The season, which will be outlined on jalc.org, is not being promoted around a single instrument, artist or style, as in some previous years. But in an interview last week, Mr. Marsalis called it “our year of the piano,” pointing to not only the Williams, Waller, Evans and Basie shows, but also to concerts based on music by Herbie Hancock, Marcus Roberts and Horace Silver.
Other nonrepertory concerts will include the vocalist Dianne Reeves (Oct. 30-31), the saxophonist Maceo Parker (Nov. 13-14), the gospel singer Kim Burrell (Dec. 11-12), the Manhattan Transfer with Jon Hendricks (Feb. 12-13), the singer Kurt Elling with the accordionist Richard Galliano (March 14-15) and the jazz-fusion band the Yellowjackets (April 29-May 1, 2010).
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s programming schedule — including its ambitious educational elements — has typically expanded annually, but because of the economic downturn, this season’s number of events has remained about the same as last year, Mr. Marsalis said. A more noticeable development is the increase in concerts with musical direction from outside the organization or from members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, suggesting a gradual loosening of Mr. Marsalis’s grip on the programming of individual shows.
From the inside, musical directors next season include the saxophonist Wessell Anderson, the bassist Carlos Henriquez, the saxophonist Ted Nash and the drummer Ali Jackson Jr.; from outside the institution, they include the drummer Kenny Washington, the pianist Monty Alexander, the composer and arranger Andy Farber, the guitarist Mario Adnet and the bassist and composer Pablo Aslan.
The organization has suffered from the economic crisis. Ticket sales for its two concert halls (excluding the nightclub Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola) fell precipitously in October and November. Now, even after an uptick, the year’s current average for ticket sales per show is down about 10 percent from last year’s total average, said Adrian Ellis, executive director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. And Cadillac, for three years the major automotive sponsor for concerts at Rose Hall, withdrew its mid-six-figure sponsorship late last year because of its own financial issues.
Mr. Ellis added that the institution was seeking another automotive sponsor but that its financial support would be carried on by a spread of corporations, foundations and individuals. Its revenues include State Department grants for tours, income from rentals of its concert halls, and National Endowment for the Arts support.
Mr. Ellis and Mr. Marsalis also discussed imminent plans for making much of the organization’s 23 years of concerts available for purchase online.
“We have to be intelligent in everything we do,” Mr. Marsalis said. “We need to get deeper into our vision and our mission. Let’s do what we have to do to ride out this storm.”
For more information contact All About Jazz.
