Wynton Marsalis's Blog, page 42

BOLDEN Original Motion Picture Soundtrack available on CD and digitally on April 19, 2019 from Blue Engine Records

Blue Engine Records announces the release of the Bolden Original Motion Picture Soundtrack with music composed, arranged and performed by Wynton Marsalis. The Bolden soundtrack features music from the film directed by Dan Pritzker (in theaters nationwide on May 3, 2019) and will be available on CD and all major digital music platforms on April 19, 2019. Additionally, a limited-edition 12” vinyl single featuring an exclusive song from the soundtrack will be available in select independent record stores as part of Record Store Day on April 13, 2019.

To create the Bolden soundtrack, Marsalis convened some of today’s most virtuosic jazz musicians, enthusiastically resurrecting the bawdy, brassy sound of trumpeter Buddy Bolden as no one else can and throwing a Big Easy party that romps through some of Bolden’s most beloved material. The 26 songs on the album comprise a comprehensive mix of classic tunes associated with Bolden, and his greatest musical descendant Louis Armstrong, as well as Marsalis originals.

“Bolden” the film stars Gary Carr, Erik LaRay Harvey, and Ian McShane, and imagines the compelling, powerful, and tragic journey of Buddy Bolden, the unsung American hero who helped develop jazz. With little biographical information known and no extant recordings of his music, the film’s narrative sets fragmented memories of Bolden’s past against the political and social context in which his revolutionary music was conceived.

Buddy Bolden ranks among the most influential yet obscure figures in the pantheon of American music and is widely credited by musicians of the era as being the first jazz musician and bandleader in history. In his playing, composing, arranging, and music directing on the Bolden Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Marsalis captures the spirit of the legendary Bolden, as well as Armstrong’s trumpet stylings, without sacrificing his own personal integrity and creative imagination.

Appearing on the soundtrack are Ali Jackson (drums), Brianna Thomas (vocals), Carlos Henriquez (bass), Catherine Russell(vocals), Dan Nimmer(piano), Don Vappie (guitar, vocals), Julie Bruskin (cello), Marcus Printup (trumpet), Michael White (Bb clarinet), Reno Wilson (vocals), Sherman Irby (alto saxophone), Ted Nash (alto saxophone, clarinet), Victor Goines (alto saxophone, clarinet, C clarinet), Vincent Gardner (slide trombone, valve trombone), Walter Blanding(tenor saxophone, clarinet), Wycliffe Gordon (slide trombone, valve trombone).

PERSONNEL

Wynton Marsalis – trumpet, cornet, vocals

Ali Jackson – drums

Brianna Thomas – vocals

Carlos Henriquez – bass

Catherine Russell – vocals

Dan Nimmer – piano

Don Vappie – guitar, banjo, vocals

Julie Bruskin – cello

Marcus Printup – trumpet

Michael White – Bb clarinet

Reno Wilson – vocals

Sherman Irby – alto saxophone

Ted Nash – alto saxophone, clarinet

Victor Goines – alto saxophone, clarinet, C clarinet

Vincent Gardner – slide trombone, valve trombone

Walter Blanding – tenor saxophone, clarinet

Wycliffe Gordon – slide trombone, valve trombone

TRACK LISTING

1. Come on Children

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Vincent Gardner – valve trombone; Michael White – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

2. Make Me a Pallet on the Floor

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Catherine Russell – vocals; Julie Bruskin – cello

3. Gone My Way

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Wycliffe Gordon – valve trombone; Michael White – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

4. Creole Belles

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Vincent Gardner – valve trombone; Michael White – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

5. Bolden Jump

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Vincent Gardner – valve trombone; Walter Blanding – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

6. Timelessness (Short Version)

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Wycliffe Gordon – valve trombone; Michael White – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

7. You Rascal You

Wynton Marsalis – trumpet; Marcus Printup – trumpet; Wycliffe Gordon – slide trombone; Victor Goines – alto saxophone, clarinet; Ted Nash – alto saxophone, clarinet; Walter Blanding – tenor saxophone, clarinet; Reno Wilson – vocals; Don Vappie – guitar; Dan Nimmer – piano; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

8. Russian Lullaby

Wynton Marsalis – trumpet; Marcus Printup – trumpet; Wycliffe Gordon – slide trombone; Victor Goines – alto saxophone; Ted Nash – alto saxophone; Walter Blanding – tenor saxophone; Reno Wilson – vocals; Don Vappie – guitar; Dan Nimmer – piano; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

9. Stardust

Wynton Marsalis – trumpet; Marcus Printup – trumpet; Vincent Gardner – slide trombone; Victor Goines – alto saxophone; Ted Nash – alto saxophone; Walter Blanding – tenor saxophone; Reno Wilson – vocals; Don Vappie – guitar; Dan Nimmer – piano; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

10. Timelessness

Wynton Marsalis – trumpet; Marcus Printup – trumpet; Wycliffe Gordon – slide trombone; Victor Goines – alto saxophone, clarinet; Ted Nash – alto saxophone, clarinet; Walter Blanding – tenor saxophone, clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar; Dan Nimmer – piano; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

11. Phantasmagoric Bordello Ballet

Wynton Marsalis – trumpet; Marcus Printup – trumpet; Wycliffe Gordon – slide trombone; Sherman Irby – alto saxophone; Walter Blanding – tenor saxophone; Dan Nimmer – piano; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

12. Shake it High, Shake It Low

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Wycliffe Gordon – valve trombone; Michael White – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

13. Red Hot Mammas

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Wycliffe Gordon – valve trombone; Michael White – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Brianna Thomas – vocals; Don Vappie – guitar; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

14. Whoa You Heifer

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Vincent Gardner – valve trombone; Michael White – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

15. Don’t Go Away Nobody

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Wycliffe Gordon – valve trombone; Michael White – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

16. All the Whores Go Crazy (About the Way I Ride)

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Wycliffe Gordon – valve trombone; Michael White – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

17. Basin Street Blues

Wynton Marsalis – trumpet; Marcus Printup – trumpet; Wycliffe Gordon – slide trombone; Victor Goines – alto saxophone, clarinet; Ted Nash – alto saxophone, clarinet; Walter Blanding – tenor saxophone, clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar; Dan Nimmer – piano; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

18. Dinah

Wynton Marsalis – trumpet; Marcus Printup – trumpet; Vincent Gardner – slide trombone; Victor Goines – alto saxophone; Ted Nash – alto saxophone; Walter Blanding – tenor saxophone; Reno Wilson – vocals; Don Vappie – guitar; Dan Nimmer – piano; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

19. Muskrat Ramble

Wynton Marsalis – trumpet; Marcus Printup – trumpet; Wycliffe Gordon – slide trombone; Victor Goines – alto saxophone; Ted Nash – alto saxophone; Walter Blanding – tenor saxophone; Don Vappie – guitar; Dan Nimmer – piano; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

20. Black and Blue

Wynton Marsalis – trumpet; Marcus Printup – trumpet; Wycliffe Gordon – slide trombone; Victor Goines – alto saxophone; Ted Nash – alto saxophone; Walter Blanding – tenor saxophone; Don Vappie – guitar; Dan Nimmer – piano; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

21. Tiger Rag

Wynton Marsalis – trumpet; Marcus Printup – trumpet; Wycliffe Gordon – slide trombone; Victor Goines – clarinet; Ted Nash – alto saxophone; Walter Blanding – tenor saxophone; Don Vappie – banjo; Dan Nimmer – piano; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

22. Making Runs

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Vincent Gardner – valve trombone; Walter Blanding – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

23. Whip it

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Wycliffe Gordon – valve trombone; Michael White – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

24. Funky Butt (I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say)

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Wycliffe Gordon – valve trombone; Michael White – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar, vocals; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

25. Didn’t He Ramble

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Wycliffe Gordon – valve trombone; Michael White – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Don Vappie – guitar; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

26. Buddy’s Horn

Wynton Marsalis – cornet; Wycliffe Gordon – valve trombone; Michael White – Bb clarinet; Victor Goines – C clarinet; Catherine Russell – vocals; Don Vappie – guitar; Carlos Henriquez – bass; Ali Jackson – drums

About Blue Engine Records

Blue Engine Records, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s platform that makes its vast archive of recorded concerts available to jazz audiences everywhere, launched on June 30, 2015. Blue Engine Records releases new studio and live recordings as well as archival recordings from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s performance history that date back to 1987 and are part of the R. Theodore Ammon Archives and Music Library. Since the institution’s founding in 1987, each year’s programming is conceived and developed by Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis with a vision toward building a comprehensive library of iconic and wide-ranging compositions that, taken together, make up a canon of music. These archives include accurate, complete charts for the compositions – both old and new – performed each season. Coupled with consistently well-executed and recorded music performed by Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, this archive has grown to include thousands of songs from hundreds of concert dates. The launch of Blue Engine is aligned with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s efforts to cultivate existing jazz fans worldwide and turn new audiences onto jazz. For more information on Blue Engine Records, visit blueenginerecords.org.

