Herbie Hancock, James Morrison & More Set for International Jazz Day in Melbourne

Herbie Hancock, James Morrison, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Kurt Elling are among the dozens of jazz influencers set to take part in 2019's International Jazz Day in Melbourne, Australia, on April 30. The two-day event will include a global concert that features a roster of celebrated jazz musicians, including Igor Butman, Kurt Elling, Mark Nightingale and Lizz Wright.

More than 190 countries around the world will celebrate International Jazz Day. The festival will occur on both April 29 and 30 and will include jazz performances, education programs and community service initiatives across both days that feature over a dozen jazz masters from around the world.

Some of artists set to take take the stage and perform at this year's Jazz Day include Australian artist William Barton, German jazz trumpeter Till Brönner, Chinese pianist A Bu, American singer Ledisi, Japanese trombone player Eijiro Nakagawa and many more. John Beasley will serve as the evening's musical director.

A series of jazz performances and outreach programs will also take place in Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Sydney, Perth and other Australian cities. The weekend's jazz celebrations will conclude with the "Generations in Jazz" youth festival in Mount Gambier, South Australia, led by James Morrison and Kurt Elling during the first weekend of May. More than 6,000 high school student musicians are set to participate. 

A jazz education program for student musicians in the indigenous community of Yarrabah in Far Northern Australia will kick off the celebrations a week prior to International Jazz Day. 

International Jazz Day brings together countries and communities worldwide every April 30 for a jazz-packed day of celebration to highlight jazz's role in encouraging dialogue, combating discrimination and promoting human dignity.