Wynton Marsalis official web site

On one special evening at Jazz at Lincoln Center, two musical icons, Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis, along with the stunning songstress Norah Jones, collectively brought their unique musical perspective to 15 of legendary Ray Charles’ hits such as “Hallelujah I Love Her So,” “Hit the Road Jack” and “Unchain My Heart.” Recorded in High Definition by HDNet, WILLIE NELSON AND WYNTON MARSALIS PLAY THE MUSIC OF RAY CHARLES gives music lovers a front-row seat to the sold-out concert, including never-before-seen rehearsal footage, interviews and photos. WILLIE NELSON AND WYNTON MARSALIS PLAY THE MUSIC OF RAY CHARLES can be seen in select cinemas from October 15 and arrives in-stores on both Blu-Ray and DVD on October 20 from A&E Home Entertainment for $19.95 (SD) and $29.95 (BD).

Read more »

Toddlers filled a classroom one recent Saturday morning inside Frederick P. Rose Hall. Most sat in a circle brandishing toy shakers, some wandered off in the stagger of the newly walking. Welcome to WeBop!, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s program for children 8 months to 5 years old, at which singer Patrice Turner cleverly fit the words to the children’s book “Goodnight, Moon” into John Coltrane’s “Central Park West.”

Read more »

Check out an excerpt from Wynton’s “Jazz Is Life Music” :

“In the past thirty years, I have had the good fortune to teach thousands of bands and an incalculable number of students in diverse settings. Though each situation is unique, students share many of the same concerns in pursuit of a more profound relationship with music and with life through music. Every style of music presents distinct challenges which demand the development of different skills. Jazz requires creativity, communication and community.

Read more »

“With Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life, I hope to reach a new audience with the positive message of America’s greatest music, to show how great musicians demonstrate on the bandstand a mutual respect and trust that can alter your outlook on the world and enrich every aspect of your life–from individual creativity and personal relationships to conducting business and understanding what it means to be American in the most modern sense.”

- Wynton

Published by Random House and released in September 2009, Wynton Marsalis collaborated with historian and writer Geoffery C. Ward to explore jazz and how an understanding of it can lead to a deeper, more original ways of living.
Available on Amazon

Enter to win an autographed copy of Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change your Life. Current Wynton Marsalis e-newsletter subscribers will be automatically entered into the monthly giveaway. Good luck!
Congratulations to Greg from Durango, CO, the August e-newsletter winner of an autographed The Marciac Suite CD.

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis announces a fall tour that will take the world renowned big band through Canada and the Western U.S. Stops include Banff, Monterey, Los Angeles, Eugene and Seattle.

Read more »

In celebration of Mary Lou’s 100th birthday, Jazz at Lincoln Center and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis are looking for a girl to swing our band, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO). We’re searching the entire country for a female jazz pianist age 15-or-under to perform one song with the orchestra as part of the Jazz for Young People concert Who is Mary Lou Williams? on November 6 and 7, 2009.
For more information, visit jalc.org/marylou

Music Director Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will perform the world premiere of American Symphony by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer-musician Wynton Marsalis. One of Mr. Marsalis’s goals as a composer has been to write a new work exclusively for symphony orchestra. American Symphony is that work. Using six movements — March, Spiritual, Danzón, Ragtime, Blues and 4/4 Swing — the work displays a wide range of sound techniques. Marsalis creatively utilizes pointillism, extreme registers and the juxtaposition of blocks of sound against a swinging cymbal, among other means, to achieve a sonic world of vibrant orchestral colors steeped in some of America’s richest musical traditions. The new work is an ASO co-commission with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with generous support from the National Black Arts Festival.

November 19: 8pm
November 20: 8pm
November 22: 3pm
All concerts will be performed at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, GA

Click here to purchase tickets or call (404) 733-5000

Watch Wynton discuss the movements of Blues Symphony on Facebook

Those fans who gathered in large numbers under Marciac’s great jazz tent in France last summer came to hear celebrated trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and the much-loved accordionist Richard Galliano unveil their collaboration on the music of Billie Holiday and Edith Piaf.  Recorded live at the 2008 Marciac Jazz Festival, the music was contemporary yet timeless, with each song exploring the travails of living.

Read more »