Jazz at Lincoln Center

Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis hosts this popular weekly music series with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.

“We don’t just play jazz—we teach it, we write it, we dance it, we sing it, we present it, we photograph it, we film it, we produce it, we archive it, we record it, we broadcast it, we commission it, we celebrate it, we love it, we share it.”
– Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director, Jazz at Lincoln Center

Comprised of 15 of the finest jazz soloists and ensemble players, the world-renowned Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra has been JALC’s resident orchestra for more than 10 years.






About the host:
 Wynton Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, educator and a leading advocate of American culture. He is the world’s first jazz artist to perform and compose across the full jazz spectrum from its New Orleans roots to bebop to modern jazz. By creating and performing an expansive range of brilliant new music for quartets to big bands, chamber music ensembles to symphony orchestras, tap dance to ballet, Wynton has expanded the vocabulary for jazz and created a vital body of work that places him among the world’s finest musicians and composers.

Program Listings:
June 13, 2013
God's Trombones
"The trombone comes the closest to the human voice with its bent pitches, scoops and smears, and that very human quality is evident in everything that (James Weldon) Johnson wrote," says Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra trombonist Chris Crenshaw. Crenshaw draws on his gospel roots to connect secular music to poetry in this sprawling suite based on the James Weldon Johnson poem.

June 20, 2013
Monty Alexander: Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra
At first blush, this Jamaican pianist seems an unlikely leader to honor a "king" and a "chairman of the board." But Monty Alexander discovered jazz at a Nat King Cole concert and played his first New York gig at Sinatra's old haunt called 'Jilly's'. Alexander offers fresh, inventive readings on Sweet Lorraine, Come Fly with Me and more - with vocalists James DeFrances and Allan Harris.

June 27, 2013
The Music of Fats Waller
A light-hearted entertainer and a very serious musician, Thomas ‘Fats’ Waller mastered the stride piano and wrote some of jazz’s enduring, endearing tunes. Hear Honeysuckle Rose, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and A Handful of Keys in the ‘hands’ of pianist Ehud Asherie, vocalist Allen Harris, and guitar master Doug Wamble, under the direction of that multifarious fiddler and reedman Andy Farber.

July 4, 2013 (pre-empted)
A Capitol Fourth 2013

July 11, 2013
Father of the Mambo: The Music of Cachao Lopez
‘Mambo’ translated from Kikongo, - the Creole language of Cuba, means “conversation with the gods.” Bassist Israel Cachao Lopez enlightened the jazz world with the divine Afro-Cuban rhythms from his native Cuba. Our own bassist Carlos Henriquez uplifts the Rose Theater with the ultimate ‘discarga’ jam session in honor of the late ‘Cachao’.

July 18, 2013
The Music of Sarah Vaughan
Brash vocals earned Sarah Vaughan the titles “Sassy” and “The Divine One”. Musical director and pianist Eric Reeds leads this celebration of her work through the glorious range of Jane Monheit and Mary Stallings’ sure swing.

July 25, 2013
The Yellowjackets with Mike Stern
For over 25 years, The Yellowjackets – saxophonist Bob Mintzer, pianist Russell Ferrante, bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Will Kennedy – have combined jazz, rock and electronic instruments. Now, the sensational and discerning guitarist Mike Stern, veteran of Miles and Michael Brecker bands, joins the group to lead Chromazone, I Wonder and Dreams Go. Bob Mintzer brings forth soulful sax and the true wonders of the EWI (ee-wee).

August 1, 2013
NEA Jazz Masters Retrospective
For thirty years, the NEA has gathered the masters of jazz to honor their own. Join us as we highlight these decades – including 2011 inductees Hubert Laws, David Liebman, Johnny Mandel, Orrin Keepnews, Ellis Marsalis and the Marsalis family – in music and words. And we’ll hear from the creator of the Jazz Masters award A.B. Spellman.

August 8, 2013
An Evening with Roy Haynes
At the age of 85, drummer Roy Haynes hasn’t lost any of his percussive force. He made his marks – playing with Charlie Parker, Pat Metheny, the Allman Brothers, and even as DJ on the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. Now, Haynes brings his vibrant Fountain of Youth Band to Rose Theater.

August 15, 2013
Basie and the Blues (birthday August 21)
Churning rhythms and unforgettable riffs – in the hands of William 'Count' Basie, caught the essence of Kansas City swing. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with guitarist James Chirillo, pianist Cyrus Chestnut and vocalist Gregory Porter join the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra to make the Basie classics burn.

August 22, 2013
Artistry in Rhythm: Stan Kenton Centennial
The bandstand wasn’t big enough for Stan Kenton’s musical ideas. His big brassy sound brought dozens of musicians to the stage including a “mellophonium” section and great West Coast innovators including Bill Holman, Anita O’Day and Jazz Master Lee Konitz. Konitz joins the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for this Kenton celebration.

August 29, 2013
The Music of Billy Strayhorn
Duke Ellington described him as “my right arm, my left arm, and all the eyes in the back of my head” -- composer Billy Strayhorn penned some of Duke’s most enduring songs, but he himself remained in relative obscurity. Vocalist José James and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra interpret Strayhorn classics including Lush Life, Take the “A” Train and Something to Live For.

September 5, 2013
Joe Lovano and Us 5
Saxophonist Joe Lovano is one of the foremost improvisers in jazz today and propels his doubledrummer quintet – Us Five – into a polyrhythmic conversation and weaves inspired solos from the Allen Room. Us Five features Joe Lovano (saxophone), GRAMMY® winner Esperanza Spalding (bass), James Weldon (piano), Peter Slavov (bass), Otis Brown III (drums) and Francisco Mela (drums), plus special guests Lionel Loueke (guitar) and Judi Silvano (vocals).

September 12, 2013
Ali Jackson with Yes! Trio and Warren Wolf Group
Drummer Ali Jackson and vibraphonist Warren Wolf – each born into a musical family – absorbed jazz from their hildhoods. Jackson occupies the hot seat with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and his own Yes! Trio; multi-instrumentalist Wolf studied with John Locke and became an in-demand sideman and leader. They each bring small groups to the House of Swing for a contemporary percussive double bill.

September 19, 2013
The Music of Bud Powell and Earl Hines
The story of the modern jazz piano can be heard in the hands of Earl “Fatha” Hines and Earl “Bud” Powell. Hines worked with Louis Armstrong and brought a new dimension from ragtime; Powell’s inventive, emotional soloing brought the piano into the bebop era. Pianist Marcus Roberts and his nonet take us through theses innovators of piano with songs such as Bubbling Over and Dance of the Infidels.