Of all our orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra is the closest to America in its brazen, sassy sound, and it has always been welcoming to American composers and conductors. So it was inevitable that when the new trumpet concerto from virtuoso jazz trumpeter, composer and band-leader Wynton Marsalis received its British premiere, it would be given by the LSO. It took place on Thursday night in front of a packed and rapt audience, with Britain’s star trumpeter Alison Balsom as soloist, and the orchestra’s soon-to-be Chief Conductor Antonio Pappano on the podium. A nine-time Grammy winner, M ..read more

With Simon Rattle having departed and plans for a new concert hall in the City of London long shelved, the London Symphony Orchestra could be forgiven for feeling down in the dumps. Instead, the announcement of its 2024-25 season showed all the signs of an organisation powering forwards. This will be the first season with Antonio Pappano as chief conductor. The line-up of concerts is impressive, not least because Pappano himself will be conducting a high proportion of them. But the announcement also included a new endowment for the young composers’ scheme and a proposed redevelopment of the or ..read more

Rather like the American quilts whose fabric embeds a story, Wynton Marsalis’s new Trumpet Concerto is a patchwork of the history of the instrument and some of its most celebrated exponents, from Louis Armstrong to Frenchman Maurice André. Over six movements, spanning 35 minutes, Marsalis has stitched together myriad styles and characteristics, jumping continents and name-checking composers and players en passant, with a metaphorical doffing of the “Derby hat” mute in tribute. Conceived for Michael Sachs, principal trumpet of the Cleveland Orchestra, and premiered last year by him, the multifa ..read more

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra signalled its balance of orchestral jazz spectacle and nightclub intimacy from the start. A fanfare of trumpets was answered by a sheen of reeds before a froth of swapped phrases unfolded over springy walking-bass swing. Ensemble muscle established, Wynton Marsalis emerged from the trumpet section, improvising intensely, chorus after chorus, with just the rhythm section accompanying him. Marsalis, a superb technician, welds classic jazz references into a modal jazz palette. As his solo unfolded, he injected the growls, slurs and blares of jazz’s formative y ..read more

There is no holding back Wynton Marsalis. As well as being a virtuoso trumpeter and leading jazz musician, he has thrown himself into composing major new works in the classical tradition, including an ambitious range of concertos and symphonies. His latest symphony, “The Jungle”, had its premiere in 2016 and this live recording was made in Melbourne in 2019. Following that, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is currently in the middle of its big-band European tour, taking the symphony to 16 cities, ending on July 9 at the Barbican in London. The “jungle” in the title of the Symphony No 4 is ..read more

There may be things that Wynton Marsalis does not know about the trumpet – but from the UK premiere of his new concerto, presented by Alison Balsom, the LSO and Antonio Pappano at the Barbican last night, it’s hard to imagine what. It opens with a fanfare: not from the Angel Gabriel, but from that original trumpeter, the elephant. From this opening call until its final return joyously surrounded by the sounds of nature, this six-movement ride through the Trumpet According to Marsalis takes in a succession of references to irresistible styles – blues, Mexican, waltz, the two-step – and to great ..read more

It would be a dull soul who didn’t enjoy at least some aspects of Wynton Marsalis’s new Trumpet Concerto, especially as its UK premiere was delivered with such panache by Alison Balsom and the London Symphony Orchestra. The music exudes joy and energy throughout its six movements. And the virtuosic demands it makes on the soloist — from the Nellie the Elephant trumpetings that open the piece, through enharmonic trills, flutter tonguing, glissandos and mercurial passagework to the deft application of what seemed like 50 different mutes — are hair-raising. As is the stamina required. For 35 minu ..read more

New York, NY (April 2, 2024) — Jazz at Lincoln Center and Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis proudly announce the organization’s 37th season of concerts and the 20th anniversary of the home of JALC, Frederick P. Rose Hall, colloquially known as The House of Swing, which houses Rose Theater, The Appel Room, and Dizzy’s Club. The 2024-25 season features JALC‘s customary mix of thematic concerts presenting the forward-thinking composers, virtuosic improvisers, and ingenious conceptualists that populate the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis in collaboration with not ..read more

Over the past few months, Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center have presented three programs of newly commissioned music by composers of varying connection to the organization. In October, there was “Musings of Cosmic Stuff” by Sherman Irby, a regular member of the reed section. In February, we heard “Usonian Structures” by Andy Farber, a composer, arranger, saxophonist, and bandleader with close ties to the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. This weekend, the Jalco is teaming with Kurt Rosenwinkel, a composer and guitarist who has performed with the orchestra only once before. This is a ..read more

Jazz at Lincoln Center announced that its signature fundraiser Gala event celebrates NEA Jazz Master, Kennedy Center honoree, multi-GRAMMY award-winner Tony Bennett and takes place Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the organization’s home, Frederick P. Rose Hall, located on Broadway at 60th Street, New York, New York. Proceeds from Celebrating Tony Bennett, a one-night-only benefit performance, support Jazz at Lincoln Center’s mission to entertain, enrich, and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education, and advocacy. This year’s Gala celebrates Tony Bennett’s un ..read more