Mary Lou Williams News

After paying tribute to artistic inspirations during Fall 2016's DEMO, Damian Woetzel continues to unite artists from across fields around a common theme in performance on April 3, 2017 at 8:00 p.m. in the Eisenhower Theater. This installment of the multi-genre series brings together acclaimed artists for a special one-night performance to celebrate the combination of song and dance.

Jazz Women of New York is a new all-woman band conceived by vocalist Lee Torchia.  The core group is pianist Jill McManus, bassist Melissa Slocum, drummer Sylvia Cuenca, flutist Andrea Brachfeld, and saxophonist Carol Sudhalter, with occasional subs from the female side of NY jazz.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced the participants in Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead (BCJA)-the international jazz residency, performance, and composition project discovering and presenting the next generation of jazz greats-to be held March 20-31, 2017 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Led by Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran, the Jazz Ahead program identifies outstanding, emerging jazz artists/composers in their mid-teens to age 25 and brings them together under the tutelage of experienced artists/instructors who coach and counsel them, polishing their performance, composing, and arranging skills.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, under the leadership of Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran, continues to celebrate the legacy of jazz artist Mary Lou Williams with the annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, May 4, 2017 at 8 p.m. in the Eisenhower Theater. This year's festival will celebrate the musical legacy of vocalist, actor, and civil rights activist and NEA Jazz Master Abbey Lincoln, and features NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves, Esperanza Spalding, and Music Director and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts will celebrate the 2017 NEA Jazz Masters with a free concert, Monday, April 3, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall. The performance will honor the recipients of the nation's highest honor in jazz, highlighting their lifetime achievements and exceptional contributions to the advancement of jazz music. The concert, held during Jazz Appreciation Month, will also be streamed online at www.kennedy-center.org. In addition to the April 3 concert, the NEA Jazz Masters will hold a listening party at National Public Radio headquarters on Sunday, April 2, and a master class for young musicians to learn from the Jazz Masters themselves at Howard University on Tuesday, April 4.

Jazz Women of New York is a new all-woman band conceived by vocalist Lee Torchia.  The core group is pianist Jill McManus, saxophonist and flutist Carol Sudhalter, and bassist Melissa Slocum, with occasional subs from the female side of NY jazz.

'I just got a message from Saturn. We are not playing enough blues!' - Sun Ra  

Music Director Alan Gilbert will conduct the New York Philharmonic in the World Premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner Wynton Marsalis's The Jungle (Symphony No. 4), commissioned by the Philharmonic as the first of The New York Commissions, with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis; William Bolcom's Trombone Concerto with Principal Trombone Joseph Alessi as soloist; and Copland's Quiet City, featuring Principal Trumpet Christopher Martin and English horn player Grace Shryock in her Philharmonic solo debut.

The Ziegfeld Club has announced that Anna K. Jacobs has been selected to receive the 2016 Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award. The award will provide Jacobs with a grant of $10,000 and a year of professional mentorship from mentors including Tony Award-winning producer Barbara Whitman. Zoe Sarnak and Shaina Taub are the honorable mentions chosen by the awards panel. Recipients will be honored during a reception that will feature distinguished speaker Jeanine Tesori and a special musical performance by Masi Asare, who is the recipient of last year's inaugural award, on Monday, November 7, at the New Amsterdam Theatre.

In their first official engagement, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents Dorrance Dance with Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely in The Blues Project, October 5 and 6, 2016 for two performances in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Acclaimed tap dancer, choreographer, and 2015 MacArthur "Genius Grant" winner Michelle Dorrance and renowned versatile singer, songwriter, and guitarist Toshi Reagon combine their energetic ensembles for a dynamic collaboration honoring tap's uniquely beautiful history by pushing the boundaries of the genre. 

The Kennedy Center announced today the roster of artists who will be participating in Jimmy Heath at 90, a concert honoring the 90th birthday of the legendary saxophonist, composer, educator, and bandleader. The celebration will take place on Sunday, October 30, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. in the Concert Hall.

Weill Hall at Sonoma State University's Green Music Center (GMC) announces plans for the 2016-17 Fifth Anniversary Season Opening Weekend. The opening night performance Today, October 1, at 7:00 p.m., features the unparalleled kings of Jazz, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. A Gala Dinner will be held at Prelude Restaurant and Patio following the concert, with cuisine provided by Stark & Co. Catering.

On Sunday, October 23 at 4pm at the Princeton Club of New York (15 West 43rd Street), The Town Hall will hold its Annual Gala where they will honor Grammy & Peabody Award-winner Garrison Keillor's acclaimed program A Prairie Home Companion with The Town Hall Friend of the Arts Award (over 150 shows were broadcast live from The Town Hall stage).

In their first official engagement, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents Dorrance Dance with Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely in The Blues Project, October 5 and 6, 2016 for two performances in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Acclaimed tap dancer, choreographer, and 2015 MacArthur "Genius Grant" winner Michelle Dorrance and renowned versatile singer, songwriter, and guitarist Toshi Reagon combine their energetic ensembles for a dynamic collaboration honoring tap's uniquely beautiful history by pushing the boundaries of the genre. 

Weill Hall at Sonoma State University's Green Music Center (GMC) announces plans for the 2016-17 Fifth Anniversary Season Opening Weekend. The opening night performance Saturday, October 1, at 7:00 p.m., features the unparalleled kings of Jazz, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. A Gala Dinner will be held at Prelude Restaurant and Patio following the concert, with cuisine provided by Stark & Co. Catering.

Michael Feinstein and the Pasadena POPS heat up the Los Angeles County Arboretum on August 20th with an evening solely devoted to one of America's most beloved musical icons for Cole Porter Night.

?The St. James Studio is delighted to once again be a host venue for the EFG London Jazz Festival. Eight events will take place at the St. James over the course of the festival, which will run from Friday 11 to Sunday 20 November 2016.

The holiday season brings family, fun, togetherness and music! Experience all of that and more at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's annual holiday celebration, Highmark Holiday Pops, on December 11-13 and December 19 and 20 at Heinz Hall.

The holiday season brings family, fun, togetherness and music! Experience all of that and more at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's annual holiday celebration, Highmark Holiday Pops, on December 11-13 and December 19 and 20 at Heinz Hall.

World Music Institute presents on its new Masters of Cuban Music series one of the most influential figures in modern Afro-Cuban jazz: the Cuban pianist, composer and arranger Chucho Valdes.