Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Septet with Wynton Marsalis: The Democracy! Suite

Sunday, November 15, 2020 3:00 p.m. ET
Online Concert followed by artist Q&A

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Septet's performance of "The Sounds of Democracy" aims to entertain, inspire, and uplift audiences with the full vigor, vision, and depth of America’s music. Led by trumpeter/composer Wynton Marsalis and featuring seven of jazz's finest soloists, the concert's unique repertoire celebrates jazz's embodiment of freedom and democracy.
 
The evening will feature the premiere of The Democracy Suite, a new Marsalis composition written during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis as a response to the political, social, and economic struggles facing our nation. The Democracy Suite is a swinging and stimulating instrumental rumination on the issues that have recently dominated our lives as well as the beauty that could emerge from a collective effort to create a better future.

The Septet features Wynton Marsalis, trumpet/music director; Elliot Mason, trombone; Ted Nash, alto saxophone and flute; Walter Blanding, tenor and soprano saxophones; Dan Nimmer, piano; Carlos Henriquez, bass; and Obed Calvaire, drums.

After the streaming of the concert, audience are encouraged to stick around for a live post-show Q&A with Wynton Marsalis.

This concert was filmed on September 27, 2020 at Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City in accordance with the New York State Department of Health Interim Guidance on Media Production.

Jazz as a Tool of Liberation


Leading up to the digital concert, a public six-session course on “Jazz as a Tool of Liberation” will be offered through UMass Amherst’s University Without Walls. The class will be taught by Seton Hawkins, director of public programs and education resources at Jazz at Lincoln Center. The course runs twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. for the three weeks leading up to the JLCO concert. Registrations have closed for this course. If you are registered, you will receive access instructions via email.  The schedule is as follows (content subject to change):

Monday, October 26: Louis Armstrong/1920s
Wednesday, October 28: Billie Holiday/1930s
Monday, November 2: Duke Ellington/1940s
Wednesday, November 4: Charlie Parker/1940s
Monday, November 9: John Coltrane/1950s
Wednesday, November 11: Nina Simone/1960s

 

This performance is part of our Reimagine Residencies Series, a new residency program working with nationally-recognized artists, and dedicated to addressing contemporary social issues through performance, education, and outreach activities. More deeply, artists are asked what it means to be engaged with their art form as well as community and the public in this historical moment, and to allow that inquiry to serve as the impetus behind their residency.  The Reimagine Residences Series is supported by Applewood & Loomis Communities.