[ti:Senegal’s Jazz Celebration Returns After COVID-19 Health Crisis] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Last year, the coronavirus pandemic [00:02.92]put a stop to Senegal's yearly jazz music festival [00:07.08]for the first time in its 29-year history. [00:12.68]This year the festival returned, [00:15.32]bringing much needed life to the island of Saint Louis. [00:20.64]The island was chosen by the United Nations Educational, [00:25.24]Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage site. [00:31.52]UNESCO chooses World Heritage sites for having cultural, [00:37.04]historical, scientific or other forms of importance. [00:42.52]Saint Louis is famous for its building styles [00:46.84]from the 1800s and light-colored houses. [00:52.48]Hundreds of jazz fans listened to French-Senegalese singer [00:57.40]Awa Ly sing blues music on the island recently. [01:03.28]Ly said she felt a sense of relief, or ease, with the festival's return. [01:10.20]"I was relieved, and everybody else was relieved too. [01:13.32]It was a beautiful energy, a beautiful vibration [01:17.44]and a beautiful link between the stage and the audience." [01:22.56]African rhythms, funk, gospel and blues music [01:27.72]could be heard along the small streets of Saint Louis. [01:32.52]Music played from restaurants, [01:34.88]drinking places and hotels into the early morning. [01:40.84]Saint Louis escaped the deadliest effects of the COVID-19 disease. [01:46.20]But a sharp drop in tourism and a weakened economy [01:51.00]have left its citizens ready for an emotional lift [01:55.40]that only its largest yearly event could provide. [02:00.72]The festival in Senegal is known as Africa's biggest jazz festival. [02:07.40]But it has struggled with decreasing crowds [02:10.48]since having performers like American pianist Herbie Hancock. [02:16.04]He last performed there in 1996. [02:21.12]Still, the festival gets music fans from across West Africa and Europe, [02:27.64]and the city's street performers are happy to have them. [02:33.16]One of those street performers is 25-year-old Adama Ndaw. [02:39.64]He told Reuters, "Jazz attracted a lot of tourists so we could play in the streets, [02:45.92]so we managed to collect a little money. [02:49.00]Nothing was there last year, but today it is good." [02:55.00]Members of Jamm Jazz, a band from the capital Dakar, [02:59.64]were happy as they performed. [03:02.72]The audience danced or sat closely together around crowded tables. [03:09.84]"The festival not taking place last year was an economic disaster [03:14.80]for Saint Louis," said band leader Moustapha Diop. [03:19.72]"This year, despite the crisis, the festival was held because if it wasn't, [03:25.40]it would be a big blow for the city to come." [03:29.56]I'm Jonathan Evans. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM