Give your group an unforgettable New York City experience with Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Sep 26 Ornette Coleman
Rose Theater
It's part of your birthright to love the music of Ornette Coleman. Like Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker before him, Ornette thoroughly changed the course of jazz when he exploded on the scene in 1960. Over the past fifty years, Ornette's music has taken many forms, from his large-scale symphonies to his electric bands. But whatever he plays, it's as challenging as it is accessible: both food for thought and food for comfort. Be prepared for a wild, adventurous evening of category-defying music that will have you on your feet and cheering.

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Oct 2-3   Monty Alexander: Harlem-Kingston Express
The Allen Room
Back by popular demand! For nearly forty years, the multi-cultural pianist and bandleader Monty Alexander has artfully blended the rhythms of his native Jamaica with the classic sounds of modern jazz. For two evenings, Monty returns to The Allen Room to lead us on an exciting journey from Harlem to Kingston, Jamaica. From Harry Belafonte hits to Bob Marley classics, it's all what Louis Jordan called "The New Calypso Bebop."

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Oct 15-17  The Ladies of Duke Ellington
Rose Theater
To Duke Ellington, music was his mistress: a sophisticated lady, a clothed woman and a tattooed bride. This special concert presents some of the most sensuous, romantic music from jazz's all-time number one ladies man. Unchallenged in his accomplishment as jazz's greatest composer, Ellington's music is admired by all, especially the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, who plays it with élan, precision and soul.

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Oct 22-24  Soul Jazz of the '60s
Rose Theater
Whether you call it hard bop or soul jazz, small bands like Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and the Cannonball Adderley and Horace Silver quintets made some of the era's best-loved music, combining tight ensembles with emotional solos that produced a bluesy, church-driven sound. The concert features two all-star groups led by two all-star musicians: Wess "Warmdaddy" Anderson playing from his alto saxophone inspiration Cannonball Adderley, and Kenny"The Jazz Maniac" Washington channeling his heroes Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and composer-pianist Horace Silver.

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Oct 29-31  Wynton Marsalis
Rose Theater
Jazz at Lincoln Center's Artistic Director, founder and bandleader Wynton Marsalis has composed for every type of ensemble, but has written some of his most compelling music for quintets and septets. For this concert, the full Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will join Wynton's quintet, with tenor saxophonist Walter Blanding, as the trumpeter-composer guides us through some of his most spellbinding pieces. Special guests include the sensational tap dancer Jared Grimes.

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Oct 30-31  Dianne Reeves
The Allen Room
She is the greatest voice in all of contemporary jazz - possibly in all of contemporary music - and her appearances in the beautiful Allen Room are always cause for celebration, not to mention sold out for the past two years. This year she is joined by the masterful guitarist Romero Lubambo for a show which is to not be missed.

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Nov 7   Jazz for Young People: Who is Mary Lou Williams?
Rose Theater
Mary Lou Williams was the leading lady of jazz, a skilled pianist and a masterful composer who influenced generations of musicians to take up musical instruments and pick up the pen. Host Wynton Marsalis with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will demonstrate for parents and children alike how this exceptional artist created a sum of musical moods that fully reflected the spectrum of jazz.

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Nov 13-14  Maceo Parker
The Allen Room
Maceo Parker, perhaps best known as the second-in-command to the legendary James Brown, helped define funk from its origins. A long-venerated saxophone master, he steps into the solo spotlight, playing and singing music he recorded with James Brown and classic R&B tunes from his recent salute to Ray Charles.

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Nov 13-14  Mary Lou Williams Centennial
Rose Theater
Come celebrate the centennial of the First Lady of Jazz: pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams. From her early works as an arranger of the swing era with Andy Kirk, to her ambitious extended works like the classic Zodiac Suite, Mary Lou's music was profound and beautiful.  It takes more than one piano player to honor this great artist's legacy, and at least two modern interpreters: Geri Allen and Geoffrey Keezer will be joining the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis for the celebration.

