NICHOLAS PAYTON HOSTS JAZZ ON FILM PROGRAM ON LOUIS AMSTRONG - NOVEMBER 29

As part of its 13-month 100 Years of Armstrong celebration, Jazz at Lincoln Center (J@LC) welcomes acclaimed New Orleans trumpeter Nicholas Payton as the host of Jazz on Film: “Louis Armstrong on Film," on Wednesday, November 29, 2000 at 8pm in the Walter Reade Theater. In this program, Mr. Payton - who is hailed as one of the most worthy heirs to Armstrong's throne - will narrate a presentation of Satchmo's legacy by examining his numerous appearances on film, which include major features, shorts, documentaries, live concert footage, and more. These various appearances were instrumental in spreading Armstrong's iconic image across the globe, making him one of the most recognized and beloved entertainers of the 20th century.

Tickets at $15 are available at the box offices of Walter Reade Theater and Alice Tully Hall, by calling CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500, via www.jazzatlincolncenter.org, or via www.filmlinc.com. Jazz on Film is co-produced with The Film Society of Lincoln Center. This program is make possible in part by a gift from the Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf Foundation

This event also serves as a prelude to December 2000, in which J@LC will “Spend the Season with Satchmo" as all of its programming during the month - including concerts, the December 13 nationwide broadcast of Live From Lincoln Center, lectures and a Jazz For Young PeopleSM program - will revolve around his music.

The remaining Jazz on Film programs of the 2000-01 season, all held in the Walter Reade Theater at 8pm, are:

• “The Modern Jazz Quartet on Film" - Wednesday, January 10, 2001
  
  Hosted by bassist Percy Heath
• “Jazz Vocalists on Film" - Monday, February 12, 2001
  
  Hosted by singer Dianne Reeves (featured in a Valentine's Day concert with a string ensemble two days later in Avery Fisher Hall)
• “Documenting Jazz" - Wednesday, April 18, 2001
  
  Hosted by filmmaker Ken Burns
  
  

Nicholas Payton began playing the trumpet at age 4, when he asked for the instrument as a Christmas present. With the influence and assistance of his mother, Maria (a classical pianist), and his father Walter (a renowned New Orleans bassist), he advanced quickly. By age 9, he was accompanying his father on gigs with the Young Tuxedo Band. He started playing with the All-Star-Jazz-Band at age 12; it was at about this time that Wynton Marsalis first heard Mr. Payton play via an phone audition. Mr. Payton enrolled at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the school that nurtured the talents of Terence Blanchard, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, and Donald Harrison. After graduating, Mr. Payton went on to study with Ellis Marsalis at the University of New Orleans. By this time, he was already getting calls from bandleaders around the country, including Clark Terry and Marcus Roberts. In 1994, he toured Europe with Jazz Futures II, and also toured and recorded with drummer Elvin Jones as his musical director. Mr. Payton has recorded four acclaimed albums as a leader, including the most recent, Nick@Night. He has been a regular performer in Jazz at Lincoln Center events since 1991, including tours and recordings with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and serving as Guest Music Director for the “Rockin' in Rhythm" 1999-2000 Season Opening Night and Fall 1999 Tour.

Now in its tenth year, Jazz at Lincoln Center is the world's largest not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to jazz. With the world-renowned Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and a comprehensive array of guest artists, Jazz at Lincoln Center advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of education, performance and broadcast events for audiences of all ages. These productions include concerts, national and international tours, residencies, a weekly national radio program, television broadcasts, recordings, publications, an annual high school jazz band competition and festival, a band director academy, a jazz appreciation curriculum for children, advanced training through the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies, music publishing, children's concerts, lectures, film programs, and student and educator workshops. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis and Executive Producer & Director Rob Gibson, Jazz at Lincoln Center will produce more than 450 events during its 2000-01 season. Currently, Jazz at Lincoln Center is building its new home - Frederick P. Rose Hall - the first-ever education, performance, and broadcast facility devoted to jazz, slated to open in the fall of 2003.

For more information please visit www.jazzatlincolncenter.org