*Press Inquiries: *Zooey Tidal Jones Director, Public Relations & External Communications Jazz at Lincoln Center zjones@jazz.org 212-258-9821

Madelyn Gardner Manager, Public Relations & External Communications Jazz at Lincoln Center mgardner@jazz.org 212-258-9868

Wynton Marsalis’ spectacular ode to the urban jungle of New York

It’s been 21 years since Wynton Marsalis last brought the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra to Melbourne. The ensemble’s line-up has changed significantly since then but the JLCO’s unwavering focus on both the legacy and future of jazz remains unchanged.

The orchestra presented works from the 1930s ’40s and ’60s, along with Marsalis’ new Symphony No. 4 (The Jungle). The 15-piece ensemble’s precision was showcased in the opening trio of Duke Ellington pieces, including Braggin’ in Brass and two serpentine movements from the Far East Suite.

For Leonard Bernstein’s Prelude, Fugue and Riffs, the JLCO was joined by a handful of players from the MSO, including soloist Philip Arkinstall on clarinet. Full of twitchy vitality and ceaseless motion, it was perfectly positioned as a prelude to Marsalis’ symphony, inspired by the urban jungle that is New York City.

Like the Bernstein piece, The Jungle draws from both jazz and classical idioms and is infused with restless energy, though stretches over a much wider canvas. There were more than 100 musicians on stage for the hour-long symphony, the JLCO ensconced within the MSO’s ranks as conductor Nicholas Buc deftly guided them through six intricate movements, each exploring a different aspect of New York.

Imaginatively conceived and masterfully executed, the symphony unfolded like an aural kaleidoscope, with dazzling colours and perpetual shifts in tone, rhythm and dynamics. It was bold, captivating and occasionally exhausting – just like the city that inspired it.

By Jessica Nicholas

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Wynton Marsalis To Bring Jazz Pioneer Buddy Bolden’s Life To The Big Screen

The life of the musically gifted and mentally troubled jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden will be brought to the big screen in the reimagined biopic Bolden. Helmed by Daniel Pritzker and executive produced by jazz icon Wynton Marsalis, Gary Carr (HBO’s The Deuce) stars as the talented musician whose life story is widely unknown.

Set in the sweltering heat and racial tensions of New Orleans 1900, Bolden emerges as an innovator of a genre of music will become the foundation for modern American music. Unfortunately, little known is about Bolden who died in 1931 at 54 inside a Louisiana State Insane Asylum and was buried inside a pauper cemetery. Reportedly the only recording of Budden’s music was lost in a fire.

Starring alongside Carr is YaYa DaCosta as Nora Bolden and Reno Wilson as Louis Armstrong.

According to Deadline Pritzker is the son of billionaire Hyatt Hotel owner magnate Jay Pritzker, who in 2007 began filming the historical biopic which placed Anthony Mackie in the starring role. The film has become a lofty passion project for Pritzker who revealed the budget surpassed $30 million

“The idea is to have Bolden go crazy before I do,” Pritzker said.

In 2014, Pritzker described the film’s opening sequence and said he wants viewers to know that for Bolden, everything starts with the music.

“The film starts out in this asylum where Bolden has been living for 24 years, and a radio is turned on and there is a Louis Armstrong concert being broadcast,” Pritzker said. “It is important that the audience understands this music is the trigger to taking this guy on this cinematic trip, and it opened the door to using some projection techniques and still photography I have been working on. They help tell the story quite effectively.”

Extensive re-shoots have taken place since the inception of the film, but it appears as if Bolden’s life will finally hit the big screen May 3.

by Shenequa Golding

Source: VIBE

Jazz at Lincoln Center Announces 2019-20 Season

New York, NY (February 26, 2019) — Jazz at Lincoln Center and Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis announce the 2019 – 20 season of concerts featuring world premieres,exclusive collaborations, renowned guest artists, and events celebrating milestones and major figures in jazz. The concerts integrate multiple musical traditions, generations of performers, and artistic disciplines in a unique exploration of the profound and unifying cultural heritage that is jazz.

The new season,which begins on September 12, 2019 at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, features 27 unique programs in Rose Theater and The Appel Room,and more than 350 nights of music in Dizzy’s Club.

The organization also produces an extensive range of education and advocacy programs for all ages. Jazz at Lincoln Center’s signature education program, Essentially Ellington (EE)_, celebrates 25 years of instilling a broader understanding of Duke Ellington’s music by providing high school and college aged ensembles with free transcriptions of original Duke Ellington recordings, accompanied by rehearsal guides, teaching notes, original recordings, professional instruction, and more. In addition to the New York City Competition and Festival in May, EE co-produces over 20 non-competitive regional festivals across the U.S and five in Australia. The EE program has over 6,600 schools and independent bands in 55 countries – notable alumni featured this season include the JLCO’s Carlos Henriquez, Russell Hall, Anthony Hervey, Isaiah J. Thompson, Philip Norris, and Jamison Ross.

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (JLCO) opens the 2019 – 20 season with The South African Songbook (September 12 – 14), followed by the virtuosic big band’s first-ever tour to South Africa in honor of the 25th anniversary of South African democracy. Co-presented by the White Light Festival, the JLCO and 70-piece gospel choir Chorale le Chateau, under the direction of Damien L. Sneed, reprise Wynton Marsalis’ Abyssinian Mass (November 21 – 23). JLCO members Victor Goines and Chris Crenshaw (January 10 – 11), Ted Nash (January 30 – February 1), Vincent Gardner (April 3 – 4), and Sherman Irby (April 23 – 25) serve as music directors throughout the season, curating performances inspired by the solar system, the concept of transition, architecture, and more. The season concludes with a celebration of Duke Ellington’s vast works with Ellington Masterpieces (June 12 – 13), led by Wynton Marsalis.

“At Jazz at Lincoln Center, we challenge ourselves to represent the highest aspirations of jazz. Our mission is realized through the hundreds of concerts, tours,education programs, advocacy initiatives and Blue Engine Record releases we produce around the world, all year round,” said Wynton Marsalis, Managing and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. “The 2019-20 concert season features, as always, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The Orchestra consists of 15 virtuosos, composers, arrangers, educators, and unique soloistsin an unprecedented variety of styles – this might be the most flexible and all-encompassing ensemble in the history of our music. This season, we also celebrate the masters Duke Ellington and Art Blakey, whose music, philosophy and spirit of mentorship continue to influence everything we do as an organization. We welcome Chucho Valdés, Joe Lovano, Chick Corea, and DianneReeves, who are the most celebrated leaders in contemporary jazz. By highlighting Cécile McLorin Salvant, Etienne Charles, Emmet Cohen, Ambrose Akinmusire, Jazzmeia Horn, and others on our stages, we’re creating opportunities for you to enjoy the next stellar generation of musicians. Join us in the House of Swing, on our tours, or by tuning in to our free live webcasts. We invite you to enjoy our music and to be enriched by it.”

The complete 2019 – 20 season chronology is available online: jazz.org/2019-20-season

2019-20 Season Concert Lineup:

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA

“Let no one doubt that Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra aim to educate as well as entertain.” – Chicago Tribune

THE SOUTH AFRICAN SONGBOOK CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF DEMOCRACY September 12 – 14 | 8pm | Rose Theater

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis kicks off Opening Weekend in Rose Theater with a musical celebration of South African democracy, 25 years after Apartheid’s end. South Africa has long been a vibrant and unique jazz hub, and most of the featured guests helped shape the sound of jazz as a new South Africa was being born. Special guests include three New York-based South African vocalists — Nonhlanhla Kheswa, Melanie Scholtz, and Jazz at Lincoln Center fan-favorite Vuyo Sotashe *- plus five top instrumentalists from South Africa: trumpeter *Feya Faku, saxophonist McCoy Mrubata, pianist Nduduzo Makhathini, vocalist and pianist Thandi Ntuli, and traditional multi-instrumentalist Tlokwe Sehume on vocals, guitar, ram’s horn, and percussion.

