International Jazz Day: A Global Unity

0:00It's April 24th. This is California News today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with the story. PBS is dropping a fresh one hour special called International Jazz Day from Abu Dhabi, premiering Friday, April 24th, 2026 at 9pm on KPBS 2 and 11pm on KPBS TV. Academy Award winner Jeremy Ironshose, with Herbie Hancock leading the charge alongside musical director John Beasley. It's packed with world-class talent from 14 countries, all coming together at the Eddie Hadarina in the United Arab Emirates. This pre-recorded all-star global concert captures the essence of jazz uniting folks across borders. Standouts include D.D. Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Jose James, Marcus Miller and Arturo Sandoval, blending classics and fresh takes in, never-before-seen collabs, picture a dazzling dual piano rendition of Rhapsody in Blue by Helé Emmercier from Paris and Abu from Beijing

1:01that's continents colliding through. Gershman's Rhythms. International Jazz Day hits every April 30th, backed by the United Nations and UNESCO, celebrating jazz's power to connect people of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities in over 190 countries. It's more than music, it's education, events, and a global vibe that speaks to unity in a divided world. Key performance is light up the show, like Bridgewater's thrill is gone with John McLaughlin and John Pizzarelli, Diane Reeves, on someone to watch over. Me, Jose James flipping the Rolling Stones miss you and a fiery 10-ton duo from Sandoval, David Sanchez, and Danilo Perez. It all builds to an epic imagined finale with the full crew. Tune in for this world tour of jazz's past, present, and future. It's the kind of soundtrack that reminds us music breaks down walls every time.