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Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra

Dedicated to preserving America's jazz heritage, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra is a key component of New York City's Jazz at Lincoln Center program, serving as the highly versatile house band for a wide variety of concert events. The 15-piece orchestra maintains a heavy touring schedule, devoting around six months annually to appearances around the U.S. and at prominent international venues. Additionally, the LJCO participates in many Jazz at Lincoln Center educational events (for both advanced and younger students), and records occasionally, both as their own entity and as a backing group for artistic director Wynton Marsalis. The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra was founded in 1988 and in its early years was often conducted by David Berger. Marsalis was hired as the group's artistic director in 1991 and under his influence the group's historical bent blossomed, paying particular attention to the Duke Ellington oeuvre. Indeed, their annual Ellington concerts have become cultural staples for many New Yorkers, and the group's first recording — made under Berger's direction — was 1992's Portraits of Ellington. Still, the LJCO doesn't treat jazz as a museum exhibit; Jazz at Lincoln Center has commissioned a number of new, in-the-tradition works specifically for the group. Over the course of the '90s, the LJCO augmented their regular concert, touring, and educational activities with international television appearances and special collaborative performances with various symphony orchestras. In the late '90s, the group began to appear more frequently on record as Marsalis began using them for ambitiously expansive projects such as 1997's Jump Start and Jazz and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Blood on the Fields, and 1999's Sweet Release and Ghost Story and Big Train. Also in 1999, the LJCO released another Ellington-oriented album, Live in Swing City: Swingin' With the Duke.

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Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
154

Recording

Vision Quest: Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Release New Album Inspired by Painters

Vision Quest: Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Release New Album Inspired by Painters

Source: All About Jazz @ Spinner

By Tad Hendrickson

Jazz at Lincoln Center recently remounted its 'Jazz and Art' program to celebrate the release of 'Portrait in Seven Shades',' which features a long-form composition in seven parts composed by sax virtuoso Ted Nash. On the first night of the run, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra played the music in its entirety, with Nash introducing the tunes and talking about the art and the artists that inspired it. As the band played, the art by Van Gogh, ...

127

Event

Los Angeles: Central Avenue Breakdown Featuring Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Gerald Wilson and Plas Johnson

Los Angeles: Central Avenue Breakdown Featuring Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Gerald Wilson and Plas Johnson

Source: All About Jazz

The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis Performs in

LOS ANGELES: CENTRAL AVENUE BREAKDOWN Celebrating Jazz from Los Angeles at Frederick P. Rose Hall, New York City! February 23, 24 & 25, 2006, Rose Theater, 8pm Concert Features L.A. Greats Gerald Wilson and Plas Johnson

Gerald Wilson Featured in Master Class: From Bebop to Big Band February 25, 2006, Irene Diamond Education Center, 2pm

Event: Los Angeles: Central Avenue Breakdown Featuring Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Gerald Wilson and ...

78

Performance / Tour

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Bring Holiday Jazz To The East Coast

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Bring Holiday Jazz To The East Coast

Source: All About Jazz

The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis tours the Eastern U.S. with a special repertoire for the 2005 holiday season. For the first half of the concerts, the world-renowned big band will perform selections from Duke Ellington's “The Nutcracker, “ followed by a repertoire of jazz selections and holiday songbook favorites for the second half. The “Ellington Nutcracker Tour" will commence on December 9 in Zeiterion Theatre in New Bedford, Massachusetts and will take the band to Brookville, New ...

107

Music Industry

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Makes Waves In The U.K.

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Makes Waves In The U.K.

Source: All About Jazz

NY1 News October 18, 2005

Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra may hang their hats inside the House of Swing at Columbus Circle, but they're also musical ambassadors around the world. NY1's Stephanie Simon tagged along on the orchestra's recent tour of Great Britain, and found out that life on the road isn't easy – no matter how well you play.

“You miss your family and your kids," Winton Marsalis says of life on the road. ...

107

Performance / Tour

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Makes Waves In The U.K.

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Makes Waves In The U.K.

Source: All About Jazz

Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra may hang their hats inside the House of Swing at Columbus Circle, but they're also musical ambassadors around the world. NY1's Stephanie Simon tagged along on the orchestra's recent tour of Great Britain, and found out that life on the road isn't easy – no matter how well you play. “You miss your family and your kids," Winton Marsalis says of life on the road. “There are long drives everyday; concerts finish ...

108

Performance / Tour

Sean Jones Joins Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis

Sean Jones Joins Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis

Source: All About Jazz

Twenty-Six-Year Old Jones Fills Lead Trumpet Chair As He Puts Finishing Touches On Second CD Release for Mack Avenue Records

After six months of performances with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis, Sean Jones has announced that he has decided to accept the esteemed ensemble’s offer to become a permanent member as lead trumpet player.

“It is a great honor and privilege to perform with musicians of this caliber and diversity. I have learned a great deal from ...

116

Performance / Tour

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Performs the Music of Mary Lou Williams

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Performs the Music of Mary Lou Williams

Source: All About Jazz


101

Event

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis Celebrates the Music Of Ornette Coleman, February 19 & February 21

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis Celebrates the Music Of Ornette Coleman, February 19 & February 21

Source: All About Jazz


61

Performance / Tour

Rhythm Is Our Business Tour: Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis Central And Southern United States March 25 - April 24

Rhythm Is Our Business Tour: Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis Central And Southern United States March 25 - April 24

Source: All About Jazz


81

Performance / Tour

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis Celebrates 10th Year Of Touring In 2002-03

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis Celebrates 10th Year Of Touring In 2002-03

Source: All About Jazz

The LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA (LCJO) WITH WYNTON MARSALIS will celebrate its tenth anniversary of touring with a major national and international tour schedule that begins in late September 2002 and ends in April 2003. The world-renowned resident orchestra of Jazz at Lincoln Center (J@LC) played its first tour date on September 12, 1992 in Denville, NJ. Since then, the band has traveled to more than 250 cities in 30 countries on 5 continents, reaching millions of people with performances ...

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