A SWINGIN’ SESAME STREET CELEBRATION: 50 YEARS AND COUNTING October 25 | 7pm | Rose Theater October 26 | 2pm & 7pm | Rose Theater Sesame Street comes to Jazz at Lincoln Center for a swinging celebration of Sesame’s 50th anniversary. See beloved feathered and furry friends, like Big Bird and Elmo, sing classic Sesame Street songs alongside the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. It’s hard to imagine Sesame Street without its music. Many of the jazz greats have visited Sesame Street over the past 50 years, introducing countless children to Dizzy Gillespie,Herbie Hancock, Mary Lou Williams, and many more. Jazz at Lincoln Center’s own Wynton Marsalis even visited Sesame Street a few times, playing “Take the A Train” with the Duck Ellington Orchestra and joining Hoots the Owl on “No Matter What Your Language (Our Music Can Be The Same).” Likewise, the JLCO has reimagined Sesame Street favorites as big band bonanzas, and this show features brand-new arrangements of Sesame Street gems.

Proudly presented in collaboration with Sesame Workshop.

ABYSSINIAN MASS BY WYNTON MARSALIS

Presented in collaboration with Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival

November 21 – 23 | 8pm | Rose Theater Featuring the Jazzat Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis with 70-piece gospel choir Chorale le Chateau, under the direction of Damien L. Sneed, Marsalis’ Abyssinian Mass is a joyful celebration of togetherness and the human spirit. Commissioned in 2008 to honor the bicentennial of Harlem’s famed Abyssinian Baptist Church, Abyssinian Mass has since become a best-selling record and performed in packed concert halls and churches around the country. The unique masterpiece now returns exclusively to its hometown for three nights in the House of Swing.

BIG BAND HOLIDAYS December 18 | 7pm | Rose Theater December 19 – 21 | 8pm | Rose Theater December 22 | 2pm | Rose Theater The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and music director Marcus Printup continue a beloved New York tradition with Big Band Holidays.Featuring soulful big band versions of classics like “Jingle Bells,” “Joy to the World,” and “Brazilian Sleigh Ride,” Big Band Holidays is an uplifting holiday program that plays to sold-out audiences every December. Big Band Holidays is renowned for showcasing some of the most exciting and charismatic vocalists on the scene, with recent editions including Cécile McLorin Salvant, Gregory Porter, René Marie, Vuyo Sotashe, Veronica Swift, and Catherine Russell. This year the smooth-as-silk baritone vocalist Denzal Sinclaire andsupremely talented teenage phenom Alexis Morrast, winner of the nationally broadcast Showtime at the Apollo, join the JLCO as guest vocalists.

SPIRITUAL SOUNDS AND THE JAZZ AGE January 10 – 11 | 8pm | Rose Theater The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis reprises Victor Goines’ acclaimed Untamed Elegance, a thoroughly modern take on the wild and sophisticated music of the 1920s ‘Jazz Age;’ and Chris Crenshaw‘s soulful God’s Trombones, inspired by a poetic take on James Weldon Johnson’s God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse,a 1927 book of poems patterned after a traditional Black American church sermon. Each suite highlights the composer’s boundless creativity and the peerless musical range of the JLCO’s individual members.

IN TRANSITION WITH GLENN CLOSE AND TED NASH January 30 – February 1 | 8pm | Rose Theater Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis saxophonist Ted Nash is a visionary composer at the top of his game. Nash’s most recent creation for the JLCO, The Presidential Suite,earned him Grammy Awards for Best Large Ensemble Jazz Album and Best Instrumental Composition in 2017. This concert is the world premiere of his new work, featuring the JLCO and award-winning actor and personal friend Glenn Close. This exclusive program explores the varied perspectives on the concept of “transitions.” As inspiration for each movement, Nash has enlisted notable writers and authors to share their thoughts on the subject. Glenn Close narrates their original contributions, and the JLCO performs each corresponding movement.

MASTERS OF FORM FROM MINGUS TO MONK April 3 – 4 | 8pm | Rose Theater For two nights, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis performs some of the most masterfully-structured pieces of the jazz canon, written by musical architects such as Jelly Roll Morton, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, and George Russell. The evening’s program also includes the world premiere of Andy Farber‘s Usonian Structures, a suite inspired by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Each movement of Usonian Structures is an interpretation or impression of one of Wright’s iconic designs.

SHERMAN IRBY’S SUPERNOVA FEATURING THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS April 23 – 25 | 8pm | Rose Theater JLCO saxophonist Sherman Irby leads the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis through a gravity-defying exploration of the universe in the world premiere of his new commission. Beginning, naturally, with the Big Bang, the suite’s subsequent movements evoke a series of galactic phenomena,from supernovas, stars, and black holes to the formation of galaxies and life itself. Introductions and anecdotes enhance the performance, presented by a well-known expert in the down-to-earth discipline of cosmology.

ELLINGTON MASTERPIECES June 12 – 13 | 8pm | Rose Theater The *Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis*closes the concert season with an audience favorite: an all-Ellington evening of long-form musical masterpieces. Over the course of six decades, Duke Ellington wrote well over 1,000 compositions, some of the richest and most enduring extended compositions of the past century. Across its staggering variety, Ellington’s music uplifts,enlightens, and rewards everyone from first-time listeners to lifelong fans. Duke Ellington was an American vanguard beloved around the world, and his timeless music, leadership, and artistic integrity represent the core of what Jazz at Lincoln Center is about.

COLLABORATIONS, COMMISSIONS& WORLD PREMIERES Unique concerts demonstrate the collaborative nature of jazz

JOE LOVANO UNIVERSAL JAZZ ENSEMBLE October 18 – 19 | 7pm & 9:30pm | The Appel Room On top of being one of the world’s best saxophonists, tenor titan Joe Lovano is also one of the most restlessly creative leaders in music. His all-star septet features six artists from across the entire spectrum of jazz, each of them also a renowned composer, bandleader, and instrumentalist: pianist Kenny Werner, bassist John Patitucci, drummers Andrew Cyrille and Tyshawn Sorey, guitarist Liberty Ellman, and trumpeter Graham Haynes. This AppelRoom performance marks the debut of the Joe Lovano Universal Jazz Ensemble.

ECM RECORDS AT 50 WITH VIJAY IYER, BILL FRISELL, AND MORE November 1 – 2 | 8pm | Rose Theater Jazz at Lincoln Center celebrates 50 years of ECM Records, rightfully called “one of the defining sound-worlds of the past half-century of recorded music” by the New Yorker. The show features an outstanding lineup of performers including Joe Lovano, Craig Taborn, VijayIyer, Avishai Cohen, Meredith Monk, Bill Frisell, Larry Grenadier, Ravi Coltrane, Anja Lechner, Ethan Iverson, and Nik Bartsch. An independent label founded by visionary producer Manfred Eicher, this 50-year anniversary celebration is a proper salute to a record label that, with an unwavering commitment to quality, has contributed so uniquely and extensively to contemporary music.

CHUCHO VALDÉS WITH SPECIAL GUEST CHICK COREA November 15 – 16 | 8pm | Rose Theater Pianists Chucho Valdés and Chick Corea are two of the all-time greats, living legends as musically prolific now as ever. They have won more than 30 Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards combined, while redefining modern music in the process. The first half of this concert is a master class in solo piano performance, with Valdés selecting and improvising pieces across a broad spectrum of Cuban, Afro-Latin, and jazz styles. Then pianist Chick Corea joins the second half in the pair’s first-ever performance together. These singular giants of jazz have spent their lives breaking new ground across musical traditions, and their debut collaboration is as immensely entertaining as it is historic.

NEW ORLEANS JAZZ ORCHESTRA WITH RENÉ MARIE & DAVELL CRAWFORD December 13 – 14 | 7pm & 9:30pm | The Appel Room The Grammy Award – winning New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO), under the direction of drummer Adonis Rose, takes the sonic power and stylistic versatility of a big band, adds a healthy New Orleans emphasis on groove and accessibility, and applies it to an unusually expansive repertoire of originals, jazz staples, New Orleans classics, and pop, rock,R&B, and soul hits. Joining NOJO are vocalists René Marie and Davell Crawford.

HERLIN RILEY PRESENTS CUBANOLA SOUNDS OF CUBA AND NEW ORLEANS February 21 – 22 | 7pm & 9:30pm | The Appel Room New Orleans drum extraordinaire Herlin Riley continues his exploration of the intersection of Latin jazz with the sounds of his hometown. Featuring Cuban percussionist Pedrito Martinez,*trumpeter(and fellow New Orleanian) *Nicholas Payton, and young bassist extraordinaire Russell Hall, the event showcases classic New Orleans repertoire reimagined and spiced up with Cuban music traditions.

MARY STALLINGS AND FREDDY COLE WITH THE EMMET COHEN TRIO April 17 – 18 | 7pm & 9:30pm | The Appel Room Master vocalists Mary Stallings, Freddy Cole, and soon to-be-announced guest vocalists sing their hearts out alongside pianist Emmet Cohen‘s trio, featuring Russell Hall and Kyle Poole, with special guest tenor saxophonist Houston Person.