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Dec 10-12  Red Hot Holiday Stomp
Rose Theater
Wycliffe Gordon and friends send you a Crescent City Christmas card, featuring their ingenious re-imaginings of classic holiday favorites. On hand once again are New Orleans' sons Victor Goines, Don Vappie, Herlin Riley and others. Watch Wycliffe demonstrate why there's no snow in New Orleans: the music is so hot that nothing stays frozen in that city.

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Dec 11-12  Kim Burrell
The Allen Room
Just in time for the holidays, the divine diva of gospel music returns to reprise her 2008 triumph in The Allen Room. Inspired by her moving, soulful voice, her spiritual classics and her spectacular choir, we'll all be making a joyful noise.

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Jan 15-16  The Music of Gillespie & Puente
Rose Theater
Dizzy Gillespie was the first American to fully fathom the rhythms of Cuba. Tito Puente was the first Latin bandleader  to make  the mambo  and  other  popular  Afro-Cuban  rhythms  and  dances accessible to American audiences. Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra bassist Carlos Henriquez kicks off the Latin in Manhattan series by leading the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the greatest living conguero Giovanni Hidalgo and the hottest Latin drummer Ignacio Berroa in a program dedicated to two luminaries who fundamentally changed the way Americans listened to jazz.

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Jan 22-23 The Beats of NYC: A Jazz Journey Through Dance, Rhythm and Rhyme
The Allen Room
For our first-ever Culture Slam, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra drummer Ali Jackson takes a look at the  function of the beat in contemporary music, dance and spoken word and how they tangle with the classic traditions of jazz percussion. Ali will present an evening of original compositions and re-imagined interpretations of Duke Ellington, Horace Silver and Dizzy Gillespie to explore this collision of rap, tap, poetry and song. Special guests will include Hope Boykin from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and pianist Marc Carey.

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Feb 4-6   Jazz and Art II
Rose Theater
Kicking off this multimedia musical experience, Wynton Marsalis will perform a brand new suite inspired by such artists as Romare Bearden, Stuart Davis and Piet Mondrian, as interpreted by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. In addition, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra's Ted Nash will revive his triumphant suite, Portrait in Seven Shades, which illustrates the visual styles of iconic painters Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Matisse, Chagall, Dali and Pollock in the language of the jazz orchestra. An enlightening approach to the art of jazz and the jazz of art.

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Feb 11-13  Basie & The Blues
Rose Theater
When Count Basie led the charge out of Kansas City in 1936 he showed the world a whole new way to play the blues. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and special guest pianist Mulgrew Miller bring Basie to life through the ingenuity of arrangers Sy Oliver, Don Redman and Neal Hefti. Emerging vocal star Gregory Porter will be on hand to interpret the great legacy of Basie blues singers like Jimmy Rushing and Joe Williams.

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Feb 12-13  Manhattan Transfer with Jon Hendricks
The Allen Room
The most enduring vocal group in jazz history - forty years and still going strong - offers selections from their latest album, featuring the music of Chick Corea, and gets  together with  the man who originally inspired them, jazz's number one singer-songwriter, the legendary Jon Hendricks.

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Mar 26-27  Pablo Aslan: Tango Salon
Rose Theater 
From a night in Tunisia to 'la noche de Buenos Aires', bassist, band-leader and composer Pablo Aslan has spent a rewarding career showing that North American jazz can be combined with Argentine tango - and beautifully so. His multi-talented ensemble, joined by legendary bandoneón giant Nestor Marconi and the extraordinary Paquito D'Rivera, prove that jazzmen can play the intricate rhythms of the tango, while the major musicians of Argentina can get down with the blues.  Experience the history of this fascinating music through one of its all time masters.

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Apr 10 Jazz for Young People: Who is Tito Puente?
Rose Theater
More than just a great bandleader and a master percussionist, for over four decades Tito Puente was the Latin jazz bandleader, freely mixing jazz and Cuban music into a strong, spicy concoction. Popular host Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra bassist Carlos Henriquez and friends will demonstrate why Mr. Puente was called 'El Rey de Salsa' and the 'King of the Mambo.'

