What to Expect
•Some of the best young musicians on the jazz scene take the stage with Wynton Marsalis, Rodney Whitaker, Wycliffe Gordon, and Dan Block to perform the music of Duke Ellington.

Wynton Marsalis, bassist Rodney Whitaker, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, and saxophonist Dan Block lead an all-Ellington showcase with a group of young rising jazz stars. The band includes 14 of the best young professionals on the scene, many of whom came up through our Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band program and love this music as much as our audiences. Ellington’s music is so elegant, so dynamic, so intimately detailed that it takes a group of musicians with a genuine collaborative spark to fully bring out its inner magic, and that is what you will experience tonight.

This concert explores decades of Duke’s music, including his earliest hits, Hollywood charts, swinging blues numbers, pieces inspired by his international travels, and portions of his later suites. It’s an eclectic repertoire and yet unmistakably Ellington through and through—always enjoyable upon first listen, but teeming with brilliant details that continue to reveal themselves over time. This vital music is at the core of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and you’re guaranteed to enjoy its timeless genius when the next generation of jazz leaders bring their fresh energy to it.

Free pre-concert discussion nightly at 7pm.