Wynton Marsalis News

As San Antonio celebrates its Tricentennial, the City of Balcones Heights celebrates its 25thanniversary of providing renowned jazz performers from across the country. Since 1993, the Balcones Heights Jazz Festival has captivated jazz aficionados every summer with a free stellar line-up. This year's performances feature a diverse line-up of headlining and special opening acts that have lit up the stage at Wonderland of the Americas.

Continuing the momentum created with the current season launch of its Music Knows No Borders series, Executive Director Thor Steingraber unveils the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts' 2018-19 Season, which features four world premieres, two American premieres, several of the world's greatest orchestras, innovative jazz programs, two tributes to Hollywood legends, Broadway classics plus artists from 18 different nations who will appear on stage at The Soraya next season.  New Subscription Series tickets will go on sale May 1, 2018.

Jazz Lovers subscription packages are now available for 2018-19 Starrlight Jazz Series at Walton Arts Center. The new season features George Brooks' ASPADA; the John Patitucci Electric Guitar Quartet; Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedtiro Martinez Duo; Larry Fouldings, Peter Bernstein and Bill Stewart Trio; and Benny Green Trio with Veronica Swift.

Music Mountain, America's longest running summer chamber music festival, announces the lineup for its 2018 Twilight Concert Series! This summer welcomes nine new ensembles to Music Mountain bringing a Latin flair, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and the spirit of New Orleans jazz! "This year our Twilight Series highlights major figures in jazz, such as Monk, Coltrane and Ellington, as well as major traditions-New Orleans jazz, Swing Era classics and the American Songbook-; the Music Mountain Jazz Opening Night on June 16 offers a hard-to-match event with two-time Grammy Award-Winner, Ted Nash Quartet, you can't miss it!" writes Oskar Espina-Ruiz, Music Mountain artistic director. Favorite returning guests celebrate Gilbert & Sullivan, Big Band, and a splash of Broadway! Concerts are scheduled thru September 22.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with Bill Charlap, The Bombshells, Mathis Picard, and more!

The Juilliard School today announced that alumnus Wynton Marsalis, trumpeter, director of Juilliard Jazz Studies, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, will address the graduates at the school's 113th commencement ceremony, which takes place Friday, May 18, 2018, at 11am in Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center. Mr. Marsalis received an honorary doctor of music degree from Juilliard in 2006. This will be the final commencement for Juilliard President Joseph W. Polisi, who has had a long association with Mr. Marsalis and asked that he be the commencement speaker. In July, Damian Woetzel will begin as the school's seventh president.

Three-day Arena and Grounds Ticket Packages for the 61st Annual Monterey Jazz Festival, September 21-23 go on sale Tuesday, May 1. Tickets can be purchased online at montereyjazzfestival.org or by calling 888.248.6499.

The Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC), a nonprofit cultural arts center and one of the most successful suburban film houses in the country, is celebrating a decade of their popular Jazz Sessions.  The 10th annual series will kick off on May 2nd with an opening night event featuring World-renowned guitarist and singer, John Pizzarelliperforming a musical tribute to Antônio Carlos Jobim, followed by four more live performances that will introduce guests to some of the exciting young innovators who carry on the jazz legacy and continue to reinvent the form today.  The performances will take place after a screening of The House of Tom—Mundo, Monde, Mondo - a captivating documentary on Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Jobim, best known in the US for creating the 1960s bossa nova craze with tunes like “The Girl from Ipanema.”

Strathmore and Beth Morrison Projects will present the world premiere of Iron & Coal, a multi-media rock opera by composer/lyricist Jeremy Schonfeld and director Kevin Newbury, in the Music Center at Strathmore on Thursday and Friday, May 3 and 4, 2018 at 8 p.m.

One of the most diverse classical musical organizations in the nation, Chicago Sinfonietta, is closing their 30th anniversary season with Praise + Punkin a smashing 'battle of the bands' against Mucca Pazza, an absurdist marching band, with special guest Apostolic Church of God Sanctuary Choir. The historic onstage rematch between Chicago Sinfonietta, the previous winner in 2015, and Mucca Pazza will be Saturday, May 12 at 8 p.m. at Wentz Concert Hall at North Central College, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville, and Monday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago.

The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts (DECFA) will celebrate the 119th birthday of Duke Ellington with a FREE All-Ellington Musical Tribute on Sunday, April 29, 2018, 1PM to 3PM. which will be staged beneath the Duke Ellington statue that stands majestically at the corner of 110th Street and 5th Avenue - the Gateway to Harlem, it was announced by noted dancer/choreographer Mercedes Ellington, Duke Ellington's granddaughter, who is President, Founder & Artistic Director of DECFA.

PBS today unveiled a list of America's 100 best-loved novels, chosen in support of THE GREAT AMERICAN READ, a new PBS series and multi-platform initiative that celebrates the joy of reading and the books we love. THE GREAT AMERICAN READ, hosted by television personality and journalist Meredith Vieira, launches with a two-hour episode on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at 8 p.m. on PBS stations and will introduce viewers to the full list of America's 100 favorite novels selected through a demographically representative national survey conducted by YouGov. The series will also feature interviews with celebrities, authors, superfans and everyday Americans discussing the way particular books have influenced them and their significance in American popular culture. Then, after a multi-platform initiative throughout the summer, which will include live public events, social media components and national reading clubs, the series will resume in the fall with several themed episodes, including an exciting finale, culminating in the first-ever national vote to choose 'America's Best-Loved Novel.' It will be the most expansive national celebration of books and reading aimed at engaging multi-generational readers across multiple platforms ever created.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with Fleurine & Boys from Brazil, Savion Glover, Dida Pelled, and more!

The Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture presents the New Cuban Express and the Steven Kroon Latin Jazz Sextet as part of a Latin jazz double bill in the Repertory Theater of Hostos Community College, 450 Grand Concourse in the Bronx, on Saturday, May 5, 7:30 PM.

Jazz fans know they can count on the Highlights In Jazz concert series to showcase the gifted players who shaped jazz history and continue to contribute to its long and rich legacy. This third concert of the 46th season is no exception: The music is sure to dazzle - and swing - when you have such renowned musicians on hand as pianist Dick Hyman, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, bassist Jay Leonhart, saxophonist/clarinetist Ken Peplowski, and drummer/vibraphonist Chuck Redd.

The Ford Theatres 2018 Season and the IGNITE @ the FORD! series will commence on Friday, June 1 with Chano Dominguez's Flamenco Sketches, a reimagining of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz album in the world, featuring GRAMMY nominee Chano on piano, Latin GRAMMY-nominated singer Blas Cordoba, and award-winning flamenco dancer Daniel Navarro.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with the following acts:

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

The University Musical Society (UMS), under the leadership of President Matthew VanBesien, today announces its 140th season in 2018-19 with an initial slate of 40 performances and events. One of the country's most acclaimed performing arts presenters, UMS honors its past by showcasing respected ensembles and performers with whom it has enjoyed rich relationships, and fully embraces the future as initiator, incubator, and accelerator for innovative new works and projects. This potent combination infuses the anniversary season with dynamic and diverse voices and perspectives featuring artists at the top of their game - celebrating the canon, taking risks, moving genres in new directions, disrupting stereotypes, and surprising audiences.