Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis to headline Sixth Annual Jazz for the Park benefit on March 22, 2010.
Wilson Commencement Park is proud to announce a very, very special appearance by none other than the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis for the next installment of its ongoing Jazz For The Park benefit series. The concert will take place on March 22 at 8:00 pm at the Auditorium Theatre.
Ask anyone the world over to name the first jazz musician they can think of off the top of their head and they’ll probably answer “Wynton Marsalis.” His name has become virtually synonymous with jazz. He is the artform’s undisputed universal spokesperson and ambassador, as well as its pre-eminent curator. No other living figure – perhaps no other figure in history – has done as much to propel jazz into the public consciousness, boost its visibility, and arouse widespread interest. If it weren’t for Marsalis, jazz’s rebirth as popular music over the last twenty years might not have occurred.
Likewise, on a parallel track, the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra has been served as the collective face of jazz since 1988. The world’s foremost big band institution, in addition to bandleader and artistic director Marsalis, the JLCO features fourteen of today’s finest soloists and ensemble players. The orchestra’s mission dovetails perfectly with Marsalis’s ongoing efforts to uncover jazz’s place at the core of our American identity. It is, in fact, arguably with the JLCO that Marsalis is best positioned to push jazz’s popularity to the next level. Not since the glory days Ellington and Basie has a band so perfectly embodied the grace, poise, and rich musicality of a big band at its finest. To watch a big band going at full-throttle is to witness a marriage of extraordinary beauty and thrilling power. It follows, then, to watch a JLCO concert is to experience orchestral jazz at its absolute highest standard, as well as to connect with the deeper current of jazz tradition. “Art,” says Marsalis, “has always been used as a barometer of history.” Indeed, while watching the JLCO the audience gets a breathtaking, panoramic view of jazz history and the greater arc of American history that looms behind it. On the other hand, aside from its curatorial, educational, archival, and ceremonial directives, the JLCO aims above all to bring people together for one simple purpose, and that is: “to have a profoundly good time.” In the words of Executive Director Adrian Ellis, “even people who think they don’t like jazz” enjoy the JLCO. We hope you will join us in celebrating this event with coverage in your outlet – and, of course, have a profoundly good time.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is: Music Director and Trumpet: WYNTON MARSALIS; Trumpets: SEAN JONES,RYAN KISOR, MARCUS PRINTUP; Trombones: CHRIS CRENSHAW, VINCENT GARDNER, ELLIOT MASON; Reeds: WALTER BLANDING, VICTOR GOINES, SHERMAN IRBY, TED NASH, JOE TEMPERLEY; Piano: DAN NIMMER; Bass: CARLOS HENRIQUEZ; Drums: ALI JACKSON.
Official biographies, FAQ, fact sheets, repertoire info, and additional press materials can be found at:
http://www.wyntonmarsalis.org/biography/
http://www.wyntonmarsalis.org/faq/
http://jalc.org/about (.Pdf biography and fact sheet under the “Press” tab.)
http://jalc.org/concerts/c_orchestras09.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCRvIqmag-s
Tickets are on sale through all Ticketmaster locations and at Wilson Commencement Park by calling (585) 263-7938. Tickets are priced at $35, $45 and $75.
About Wilson Commencement Park
Wilson Commencement Park is a not- for-profit organization based in Rochester, NY. WCP's mission is to provide comprehensive resources and services to low-income single-parent families so that they may develop assets to improve their family stability, increase their economic independence, and ultimately become viable agents of positive change in the community. Originally conceived in 1982 by the Board of Managers of the Marie C. and Joseph C. Wilson Foundation, WCP was officially incorporated as an independent charitable organization in 1984. The organization's core staff has over 40 years’ worth of collective experience in human services and non-profit work – including, in the case of CEO Rodric Cox-Cooper, 12 years served in the administration of former Rochester Mayor William Johnson. Today, WCP combines a 50-unit townhouse facility and 18-unit apartment complex with childcare, self-sufficiency counseling, and other support services. Additionally, WCP now offers essential life-skills training to both children and adults via its Communiversity: Life Skills Academy program and also offers classes, workshops, and training to off-campus residents throughout the community.
As we prepare to celebrate the sixth anniversary of Jazz For The Park, we appreciate your coverage of this historic event and hope you will help us in our ongoing efforts to foster change in our local community.
# # #