Kurt Elling, Amos Lee Perform In American Songbook Series

The second week of Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook brings to the Allen Room stage a jazz great, a new singer/songwriter, a country music classic and Broadway's newest heartthrob, all celebrating the diversity of American popular song. Singer Kurt Elling will re-create the standout recording that singer Johnny Hartman made in 1963 of the music of John Coltrane. Saxophonist Ernie Watts, The Laurence Hobgood Trio and the string quartet ETHEL will join Elling for this show, entitled Dedicated to You.

The next night, rising star Amos Lee performs mostly original songs in his singular bluesy/folk voice. On January 23rd there is a turn in genre when one of country music's best songwriters, Rodney Crowell, sings portraits of women taken from Sex and Gasoline, his new CD that is Grammy-nominated. Crowell's ex-wife, Roseanne Cash, makes a special appearance.

Next up on January 24th is Paolo Szot, the male lead of South Pacific who won every theater award in 2008. This performance marks Szot's popular song concert debut, and the show sold out in just ten hours. American Songbook is presented in the spectacular Allen Room of Frederick P. Rose Hall. The Allen Room possesses one of New York's greatest settings - a stunning vista of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline provides an evocative backdrop for the performers.

Lincoln Center's American Songbook 2009 - Week Two
January 21 - 24, 2009
At the Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall,
Broadway at 60th Street

Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 8:30 pm: Dedicated to You: KURT ELLING Sings Coltrane/Hartman featuring Ernie Watts, ETHEL and The Laurence Hobgood Trio Critics adore Kurt Elling (left), calling him "the greatest jazz singer of his generation." Elling has the pipes to back up the praise. His textured baritone has both technical facility and emotional richness, and he is a master of vocalese, the art of putting words to improvised solos of jazz artists. His newest project is a re-imagining of John Coltrane's epic collaboration with singer Johnny Hartman, an album that set a gold standard when it was recorded in 1963. For this effort Elling is joined by the passionate saxophone of Ernie Watts, the piano virtuosity of The Laurence Hobgood Trio, and the musically omnivorous string quartet ETHEL.

Thursday, January 22, 2009, 8:30 pm: AMOS LEE Roots, blues, and folk all co-mingle in the music of Amos Lee (right). His songs are all originals and his voice a lucky blend of James Taylor and Stevie Wonder - two of his musical influences. Lee has released three albums on Blue Note Records and has toured with Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello Merle Haggard and Paul Simon. His current CD, Last Days at the Lodge, was released in June 2008. A native of Philadelphia, Lee was an English major turned elementary school teacher before going on an extended tour as the opening act for Norah Jones. The rest, as they say

Friday, January 23, 2009, 8:30 pm: RODNEY CROWELL Sings Portraits of Women with a special appearance by Rosanne Cash All the women that country singer/songwriter Rodney Crowell (left) has known - daughters, girlfriends, ex-wives (including Rosanne Cash) - inform the music in his act and on his newest, Grammy-nominated CD, Sex and Gasoline. Produced by Joe Henry (American Songbook 2008), the album's songs are about women told from an imagined female point of view. Crowell leaves his heart wide open, and that's been his trademark since first emerging on the country music scene in the late 1970s. In 1988 he released Diamonds and Dirt, which produced an unprecedented five number one singles, and in 1989 he won the Grammy for Best Country Song with "After All This Time." He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003.

Saturday, January 24, 2009, 8:30 pm: Paulo Szot A meteor hit Broadway in early 2008 when Lincoln Center Theater's revival of South Pacific opened with opera singer Paulo Szot (right) in the leading role of Emile de Beque. Vividly masculine, the swoon-worthy Szot stops the show each evening with two of Richard Rodgers' most winning melodies: "Some Enchanted Evening" and "This Nearly Was Mine." Szot's sumptuous baritone and winning musicality, as well as the sincerity of his acting, won him the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Tony Awards. Szot's Songbook debut will be filled with both American songs and those from his native Brazil.

Since it was launched in 1998, American Songbook has been dedicated to celebrating the extraordinary achievements of the popular American songwriter from the turn of the 20th century to the present day. Spanning all styles and genres from Tin Pan Alley and Broadway to the eclecticism of today's songwriters working in pop, cabaret, rock, folk and country, American Songbook traces the history and charts the course of the American song from its past and current forms to its future direction. American Songbook also showcases the outstanding interpreters of popular song.

Artists who have appeared on the American Songbook series include Andy Bey, Betty Buckley, Ann Hampton Callaway, Calexico, Liz Callaway, Neko Case, Rosanne Cash, Michael Cerveris, Kristin Chenoweth, Peter Cincotti, Eric Comstock, Victoria Clark, Mos Def, Christine Ebersole, Sutton Foster, Mary Cleere Haran, Darius de Haas, Joe Henry, Fred Hersch, Jane Krakowski, Judy Kuhn, LaChanze, k.d. lang, Bettye LaVette, Rebecca Luker, Patti LuPone, Nellie McKay, Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, Audra McDonald, Lori McKenna, Jane Monheit, Megan Mullally, Kelli O'Hara, Tonya Pinkins, John Pizzarelli, Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Steve Ross, Stephin Merritt with The Magnetic Fields, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Bernadette Peters, Jimmy Scott, Patti Smith, Sufjan Stevens, Billy Stritch, Elaine Stritch, The Fountains of Wayne, They Might Be Giants, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, Deborah Voigt, Lillias White, Dar Williams, David Yazbek and John Lloyd Young. The series has also presented concerts highlighting the music of composers and lyricists such as Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Harold Arlen, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Leonard Bernstein, Jason Robert Brown, WIlliam Bolcom and Arnold Weinstein, John Bucchino, Michael John LaChiusa, Cy Coleman, Ricky Ian Gordon, Adam Guettel, Frank Loesser, Andy Razaf, Richard Rodgers, Arthur Schwartz, Duncan Sheik, Stephen Sondheim, Stew, Billy Strayhorn, Charles Strouse, Jule Styne, Jimmy Van Heusen, and David Zippel.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of superb artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. As a presenter of over 400 events annually, LCPA's programs include American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, and the Mostly Mozart Festival and Live From Lincoln Center.

Lincoln Center is committed to providing and improving accessibility for people with disabilities. For information, or to receive a Lincoln Center accessibility guide, call the Department of Programs and Services for People with Disabilities at (212) 875-5375.

Join the American Songbook text message club to receive exclusive news about the series, updates on last minute ticket releases and access to special promotions! This club is free and available on all carriers. Standard text-messaging rates may apply. Brought to you by Verizon Wireless. Text "Songbook" to 22699 to opt in!

LINCOLN CENTER PRESENTS AMERICAN SONGBOOK 2009
At The Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall Broadway at 60th Street
Wednesday, January 21, 2009, at 8:30 pm
Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings Coltrane/Hartman, Featuring Ernie Watts, ETHEL and The Laurence Hobgood Trio
Tickets: $45, 65, 80, 95

Thursday, January 22, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Amos Lee
Tickets: $40, 55, 70, 85

Friday, January 23, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Rodney Crowell Sings Portraits of Women with a special appearance by Rosanne Cash
Tickets: $35, 50, 60, 75

Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Paulo Szot
Tickets: $45, 65, 80, 95