The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis performs music by three original geniuses of jazz: Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, and Charlie Haden. With brilliantly unconventional approaches to composition, improvisation, and band-leading, each of these giants of jazz helped usher in a profound new era of musical freedom. Multi-Grammy Award–winning composer, arranger, saxophonist, and bandleader Ted Nash will serve as music director for the concert, utilizing the JLCO’s enormous stylistic range to reimagine their compositions in big-band form.

Not many jazz musicians can stage a career retrospective in their 50s, but six-time Grammy Award–winning trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard is a rare artist. In fact, this performance is set to be one of the most stylistically and thematically diverse shows of our entire concert season, with something here for everyone, featuring Blanchard’s swinging hard bop, dance collaborations, opera, showtunes, electric jazz, Spike Lee film scores, and more.

Rising-star vocalist Veronica Swift makes her Appel Room headlining debut, joined by special guest vocalist Sheila Jordan. In this year of the Charlie Parker centennial, it will be especially powerful to hear a master like Jordan, whom Parker called “the singer with the million-dollar ears,” sing with up-and-comer Veronica Swift and the polished young rhythm section of the Emmet Cohen Trio.

This hour-long Family Concert will explore the essential jazz concept and genre of “bebop,” with live performances of tunes by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and more. With music direction by trombonist Vincent Gardner, the JLCO will introduce audiences to a special style of music known for its attention-grabbing melodies, wild improvised solos, and all-around technical dazzlement.

Witness the world premiere of new music by Wynton Marsalis and members of the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. In collaboration with high-profile speakers and thinkers like Bryan Stevenson—a globally acclaimed activist, public interest lawyer, and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative—the band will perform new works considering large, international questions of freedom, justice, and hope. Additional special guests from multiple artistic disciplines will join the show to help the JLCO bring this important new body of work to life.

The SFJAZZ Collective—called “contemporary jazz’s premier all-star band” in 2019 by the New York Times—returns to Jazz at Lincoln Center for the first time in more than a decade. The group and vocalist Lizz Wright will perform innovative new takes on some of Joni Mitchell’s classic songs in addition to brand-new pieces inspired by Mitchell’s music and unique legacy.

The first half of this two-part concert features Walter Blanding’s The Happiness of Being, a musical reflection on the meaning of freedom, plus a selection of thought-provoking jazz classics on the subject of freedom. In the second half, Wynton Marsalis will perform new music with his small group—an extremely rare experience in Rose Theater!

Experience two of the most acclaimed meetings between instrumental jazz and poetry: Matt Wilson’s Honey & Salt, inspired by poet Carl Sandberg, and Helen Sung’s Sung with Words, created in collaboration with poet Dana Gioia. Both projects are anchored by hard-grooving bands featuring some of today’s best musicians, and anyone with an interest in either jazz or poetry will come away with a deeper appreciation of both mediums.

This tribute to NEA Jazz Master Mose Allison—a pianist, singer, and sharp musical storyteller known for his smooth blend of jazz and Delta blues—is part of an ongoing project co-led by vocalist/guitarist Richard Julian and bandleader John Chin. Joining the duo is the legendary Taj Mahal, with additional band members and special guests to be announced closer to the performance. Mose’s daughter, Amy Allison, will serve as host for the evening.

The Riley Mulherkar Big Band returns to The Appel Room with an exclusive new program exploring the wild sides of Chicago and Kansas City during the 1920s and 1930s. The show will feature live musical performances of songs by Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Mary Lou Williams, and many more, with narration by a special guest actor and an original script by five-time Emmy Award winner Geoffrey Ward.

Join multi-Grammy Award–winning pianist, singer, composer, and internationally top-selling recording artist Eliane Elias as she helps JALC continue a season-long exploration and celebration of freedom. The Brazilian-born Elias will split the performance into two distinct halves, reimagining the beloved music of Antonio Carlos Jobim and performing a collection of music written by composers exiled from Brazil during its years of dictatorship.

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis dedicates an evening to Irving Berlin, the immensely popular composer who was once called “the greatest songwriter that has ever lived” by George Gershwin. With classics like “God Bless America,” “I’ll Be Loving you Always,” and “Count Your Blessings,” the concert will feature one hit after another as the JLCO performs a series of Great American Songbook, Broadway, and Hollywood classics.

Trumpeter Clifford Brown, who passed at age 25, helped create some of the most stirring and enduring bebop and hard bop of all time. For tonight’s celebration of what would have been Brown’s 90th birthday, trumpet master and founding Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra member Sean Jones has assembled an elite lineup of musicians to pay tribute to the icon, including Kenny Barron, Ben Williams, Lewis Nash, Randy Brecker, Michael Rodriguez, Ambrose Akinmusire, Giveton Gelin, Summer Camargo, Ingrid Jensen, and Melissa Aldana.

In his return to The Appel Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra bassist Carlos Henriquez will present the world premiere of an exclusive new program entitled Freedom con Clave, featuring new and reinvented pieces on the topic of freedom. Named “the most important Latin jazz artist in New York City today” by New York Latin Culture, Henriquez is one of the most exciting bandleaders in town.

In the final Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis concert of the season, the JLCO will perform John Coltrane’s immortal A Love Supreme, followed by a number of Coltrane classics related to freedom. With music direction by saxophonist Camille Thurman, the band will re-introduce listeners to one of the most powerful pieces of music ever created.