Branford Marsalis News

Five-time Grammy Award winner Michael McDonald will bring his Season of Peace, Holiday and Hits Tour to Parx Casino® on Friday, November 30, 2018. Following the release of Season of Peace: The Christmas Collection on BMB, the critically acclaimed singer/songwriter will usher in the holidays in Bucks County with Christmas favorites like “White Christmas/Winter Wonderland,' “Oh Holy Night,” “Children Go Where I Send Thee” and a new version of “Winter Wonderland.' This special holiday performance will take place at The Xcite Center, with doors opening at 7:00pm and the show starting at 8:00pm. Tickets are $45.00 to $250.00. VIP and meet and greet packages are available. Each and every ticket holder will receive a copy of Season of Peace included with their ticket price. Tickets and packages are available now at  www.parxcasino.com/xcitecenter.

Variety reports Spike Lee will “Frederick Douglass Now,” his third movie adaptation of a one-man stage show by Roger Guenveur Smith, after “A Huey P. Newton Story” and “Rodney King.”

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (COP) explores the sound of the pipa alongside familiar European repertoire with works of Mozart and Dvo?ak. These works for strings by master composers are followed by a traditional Chinese tune arranged by COP's own Dirk Brosse. The Pipa is showcased alongside the Chamber Orchestra's sound in Lou Harrison's Concerto for Pipa with String Orchestra. Wu Man will also first introduce us to the instrument by playing a solo piece for the Pipa in the intimate setting of the Perelman Theater.

The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra announced the November 9 release of its latest album, American Originals: 1918, under the direction of Pops Conductor John Morris Russell. The recording is inspired by America's cultural awakening at the end of the First World War one hundred years ago and the distinctly American musical styles that reflect the country's diversity. This album celebrates and reimagines popular songs of this era that remain fresh and relevant today with acclaimed musical collaborators including Rhiannon Giddens, Steep Canyon Rangers and Pokey LaFarge. The 95th Cincinnati Pops album was recorded live at Cincinnati Music Hall November 10- 12, 2017, and is being released on the Orchestra's label, Fanfare Cincinnati.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts presents the Ahmad Jamal Quartet for one performance only on October 19 at 8:00pm. The extraordinary night of music features jazz legend and celebrated pianist-composer Ahmad Jamal who returns to the center with his quartet which includes James Cammack, bass; Herlin Riley, drums; and Manolo Badrena, percussion.

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts,  which brings audiences world-class theater, dance and music performed by many of the most sought-after artists,presents Chris Walden Big Band with a program that pays tribute to the "Rat Pack" era on Saturday, October 27, 2018, 7:30 pm,in the Bram Goldsmith Theater at The Wallis. Walden, a seven-time Grammy-nominated composer/arranger/conductor, has scored more than 40 feature and TV films and written more than 1,500 orchestral and big band arrangements for artists ranging from Aretha Franklin, Paul McCartney and Barbra Streisand to Diana Krall and Rihanna, among many others.

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), under the leadership of Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, is pleased to announce upcoming performances of the next offering in the Live @ OBERON series: Samora Pinderhughes' The Transformations Suite at OBERON (2 Arrow Street, Cambridge) Saturday, October 6 at 7PM and Sunday, October 7 at 8PM.

The Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera presents the North American premiere of its heralded Voices of the Mountains program at Carnegie Hall in New York in a one-night-only performance on November 14, 2018. Voices of the Mountains is an interactive, multimedia concert featuring projections and inspired by the music of the Polish Highlands. The evening includes works by esteemed Polish composers Wojciech Kilar, Karol Szymanowski, Henryk Miko?aj Górecki, and Mieczys?aw Kar?owicz, in modern arrangements by the young Polish composer Jan Smoczy?ski.

In 2019 the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) will present A New Light: a transformative adventure that will challenge, illuminate, embolden and inspire. With Artistic Director Richard Tognetti at the helm, the ACO will push the concept of 'chamber orchestra' to new heights through embarking on energising and experimental collaborations, both new and revisited. The Orchestra will also continue their exploration of the great music of the past and of today, with each program in 2019 containing music from one or more living composers.

Featuring shows from around the world and shows from around the corner, the 2018-19 Season of Performing Arts at the Harris Center for the Arts are now on sale.

The Mattson 2, the virtuosic guitar-and-drums jazz duo of twin brothers Jonathan and Jared Mattson, announced Mattson 2 Play A Love Supreme, their full album cover of John Coltrane's 1964 masterpiece. The record is due on August 17 on Spiritual Pajamas and finds the brothers translating the iconic saxophonist's spiritual vision into a thrilling 21st-century electric exploration. 'For us it's about taking this beautiful art form and adapting it,' says Jonathan, 'being forward thinking and not trying to confine it to this narrow definition that has been set out by purists over the years.' Along with the announcement, the Mattsons shared their version of 'Resolution.' 

The Musicians of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra present a companion piece to Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung cycle in partnership with jazz composer and pianist Valerie Capers and her musical collaborator, bassist John Robinson III. Wagner Takes the 'A' Train is a meeting of musical styles that will please both opera devotees and jazz lovers alike. In conversation with San Francisco Opera Dramaturg, Kip Cranna, Dr. Capers will reflect on the influences of Wagner and his mighty Ring cycle on her work as a composer. Proceeds benefit the African American Composers Initiative, dedicated to commissioning and presenting the work of African American composers, past and present. For more information. visit www.aacinitiative.org.

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and Joe's Pub at The Public join forces once again for the Kimmel Center Theater Residency. Under the tutelage of Jay Wahl, Producing Artistic Director of the Kimmel Center, and Shanta Thake, Director of Joe's Pub, the program serves as an incubator for artists and their collaborators to create and develop music and theater projects. The program will be held in the Kimmel Center's SEI Innovation Studio (300 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA) from June 18-30 with Public Readings, free and open to the public, on June 29 and 30. Readings will be followed by Q&A sessions with the artists.

Events have been announced for the 40th annual season of the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival. Free performances include: 

Lauren Ridloff sat down with CBS Sunday Morning today in a feature about her rise to fame in Children of a Lesser God on Broadway.

Chene Park Amphitheatre, Detroit's premiere summer concert venue located along the Detroit River, fires up its summer season May 27, and runs through Labor Day weekend. The venue's summer concert season includes more than 25 shows featuring a diverse range of Jazz, R&B, Hip-Hop, Latin and 80s acts. Music lovers are welcomed to purchase tickets at the Chene Park Box Office and through http://www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are available starting at $19.*

The acclaimed Broadway revival of Mark Medoff's Children of a Lesser God plays its final performance at Studio 54 tonight, Sunday, May 27, 2018.

Chene Park Amphitheatre, Detroit's premiere summer concert venue located along the Detroit River, fires up its summer season May 27, and runs through Labor Day weekend. The venue's summer concert season includes more than 25 shows featuring a diverse range of Jazz, R&B, Hip-Hop, Latin and 80s acts. Music lovers are welcomed to purchase tickets at the Chene Park Box Office and through http:www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are available starting at $19.*

Segerstrom Center for the Arts has announced its annual Jazz, Cabaret and Chamber Music series for the 2018-2019 Season. It's another musically absorbing year of great and most gifted artists whose works and performances will canvas a vast range of styles and traditions.

Harry Connick, Jr. performs at Mayo Performing Arts Center for two shows, Monday-Tuesday, June 18-19 at 8 pm. Tickets are $79-$199.