JOEY DEFRANCESCO, CHRIS POTTER AND JEFF “TAIN” WATTS May 15 – 16 | 7pm & 9:30pm | The Appel Room Witness the world premiere of a new all-star trio assembled exclusively for these Jazz at Lincoln Center performances – Joey DeFrancesco, arguably the greatest jazz organist alive on the pedals and keys; tenor titan Chris Potter, one of the best saxophone soloists across an enormous range of styles and instrumental configurations; and Jeff “Tain” Watts, a drum genius who has played on every Grammy Award-winning album that Wynton or Branford Marsalis has ever recorded. Each musician contributes brand-new music and revisit some old favorites for the occasion.

INNOVATORS AND BOUNDARY BREAKERS The finest names in modern jazz demonstrate diversity and virtuosity across generations

CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT THE OGRESSE September 27 – 28 | 8pm | Rose Theater The Ogresse is a new musical journey created by vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, described as a dark and romantic“fairy tale-like” story. Musical support comes from L’ Orchestre L’ Ogresse – a 13-piece chamber ensemble comprised of top-tier jazz musicians and the MIVOS string quartet – led by composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue. Audience members receive a copy of Salvant’s full handwritten libretto, including lyrics to The Ogresse, illustrations, and a few unusual cooking recipes preferred by the titular ogress.

BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTETWITH CITIZENS OF THE BLUES February 28 – 29 | 8pm | Rose Theater The multi-Grammy Award – winning Branford Marsalis Quartet is a standard-bearer of modern instrumental jazz. The group has maintained one of the most consistent lineups in jazz history, and their chemistry and mastery of craft put them in a league of their own. The quartet plays music from its brand-new record, The Secrets Between the Shadow and the Soul. The repertoire includes new originals by Marsalis and members of the band, as well as a couple of upbeat selections by Keith Jarrett and Andrew Hill. Citizens of the Blues opens the evening, showcasing four of the finest young musicians on the scene: Anthony Hervey, Isaiah J. Thompson, Philip Norris, and Domo Branch.

THE ARTISTRY OF JAZZMEIA HORN LOVE AND LIBERATION March 6 – 7 | 7pm & 9:30pm | The Appel Room Jazzmeia Horn has taken the jazz world by storm since winning the 2015 International Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition, and she is truly coming into her own with the Love and Liberation tour. An ode to unapologetic self-love and honest expression, this is Horn’s first collection of almost-entirely original material. Her Appel Room feature debut includes the same band from the album: Josh Evans on trumpet, Stacy Dillard on saxophone, Sullivan Fortner and Victor Gould on piano, Ben Williams on bass, and Jamison Ross on drums and vocals.

AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE WITH JACK DEJOHNETTE AND TOM HARRELL March 27 – 28 | 7pm & 9:30pm | The Appel Room One of the most exciting musicians to emerge in the 21st century, trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire creates distinctive and transportive original music. This performance is a rare opportunity to experience his banyan suite live, featuring living legends Jack DeJohnette and Tom Harrell.

BOBBY MCFERRIN May 22 – 23 | 8pm | Rose Theater Hailed as “one of the world’s most famous vocal chameleons” by the New York Times, Bobby McFerrin delivers one of the most transcendent experiences in live music.Truly a genre unto himself, the ten-time Grammy Award winner and multi-platinum-selling artist is a master of spontaneity, vocal ingenuity, and musical and spiritual openness.

ETIENNE CHARLES’ CARNIVAL THE SOUND OF A PEOPLE June 5 – 6 | 7pm & 9:30pm | The Appel Room Trinidad & Tobago’s world-famous Carnival celebration comes to The Appel Room courtesy of trumpeter, percussionist, and composer Etienne Charles, right in time for Caribbean Heritage Month. This high-energy spectacle seamlessly blends American jazz traditions with the thrilling sights and sounds of Trinidadian Carnival. Charles’ intertwines beautiful jazz charts with the rapid percussion of an iron and steel band, the interlocking grooves of the tamboo bamboo, and the dancing and wild screams of the blue devils, who perform in full costume and character. Like any great live jazz concert, Carnival brings diverse communities together in a united celebration of individual freedom and shared history.

ART BLAKEY CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL Just as Blakey’s timeless music is essential to jazz, so is the tradition of mentorship and cross-generational collaboration

ART BLAKEY CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION October 7 – 13 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm | Dizzy’s Club Dizzy’s Club kicks off a week-long celebration around what would have been Art Blakey’s 100th birthday on October 11 – preceding another festival later in the season. The Dizzy’s performances feature notable alumni of the legendary Jazz Messengers,as well as the next generation of talent Blakey’s legacy has inspired, over the course of seven nights.

ART BLAKEY: THE LEGACY CONTINUES May 1 – 2 | 7pm & 9:30pm | The Appel Room As a part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Art Blakey Centennial Festival, The Appel Room hosts a reunion of elite alumni from Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, led by Ralph Peterson, the only drummer ever to play in the band alongside the drum maestro himself. A quintessential jazz band for nearly 40 years, the Jazz Messengers remained vital thanks to a constant influx of top up-and-coming talent, including every musician featured in this show. Blakey’s reputation for hiring "only the best” provided his young players with experience, exposure, and life-changing apprenticeship, as seen in the musicians on the stage for this celebration – saxophonists Bill Pierce and Bobby Watson, trumpeter Brian Lynch, pianist Geoffrey Keezer, bassist Essiet Essiet, and drummer Ralph Peterson.

ART BLAKEY AT 100 May 1 – 2 | 8pm | Rose Theater The unique legacy of drummer and bandleader Art Blakey makes this tribute especially exciting — and even personal — for Wynton Marsalis and his handpicked group of young musicians. Art Blakey first made a name for himself in the 1940s, playing with top contemporaries like Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie. When Blakey formed the Jazz Messengers in the 1950s, it quickly became a rite of passage that would launch the careers of artists from Wayne Shorter and Lee Morgan to Terence Blanchard and Wynton Marsalis. In honor of Art Blakey’s centennial, Marsalis and a group of young, up-and-coming jazz musicians — Jeffery Miller, Zoe Obadia, Anthony Hervey, Philip Norris, and Abdias Armenteros — play the music of Marsalis’ iconic jazz mentor, highlighting the sound that kept Blakey’s band vital and popular across the decades while showcasing the next generation of musicians to carry the art form forward.

PERENNIAL FAVORITES Dynamic performers,entertainers and leaders back by popular demand

STEVE MILLER CANNONBALL ADDERLEY & THE BLUES December 13 – 14 | 8pm | Rose Theater Renowned blues-rock guitarist, multi-platinum-selling singer/songwriter, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Steve Miller continues his exploration of the blues at Jazz at Lincoln Center. With the help of the Patrick Bartley Sextet and vocalist Brianna Thomas, this concert is another soul-stirring dive into this enduring and diverse genre.

DIANNE REEVES February 14 – 15 | 8pm | Rose Theater NEA Jazz Master Dianne Reeves sets the mood for Valentine’s Day weekend, continuing a popular holiday tradition at Jazz at Lincoln Center (now in its ninth year!). A master vocalist and hypnotizing storyteller, Reeves has been hailed as “the most admired jazz diva since the heyday of Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday” by the New York Times. With a powerful voice, bold dramatic flair, and penchant for spontaneity, Reeves inhabits every story she sings, taking mesmerized audiences along with her for the ride.

MICHAEL FEINSTEIN’S AMERICAN SONGBOOK10 YEARS OF JAZZ & POPULAR SONG June 5 – 6 | 8pm | Rose Theater Singer,entertainer, and “Ambassador of the Great American Songbook” MichaelFeinstein celebrates ten years of his Jazz & Popular Song series with an all-star extravaganza. Capping off a historic run in The Appel Room, Feinstein now takes the show to Rose Theater for a grand reunion of the cr*è*me-de-la-cr*è*me. As fans of the best-selling series know, each Jazz & Popular Song concert features Feinstein as host, singer, and director; the ever-swinging Tedd Firth Big Band; and some extraordinary surprise vocalists announced closer to the show. Past guests have included jazz stars and cabaret legends Marilyn Maye, Ann Hampton Calloway, Catherine Russell, Christine Ebersole, Denzal Sinclaire, Vuyo Sotashe, and Veronica Swift.

