Jazz at Lincoln Center
33 West 60th St., 11th floor
New York, NY 10023
www.jalc.org

For Immediate Release: 3/7/2007

For more information, please contact:
ZOOEY TIDAL - (212) 258-9821, ztidal@jalc.org
MARY FIANCE FUSS - (212) 258-9828, mfuss@jalc.org

High resolution, downloadable photos available: http://www.jalc.org/

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ANNOUNCES 2007-08 NEW YORK CITY CONCERT SEASON & 2007 NESUHI ERTEGUN JAZZ HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

New York, NY (March 7, 2007) Jazz at Lincoln Center announced its 2007-08 New York City concert season today, featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) with Wynton Marsalis and an array of distinguished guest artists in over 60 concert productions. Also announced were the 2007 Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame Inductees: Clifford Brown, Benny Carter, Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt.

The not-for-profit jazz organization, dedicated to inspiring and growing audiences for jazz, noted that the 360 nights of performances at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, its national Jazz at Lincoln Center Radio program hosted by Wynton Marsalis and 22 education programs and resources will be announced separately.

The 21st concert season groups similarly themed programs within a festival context that allows simultaneous use of the main stages and public spaces inside the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall. These festivals include: The Golden Pen Festival, Valentine’s Festival, Piano Festival, Gospel Festival, Brazilian Festival and the Latin in Manhattan Festival (see chronology below).

The 2007-08 season kicks off on October 19th with the Benny Carter Centennial, as the JLCO performs the legendary trumpeter/saxophonist’s music and arrangements, and continues through May 23 & 24 with the Brazilian Festival featuring performances by Ivan Lins, Rosa Passos and Trio da Paz. Season guest artists include Monty Alexander, Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Bobby Broom, Dave Brubeck, Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III with The Abyssinian Baptist Church Choir; Freddy Cole, Carla Cook, Paquito D’Rivera, Chano Dominguez, Kurt Elling, Frank Foster, Victor Goines, Wycliffe Gordon, Scott Hamilton, Allan Harris, Edwin Hawkins, Nancy King, Bireli Lagrene, Ramsey Lewis, Ivan Lins, Russell Malone, Branford Marsalis, Mulgrew Miller, Lewis Nash, Rosa Passos, Houston Person, Eric Reed, Herlin Riley, Marcus Roberts, Dennis Rowland, Marlena Shaw, Trio da Paz, Don Vappie, Reginald Veal, Peter Washington and many more featured in concerts in Rose Theater, The Allen Room and Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola (see attached concert chronology for details).

“Jazz music uplifts your spirit and soul and this season we’ll feature some of the most romantic music you’ll ever hear,” said Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. “We also continue to blaze a path into the future of the music with commissions from Frank Foster, Erika vonKleist and Kurt Bacher while celebrating our storied past in concerts featuring our Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame members. I also love hearing the great sounds coming from Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola every night and feeling the response of an audience impassioned by swing. We have so many great performances in store for our audiences next season from the collaboration with Reverend Butts celebrating the Abyssinian Baptist Church’s 200th Anniversary to jazz masters like Dave Brubeck and Ramsey Lewis to family concerts, the House of Swing has something for everyone,” he continued.

Beginning today, 2007-08 subscriptions will be available for renewal in the following subscription packages (subscription packages offer a 15% discount on single ticket prices). Current subscribers may renew between March 7-April 6 to ensure retention of their seats. New subscriptions may be purchased beginning April 7. To order a subscription after April 7, or to request information, please call the Subscription Services hotline at 212-258-9999 or e-mail subscriptions@jalc.org.



· Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Series:
· Sketches of Gil Evans features the JLCO performing the arranger and composer’s greatest works including the great Gil Evans-Miles Davis collaborations
· Best of the Big Bands features Freddy Cole and other guest vocalists joining the JLCO, swinging and singing beloved tunes of the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s
· Frank Foster features the big band premiering new works by saxophonists Frank Foster, Kurt Bacher and Erica vonKleist
· Tap Meets Flamenco features flamenco and tap dancers performing to works by Wynton Marsalis and Chano Dominguez

· Jazz Jam Series:
· Red Hot Holiday Stomp features Wynton Marsalis and friends ringing in the holiday season with Crescent City swing
· Ellington Love Songs features the JLCO performing the romantic tunes from the Ellington songbook in a Valentine’s weekend concert
· Dave Brubeck and Ramsey Lewis exemplify jazz piano mastery
· Abyssinian 200: A Celebration is a first time collaboration featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III and a mass choir premiering Wynton Marsalis’ penned mass for the 200th anniversary of the church