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Apr 16-17  The Music of Fats Waller
Rose Theater
Sweet apples and pink buttermilk! Get set for the riotous music of the funniest figure (and what a figure!) in all of American music, Fats Waller himself. The spirit of the pudgy prankster lives on through a talented cast of singers, pianists and other musicians, under the musical direction of Andy Farber, who will re-animate the fabulous Fats Waller Songbook.

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Apr 16-17  Fats Waller: A Handful of Keys
The Allen Room
Thomas 'Fats' Waller's contribution to jazz was three-fold: he was the most ingenious of all stride pianists, he was an exceptional composer, responsible for all-time standards like 'Honeysuckle Rose' and he was an astoundingly gifted entertainer, with a fantastic voice and an unrelenting sense of humor. Tonight in The Allen Room, veteran stridemasters Dick Hyman, Judy Carmichael and Marcus Roberts will reinterpret the Fats Waller Songbook. 

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Apr 22-24  Music of Hancock & Roberts
Rose Theater
They are two of the greatest pianist-composers: Herbie Hancock and Marcus Roberts. Wynton Marsalis leads the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with special guest (and frequent Hancock collaborator) vibes master Bobby Hutcherson on a voyage from Herbie's legendary jazz standards of the '60s to his funky tunes of the 'Headhunters' era and beyond. For the second half, Marcus Roberts himself joins the full orchestra with his trio to present a program of his own outstanding original works.

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Apr 29-May 1  Yellowjackets with Mike Stern
Rose Theater
There are fusions and then there are Fusions: we feature the genre-crossing music of the Yellowjackets with guest star Mike Stern, whose award-winning sound has made them international headliners for more than thirty years and twenty successful albums, including the 2008 smash Lifecycle. Joining them with some gloriously swinging music from the Pan Americas is the Colombian harp sensation Edmar Castaneda, whose incredible skill on the instrument must be heard to be believed.

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May 10   Essentially Ellington Concert
Avery Fisher Hall
Join the top three high school jazz bands in the country with guest soloist Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in the culminating event of the 15th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival concert and awards ceremony.

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May 14-15  Intuition: The Music of Bill Evans
Rose Theater
One of the most inluential pianists of modern jazz, Bill Evans' lyrical style has inspired generations of musicians. Keyboardist Bill Charlap shows what made Bill Evans great by playing his classic compositions ('Waltz For Debby') with his great collaborators, like legendary guitarist Jim Hall. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will be on hand to play big band arrangements of Bill Evans' best-loved works.

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May 14-15  Kurt Elling & Richard Galliano: Passion World
The Allen Room
One of the most heartfelt voices in contemporary jazz, Kurt Elling gets together with the great French master of jazz accordion Richard Galliano to explore the language of love in a journey around the world. Join Kurt and Richard as they sing and play internationally famous ballads of love and loss in their original tongues - whether you're a native speaker or not, the meaning is clear.

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May 28-29  A Journey to Brazil
Rose Theater
If you don't know the music of Moacir Santos, you're missing out on one of the originators of Brazilian jazz, a composer who laid the foundation for later Brazilian stars like Antonio Carlos Jobim and Milton Nascimento. Mario Adnet, who collaborated with Santos on his award-winning 2001 double album Ouro Negro, leads an all-star band in playing the music of a towering figure in Latin music. As Wynton Marsalis puts it, "Moacir Santos is nothing less than the Duke Ellington of South America."

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June 5 Jazz for Young People: What is Free Jazz?
Rose Theater
Join bandleader, composer and drummer extraordinaire Matt Wilson as he shows youngsters and oldsters alike that free jazz is the fun and playful side of the music, the kind where you get to make up your own rules as you go along. Matt and his quartet demonstrate how, in the free form jazz pioneered by Ornette Coleman and others in the '60s, you get to play with things like rhythm and melody, pitch and volume, and the other basic elements of music. Chances are that your kid is already a free jazz musician and you don't even know it.

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