JAZZ FOR YOUNG PEOPLE One-hour long interactive concerts designed for families with school age children* to learn more about the history and figures in jazz*

FAMILY CONCERT: WHO IS CHICK COREA? October 5 | 1pm & 3pm | Rose Theater Pianist,composer, and living legend Chick Corea has found endless delight in uncovering new musical wonders. Through acoustic and electric jazz, inspired duets, and all sorts of bold “fusions,” this musical explorer has remained one of the most popular figures in music, earning 24 Grammy Awards (and counting) while maintaining the deepest respect of his peers. This hour-long educational program features live performances of Chick’s game-changing music and tell the inspiring story of a lifelong dreamer who built a legacy alongside Miles Davis,Return to Forever, Herbie Hancock, Béla Fleck, and even the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.

FAMILY CONCERT: WHO IS DAVE BRUBECK? March 21 | 1pm & 3pm | Rose Theater*Music enthusiasts and their families learn about the life and art of the great jazz composer and pianist Dave Brubeck (in his centennial year!) in this hour-long interactive concert.Brubeck’s timeless music and inspiring leadership are at the core of what Jazz at Lincoln Center is about and this youth-oriented concert is a swinging celebration featuring the *Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Dizzy’s Club Dizzy’s Club, one of the three main performance venues of Frederick P. Rose Hall,produces world-class jazz performances nightly, often reflecting and augmenting the programming in Rose Theater and The Appel Room. Dizzy’s Club kicks off the season with the return of the popular Generations in Jazz Festival (September 2 – October 6) with the Oliver Lake Big Band (September 16), René Marie (September 19 – 22), Theo Croker’s Big Brother Big Band (September 23), and Buster Williams & Something More (September 26 – 28). Additional highlights throughout the season include Big Band Sound of Rufus Reid (October 17-20) and the return of Wycliffe Gordon‘s Thanksgiving celebration (November 26 – December 1).

Education Jazz at Lincoln Center’s education initiatives continue to reach larger and more diverse audiences in 2019-20. The innovative “Education on the Road” program, led by members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, continues to provide workshops, master classes, and other outreach activities as parts of the band’s national and international tours. The Jazz Academy Media Library, the organization’s online education portal, houses over 1,000 freely available instructional videos covering a wide range of musical and historical topics.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Youth Programs enters a 14th year of offering ensembles and classes for high school and middle school-age musicians in the tri-state area. The Youth Programs support instrumental jazz education through 18 ensembles with weekly sessions of the High School Jazz Academy and the Middle School Jazz Academy. The Jazz for Young People® outreach program “Let Freedom Swing” extends to schools and community-based organizations throughout all five boroughs of New York City, as well as Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Washington,D.C., New Orleans, Mesa, London, Sydney, and Melbourne to present more than 600 concerts throughout the season. The Essentially Ellington (EE) program continues to reach band directors and students in more than 6,600 schools and independent bands worldwide. This year, more than 42,000 free original transcriptions of Duke Ellington and Benny Golson recordings were distributed, as well as other educational resources. Additionally, the program expands its educational reach through a series of 21 regional festivals in the U.S. and five in Australia that enhance students’ understanding and appreciation of the music. The companion Band Director Academy (BDA) program continues its annual offerings at New York City’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. This year, BDA focuses on the essentials of teaching jazz through the music of the great Count Basie, while emphasizing hands-on learning and practical techniques (June 27 – 30, 2019).

Additional education programming includes:

Summer Jazz Academy with Wynton Marsalis at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, July 15 – 28, 2019;
Licensed WeBop® sites in New York City and national partners in Chicago, Seattle, Orlando, Las Vegas, and Omaha;
An increased number of free pre-concert lectures to supplement most Jazz at Lincoln Center-produced events in Rose Theater and The Appel Room;
Listening Parties to provide attendees with new depths of insight into major jazz artists’ aesthetics and inspirations;
Syncopated Leadership workshops continue to offer a range of leadership training opportunities through jazz performance practice;
Visiting Band Workshops encouraging band directors of student ensembles of all ages to bring their performing groups for a customized workshop at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, for an opportunity to work directly with Jazz at Lincoln Center clinicians and artists.

In addition, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s higher education program, Swing University expands its course offerings in 2019 – 20,building upon its flagship Jazz 101, 201, and 301 classes with specialty courses on South African Jazz, the Great American Songbook, the Music of Memphis, John Coltrane,and more.

Touring The virtuosic Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis tours its expansive repertoire, including original works and arrangements by band members, around the world. In September and October 2019,the Orchestra tours South Africa for the first time on the 25th anniversary of South Africa’s democracy. Throughout December 2019, the band spreads good cheer along the Midwestern U.S. on its Big Band Holidays Tour, featuring guest vocalists Denzel Sinclaire and Alexis Morrast. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis tours throughout Europe in February 2020. Residencies in Amsterdam, Brussels, London and Vienna may include free public concerts; and workshops, masterclasses, and Jazz For Young People concerts. In London, the Orchestra performs Wynton Marsalis’ “The Jungle_”_(Symphony No. 4) with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.

Blue Engine Blue Engine Records, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s record label, continues distributing recordings from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s bountiful and impressive concert archives, illustrating its commitment to sharing Jazz at Lincoln Center’s music with audiences beyond the concert halls.

Ticket Information Beginning today, current Jazz at Lincoln Center subscribers are invited to renew their subscriptions for all Rose Theater and The Appel Room concert packages,with savings of up to 15% off single ticket prices. To keep their same seats,current subscribers must renew beginning today through April 19, 2019. New subscriptions may be purchased beginning March 1, 2019.

Becoming a subscriber is the best way to lock in the best seats at the guaranteed best prices for the entire season, as single ticket prices will increase based on demand as concerts approach. Subscribers also have the benefit of utilizing free, unlimited ticket exchanges to manage their schedule.In addition to all other benefits, subscribers can select the TAKE 3,4,5 plan, creating a custom concert package of three or more performances throughout the season,personalized to individual interests and schedules, across both venues. TAKE 3,4,5 tickets come with a 10%discount off single ticket prices in addition to all other subscriber benefits.

For more information on 2019 – 20 season subscriptions, visit jazz.org/subs. To order a subscription or to request information, please call the Subscription Services hotline at 212-258-9999, e-mail subscriptions@jazz.org, or visit jazz.org/subs.

Membership Discount Jazz at Lincoln Center offers a robust Membership program with a wide array of benefits, including deep discounts on concert tickets. Individuals who join at the $75 level and above are eligible to receive VIP single ticket pre-sale access and discounted tickets to Jazz at Lincoln Center-produced concerts in Rose Theater and The Appel Room on the day of the event. Tickets must be purchased at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office or online beginning at 12:01am the day of the performance. Members must show their valid membership card or log-in to jazz.org using their account credentials to receive this discount. Subject to availability. Learn more and sign up at jazz.org/membership.

VIP single ticket pre-sale for donors, members, and subscribers will be available starting June 18, 2019. Become a Jazz at Lincoln Center member by June 24 to access single tickets before the general public.

Pricing Ticket prices for Rose Theater are $40 and up dependent upon seating section,except where noted below:

_Jazz for Young People_® tickets in Rose Theater are $10, $20 or $25.

Ticket prices for The Appel Room are $65 and up, dependent on seating section for the 7pm sets, and $45 and up, dependent on seating section for the 9:30pm sets.

Note: Hot Seats – $10 seats for each Rose Theater performance (excluding _Jazz for Young People_® concerts and other performances as specified) and select performances in The Appel Room – are available for purchase by the general public on the Wednesday prior to each performance. Tickets are subject to availability; please call 212-258-9877 for available Hot Seats performance dates.

Hot Seats are available only by walk-up at the Box Office; maximum of two tickets per person. Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Hot Seats Ticket Discount Program is supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Please note that a $10 Hot Seats. A. 7 handling fee also applies when purchasing tickets from CenterCharge or when purchasing tickets online via jazz.org.

All single tickets for The Appel Room and Rose Theater can be purchased through jazz.org 24 hours a day or through CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, open daily from 10am to 9pm. Tickets can also be purchased at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, located on Broadway at 60th Street, ground floor.

Box Office hours: Monday-Saturday: 10am to 6pm (or 30 minutes past curtain) Sunday: 12noon to 6pm (or 30 minutes past curtain).

Single tickets go on sale JUNE 25, 2019.

Additional information may be found at jazz.org | Facebook: facebook.com/jazzatlincolncenter | Twitter: @jazzdotorg | Instagram: @jazzdotorg | YouTube: youtube.com/jalc | Livestream: jazz.org/live

Jazz at Lincoln Center proudly acknowledges its major corporate partners: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Brooks Brothers, The Coca-Cola Company, Con Edison, Entergy, SiriusXM, and Steinway & Sons.

