This browser does not support the Video element.
Click the player above to watch!
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s annual Spring Gala is one of the most anticipated cultural events of the year. But restrictions enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible for major concerts to be held, let alone for talented musicians to travel to venues in the first place.
The event will feature performances from some of jazz's most acclaimed artists.
Thankfully, the concert was made available to stream and rewatch for free on April 15, with musicians from all corners of the world participating in what the organization called a "first of its kind high-quality global experience."
RELATED: CoronavirusNOW.com, FOX launches national hub for COVID-19 news and updates
"This concert will bring us all together to uplift and encourage us with the wisdom and insights of major artists who have represented and elevated their respective cultures for decades," according to Jazz at Lincoln Center’s website. "Each will play the song that made them fall in love with jazz, and we are sure it will lift us from the isolation of this moment to the collective memory of a greater future."
While they didn't perform, celebrities including Steve Miller, Billy Crystal and Alan Cumming expressed their enthusiasm for the jazz greatness ahead of the remote concert.
This browser does not support the Video element.
This browser does not support the Video element.
This browser does not support the Video element.
In addition to the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, these artists performed:
-Baqir Abbas
-Brussels Jazz Orchestra
-Cécile McLorin Salvant and Sullivan Fortner
-Chano Dominguez
-Chucho Valdés
-Dianne Reeves
-Hamilton de Holanda
-Igor Butman
-Makoto Ozone
-Nduduzo Makhathini
-Richard Galliano
-Stefano DiBattista
-WDR Big Band
Clarence Otis and Jacqueline L. Bradley were also honored with the Ed Bradley Award for Leadership in Jazz. Phil Schaap received the Jazz at Lincoln Center Award for Artistic Excellence.
The event was free, but viewers were still encouraged to donate. You can make a donation on the organization’s website.
RELATED: Surgeons perform music in hospital lobby ‘healing concert’ to honor colleagues amid COVID-19 crisis
This station is owned by the FOX Corporation.