Herbie Hancock kicks off International Jazz Day

PARIS (AP) - The musicians at International Jazz Day have a message for the world: Speak the same language without saying a word. Just use your heart, your soul and your ears....

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

PARIS (AP) — The musicians at International Jazz Day have a message for the world: Speak the same language without saying a word. Just use your heart, your soul and your ears.

The scores of musicians kicking off Friday’s inaugural event are using the sounds, rhythms and improvisations of jazz to cross the borders of the globe.

In an interview with The Associated Press, renowned jazz artist Herbie Hancock says the new celebration is a metaphor for international harmony.

Things were getting groovy Friday behind the sober, concrete walls of the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, where hundreds of students were taking master classes, and workshops, films, lectures and performances preceded an evening concert.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

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