Kennedy Center Announces 2017-2018 Jazz Season

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced programming for its 2017-2018 jazz season, the sixth presented under Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran, who has extended his contract with the Kennedy Center to continue in this role through 2021. The season features celebrations of some of the jazz world's greatest luminaries and shines a light on contemporary artists. Under Moran's direction, the Kennedy Center remains committed to artist-centered jazz programming, which presents a wide spectrum of artists and work that highlights the rich and diverse history of this American art form while simultaneously looking forward to new frontiers.

"From marking the centennial of two important architects of bebop, Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie, to highlighting the next generation of musicians aiming for the same success that Monk and Gillespie conquered, the upcoming season spans the past 100 years of jazz and celebrates its indelible impact," said Moran. "I am excited for audiences to hear about where we've been, where we are, and where we are going."

The 2017-2018 season includes performances featuring the work of several NEA Jazz Masters, the highest honor that our nation bestows on jazz artists. Saxophonist Lee Konitz will celebrate 90 vibrant years, bassist Ron Carter returns to the Kennedy Center with his own group, Dee Dee Bridgewater rings in the New Year with A Jazz New Year's Eve, pianist and composer Randy Weston and his African Rhythms Octet celebrate the life and legacy of early American bandleader and composer James Reese Europe, and Carla Bley and the Liberation Music Orchestra honor the life and music of bassist and composer Charlie Haden.

Other season highlights include: all-star concerts reveling in the lasting legacies of two bonafide jazz legends, Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie, whose centennial birthdays land in October 2017; a concert reuniting pioneering South African jazz artists, pianist Abdullah Ibrahim and trumpeter Hugh Masekela; and for the 23rd year, the Kennedy Center will feature the legacy of pianist, composer, educator, and humanitarian Mary Lou Williams with a night of music from some of today's most exciting and respected jazz musicians.

Kennedy Center Jazz continues to foster work that crosses genre lines and encourages artistic exchange. As a part of the grand re-opening opening of the newly reconstructed Terrace Theater, Moran will unite with the Kennedy Center's Artistic Director for Hip Hop Culture, Q-Tip, in their first-ever musical collaboration. As previously announced with the Renée Fleming VOICES series, Kennedy Center Artistic Advisor at Large Renée Fleming will pair her radiant soprano with the iconic sounds of jazz bassist Christian McBride. Through music, song, video, dance, and spoken word, acclaimed photographer and multimedia artist Carrie Mae Weems brings Grace Notes: Reflections for Now, a provocative new work inspired by President Obama singing "Amazing Grace" in the wake of the 2015 mass shooting that killed nine African-American members of a church in Charleston, SC.

This upcoming season also includes two collaborations with the NSO Pops. Coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the opening of the National Museum of African American History & Culture, Moran joins the NSO to perform his lauded score for Ava DuVernay's 2014 Academy Award-nominated film Selma while the audience experiences the film on the big screen. Then, in June, acclaimed singer, songwriter, and Grammy Award winner Gregory Porter lends his deep baritone voice to a night of jazz with the orchestra.

Returning for the 2017-2018 season are two series focused on the next generation of artists: the Discovery Artist series, an initiative founded by the late Dr. Billy Taylor (Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz, 1994-2010), showcasing new and emerging jazz talent; as well as the Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead career development program for aspiring jazz musicians, culminating with three performances on the Millennium Stage.

2017­-2018 Jazz Season Schedule

Performance Dates

Theater

Show

September 22, 2017

Concert Hall

NSO Pops: Selma,

A Film and Live Music Event

October 6, 2017

Terrace Theater

Jason Moran and Q-Tip

October 8, 2017

Concert Hall

All-Star Thelonious Monk Celebration

October 13, 2017

Terrace Theater

Renée Fleming VOICES:

Renée Fleming and Christian McBride

October 14, 2017 Eisenhower Theater Into The Woods

Terrace Theater

NEA Jazz Master Lee Konitz at 90

October 21, 2017

Eisenhower Theater

Dizzy Gillespie Centennial Celebration

October 27, 2017

Terrace Theater

NEA Jazz Master Ron Carter

October 29 & 30, 2017

Terrace Theater

Carrie Mae Weems,

Grace Notes: Reflections for Now

November 6, 2017

Theater Lab

Django Festival All-Stars

Featuring Dorado and Amati Schmitt

November 18, 2017

KC Jazz Club

Discovery Artist:

Christian Sands

December 9, 2017

Terrace Theater

NPR's A Jazz Piano Christmas

December 16, 2017

KC Jazz Club

Harriet Tubman: The Band

December 31, 2017

Terrace Theater

A Jazz New Year's Eve:

NEA Jazz Master

Dee Dee Bridgewater's Memphis

January 19 & 20, 2018

KC Jazz Club

Louis Hayes,

Serenade for Horace

January 26, 2018

KC Jazz Club

Discovery Artist:

Joel Ross Good Vibes

February 2, 2018

KC Jazz Club

Ruthie Foster

February 3, 2018

KC Jazz Club

Discovery Artist:

Arcolris Sandoval Sonic Asylum Quintet

February 9, 2018

KC Jazz Club

Eric Harland, Voyager

February 10, 2018

Terrace Theater

NEA Jazz Master Randy Weston's African Rhythms:

A Tribute to James Reese Europe

March 2, 2018

KC Jazz Club

Jason Moran Poetry with Elizabeth Alexander and Yusef Komunyakaa

March 3, 2018

KC Jazz Club

Mingus Big Band

March 9, 2018

Concert Hall

Philip Glass's 20 Etudes

March 10, 2018

KC Jazz Club

Myra Melford, Snowy Egret

March 24, 2018

KC Jazz Club

Akua Allrich

April 6, 2018

KC Jazz Club

Discovery Artist:

Afro Blue

April 28, 2018

Concert Hall

The Jazz Epistles: The Story in Concert

May 5, 2018

Terrace Theater

Celebrate Mary Lou Williams

June 1, 2018

Terrace Theater

NEA Jazz Master Carla Bley and the Liberation Music Orchestra: A Salute to Charlie Haden

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