McCoy Tyner and Charles McPherson at 80 featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis

New York, NY (February 25, 2019) – Pianist McCoy Tyner and saxophonist Charles McPherson, two of jazz’s greatest living legends will perform their iconic compositions with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater on April 5─6 at 8pm. Jazz at Lincoln Center is located on Broadway at 60th Street in New York, New York.

For this special concert event entitled McCoy Tyner and Charles McPherson at 80, the pianist and saxophonist will join the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis to play brand-new big band arrangements of their iconic compositions — all written exclusively for this event by members of the JLCO. The Orchestra members are longtime fans of these jazz giants, and the excitement will be palpable as they share the stage to perform inspired new versions of their favorite songs.

Charles McPherson is a singular bebop saxophonist. After playing with Charles Mingus for over a decade, McPherson has been traveling all over the world as a renowned leader and mentor. He remains one of the few musicians able to channel the classic bebop might of predecessors like Charlie Parker, but he possesses a powerful style of his own as both a composer and soloist. Audiences will witness both sides of that talent tonight.

NEA Jazz Master McCoy Tyner is an artist whose enduring influence cannot be overstated. Tyner has made invaluable contributions to some of jazz’s greatest concerts and albums, including A Love Supreme, My Favorite Things, and Live at the Village Vanguard as a member of the John Coltrane Quartet. We often hear newer players described as “like McCoy Tyner, but…” Tonight, the real McCoy is in the House of Swing! Don’t miss this chance to see two of jazz’s most storied virtuosos with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The McCoy Tyner and Charles McPherson at 80 performance on April 5 will be webcast live on jazz.org/live and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Facebook page.

A free pre-concert discussion will take place nightly at 7pm in the Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman Studio in The Irene Diamond Education Center.

For additional information, visit jazz.org.

Ticket Information Rose Theater ticket prices are $40 and up, dependent upon seating section.

All single tickets for The Appel Room and Rose Theater can be purchased through jazz.org 24 hours a day or through CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, open daily from 10am to 9pm. Tickets can also be purchased at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, located on Broadway at 60th Street, ground floor. Note: Hot Seats — $10 seats for each Rose Theater performance (excluding Jazz for Young People® concerts and other performances as specified) and select performances in The Appel Room (excluding Jazz & Popular Song concerts) — are available for purchase by the general public on the Wednesday prior to each performance. Tickets are subject to availability; please call 212-258-9800 for available Hot Seats performance dates.

Music lovers around the world can also enjoy the performances from the comfort of their homes through Jazz at Lincoln Center’s state-of-the-art livestream capabilities. The performances will be available to view by live webcast at jazz.org/live.

Additional information may be found at jazz.org | Facebook: facebook.com/jazzatlincolncenter | Twitter: @jazzdotorg | Instagram: @jazzdotorg | YouTube: youtube.com/jalc | Livestream: jazz.org/live

‘Excellence is a form of protest’: Wynton Marsalis

When Wynton Marsalis helped found the jazz wing of the storied Lincoln Center in New York City, he became the most powerful man in jazz. And like all powerful men, he has his detractors.

In the view of the critics, the influence of his position as managing and artistic director – overseeing a $70 million annual budget, curating one of the most consequential performance seasons in jazz – stands in uneasy relation to the freewheeling, subversive roots of his art form.

Ahead of his tour of Australia, the trumpeter speaks coolly of his critics: “This cliche came out of the 1960s that the only way you could be radical is by hollering in the street and looking dishevelled. Martin Luther King, WB Yeats and Shakespeare were radicals.”

“Excellence is a form of protest,” he says.

Not misunderstood

If that’s true, Marsalis has been protesting for a very long time. After bursting onto the scene as a 20-year-old in 1982 with his first album Wynton Marsalis, he became in the following year the first musician to simultaneously win Grammy awards in both jazz and classical categories. Twelves months after that, he repeated the trick.

In the reams of writing about Marsalis, for example on his criticism of some strains of hip-hop as “more damaging than a statue of Robert E. Lee”, a phrase recurs: Wynton Marsalis is misunderstood.

But the man himself says he doesn’t view it that way; he points instead to the structural racism through which his career has always been refracted.

Asked whether he felt he had been misunderstood, Marsalis says, “We don’t have to do that. You have a sense of reality. You’re intelligent. You see it.”

Then, a final jab at the journalist: “If you haven’t seen it, don’t say it. If you haven’t felt it, don’t write it.”

Original voice

The trumpeter grew up in New Orleans as the second of six sons. His father Ellis Marsalis Jr, a pianist, introduced a young Wynton to musical giants like Al Hurt and Clark Terry.

But Marsalis says he never saw a tension between respecting tradition and developing his own style: “Even in the first record I made when I was 19, I sounded like myself. I didn’t sound good but I sounded like myself.”

This was for him no matter of youthful rebellion or jealous antipathy. “I was not an enemy to those people’s styles. Only a fool is an enemy to his own people,” he says.

Marsalis brings these disparate strains – heritage and innovation, swing and symphony – to bear on his compositions. The 1997 Blood on the Fields, for which Marsalis won the Pulitzer Prize, is a two-and-a-half-hour jazz oratorio about two people’s escape from slavery to freedom. In Sydney and Melbourne, he will play his kaleidoscopic symphonic tribute to New York City: The Jungle.

After a day of rehearsals with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Marsalis says he draws management insights from his experience with the music. It comes down, he says, to what drummer Art Blakey once told him: “get people who can play and leave them alone”.

Hopeful together

One of Marsalis’ current fascinations is with musical hybrids beyond the classical-jazz nexus. He sees in Latin habanera rhythm, as with the pentatonic scale or fundamental harmonies, universal tendencies that could be the basis for writing new music.

When distinctive traditions come together this way, Marsalis says it’s like the birth of a child. The offspring is a variation of what has come before, but one that retains the marker of its roots.

“You still have the fundamentals of your parents in you. You’d have to go into your DNA to change that,” he says.

There is, Marsalis acknowledges, a strain of hopefulness that peeks through these answers. But he adds a qualification: “The optimism of the blues is not naive. It’s not a boys and girls show. This is for adults.”

by Bo Seo

Source: Financial Review

Wynton Marsalis takes us on a Jungle prowl

New York is a helluva town and it features strongly in Sydney’s arts and entertainment scene at the moment with trumpet superstar Wynton Marsalis here leading his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for a series of concerts with the Sydney Symphony, and operagoers preparing for the open-air production of West Side Story in March.

Marsalis shows how easily he bestrides the genres of classical and jazz music with the first of these concerts, which features his fourth symphony, The Jungle, in an Australian premiere performance under the baton of SSO chief conductor and fellow American David Robertson.

This hour-long work is an homage to New York City — “the most fluid, pressure-packed and cosmopolitan metropolis the world has ever seen”, as Marsalis says.

It is in five movements and the 16-strong top-notch jazz band sits front stage surrounded by Sydney’s finest, who have shown on several occasions that they can swing if they have to.

Marsalis has already established himself as a modern-day Duke Ellington, capable to writing large format works which neatly cross the genres.

HISTORY

He first established himself as a world-beating trumpeter at 17 when he played with Art Blakey and the Messengers, going on to lead his own bands and making more than 60 recordings and picking up nine Grammies. He made history by taking out two in the same year — one for jazz and the other for his classical recording of the Haydn trumpet concertos — and repeating the feat in the following year.

He was here with the JLCO in 2016 performing his Swing Symphony — a musical journey through the history of jazz — and a one night concert of music by Duke Ellington and George Gershwin.

If anything this tour is even more impressive. Jungle Symphony traces the city’s DNA from the Native Americans (the opening movement The Big Scream — Black Elk Speaks) through the Jazz Age and European immigration to the enormous Latin-American influences and the manic stock market and business world.

But the most symphonic movement, Lost In Sight (Post Pastoral) is the most impressive and integrated, managing to meld Dvorak’s idealised pastoral impression of the New World Symphony largo with a colder, starker portrait of homelessness and those who can’t survive the bitter reality of the Big Apple.

Robertson opened the program with another view of New York, Ameriques, a work written by French-born composer Edgard Varese who arrived in the city bent of adventure and a new life after World War I.

Robertson told his mainly young audience they were right to be concerned to see a conductor with a microphone in his hand. “Over the next 22 minutes you’re going to hear the most extraordinary piece for orchestra,” he promised them.

RAUCOUS

He explained how Varese arrived in America “with a clean slate” after most of his music was lost in a fire in a Berlin warehouse.

“He arrived to the hustle and bustle of New York where anything’s possible at a time when science was making all these breakthroughs,” Robertson said.

Heavily influenced by Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, which had its premiered only a couple of years before, Ameriques is indeed a remarkable work in which Varese bends the lines between “music” and “noise”.

