Malo, and Lee Jung-sik, among others.
"We have first-generation legends who became part of the great birth of Korean jazz, followed by the next generation of musicians who have led the internationally recognized local jazz scene, and lastly, rising stars of the third-generation. Together, the artists will present a special performance crossing the past, present and future of Korean jazz," the association stated.
