Lincoln Center's MIDSUMMER NIGHT SWING Begins Tonight

This summer Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing will celebrate the great dance bands and soloists that drive the action on the dance floor. Taking place in a specially designed open-air ballroom in Damrosch Park (West 62nd Street between Columbus & Amsterdam) Tuesdays through Saturdays, tonight, June 24 - July 12, Midsummer Night Swing kicks off with jazz artist Cécile McLorin Salvant, a sensational singer and a darling of the critics. For the first time in her career, Salvant will front a dance band, backed by one of the United States' leading authorities in classic swing, Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, in a collaboration created for Lincoln Center. Classic tunes from Ellington to Count Basie will be on the opening menu, with a bit of Josephine Baker thrown in.

Subsequent nights will bring the potent blend of African soukous, semba, and kizomba with Cuban rhythms from Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca, joined by salsa dura trombonist Jimmy Bosch. A night of disco from The Loser's Lounge is dedicated to the music of ABBA in honor of LGBT Pride Week. Next up during Week One is swinging jazz New Orleans' style from local favorite The Hot Sardines. The Band Courtbouillon - the Grammy Award-winning Cajun supergroup featuring three generations of Louisiana stars: Wayne Toups, Steve Riley (of the Mamou Playboys) and Wilson Savoy (of The Pine Leaf Boys) - performs in New York for the first time on June 28.

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