The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and Larry Rosen, together with presenting sponsor TotalBank, present JAZZ ROOTS: A Larry Rosen Jazz Series – JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS on March 9, 2012 at 8 p.m. in the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall of the Adrienne Arsht Center. Under the direction of jazz great WYNTON MARSALIS, the world-renowned ensemble performs repertoire across the full jazz spectrum – from the music’s New Orleans roots to bebop and today’s new works. As part of its winter/spring 2012 tour, the JLCO will showcase an extraordinary array of musical compositions written for big band by MARSALIS and members of the JLCO.
Tickets range from $25 to $150 and may be purchased through the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at www.arshtcenter.org.
“The rich American musical tradition called jazz has a giant name attached to it — Wynton Marsalis,” said M. John Richard, president and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center. “Marsalis is not only one of the most outstanding and multi-talented artists of his generation, but also widely recognized for his efforts to propel jazz to the forefront of American culture. We are thrilled to present this American jazz icon leading his phenomenal, swinging ensemble, which has become one of the most influential advocates of jazz in America and across the globe.”
WYNTON MARSALIS (Music Director, Trumpet) is the Artistic Director of JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER. He is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, educator and a leading advocate of American culture. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, he made his recording debut as a leader in 1982, and has recorded more than 30 jazz and classical recordings, which have won him nine GRAMMY® awards. WYNTON became the first jazz artist to be awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in music, for his oratorio Blood on the Fields, which was commissioned by JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER. By creating and performing an expansive range of brilliant new music for quartets to big bands, chamber music ensembles to symphony orchestras, tap dance to ballet, WYNTON has expanded the vocabulary for jazz and created a vital body of work that places him among the world’s finest musicians and composers. He helped lead the effort to construct JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER’s new home – Frederick P. Rose Hall – the first education, performance, and broadcast facility devoted to jazz, which opened in October 2004.
The world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra has become a favorite among audiences across the globe and is known for its stylistic authenticity and dynamic sense of swing that few big bands can match. The remarkably versatile orchestra, comprising 15 of today’s finest jazz soloists and ensemble players, was formed as Lincoln Center’s resident orchestra in 1988. In July 1996, due to its significant success, JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER was installed as a new constituent of Lincoln Center, equal in stature with the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, and New York City Ballet – a historic moment for jazz as an art form and Lincoln Center as a cultural institution. Featured in all aspects of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s programming, the orchestra performs and leads educational events in New York, across the U.S. and around the world; in concert halls; dance venues; jazz clubs; public parks; and with symphony orchestras; ballet troupes; and local students. Under the direction of Wynton Marsalis, the orchestra spends over a third of the year on tour, and can also be heard through its weekly national radio programs, global television broadcasts, and numerous recordings.
JAZZ ROOTS also features an in-depth educational partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools which will bring more than 900 music students to the Center this season for a unique behind-the-scenes experience, including a pre-concert sound check and a Q&A session with featured artists followed by a workshop with a local jazz expert that will highlight the music, the artistic process and the practical skills needed for a career in the arts.
Heralded by Quincy Jones as “the most important new concert and educational jazz series in America!” JAZZ ROOTS has the unique distinction of being the only major jazz series in America that has sold-out nearly every concert since its inception.
JAZZ ROOTS: A Larry Rosen Jazz Series is presented by TotalBank, a subsidiary of Banco Popular Espanol, S.A. WPBT Channel 2, WLRN 91.3 FM, and Capsule Media are media sponsors of JAZZ ROOTS.
This performance is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Florida Department of Cultural Affairs. Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis is sponsored in part by Steinway & Sons Miami.