As the former managing director of EMI (Thailand) and current managing director of the Thai record label and artist agency Hitman Jazz—he is also the curator of The Living Room’s regular jazz performance series—Vichart Jirathiyut shared his many experiences of popularizing jazz in Thailand. He noted that many Thais perceive jazz as fit only for the upper classes, or the very well-educated, largely because others could not access jazz commonly performed in the country’s hotels and luxurious venues. Jirathiyut noted that live, over recorded performance was the ultimate charm of jazz, stating,

The fireside chat was surrounded by live jazz performances by Sunny Trio & Natt Buntita, and Jazz Synergy, as they captivated the audience with international big hit titles such as Lullaby of Birdland and What a Wonderful World, as well as featured jazz arrangements of Thai songs including Mong Arai (What are you looking at?) and Phieng Kham Diao (Only a Word).

In addition to Hon. Ambassador Godec, international ambassadors in attendance for the evening included Jon Thorgaard, Denmark; Jyri Järviaho, Finland; Jean-Claude Poimbœuf, France; Ilse Lilian Ferrer Silva, Mexico; and Millicent Cruz Paredes, The Philippines. Others were represented by resident officials of their Thailand embassies. Elvira Goetz, UN Coordination Officer of the UNESCO Bangkok Office, and Nuttapol Areechom, of the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit hosted the night’s proceedings. The event was live-streamed on UNESCO Bangkok’s Facebook page.

• International Jazz Day page on UNESCO's website
• International Jazz Day's website
• International Jazz Day page on Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz's website
• Event page: UNESCO, Hitman Jazz and Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit to host International Jazz Day 2024 Celebration in Bangkok

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