News

Paul Simon & Wynton Marsalis Collaborate On “The Paul Simon Songbook”

In a unique and historic collaboration, legendary musician and songwriter Paul Simon and Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis will perform together for three nights at concerts entitled “The Paul Simon Songbook.” The premiere on April 18, 2012 will be Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2012 Annual Gala Concert and will be followed by two public concerts on April 19 and 20, 2012.

The gala will honor Lisa Schiff, Chairman of Jazz at Lincoln Center, for her brilliant leadership over the past decade and bestow upon her the organization’s Ed Bradley Award for Leadership in Jazz.

The concert will be comprised of songs from throughout Simon’s career, all arranged by Marsalis and members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Simon and Marsalis have worked together twice before, but these concerts will mark their first time performing full concerts with one another. In addition to the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Simon will bring with him his own band. The incomparable Aaron Neville will join the group as a featured guest on selected songs.

“Paul Simon is a great American songwriter of astonishing diversity and invention in the lineage of George Gershwin, Chuck Berry and Stephen Sondheim. We, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, are in the lineage of Duke Ellington, Gil Evans and Thad Jones. Both of us share a common heritage with all of those titans, and we will do our best to further the highest of their aspirations for our national music,” said Marsalis. “We are excited that Paul accepted our invitation. It will be a night steeped in the sound of the blues, folk song, gospel and regional accents of America. We have every intention of speaking our mutual language through the art of improvisation and in the international sound of African inflected groove.”

“I’m looking forward to hearing how Wynton imagines his horn section framing and coloring my songs,” said Simon. “The integration of our two bands should provide a rare opportunity for unique and joyful collaboration. Anyway, it’ll be big.”

David Beahm, in his 10th year as the designer for the Jazz at Lincoln Center gala dinner décor, will generously donate his services in honor of Lisa Schiff. Dinner will be served by Great Performances, the exclusive in-house caterer for Jazz at Lincoln Center.

When:
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Jazz at Lincoln Center Annual Gala and Concert
7pm concert in Rose Theater
9pm dinner in The Allen Room and Atrium

Thursday, April 19 and Friday, April 20, 2012
8pm concert in Rose Theater

Where:
Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center
Broadway at 60th Street, New York, New York.

Gala Tickets:
Gala tickets begin at $1,500 and tables begin at $20,000. Contact Stacie Middleton Crawford at [email protected].

Concert tickets for April 19 & 20:
Tickets for concerts on April 19 & 20 will be available to Jazz at Lincoln Center members and subscribers with a MasterCard starting January 30, 2012. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on February 3, 2012. All ticket sales will be handled through CenterCharge at 212-721-6500 or the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office at Broadway and 60th Street inside Time Warner Center.
MasterCard cardholders will also have access to purchase a quantity of the best seats in house located in the orchestra section through MasterCard’s Priceless NY website (www.pricelessny.com). Quantities are limited.

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office is open Monday through Saturday, 10am-6pm, and Sundays, 12pm-6pm. There is a maximum of two tickets per household.

Press Inquiries:
Mary Fiance Fuss, Director, Public Relations
email: [email protected]
phone: (212) 258-9829

Judee Cohen for Jazz at Lincoln Center
email: [email protected]
phone: (917) 721-0663

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