Wynton Marsalis and the 2009 JLCO Summer Tour Dates

This summer, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis travels throughout Europe and some of the most celebrated jazz festivals in the world: the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands; Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy and the Vitoria Jazz Festival in Vitoria, Spain.
While in Rotterdam, Vitoria and London, the world renowned big band will perform with Spanish musician Chano Dominguez…

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Transcript of Wynton’s entire Northwestern Commencement speech

Even though the rain kept me from giving the entire speech I had prepared at Northwestern’s commencement, I wanted to make the full transcript available to you all. Click here to download a PDF of the speech

President Obama Talks About Jazz

Check out this clip of President Obama talking about jazz around the 2:35 mark. It features my recent trip to the White House.

Our brother Ellis “commanded” the stage

The Duke Ellington Jazz Festival presented my father with a lifetime achievement award on Monday night. The festival touches all corners of Washington, DC from the spacious outside mall to small neighborhood restaurants and clubs and the venerated concert stages of the Kennedy Center. Almost our entire family was there, all the brothers, wives and children.

We were determined to put aside all familial dysfunction and make a concerted effort to show how much genuine love and respect we have for both our parents. The concert went much better than it had any right to. We told stories about growing up and all the funny and crazy things that happened or were said. We played tunes that were important to our father at different times in his life. Jason whistled all kinds of fantastic perfectly in tune, tonal arabesques’ on “Donna Lee”.

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White House Music Series Begins with Jazz Hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama

First Lady Michelle Obama will introduce the White House Music Series which will feature artists of all ages who will perform, educate and interact with young people. The series will begin with the Jazz Studio on Monday followed by country and classical music events this summer and fall.
On Monday, June 15th, 150 students will participate in classes led by jazz experts including Wynton, Branford and Ellis Marsalis. They will then attend a concert featuring jazz greats, Paquito D’Rivera and child protégés Tony Madruga with his ensemble…

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Submit your application for JALC’s Rhythm Road and AMA programs

Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC ) and The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs are pleased to collaborate for a fifth year on The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad. JALC is now accepting band applications for the 2009-2010 program.
American music groups from throughout the United States specializing in jazz, urban/hip hop and other American roots music including bluegrass, blues, Cajun, country, gospel and zydeco are invited to apply for the opportunity to travel abroad, particularly to countries not frequently visited by American musicians, to increase cross-cultural understanding.

Wynton received an honorary doctorate at Harvard University

With nine extraordinary candidates whose diversity of achievement extend from an original vision of life expressed in film to the expression of law as a primary manifestation of integrity to a diverse and poignant literary style which highlights integrity through the expiration of moral and cultural decline to the engineering of human organs to insightful interpretations of our collective human mythology to what it actually means to mother.

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New Monette trumpet for Wynton

Master trumpet maker, Dave Monette, came by a few weeks ago to give Wynton a new horn, the PRANA 3 STC Bb. It took him and his team over 250 hours to make and the sound is brilliant. I can’t wait to get out and gig with it!
Click here to see pictures of the new horn and a clip of Monette presenting the horn to Wynton