*EPF207 12/14/2004
U.S. Jazz Artists Visit India with AIDS-Awareness Message
(State Department, entertainment companies jointly sponsor tour) (540)

By Charlene Porter
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Top performers in American jazz will be traveling to India in January 2005, for a weeklong tour of performances and appearances devoted to promoting greater HIV/AIDS awareness and education in this nation of more than 1 billion people.

The tour is a joint project of Black Entertainment Television (BET), MTV-India and the U.S. Department of State.

At a December 14 media event announcing the tour, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane said he is honored to represent the United States and the values for which it stands, such as HIV awareness. "Music is ... a great healer and a motivator to get people to share the collective ideas of humanity," he said.

Secretary of State Colin Powell welcomed the partnership with the performers and entertainment companies, and the contribution it is expected to make in highlighting the importance of fighting HIV/AIDS.

"Music, especially jazz music, has the power to lift the human spirit in its quest to overcome adversity," Powell said. "Jazz was born from the American people's struggle to conquer prejudice and stigma in our society."

Coltrane will be joined on the January 12-20, 2005, tour by pianist George Duke, vocalist Al Jarreau and guitarist Earl Klugh. Students from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and Indian performers will also be part of the tour, which will include concerts in Mumbai and Delhi and master classes for local students.

Global AIDS Ambassador Randall Tobias also praised the performers for their involvement.

"One of the priorities of this tour is fighting stigma. This is yet one more reason why the leadership of these musicians and business leaders is a wonderful example to all of us about the role that everyone can have in this fight," Tobias said.

BET Jazz Executive Vice President Paxton Baker said participation in the program is "very meaningful and important" to his company. He also expressed hope that the tour will create opportunities to address the stigma surrounding the disease and dispel some of the myths that perpetuate fear and ignorance.

"Television gives you the opportunity to tell stories in a very humane way to erase stigma," said Baker.

That message will come from the tour and from programming that will be produced during the events and carried later by BET and subsidiaries of its parent company, Viacom International Inc.

The United States has an ongoing commitment to assist India in its battle against AIDS. The United States has contributed $20 million this year to the prevention, treatment and cure of HIV/AIDS in India. Another $15 million will support Indian researchers in their work to better understand the disease and develop treatments.

In Tamil Nadu state, the United States has joined with local partners to convert a wing of a hospital into a counseling center for people living with HIV.

India has an estimated 5 million people living with HIV/AIDS, according to AIDS Epidemic Update, released last month by the Joint U.N. Programme on HIV/AIDS. Various studies have predicted the potential for a devastating epidemic in India, based on rapidly rising prevalence rates among certain populations.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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