Branford Marsalis News

As live performances return to venues throughout Southern California, Irvine Barclay Theatre has announced nearly 20 shows that it has added to its season, which kicks off on September 19 with the country chart-topping trio The Gatlin Brothers.

Kean Stage has  announced its return to in-person, indoor performances this fall for its 12th season.

Grammy winning vocalist Kurt Elling has released “Endless Lawns” the third single from his much talked about forthcoming album SuperBlue to be released October 8, 2021 via Edition Records.

As the jazz world slowly emerges from the more than year-long pandemic, the New Orleans-born alto saxophonist Donald Harrison – the critically-acclaimed, innovative musician with four decades of experience as an instrumentalist, sideman and leader who has worked with everyone from Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and salsa legend Eddie Palmieri, to the legendary rapper Notorious B.I.G. – unleashed a flurry of new projects, along with some prominent news features.

With the aim of better serving Recording Academy members and the music industry at-large, the team will work directly under Mason, whose title will shift to CEO.

Kicking off with a performance of Smith's acclaimed solo show, Frederick Douglass Now, presented in partnership with the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association on Saturday, August 21 at 7:00pm ET, the one-night-only event takes place at Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs, a National Historic Landmark on Martha's Vineyard.

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has announced that Louis Langrée will  not seek to renew his contract beyond the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, his eleventh as the Orchestra's Music Director.

The New York Philharmonic has announced its 2021–22 season, marking the Orchestra’s long-awaited return to subscription performances following an 18-month period of cancellations due to the pandemic. For the first time in modern history the Philharmonic will be performing outside its home for an entire season. 

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will present a brand-new season filled with concerts and performances for a wide range of tastes from eclectic to traditional, from Grammy-winning artists in jazz, American roots, classical and global music to Broadway greats and more.

As orchestras emerge from the pandemic and lean into recovery, the League of American Orchestras' 76th National Conference, Embracing a Changed World, will tackle the big questions about the future through new perspectives, actionable content, and provocative discussion.

Chamber Music Northwest has announced its in-person and online 2021 Summer Festival. Beginning July 1, the 51st annual festival will feature four weeks of musical programming showcasing performances by the world's most renowned artists.

For the final performance of their streaming, nine-concert 2020-21 season, Chamber Music Northwest will present the Grammy Award-winning classical guitarist Jason Vieaux.

Wharton Center announces its 2021-2022 season, a collection of Broadway shows, including the much-anticipated return of Hamilton and the very best in performing arts. 

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts brings intimate jazz performances and rising jazz talent to its theaters. Scottsdale Arts ONE Members can get the best seats before tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, April 16, 2021.

The Charlotte Symphony will welcome audiences back to the Belk Theater for performances taking place on April 24 and May 14–15, 2021. This marks the first time audiences have been able to attend an indoor concert with the Charlotte Symphony since March 7, 2020. The CSO will also host a three-concert mini-series featuring classical works.

An inspiring tribute to the artist herself, Ma Rainey: Mother of the Blues takes a deeper look at the real Ma Rainey — an incredible musician and pioneer, way ahead of her time, who overcame obstacles dealing with rights to her music, her sexuality, and her worth as a female in the 1920’s struggling to keep her band together.

=USITT has announced the formation of the Collier Robert Woods, Jr. Scholarship to support Black and African American students with interests in lighting design and/or theatre production, technology, and associated theatrical fields.

The Kennedy Center announces additional artists for its free digital series, Arts Across America, which continues this spring with a focus on cultural leadership and art as a catalyst for public healing, decolonization, and genuine global change. Upcoming episodes will explore contributions from the Black Trans theater community, sacrifice zones and the environment, the fight for women's rights in the Latinx community, the prison and detention center system, the importance of Indigenous food and health, and much more.

In this debut portrait album, Richardson explores the convergence of music and literature in gritty and original ways, opening with Red Wind (2017), a collaboration with African-American experimentalist poet and National Book Award-winner Nathaniel Mackey that features Mackey as narrator.

“From ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ in 1986 to ‘Da 5 Bloods’ in 2020, Spike has directed an astonishing number of feature films… 24!  Not to mention his work in documentaries, television, music videos and commercials.