Jazz At Lincoln Center offers a host of lectures, classes and panel discussions on a wide range of topics, from the history of jazz to the contemporary jazz scene. JazzED Events Online is happy to be able to present some of the most memorable of these events.

TITLE: Listening Party: Ravi Coltrane discusses "Blending Times"
DATE: Monday, May 18, 2009
MAIN PARTICIPANTS: Ravi Coltrane, Ken Druker
LOCATION: Irene Diamond Education Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall
RUNNING TIME:
DESCRIPTION: Saxophonist Ravi Coltrane discusses his new album, Blending Times. Blending Times is a stunning set of musically diverse, rhythmically eclectic pieces featuring Coltrane’s longtime bandmates - pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Drew Gress and drummer E.J. Strickland - with guest artists Charlie Haden and harpist Brandee Younger. It captures the fluidity of the group's spontaneous improvisations as well as highlights more structured compositions of a familiar group dialogue.

TITLE: Listening Party: Joe Lovano discusses “Symphonica”
DATE: Thursday, November 13, 2008
MAIN PARTICIPANTS: Joe Lovano, Michael Abene, Ken Druker
LOCATION: Irene Diamond Education Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall
RUNNING TIME: 58:56
DESCRIPTION: Joe Lovano discusses his new album, Symphonica, with arranger Michael Abene and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Ken Druker in the first event of a new series titled “Listening Party.” This intimate interview/discussion series presents an opportunity to listen to new albums with the artists who recorded them and continues periodically with more listening parties to occur in upcoming months.

TITLE: Jazz Talk: Jews, Blacks & Jazz
DATE: Thursday, January 29, 2009
MAIN PARTICIPANTS: Don Byron, Stanley Crouch, Dave Liebman, Dr. Jeffrey Melnick, Dr. Lewis Porter (moderator)
LOCATION: Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall
RUNNING TIME: 1:41.28
DESCRIPTION: Many commentators, both black and white, have noted a special relationship between Jews and blacks. This is nowhere more evident than in jazz. In our third annual exploration of jazz and race, musician Don Byron, writer Stanley Crouch, musician Dave Liebman and Dr. Jeffrey Melnick explore this controversial topic in a panel led by Dr. Lewis Porter.

TITLE:  Listening Party: Maria Schneider discusses “Sky Blue”
DATE: Thursday, March 12, 2009, 7:00 pm
MAIN PARTICIPANTS: Maria Schneider
LOCATION: Irene Diamond Education Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall
RUNNING TIME: 1:05
DESCRIPTION: Jazz at Lincoln Center continues its new free Listening Party series with critically acclaimed jazz artist Maria Schneider as she discusses her latest album, the GRAMMY® Award-winning, Sky Blue with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Ken Druker. Schneider will also be discussing and playing examples from a new, unreleased work that was commissioned by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for soprano Dawn Upshaw.

TITLE:  Jazz Talk: Hoofin’ It: Jazz and Tap
DATE: Thursday, April 17, 2008, 7:00 pm
MAIN PARTICIPANTS: Harold Cromer, Jared Grimes, Stephanie Larriere, Dr. Lewis Porter (moderator)
LOCATION: Irene Diamond Education Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall
RUNNING TIME: 1:37
DESCRIPTION: What is the origin of tap dancing? How does tap relate to jazz? Hoofers young and old converge to celebrate this original African-American art form and its timeless connection to jazz. In this program, moderator Dr. Lewis Porter tours the history of tap through rare film clips and live demonstrations with legendary dancer Harold “Stumpy” Cromer and up and coming dancer/choreographers Jared Grimes and Stephanie Larriere.

TITLE:  Jazz Talk: An Evening with Dr. Billy Taylor
DATE: Wednesday, March 14, 2007, 7:00 pm
MAIN PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Billy Taylor, Dr. Lewis Porter (moderator)
LOCATION: Irene Diamond Education Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall
RUNNING TIME: 1:36
DESCRIPTION: World-class pianist and composer, television correspondent, radio host, educator - Dr. Billy Taylor has done it all over the course of his sixty-plus year career. Join Dr. Taylor and host Dr. Lewis Porter for a very special interview and performance celebrating the music and career of this true Ambassador of Jazz

TITLE: Jazz Talk: Walkin' and Swingin': Mary Lou Williams
DATE: May 4, 2004, 7pm
MAIN PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Tammy Kernodle, Mulgrew Miller, Father Peter O'Brien, S.J.
LOCATION: Kaplan Penthouse, Lincoln Center
RUNNING TIME: 1:09
DESCRIPTION: Explore the impact of pianist, arranger, and jazz educator Mary Lou Williams, with special guests Dr. Tammy Kernodle, Mulgrew Miller, and Father Peter O'Brien, S.J. As one of the few widely recognized female instrumentalists in jazz, Williams defied the cultural and stylistic limitations of her time to express her own unique and virtuosic voice. While the public undervalued her as a jazz musician, Williams taught generations of musicians how to swing. Learn how this revolutionary woman touched the world of jazz.

TITLE: Jazz 101: Bebop Overview with Phil Schaap
DATE: Tuesday, February 1, 2005, 6:30pm
MAIN PARTICIPANTS: Phil Schaap
LOCATION: Irene Diamond Education Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall
RUNNING TIME: 2:03
DESCRIPTION: Come along as Jazz at Lincoln Center's Curator, Phil Schaap, relays the history of bebop. Filled with glorious stories and legendary examples from bebop greats Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, Schaap guides listeners through the finer points of this musical revolution.

This is one lesson in a series of eight classes that make up Jazz 101: The Intro.

TITLE:  Jazz Talk: Race in Jazz Academia
DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 2007, 7:00 pm
MAIN PARTICIPANTS: Amiri Baraka, Dr. Ingrid Monson, Dr. Guthrie Ramsey, Dr. Salim Washington, Dr. Lewis Porter (moderator)
LOCATION: Irene Diamond Education Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall
RUNNING TIME: 1:36
DESCRIPTION: Jazz musicians and the culture that surrounds them have been a favorite topic of scholars for decades. But how have perceptions of race affected the way jazz is approached in the hallowed halls of academia? Join our distinguished panel and moderator Dr. Lewis Porter for Jazz at Lincoln Center's first annual exploration of race and jazz.