· Latin in Manhattan Series:
· Beyond the Spanish Tinge features the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Paquito D’Rivera performing selections from the Latin jazz canon
· Afro-Cuban Fiesta features celebrated clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera leading an Afro-Cuban group and playing classics of the Cuban folkloric and jazz tradition
· Ivan Lins and Trio da Paz and other great artists perform in Rose Theater at the Brazilian Festival

· NEW! Hall of Fame Series:
NOTE: THIS IS A NEW SERIES CELEBRATING MEMBERS OF THE NESUHI ERTEGUN JAZZ HALL OF FAME.
· The Benny Carter Centennial celebrates the 100th birthday of the legendary trumpeter/saxophonist’s music and arrangements, performed by the JLCO
· Kings of the Crescent City: Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver and Sidney Bechet are commemorated by New Orleans musician Victor Goines (musical director) with Wycliffe Gordon and Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews
· Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian: A Celebration features today’s great jazz guitarists immortalizing the talents of Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt

· Jazz For Young People® Concerts hosted by Wynton Marsalis:
· Jazz For Young People: What is Swing?
· Jazz For Young People: What is a Latin Groove?
· Jazz For Young People: What is a Jazz Singer?

· Singers Over Manhattan:
· The Genius of Eddie Jefferson is honored with performances by the Eric Reed Trio, Carla Cook and Allan Harris
· Oh Happy Day: Edwin Hawkins and the Eric Reed Quartet lead nights of gospel influenced jazz, sung by the revolutionary vocalist Edwin Hawkins
· An Evening with Kurt Elling with Special Guest Nancy King features singer Kurt Elling as he delivers his distinctive and romantic vocal stylings on Valentine’s Week with guest vocalist Nancy King
· Brazilian Nights features Rosa Passos singing the best in Brazilian song, accompanied by her quartet

· Smokin’ Jazz Sessions:
· Branford Marsalis leads a group of guest artists for a first time performance in The Allen Room
· Marcus Roberts performs music from his swinging and soulfully romantic album Deep In The Shed
· Rags, Strides and Stomps celebrates solo piano featuring Marcus Roberts, a “genius of modern piano,” and Jonathan Batiste and Aaron Diehl, two rising star pianists
· Monty Alexander: Lords of the West Indies celebrates the spirit of Jamaica and Trinidad through calypso, mento and jazz



In addition to announcing the 2007-08 season concerts, Jazz at Lincoln Center announced the 2007 Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame inductees: CLIFFORD BROWN, BENNY CARTER, CHARLIE CHRISTIAN, DJANGO REINHARDT.

“Jazz at Lincoln Center is so fortunate that our beloved board member, the late Ahmet Ertegun, helped us establish this important resource and destination during his lifetime in memory of his late brother, Nesuhi Ertegun,” said Katherine E. Brown, Executive Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. “Inside the Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame visitors enjoy the free multi-media exhibit that celebrates the music of the legendary members. This season we’re also thrilled that the music of Clifford Brown, Benny Carter, Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt will be featured on the stages of Frederick P. Rose Hall in special concert productions.”

The 2007 Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame inductees:

· Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown Festival in Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, date TBA.
Brown’s commanding technique, brilliant tone and improvisational genius made him one for the most joyful and influential trumpeters in jazz.

· Benny Carter
Benny Carter Centennial on October 19-20, 2007 in Rose Theater.
One of the architects of the big band sound, arranger, composer and bandleader Benny Carter was also one of the foremost alto saxophonists, trumpeters and clarinetists in jazz. Known as the “King,” his career spanned ten decades.

· Charlie Christian
Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian: A Celebration on May 2 & 3 in Rose Theater.
Although others experimented with the electric guitar, it was Christian who brought his instrument to the forefront as a member of Benny Goodman's band.

· Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian: A Celebration on May 2 & 3 in Rose Theater.
This gypsy guitar virtuoso and composer--first celebrated in Paris for his both jaunty and melancholic performances with violinist Stephane Grappelli and the Quintette du Hot Club de France--was the first non-American to bring an original and swinging new voice to jazz.

Located within Frederick P. Rose Hall, the Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame (NEJHOF) is free and open to the public. The NEJHOF is an interactive media exhibit that illuminates the lives and artistry of the legendary members. Musicians, scholars and educators from 17 countries make up the 60-person international voting panel, which nominates and selects the inductees. Criteria for nomination include excellence and significance of the artist's contributions to the development and perpetuation of jazz. The hall was named by the late Jazz at Lincoln Center Board member Ahmet Ertegun and his wife, Mica, in honor of his late brother and Atlantic Records partner Nesuhi Ertegun. For more information, go to http://www.jalc.org/jazzED/ejhf_web/index.html.

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