Wynton Marsalis News

The runaway British hit CALL THE MIDWIFE, a new drama that depicts midwifery in 1950s London, kicks off the PBS 2012 fall season with a six-part Sunday-night run that begins September 30. A production of BBC Worldwide and Neal Street Productions, MIDWIFE further strengthens PBS' hold on quality Sunday night programs and launches a fall full of drama - both fictional and real - anchored by Ken Burns's new documentary THE DUST BOWL, PBS ELECTION 2012 coverage of the presidential campaign including FRONTLINE's award-winning 'The Choice,' and the season two return of MASTERPIECE CLASSIC 'Upstairs Downstairs.'Sundays continue to be a source of captivating drama for PBS, while strong Wednesday 'Exploration' nights feature new episodes of the science series NATURE, NOVA and an updated NOVA scienceNOW, hosted for the first time by tech guru and New York Times reporter David Pogue. Monday nights open with a series of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW specials that lead into the first fall season of MARKET WARRIORS. The award-winning film series INDEPENDENT LENS moves to Mondays at 10 p.m. beginning October 29, creating a new space for independent film that will also be the home for POV's 2013 season. Friday night PBS ARTS programs include the four-part series VOCES, which highlights Latino and Hispanic arts, and AMERICAN MASTERS 'Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance.'

New York City Ballet's 2012 Spring Gala tonight, May 10 will feature a one-time-only salute to France titled À La Francaise, and will feature two World Premiere ballets, one by NYCB's Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins to a score by the French composer Marc-Andre Dalbavie; and one by French-born choreographer and former NYCB Principal Dancer Benjamin Millepied to a commissioned score by Nico Muhly. The evening will also include a major revival of George Balanchine's Symphony in C, which was created for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1947 to a score by the French composer Georges Bizet.

Three high school jazz bands took top honors on Sunday night at the 17th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival, presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center. The bands were chosen by a panel of judges composed of distinguished jazz musicians and historians, including Jazz at Lincoln Center's Artistic Director WYNTON MARSALIS; DAVID BERGER, BILL DOBBINS, JEFFREY HAMILTON and SHERMAN IRBY. The three top bands were chosen from a field of 15 finalist bands that participated in the three-day Competition & Festival from May 4-6.

The New York Youth Symphony's Jazz Band Classic concludes its tenth season on Wednesday, May 23, 2009, at 7:30pm with "Sounds From The City," featuring soloist Ann Hampton Callaway at The Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Under the direction of Matt Holman, director, the group will perform songs from New York City with music by Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, and Frank Sinatra, as well as a big band salute to Broadway. The Adjacent Possible by Evan Weiss, commissioned through the New York Youth Symphony's acclaimed First Music program, will receive its world premiere.

25 year-old pianist Eldar Djangirov will return to the Blue Note for the first time in three years with legendary guitarist Pat Martino. Eldar and Martino have been playing together frequently over the past year, both in quartet and duo settings. The pair initially teamed up in late 2009 for a tribute gig to guitar icon Les Paul at the Iridium in New York and later joined for the Lincoln Center 'Generations in Jazz Festival' in 2010. Over the past months, they've been playing a mix of each other's originals and standards like 'Round Midnight' and 'In Walked Bud.' 'Playing with Pat, you always have to be on your toes,' Eldar told the San Diego Anthology. 'This has been a great and very satisfying experience for me, and I think we'll keep playing together a few times each year.'

The McCallum Theatre, the Coachella Valley's premiere theatrical venue, will celebrate its 25th Anniversary Season with a star-studded lineup of Classical Music, Jazz, Cabaret, Comedy and a Broadway Blockbuster Series which includes Rock of Ages, Dreamgirls and West Side Story. The season kicks off on August 31 with comedy legend Steve Martin joined by the Grammy nominated Steep Canyon Rangers. This wonderfully eclectic season also includes Pink Martini, Howie Mandell, Barbara Cook, Michael Feinstein, Elaine Page and Yo-Yo Ma, to name a few.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock will kick-off the first annual International Jazz Day with a full day of events including live performances, Master Classes, and discussions featuring Marcus Miller, Barbara Hendricks, Hugh Masekela, Dee Dee Bridgewater, plus much more. Please visit http://unesco.org for complete details.

