Wynton Marsalis official web site

Jazz at Lincoln Center and The Rockefeller Foundation will present “A CELEBRATION OF AMERICA” in the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater on the occasion of the Presidential Inauguration and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, January 19, 2009 live on CNN at 7 p.m.
The evening’s program will look back on the life of one of the greatest of all Americans, and forward to a new era under a new President. An all-star cast will illustrate that American democracy and America’s music – jazz – share the same tenets and embody the same potential for change, hope and renewal, which Dr. King himself called America’s “triumphant music.” Special guest stars will be announced shortly.

On January 6th and 7th, Wynton will be in the studio with his quintet and septet, for a new recording session. Beforehand, the musicians will have two days of rehearsals on January 4th and 5th. Personnel will be: Wynton Marsalis, music director, trumpet; Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson, alto saxophone; Walter Blanding, clarinet and tenor saxophone; Victor Goines, clarinet, tenor and soprano saxophones; Joe Temperley, soprano and baritone saxophones; Wycliffe “Pinecone” Gordon, trombone and sousaphone; “Papa” Don Vappie, guitar, banjo and vocals; Dan Nimmer, piano; Herlin Riley, drums; Reginald Veal, bass; Roberta Gumbel, vocals.
More info about the recordings to come in the next months. You can also follow Wynton daily through his Twitter account.

Norah Jones will make a special guest appearance at the Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis concerts at Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center on February 9 and February 10 at 8 p.m.
Norah Jones is scheduled to perform a selection of songs on both nights. The concert is part of Blue Note 70th Anniversary events taking place throughout New York.
In January 2007, Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis performed live in The Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center and the event was recorded for the CD Two Men with the Blues released on Blue Note Records and for the DVD Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis Live From Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York City released on Eagle Eye Media, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Eagle Rock Entertainment.

Last August, pianist Ethan Iverson sat down with Wynton and started working on the following collection of posts. Contents include:

• Interview with Wynton Marsalis (Part one): Detailed discussion with audio clips of Wynton’s latest major opus, Congo Square, a two-CD set combining the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Odadaa! (the West African drum ensemble led by Yacub Addy).
• Interview with Wynton Marsalis (Part two): A casual blindfold test of classic trumpet solos including Wynton’s decoding of improvising procedures on the legendary “Knozz-Moe-King” from Live at Blues Alley. This section also includes general thoughts on race and education from Wynton.

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Last year, the Wall Street Journal launched a new campaign, “Every Journey Needs a Journal”, that showed the paths celebrities lives have taken, and how people you might not consider to be WSJ reader value it to guide them on that journey. The campaign featured the personal “stories”, bios and behind-the-scene video of some notable folks such as Wynton, Jake Burton, Cheryl Crow, Kenneth Cole, Steven Levitt, Alice Waters, Paul Teutul Sr.
Following you can watch Wynton’s video clip for that WSJ campaign…

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On December 17-21, 2008, Wynton and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) will join with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for a live music celebration of America’s two great art forms - modern dance and jazz music. This special week is a highlight of Ailey’s 50th anniversary season at New York City Center, December 3 through January 4. It will feature two different programs:

• Program A (December 17, December 19, December 21 mat):
  Night Creature; Reflections in D; excerpts from Caravan, The Mooche, The Road of the Phoebe Snow, Pas de Duke, Three Black Kings; Revelations.
• Program B (December 18, December 20 eve, December 21 eve):
  The River; excerpts from Caravan, The Mooche, The Road of the Phoebe Snow, Pas de Duke, Three Black Kings; Revelations.

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On December 8, 2008, at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Wynton and his Quintet (Walter Blanding, sax; Dan Nimmer, piano; Carlos Henriquez, bass; Ali Jackson, drums) will play to remember Dr. George Butler.
Mr. Butler, a prominent jazz record executive for the Columbia, Blue Note and United Artists labels from the late 1960s to the late 1990s, died last April 9, 2008. He was instrumental in signing Wynton to Columbia.

On Thursday, December 4, 2008, Wynton and his Quintet will perform at Brooks Brothers Store.
The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Brooks Brothers Store, 346 Madison Ave, New York City. As you know, on 2003, Wynton also wrote the music and recorded a special album for Brooks Brothers, entitled Cast of Cats