Wynton Marsalis News

The new classical series Only at Merkin with Terrance McKnight, featuring, among others, the world-renowned pianists Andre Watts and Ursula Oppens; the world premiere of a piano quintet by acclaimed new music composer Laura Kaminsky; and presentations by Academy and Grammy Awards winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Frozen); Emmy, Tony, Grammy and Academy Awards winner Bobby Lopez (Frozen); Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winners Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal); and 10-time Tony winner Maury Yeston (Titanic, Nine) are among the numerous highlights of the Kaufman Music Center's diverse 2018-19 season at Merkin Hall.

Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with the following acts:

It's a marriage committed to musical excellence. Jazz trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos says of his wife Lorraine, 'She's a classically trained guitarist, and her practice can be intimidating at times.' That helps motivate him to practice more, usually four or five hours a day. But she has said, his practicing inspires her to practice more because she feels guilty if she doesn't. Fortunately for the couple, and perhaps the neighbors, they both have successful careers that prevent them from escalating into a friendly, but potentially fatal, competition.

TODAY, Friday, July 13th. Produced by Grammy Award-winning saxophonist and composer Joe Lovano, Lessons Learned features the members of Silvano's Zephyr Band with an unusual lineup for a jazz singer: two electric guitars. 

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with The Birdland Big Band, Memo Acevedo, Marilyn Maye with the Tedd Firth Trio, and more!

The Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum presents The Antoinette Montague Experience in concert on Thursday, July 26, as part of the popular Summer JazzFest, which combines food trucks and music for a fun summer evening. Antoinette Montague is an award-winning jazz and blues singer who performs all over the world, but has never forgotten her New Jersey roots. Joining Ms. Montague will be Ken Peplowski on sax and clarinet, “King” Solomon Hicks on guitar, Brandon McCune on piano, Melissa Slocum on bass, Bobby Sanabria on drums, and tap dancer AC Lincoln. The food truck picnic begins at 5:30 p.m. and the concert at 7:30 p.m.

Legendary songwriter, recording artist and performer Paul Simon will release his 14 th studio album - In The Blue Light - on September 7. Produced by Simon and Roy Halee, who have worked together since the 1960s, the album features a talented cast of musicians who have joined Simon to lend fresh perspectives on 10 of the artist's favorite (though perhaps less-familiar) songs, drawn from his unparalleled body of work.

Jazz at Lincoln Center's two-week residential high school summer institute for advanced study in jazz performance, Summer Jazz Academy, includes three public concerts at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. These public concerts feature today's finest musicians across generations: the Summer Jazz Academy Faculty and Summer Jazz Academy Student Combos on July 21 and 22, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on July 28, and the Summer Jazz Academy Big Bands on July 29.

N'Kenge just returned from her sold out symphonic tour with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, and Chautauqua Symphony and is thrilled to return to her home town to perform in this special three-week return of ON KENTUCKY AVENUE: A Celebration of Atlantic City's Famed Club Harlem at Aaron Davis Hall in New York beginning on Thursday, July 12. Described as 'a party you don't want to miss' by Broadway star Maurice Hines,' On Kentucky Avenue' transports audiences through time to the heyday of Club Harlem and offers them a fictional musical inspired by a real place: Kentucky Avenue, the center of African-American life in Atlantic City. Opened in 1935, Club Harlem quickly became the number-one destination for black performers in Atlantic City.

Blue Curtain, presenting world-class artists from around the globe, kicks off its 2018 series with Pradhanica & Leonardo Suarez Paz's Cuartetango on Saturday, July 14 at the Pettoranello Gardens Amphitheater (Route 206 and Mountain Ave.) The concert, free and open to all, starts at 7PM.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with Tommy Igoe Sextet, Paul Marinaro with Shelia Jordan, Augie Haas, and more!

Peter and Will Anderson - the identical twins and Juilliard graduates hailed as "virtuosos on clarinet and saxophone" by The New York Times - have announced a return engagement of their SONGBOOK SUMMIT concert series at Symphony Space for a four-week residency from August 7 to September 2. The Andersons and their six-piece ensemble shine the spotlight on four iconic composers (one per week) in a celebration of the Great American Songbook. The show features an engaging video presentation, entertaining narration, and live performances from the jazz sextet featuring vocalist Molly Ryan.

City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, announces composer and multi-instrumentalist Taj Mahal, guitar virtuosoCharlie Hunter and more. The following shows go on sale to the public on Thursday, July 5 at noon. All tickets will be available at citywinery.com/chicago.

Seven musicians who define the terms artistry, teamwork and chemistry starting with the chemistry of the married couple of Karen and Norbert Stachel, the leaders of LehCats.  Their versatility is evident, and their ability to deliver and uplift both the music and the listener is profound. Movement to Egalitaria was released June 12, 2018 (IYOUWE). 

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with Django Reinhardt NY Festival: Django Festival Allstars, Carol Sloane, Ronny Whyte, and more!

This summer, Carnegie Hall's new national youth jazz orchestra NYO Jazz—featuring 22 outstanding young American jazz musicians (ages 16-19) selected from across the US—comes together for its first year of extraordinary music making that culminates with the ensemble's historic first-ever international tour. Acclaimed trumpeter Sean Jones leads NYO Jazz in its inaugural year with iconic jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves as special guest artist.

The University Musical Society (UMS) hosted its annual meeting of the UMS Board of Directors on Wednesday, June 27, electing six new Board members and re-electing four officers. Additionally, two new ex-officio members were appointed to the Board. 

Formed just a few years ago, Svetlana and the Delancey Five have become one of New York's most popular young jazz bands with a repertoire that moves flawlessly from the hot jazz of the 1920s to new takes on modern standards, offering a joyous "exuberant, foot-stomping party combining swing and pop-singer/songwriter sensibilities" (WPIX 11). The group makes its Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum debut on Thursday, July 19, with a food truck picnic that begins at 5:30 followed by the concert at 7:30. The food trucks are open to the public and everyone is invited.

Cinque is a five movement suite inspired by the story of Joseph Cinque, who in 1839 led a successful revolt aboard the slave ship La Amistad, days after being sold and transported to a sugar plantation in Cuba. Elio Villafranca's most ambitious project today, showcases the cultural diversity of the five Caribbean islands of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, The Dominican Republic, and Jamaica; while simultaneously highlighting the Congolese musical heritage woven into the fabric of each of these diverse nations, and yet unified via the forced migration of Africans to the Americas.

On Stage At Kingsborough, a leading performing arts presenter located on the campus of Brooklyn's Kingsborough Community College presents its 2018 HOT SUMMER NIGHTS! FREE Outdoor Concert series, featuring concerts under the stars every Saturday at 8:00 p.m.beginning July 7th and ending July 28th. HOT SUMMER NIGHTS! will feature a wide range of outstanding jazz musicians with unforgettable al fresco concerts under the stars. The series is proudly sponsored by Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams.