June 2000

New York Beat
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By Nick Catalano

The most exciting jazz event in years has transpired in Gotham. On Tuesday, May 23, the press was invited to attend the unveiling of the design for Jazz at Lincoln Center's new home. The facility, to be completed in 2003, is simply breathtaking with bandstands posed against soaring malls of glass and a dance floor constructed under the stars and overlooking Central Park. Located on the former site of the old New York Coliseum, the new structure will be the world's first performing arts center designed specifically for jazz. In addition to an adaptable 1,300-seat theater, the building will contain a 600-seat performance atrium featuring a skylit dance floor with a bandstand set before a 50-foot high floor-to-ceiling glass wall offering views of the Manhattan skyline. The facility will also feature a nightclub - like 140-seat jazz café, a Jazz Hall of Fame and the Irene Diamond Education Center containing rehearsal studios and classrooms, all with a full recording/broadcasting/webcasting infrastructure. "The whole space is going to be dedicated to the feeling of swing, which is a feeling of extreme coordination," says Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. If you want to get an exciting preview of this marvelous new structure you can download images at http://www.jazzatlincolncenter.org/jalc/facility/index.html.

This year's JVC Jazz Festival features some terrific concept shows. On Saturday, June 17, a tribute to Robert Johnson takes place at Symphony Space. Performers include Honey Boy Edwards, John Hammond, and Chris Whitley. Also at Symphony Space on Wednesday, June 21, is the music of an important new voice in jazz: John Zorn. His group Masada with trumpeter Dave Douglas will appear. On Tuesday, June 20, Don Byron and his ensemble will headline a program dubbed "Music for Silent Films." This show is also slated for Symphony Space.

Two important vocalists visit Gotham in June. On Friday June 9, Diane Hubka will perform at Caviarteria with her quintet. On Saturday, June 10, Fran McIntyre will sing at St. Peter's Church. Also appearing on the date are bassist Larry Ridley and pianist Jerome Weidman. And, yours truly is off to Europe to promote my new biography of Clifford Brown, which is selling briskly. I'd like to thank the many readers who have e-mailed their experiences and tell everybody that I enjoy any and all responses. I'll be signing books at the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival in Wilmington, Delaware from June 7-11. If you're in the area drop by. If not, see you next month.