He wasn’t fond of strings, so they have a subsidiary role. It’s the huge percussion department, which includes a siren, xylophones and two sets of tubular bells, and the massed brass and woodwinds that do the heavy lifting. The result is spectacular. Raucous and cacophonous and vibrant with energy.

He explained how Varese arrived in America “with a clean slate” after most of his music was lost in a fire in a Berlin warehouse.

“He arrived to the hustle and bustle of New York where anything’s possible at a time when science was making all these breakthroughs,” Robertson said.

Heavily influenced by Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, which had its premiered only a couple of years before, Ameriques is indeed a remarkable work in which Varese bends the lines between “music” and “noise”.

He wasn’t fond of strings, so they have a subsidiary role. It’s the huge percussion department, which includes a siren, xylophones and two sets of tubular bells, and the massed brass and woodwinds that do the heavy lifting. The result is spectacular. Raucous and cacophonous and vibrant with energy.

The SSO have never played it before and probably never will again after this tour.

The schoolkids loved it.

The concert is repeated on Friday, February 22, at 8pm and on Monday, February 25, at 7pm at the Opera House Concert Hall. Marsalis and the JLCO will play Duke Ellington and Count Basie sets at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on Saturday, February 23, at 7pm.

Source: Daily Telegraph

Jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis remembers Singapore for ‘religious freedom’ and cleanliness

SINGAPORE – Age has mellowed musician Wynton Marsalis.

The 58-year-old muses: “I guess everyone mellows.”

Certainly the jazz superstar seems to be more tolerant of publicity demands these days, as The Straits Times discovers. Compared to previous chats with the newspaper, where the mercurial musician went from chatty and ebullient to bored and disinterested in a flash, Marsalis is positively zen in this latest conversation over the telephone from his office in New York’s Jazz At Lincoln Center.

He ponders a question about what advice he would give his younger self, muttering the question to himself before answering thoughtfully: “When you think something is not going to work out, you expend a certain type of frantic energy. If I could take my older self to go back to being younger, I’d be more deliberate and calm with my energy. When I was younger, I’d just be hollering and cussing and screaming. I wouldn’t do that.”

But the Louisiana-born musician, whose languid speech is littered with polite “Yes ma’am“s, is quick to add with a conspiratorial chuckle: “Some of that cussing stuff is fun now. I’m not going to take all of that away.”

It is evident that his sense of mischief is still alive and well. Music fans here will get to sample his Southern charm when the trumpeter returns for a fourth time to Singapore with his renowned Jazz At The Lincoln Center Orchestra.

They will be playing two gigs at the Esplanade on March 8 and 9, as well as a Saturday afternoon Jazz For Young People session, which is targeted at students.

Educating the young about jazz is a cause close to the heart of Marsalis, who won a prestigious Peabody award for his educational outreach in two 1995 programmes, the television series Marsalis On Music and the radio programme Making The Music.

He even remembers the Jazz For Young People Concert he last played at the Esplanade, 17 years ago, when the orchestra was part of the venue’s Opening Season lineup.

“It was Mingus,” he recalls of the programme, which featured the music of bassist Charles Mingus and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.

He adds: “That’s a beautiful hall too, I remember that.”

He and the orchestra had fun putting the then-new hall through its acoustic paces, and for an encore, he serenaded opera diva Jessye Norman, also in town for the Esplanade’s opening, with a sotto voce solo.

This time around, Marsalis and the orchestra will be playing a selection of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. He picked these two jazz greats for a reason.

“They represent two different perspectives on the orchestral tradition of jazz. Duke Ellington’s music, there’s a lot of very inventive compositions and a great deal of complexity. Count Basie’s music is like community music with rhythms, and very soulful but earthy phrases.”

It is no surprise that the one-time enfant terrible of jazz has chosen a conservative programme. His meteoric rise in the jazz world was accompanied by much controversy as he championed the older forms of jazz such as swing and bebop while scorning newer subgenres such as fusion and avant garde.

As the founder of Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra, he has put his aesthetic stamp on the outfit which has become famous for its tight musicianship, its role in establishing a jazz canon and its tireless education outreach. Marsalis’ ambitious output as a composer has also been inextricably tied to the orchestra, which debuted his Pulitzer Prize-winning oratorio, Blood On The Fields, in 1994.

After 31 years at its helm, from its genesis as a series of programmes to an institution at the Lincoln Center, Marsalis says he has thought about handing over the reins. “We think and talk about that all the time: What will our younger generation do.”

And he has a timeline for his handover. “In the next 10 years, it’s going to be time for us to make that transition.”

While he has put his stamp on the orchestra, he has also learned a few things in the process. He says: “One, I learned that a lifetime is not enough to learn how to play. The second thing that I realised, it’s important for you to be quiet if you are going to learn. You cannot listen and talk at the same time.

“The third thing that I learned is the importance of trusting others. Because there’s a lot more world you cannot see if you can’t trust other people. If you don’t trust other people, you only see the world you want to see. You trust others, you reveal a whole lot more of the world.”

His easygoing approach extends to his children too. The father of three sons, aged between 24 and 30, says jokingly: “If my kids do things that are legal, I’m happy. I don’t put things on them. It’s their lives. If I can help them do what they’re doing, I wanna help.”

He has helped his daughter Oni, 10, to record a couple of Christmas singles. Marsalis says it was his idea to get her to sing after he was approached by clothing brand Brooks Brothers.

“They were really just asking if they could use a picture of her. They saw a picture of her at a gala. I said, well, she can sing and she can do a song with us.”

The 2017 single Jingle Bells was the result. It proved so popular Marsalis recorded another single with Oni, Winter Wonderland, last year.

There is a note of pride as he talks about his daughter, but the perfectionist musician in him cannot help but add: “She doesn’t really practise all the time but she’s got a kind of natural feeling. If we do another song, she has to learn how to scat sing.”

As for his own musical plans, he is still planning to write the opera about America’s civil war which he first told The Straits Times about in 2012.

“I haven’t started working on it yet, but it’s called Babel On This Ground.”

In the meantime, he adds, he is looking forward to his return engagement with Singapore. The cheekiness returns as he says slyly: “I remember a lot of stuff. Some I can’t really talk about in the paper.”

What he can talk about: “I remember the kind of religious freedom that people have, the diversity of people, the industriousness of people, how clean everything is. I had a great time there.”

And as if to emphasise it, he singsongs again: “I had a great time there.”

Marsalis, it seems, is in a mellow tone.

by Ong Sor Fern

Source: The Straits Times

Jazz at Lincoln Center announces 15 Finalists for the 2019 Essentially Ellington Competition

Fifteen big bands across the nation named finalists for the 24th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival

Jazz unites students from different political, socio-economic, and geographic backgrounds

New York, New York – (February 13, 2019 at 3pm) Jazz at Lincoln Center today announced the 15 finalists who will compete in its 24th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival – the nation’s premier jazz education event – in New York City on May 9-11, 2019. The competition unites students from coast to coast, and from diverse backgrounds to find harmony together while playing some of the most complex music ever written.

The bands were selected from a competitive pool of 112 after submitting recordings of three tunes performed from the Essentially Ellington Library. From May 9 through the 11, these talented young musicians from all walks of life will participate in workshops, jam sessions and sectionals before competing for top honors in the House of Swing. After, a concert and awards ceremony will take place featuring this year’s top three bands alongside the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.

“Essentially Ellington shows off America’s young people at their best. High school students from across this nation have worked tirelessly on the highest quality of our orchestral music. They’ve met the challenge of mastering vocal effects on horns, of improvising fresh, new individual ideas, and of swinging, which means embracing and nurturing the common ground,” said Wynton Marsalis, Managing and Artistic Director, Jazz at Lincoln Center. “In these divisive times, it’s important to teach and celebrate our most scared values: freedom of speech, empathetic listening, and constructive engagement with others. These kids have a lot to teach us. I’m looking forward to hearing them play, and to being instructed and inspired by them.”

Marsalis continues, “Duke Ellington envisioned the unlimited creative possibilities afforded to all of us by our way of life. This musician shared that vision and made it real. This is the banner under which we fight. It more enlightened and engaged America.”

