The Jazz Arts Group announced two new events as part of its 2020-2021 concert season and will be livestreamed from Columbus’ historic Lincoln Theatre on JAG’s new online performance platform.
“Projects such as these prove that both jazz and the spirit of collaboration are alive and well in Columbus even during uncertain times,” says Press Southworth III, JAG CEO. “We’re extremely pleased to work with partners who help us reach into the community to spread the message of jazz through concerts and educational activities. And with our new online performance platform – JAG TV – we’re bringing the in-concert experience right into people’s homes.”
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis will perform at 8 p.m. March 8. Hartzler Pianos is providing a Steinway Concert Grand Piano for the performance.
Under music director Wynton Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra performs a vast repertoire, from rare historic compositions to Jazz at Lincoln Center-commissioned works, including compositions and arrangements by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Mary Lou Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Charles Mingus, and many others.
Next up, the Jazz and The Struggle for Freedom concert will occur at 8 p.m. March 13.
Columbus Jazz Orchestra Artistic Director Byron Stripling will lead a top-flight rhythm section and singers, as well as a conversation with Michelle Alexander, the award-winning New York Times opinion writer and author of the best-selling The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.
Alexander will speak with Byron on issues related to race, diversity, civil liberties, and mass incarceration with Stripling and the ensemble adding musical counterpoint through jazz, blues, R&B and gospel styles.
"Denison is thrilled to partner with the Jazz Arts Group and PNC Arts Alive to present the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis to the Central Ohio community,” said Michael Morris, Director of the Vail Series at Denison University. “The opportunity for our students to view the concert and take part in a discussion with members of the ensemble is priceless. Exposure to working artists provides Denison students insights and networks in the arts community that enhance their own development as artists."
The Jazz Arts Group’s 2020-2021 season continues through May 23 with its Jazz at the Southern Theatre concert series, Jazz at the Lincoln Theatre series, PBJ & Jazz series for kids and families, and a host of educational programs. To learn more, go to www.jazzartsgroup.org or www.JAG.tv.