Why is Umbra so jazzed up for today? Well, the Umbra Institute shares a view of Perugia’s central piazza with the Umbria Jazz Foundation offices. The foundation has organized the international Umbria Jazz Festival for more than 40 years, hosting big names in Perugia like Tony Bennett with Lady Gaga (2015), Carlos Santana (2011), and Eric Clapton (2006). Umbria Jazz 2020 scheduled artists like Lenny Kravitz, Anita Baker, and many others.
Not only does the foundation and its festival bring scores of talented musicians to Perugia each July, but the festivities have influenced Perugia’s bars, cafes, and hotels, many of which feature images from festivals past and play jazz music for their patrons year-round. It is not unheard of to stop for dinner at a 
restaurant in the central part of the city and find that Italian jazz musicians have been recruited to serenade their guests through bites of norcina or tiramisù.
So, in honor of International Jazz Day and the music conservatories scattered throughout Perugia, the Umbra Institute invites those following our blog to celebrate today by listening to a few famous Italian jazz artists like Mario Corvini or Paolo Fresu.