VOA is pleased to provide information and materials as available about - and from - events honoring Willis Conover. We would be happy to know of other events to list. Please e-mail the Office of Public Affairs, or call (202) 203-4959, with questions or requests.
Willis Conover Memorial Concert, with a Tribute to Quincy Jones
Saturday, 26 April 2008 - 7:00 p.m. EDT
Voices of Freedom: A Celebration of VOA Jazz and Willis Conover
Monday, 17 September 2007 - 7:30 p.m. EDT
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Audio Webcast Links of the concert:
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Video clip (2:43):
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On Monday, September 17, the Voice of America (VOA) and the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival (DEJF) hosted a concert in memory of VOA jazz host Willis Conover and in observance of the 50th anniversary of Dizzy Gillespie's first State Department-sponsored trip. Conover influenced a generation of musicians around the world, including Cuban-born jazz great Paquito D'Rivera. At this concert, D'Rivera lead a quintet made up of another Cuban-born musician and three players from former Soviet Bloc countries -- Milcho Leviev on piano (Bulgaria), George Mraz on bass (Czech Republic), Valery Ponomarev on trumpet (Russia), and Horacio Hernandez on drums (Cuba).
The concert, free and open to the public, took place at 7:30 p.m. in the Cohen Auditorium at VOA headquarters. Photos from the concert are available here.
