Jazz at Lincoln Center Announces 30th Anniversary Season Opening Weekend Events, September 14-17
Jazz at Lincoln Center kicks off its milestone 30th anniversary celebration on September 14-17, 2017 with free concerts, tastings and an acclaimed roster of jazz artists on every stage of Frederick P. Rose Hall, the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, on Broadway at 60th Street in New York, New York.
The celebratory weekend opens Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2017-18 season, highlighting the artists and programs that are significant to the organization’s history, as well as the advocates and young talent –nurtured through Jazz at Lincoln Center’s education and outreach programs – that represent the future.
In Rose Theater, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis with celebrated pianist Aaron Diehl, rising star Sullivan Fortner, and Juilliard jazz students Micah Thomas and Joel Wenhardt will perform in The Fantastic Mr. Jelly Lord to honor New Orleans legend Jelly Roll Morton on September 14-16. ”Mr. Jelly Lord” was presented as one of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s first season concerts. Nearly 30 years later, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and guests will perform the music of Jelly Roll Morton in a rare big band setting.
In The Appel Room, on September 15-16, composer and pianist Fred Hersch will be joined by Kurt Elling and Kate McGarry to reprise their acclaimed roles from Leaves of Grass which originally premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2005. In addition to honoring the life and poetry of American poet Walt Whitman, this performance features three artists who represent Jazz at Lincoln Center’s diverse programming aesthetic. Fred Hersch has performed on Jazz at Lincoln Center’s stages since 1999; Kurt Elling has graced every stage at Frederick P. Rose Hall and represented the organization globally for more than 12 years; and Kate McGarry has advanced the organization’s education and advocacy initiatives around the world. This performance will be McGarry’s Appel Room debut.
In Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Herlin Riley, master drummer and founding Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra member, will lead his quintet on September 15-17. Riley’s band, featuring rising stars Emmet Cohen on piano, Russell Hall on bass, Bruce Harris on trumpet, and Godwin Louis on alto saxophone, will perform six sets in the Club as part of the eighth annual Coca-Cola Generations in Jazz Festival. The month-long festival, featuring a roster of over 200 performers, honors the masters of jazz and spotlights the next generation of jazz musicians. The Coca-Cola Generations in Jazz Festival schedule can be found on jazz.org/dizzys.
In the Mica and Ahmet Ertegun Atrium, on September 14-16, Jazz at Lincoln Center invites audiences to free concerts led by saxophonist Alexa Tarantino, tastings from New York City’s finest restaurants including Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, and a celebratory champagne toast at intermission.
Audiences around the globe can access live streams of the opening weekend concerts via jazz.org/live and wyntonmarsalis.org/live