International Jazz Day Empoli

Jazz as a universal language in Empoli

International Jazz Day is a global celebration of jazz held every April 30th across the planet. Launched in 2011 by the legendary pianist and composer Herbie Hancock and supported by UNESCO, the event unites cultures and peoples through improvisation, expressive freedom, and jazz as a tool for cultural diplomacy. In Empoli, in the heart of Tuscany, the day has become a highly anticipated appointment thanks to the Empoli Jazz Association, a local organization that has been promoting high-quality live music for over a decade.

A night of global music at La Birroteca

The headquarters for the festivities is La Birroteca, located at Via Ridolfi 55 in the historic center of Empoli, in the province of Florence. Here, a long evening dedicated to global music comes to life, spanning diverse genres, moods, and vibrations. The initiative is the result of a collaboration between the Empoli Jazz Association, the Empoli Historic Center Association, and the Municipality of Empoli, fitting into the global Jazz Day calendar while maintaining a deeply local and grassroots soul.

Vinyl selections and musical fusions

More than just a traditional concert, the Empoli event is a sonic journey featuring musical selections rich in content and identity. The sounds range from jazz to soul, funk to house, in an intertwining of influences that reflects the open and dialogic spirit of the day. Here, music becomes a vehicle to break down cultural barriers, narrate social contradictions, and offer, if only for a night, a space of shared freedom.

Empoli Jazz, a deeply rooted reality

The Empoli Jazz Association is the driving force behind this event. Active for over a decade in promoting live jazz, the association organizes festivals, workshops, seminars, and masterclasses, including the renowned Empoli Jazz Festival in its summer and winter editions. It adheres to the International Jazz Day sponsored by UNESCO, is a member of the Europe Jazz Network and I-Jazz, and has received support from the Ministry of Culture since 2021. International Jazz Day represents one of the most significant moments in its calendar, an opportunity to bring jazz culture out of concert halls and into the city's social spaces.

An event for the whole city

Free admission and an informal atmosphere make the International Jazz Day in Empoli an event open to everyone: jazz enthusiasts, the curious, residents, and visitors who want to experience a different kind of evening in the historic center. It is a testament to how a global recurrence can take root in a Tuscan community, transforming into a city ritual that celebrates the unifying power of music every April 30th.