The full list of 2019 Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Finalists includes:

Beloit Memorial High School (Beloit, WI)
Denver School of the Arts (Denver, CO)
Dillard Center for the Arts (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Foxboro High School (Foxborough, MA)
Garfield High School (Seattle, WA)
Middleton High School (Middleton, WI)
Mount Si High School (Snoqualmie, WA)
Newark Academy (Livingston, NJ)
Rio Americano High School (Sacramento, CA)
Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA)
San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts (San Diego, CA)
Sun Prairie High School (Sun Prairie, WI)
Tarpon Springs High School (Tarpon Springs, FL)
Philharmonic Association (Raleigh, NC)
William H. Hall High School (West Hartford, CT)

In addition to the top 15 high school jazz bands, Jazz at Lincoln Center announced the winner of the 7th Annual Essentially Ellington Dr. J. Douglas White Student Composition and Arranging Contest. This year, out of 21 submissions, the prestigious honor goes to Miles Lennox, of Dillard Center for the Arts (Fort Lauderdale, FL), an alumnus of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Summer Jazz Academy program and the Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival where he won Outstanding Soloist for piano. Miles will have his composition recorded by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and receive a $1,000 cash prize, a composition lesson with GRAMMY award-winning musician and longtime Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra member, Ted Nash, and will receive a free trip to New York City to observe and participate in the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival.

Arts education has been a pillar of Jazz at Lincoln Center since it was founded over thirty years ago, with the Essentially Ellington competition serving as a programming cornerstone for 24 of those years.

The annual Competition & Festival marks the culmination of the annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Program, which includes non-regional festivals around the country, free transcriptions of original Duke Ellington recordings, additional teaching resources, free adjudication, and more. More than 5,300 high school bands across the country participate in the program.

Festival events, including the final concert featuring the three top-placing bands and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, will be webcast live on jazz.org/live.

For more information, including background, history, photos, and audio recordings of the Essentially Ellington repertoire, visit: jazz.org/ee

The Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival is media-accessible via Jazz at Lincoln Center social media on Facebook: facebook.com/EssentiallyEllington, Twitter: @EssEllington, Instagram: @jazzdotorg.

Founding leadership support for Essentially Ellington is provided by The Jack and Susan Rudin Educational and Scholarship Fund.

Major support is provided by Jessica and Natan Bibliowicz, Alfred and Gail Engelberg, Casey Lipscomb, Dr. J. Douglas White and the King-White Family Foundation, Augustine Foundation, Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Con Edison, The Hearst Foundations, and Entergy.

Additional information may be found at jazz.org | Facebook: facebook.com/jazzatlincolncenter | Twitter: @jazzdotorg | Instagram: @jazzdotorg | YouTube: youtube.com/jalc | Livestream: jazz.org/live

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Press Inquiries: Madelyn Gardner Manager, Public Relations & External Communications Jazz at Lincoln Center mgardner@jazz.org 212-258-9868

Julia Schechter SKDKnickerbocker, for Jazz at Lincoln Center Jschechter@SKDKnick.com 646.560.5424 (O) | 917.282.2754 ©

Wynton Marsalis: Jazz king of the jungle

In 1979, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis arrived in New York from his home town New ­Orleans to study at the Juilliard School. Since then his career achievements are ­legion: prolific recordings, several Grammys, successful international tours, a major influence as an educator and a reputation as one of the finest living jazz musicians.

His greatest achievement, however, was co-founding the jazz program at New York’s Lincoln Centre in 1987. That event has led to unprecedented influence, not only for himself as a performer, but also for the convictions that have inspired him for 40 years: a vision of what jazz is. Or, for that matter, what jazz is not.

In 1988, the 15-piece Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra became resident at the centre. But it wasn’t until 1996 that Marsalis’s project was solidified. In that year JALC became independent, and bought its own building in Columbus Circle. Simultaneously it was installed as a new constituent of the Lincoln Centre, and given equal parity with the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera and New York City Ballet.

Jazz, now regarded as “America’s music”, had finally arrived. It had become part of the cultural establishment.

“I felt it was a sign of maturation for Jazz at Lincoln Centre as an institution and also for Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts”, Marsalis tells Review. “We had all worked towards that goal and there was a sense of achievement for the art, the arts, our New York community, and for the country.”

Since then, JALC has enhanced its prestige. In 2004 its Frederick P. Rose Hall, the world’s first performance, education and broadcast facility devoted to jazz, was opened.

Investment broker Robert J Appel became chairman of the JALC board in 2012. In 2014, he gifted $US20 million to JALC, the largest philanthropic contribution in support of jazz in US history.

Marsalis’s vision for jazz is now manifest. The principles he has long stood for appear in JALC’s mission statement: “We believe jazz is a metaphor for democracy. Because jazz is improvisational, it celebrates personal freedom and encourages individual expression. Because jazz is swinging, it dedicates that freedom to finding and maintaining common ground with others. Because jazz is rooted in the blues, it ­inspires us to face adversity with persistent optimism.”

Marsalis will be touring Australia this month with the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra primarily to perform the trumpeter’s Symphony No 4 (The Jungle) with the Sydney and Melbourne symphony orchestras.

Marsalis says The Jungle is a musical portrait of New York City — the “most fluid, pressure-packed, and cosmopolitan metropolis the modern world has ever seen”. Marsalis points to the city’s many challenges — social and racial inequality, tribal prejudices, endemic corruption — and is concerned that “we may not be up to overcoming the challenges”.

Running at more than an hour and five minutes, and in six movements, the symphony is a substantial work. The opening movement, The Big Scream, is about dispossession. “It deals with the Native American spirit,” says Marsalis.

“Wherever you have native peoples who are displaced and conquered by people who have more technology, but with a Christian mandate, you have a scream.”

Displacement also exists in today’s world, he says. “You have people who are displaced when an expressway is built, people who can’t pay their rent, people who can’t keep up with the pace of the city. There’s a lot going on …”

Other themes explored in the five other movements — The Big Show, Lost in Sight, La Esquina, Us, and Struggle in the Digital Market — include city life and human relationships. The symphony explores various genres, including ragtime and Afro-Latin rhythms.

La Esquina, the fourth movement, means “hang spot”, and Marsalis says he is scoring many classic Latin rhythms here for the first time. “Latin music is an essential part of the American persona,” he says.

The musician says the five upcoming performances of The Jungle in Melbourne and Sydney will be invaluable. The work has had just a handful of performances since its world premiere in New York in December 2016, and the Australian tour will enable Marsalis to experience the symphony once again in the concert hall setting.

The trumpeter says he is mostly concerned that the sound of 80 musicians playing together is well-balanced.

• • •

Wynton Marsalis has been responsible for some of the most interesting controversies to energise the minds of jazz buffs for years. The mother of such dramas occurred in 1988, when he was executive consultant for the famous 19-hour Ken Burns documentary Jazz.

This was part of Burns’s trilogy on American culture, the other two having dealt with baseball and the American Civil War. The African-American experience was the common thread in each documentary.

The main bone of contention for many enthusiasts was that, in Jazz, the documentary marginalised many musicians who, after the 60s, in the opinion of Marsalis, had diminished the music by adopting rock rhythms, losing the essential sense of swing and, especially in the case of free jazz, removing the music from its roots in the blues. As Burns’s chief adviser, Marsalis took a lot of stick.

Now aged 57, Marsalis sounds very much like an elder statesman in relation to such historic issues.

“I seldom talk about those things now,” he says. “If you listen to The Jungle, you’ll see all those notes I put down. That’s what I think about now; I think about notes.”

Marsalis’s pre-eminence has largely enabled jazz to be brought in from the margins to a central position in American culture. There is perhaps no better example of the marginalisation of jazz than a notorious episode in 1965 when the Pulitzer board, despite the unanimous recommendation of its music panel, failed to award the Pulitzer Prize for Music to Duke Ellington, America’s foremost jazz composer of the 20th century.

Ellington was deeply hurt by the snub. Still, it took more than 30 years for this to be rectified when, in 1997, Marsalis himself became the first jazz composer to receive the Pulitzer for Music, for his oratorio Blood On The Fields.

Since that belated milestone, posthumous Pulitzers have now been awarded to Ellington, George Gershwin, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane.

Marsalis’s CV includes pages of awards and he has been the recipient of 30 honorary doctorates from US academic institutions. Marsalis’s take on this is decidedly personal.

“I’m honoured by any award, but I think the award that I’m most proud of is just people who’ve come out, taken their time, brought their kids to hear us play, supported the music we play, invited me into their homes, cooked meals for me, and showed me unbelievable levels of respect. There’s been 40 years of it. I’m filled with an unbelievable humility and gratitude,” he says.

“The other reward I’ve had is to play with the level of unbelievable musicians I play with, and the type of dedication they show. We rehearsed today for four or five hours. We’ve been here a long time.

“Everywhere I turn it’s an unbelievable blessing. I’m truly grateful for it, and I try to let my work ethic, and the type of respect I treat people with, speak to that gratitude.”

Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra commence their tour with four nights at Sydney Opera House from February 21, then go on to Melbourne and Brisbane.

by Eric Myers

Source: The Australian