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman announced today that Mesa Arts Center is one of 788 not-for-profit national, regional, state, and local organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. Mesa Arts Center is recommended for a $58,000 grant to support the Jazz from A to Z program. The 788 Art Works grants total $24.81 million and support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts.

Matias Tarnopolsky's third season as Director of Cal Performances features 113 artists and ensembles presented in more than 125 performances.

Victoria Theatre Association and Cityfolk co-present the JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA with WYNTON MARSALIS on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 8 p.m. in the Mead Theatre of the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center. This performance is part of the KeyBank African American Arts Festival and Cityfolk's 30thanniversary season. Tickets start at $55 and are available online at www.ticketcenterstage.com, by phone 937.228.3630 or toll free 888.228.3630 or in person at the Ticket Center Stage Box Office, located in the Wintergarden of the Schuster Center.

Victoria Theatre Association and Cityfolk will co-present the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 8 p.m. in the Mead Theatre of the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center.

Paul Simon may be 70 years old, but he's still marvelous after all these years. One of America's greatest troubadours once again displayed his timeless artistry at last week's three-concert benefit run at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Hall, which featured the great Wynton Marsalis and his 14-piece JLC Orchestra joining Simon's eight-piece band for a jazzy and sometimes swinging interpretation of 14 songs from the massive Paul Simon songbook.

Victoria Theatre Association and Cityfolk co-present the JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA with WYNTON MARSALIS on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 8 p.m. in the Mead Theatre of the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center. This performance is part of the KeyBank African American Arts Festival and Cityfolk's 30thanniversary season. Tickets start at $55 and are available online at www.ticketcenterstage.com, by phone 937.228.3630 or toll free 888.228.3630 or in person at the Ticket Center Stage Box Office, located in the Wintergarden of the Schuster Center.

Rachel York will join Megan Hilty in the Encores! production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, opening May 9 at New York City Center. York will play the brunette, Dorothy Shaw, best friend of Lorelei, the diamond-loving blonde played by Hilty. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes will be directed by John Rando with music direction by Rob Berman and choreography by Randy Skinner and will play for seven performances, May 9 - 13, at New York City Center, 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.

The Kimmel Center kicks off Jazz Appreciation Month with a special program, The Ballad of the American Arts, featuring Wynton Marsalis with members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in Verizon Hall on April 3, 2012 at 7:30pm.

In conjunction with the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson's first Broadway hit, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, WGBH 89.7 FM's "Jazz with Eric in the Evening" host Eric Jackson and "The Callie Crossley Show" host Callie Crossley will discuss the social and musical history depicted in the play in a post-show conversation on Saturday, March 24 immediately following the 2pm performance.

Following last year's sold-out inaugural season, Dance Under the Influence returns with a schedule 'packed with groundbreaking newcomers and icons of contemporary dance.'

American Composers Orchestra (ACO) presents Orchestra Underground: American Accounts on Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 7:30pm at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall. The concert, led by ACO Music Director & Conductor George Manahan, explores uniquely American stories - both in musical content and in the background of the composers - and features works by Aaron Copland, Milton Babbitt, Gabriel Kahane, and Michael Daugherty. (The premiere of Ian Williams' new piece, previously announced as being part of this concert, has been postponed.)

Salt Lake Community College's School of Arts, Communication & New Media presents a conversation with five-time Emmy winner James C. Oliverio on March 16, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. in the Student Event Center on the Taylorsville Redwood Campus.

The Sheldon presents Peter Martin and Inner Circle on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 8:00 PM.