Barcelona will host 10 hours of free outdoor jazz concerts on Passeig de Gràcia this Sunday, 26 April, to mark International Jazz Day. The event aims to highlight jazz as a tool for education, tolerance, and intercultural dialogue, according to UNESCO.

The celebration in the Catalan capital will feature six performances throughout the day, offering residents and visitors a chance to experience the genre's rich history and diverse sounds. The concerts are part of broader commemorations across Spain for the day, which UNESCO proclaimed in November 2011.

Jazz, characterised by improvisation, swing, and its roots in African American tradition, historically represented the struggle against slavery. Its origins trace back to populations near the Mississippi Delta in the United States, according to the Miguel de Cervantes Library.

The Roots of Jazz Music

Enslaved Black people, brought from Africa to the United States from the 18th century, used singing and dancing to the banjo and other percussion instruments to ease physical fatigue while working in cotton fields. These 'work songs' served as a therapeutic outlet for pain and a way to preserve traditions and collective memory.

African traditions led to simple melodies with 'call-and-response' techniques. These later combined with European elements, creating new harmonies and rhythms, most notably 'swing'. This term describes a dynamic pulsation that gives the music a sensual character. 'Swing' also refers to an era in jazz evolution around the 1940s, which helped launch female singers like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.

Three main currents inspired the creation of modern jazz, according to the Miguel de Cervantes Library: blues, spirituals, and ragtime.

Blues is an harmonic structure, typically a 12-bar cycle, forming the basis for interpretation. It uses melodies from 'work songs' and features melancholic lyrics, often accompanied by guitars, banjos, or harmonicas. A famous blues song is 'The Thrill Is Gone' by B.B. King from 1969.

Spirituals are a subgenre that seeks to evoke higher states of consciousness, mysticism, and religious feeling through music. More than a technical style, it is a form of popular singing that, in the 1940s, used texts based on scripture, religious hymns, and messages of fraternity among enslaved people. From the 1960s, groups like the 'jubilee singers' popularised this spiritual form, leading to themes such as John Coltrane's 'A Love Supreme' in 1965.

Ragtime, meaning 'torn time', emerged in the late 19th century. It is known for its syncopated melody and cheerful rhythm that encourages movement by marking the beat. On plantations, this rhythm was marked with the left hand, imitating the playing of a banjo. Composer Scott Joplin gained prominence in 1902 with his song 'The Entertainer'.

Concert Programme on Passeig de Gràcia

To commemorate this legacy, Barcelona City Council has organised six free concerts on Passeig de Gràcia for Sunday, 26 April:

  • At 12pm, the Girona-based band Sunset Rhythm Kings will perform.
  • At 1.30pm, Quiet Colors, a duo comprising Joanna Kucharczyk and Marcelo Woloski, will take the stage.
  • At 3.30pm, composer and singer Glenda del E Q-ban Mixology will present her music.
  • At 5.15pm, the Catalan group Laura Simó & Ignasi Terraza Trio will perform.
  • At 7pm, Senegalese musician Momi Maiga will play.
  • At 8.45pm, the classic jazz group La Vella Dixieland Big Reunion will close the day's events.