Rock Chalk Suite: The Story Behind the Music - Virtual talks with Derek Kwan and Wynton Marsalis
As Wynton Marsalis says, both basketball and jazz “reward improvisation and split-second decision making against the pressure of time.” Learn about how the masterful composers and musicians in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis turned the Jayhawks’ rich basketball history into a stylish slam dunk of an album.
Derek Kwan, executive director of the Lied Center of Kansas, will provide an overview of the history and evolution of the Rock Chalk Suite. The innovative and one-of-a-kind album, Rock Chalk Suite, was written and recorded by the musicians of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (JLCO) and includes 15 movements, each inspired by a different KU basketball legend. The Lied Center of Kansas commissioned the piece to celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2018.
This Zoom event is free, but participants must register in advance through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
January 7, 2021
6:30 pm — Zoom talk with Derek Kwan
7:00 pm — Facebook Live with Wynton Marsalis and Derek Kwan
Watch on Facebook Live as Wynton Marsalis, world-renowned musician, composer and JLCO artistic director, shares about the Rock Chalk Suite from his perspective, the parallels between jazz and basketball, the relationship formed between Jazz at Lincoln Center and KU as well as the current state of the arts world.
