Madeleine Albright ready to play drums at Monk Institute gala honouring her ‘jazz diplomacy’

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In this 2011 photo provided by The Monk Institute, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, center, poses for a photo with Herbie Hancock, far left, and New World School of the Arts students at Miami Dade College in Miami, Fla. Albreight, America\'s first female secretary of state, is game to give it another go on drums on Sept. 23, 2012, when she returns to the Kennedy Center to receive a Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz award in honor of her longtime support for jazz, music education and the institute\'s programs. (AP Photo/The Monk Institute, Phil Roche)

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is ready, if invited, to play the drums next month when she’ll be honoured for her “jazz diplomacy” at a gala concert at the Kennedy Center.

Last year, trumpeter Chris Botti invited Albright to play the drums at the end of his Valentine’s Day concert at the Kennedy Center.

America’s first female secretary of state is game to play again on Sept. 23, when she will receive an award from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz for her support of jazz, music education and the institute’s programs.

The concert starring Botti, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Hancock and others coincides with the finals of the institute’s prestigious international jazz competition, celebrating its 25th anniversary.

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