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Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 3, 2015
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
announces its
2015-2016 JAZZ SEASON
JASON +
NEA Jazz Masters
Jimmy Cobb, Jimmy Heath, and Charles Lloyd
Joe Lovano Village Rhythms Band
Featuring Liberty Ellman, Michael Olatuja, Abdou Mboup, and Otis Brown III
Ambrose Akinmusire
World Premiere Commission
Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival
Butler, Bernstein & the Hot 9
Duke Ellington School of the Arts, New Washingtonians
with Guest Integriti Reeves
A Jazz New Year’s Eve: Diane Schuur and Strings,
Celebrating Sinatra’s Centenary
(WASHINGTON)—The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced its
2015-2016 jazz season, under the leadership of Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason
Moran. With more than 40 performances, the jazz season highlights a wide variety of traditional
and contemporary jazz in multiple settings, including two new series: JASON + and A Family
Affair, as well as ongoing programs in its three main venues—the Terrace Theater, the KC Jazz
Club, and the Crossroads Club. The upcoming season’s artist roster features established artists
such as Jimmy Cobb, Jimmy Heath, Charles Lloyd, Joe Lovano, Henry Butler, Steven Bernstein,
Carmen Lundy, and Joshua Redman; as well as fast-rising young talents like Ambrose
Akinmusire, Integriti Reeves, Marquis Hill, Matthew Whitaker, and Peter and Will Anderson.
~ more ~
“I’m thrilled to share the upcoming Jazz season at the Kennedy Center. Each season we
aim to showcase the breadth of our greatest and vibrant talents, from true masters to the newest
arrivals on the scene,” said Jason Moran. “Furthermore, I’m elated to be collaborating with so
many colleagues across a number of disciplines through JASON +. I look forward to connecting
with these artists and our D.C. area audiences over the course of this season, and the many
seasons beyond.”
JASON + showcases Moran in a number of cross-discipline collaborations and venues—
from his leading role in conceptualizing, curating, and performing in Finding a Line:
Skateboarding, Music, and Media on the Kennedy Center Plaza; to a performance of beloved
tunes by Gershwin with the NSO Pops and celebrated mezzo-soprano Alicia Hall Moran, Jason’s
wife, in the Concert Hall; to a dueling piano crossover concert with classical pianist Jeremy
Denk in the Terrace Theater, presented in collaboration with Washington Performing Arts; and
other creative partnerships across genres. With each collaboration, Jason showcases a new
approach for creating, performing, and programming art.
Another new series, titled A Family Affair, highlights the longstanding history of jazz
artists in the same family, either performing together or as legacy artists. Familial connections
between artists run deep in the jazz world, and exemplify the importance and value of tradition in
the genre. At the invitation of Jason Moran, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire presents a world
premiere piece centered also around the theme of “family,” commissioned by the Kennedy
Center for this upcoming season.
The season also includes annual favorites such as A Jazz New Year’s Eve, this year with
Diane Schuur and Strings, Celebrating Sinatra’s Centenary; NPR’s A Jazz Piano Christmas; the
21st Annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival; and Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead.
A full list of 2015-2016 Kennedy Center jazz performances follows.
JASON +
From the Kennedy Center Plaza to the grand stage of the Concert Hall, Jason + is a multidisciplinary series featuring Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran performing
in a variety of settings.
Jason + Skateboarding
Finding a Line: Skateboarding, Music, and Media
September 11-12, 2015
Kennedy Center Plaza
Improvisation abounds with tricks, flips, and riffs, as skateboarders glide on a half-pipe to
live music performed by celebrated pianist Jason Moran and his group The Bandwagon.
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See how skaters and musicians react improvisationally to each other in these disparate yet
complementary activities, resulting in an unusual spectacle on the Kennedy Center Plaza.
Jason + Jeremy
Jeremy Denk and Jason Moran
October 9, 2015
Terrace Theater
A Co-Presentation with Washington Performing Arts
Classical and Jazz collide as two pianists at the top of their respective genres face off
with dueling pianos on the Terrace Theater stage. Classical artist Jeremy Denk “is a
pianist you want to hear perform in whatever setting—in whatever combination,” says
The New York Times. While The Village Voice raves of Jason Moran that he “is like no
other pianist at work. His improvisations are dynamic, eruptive, keyed to the
compositions at hand.”
Jason + Ronald K. Brown
Ronald K. Brown with Special Guest Jason Moran & The Bandwagon
October 28-30, 2015
Eisenhower Theater
Jason Moran and choreographer Ronald K. Brown continue their recent artistic
partnership, which started in 2014, in this new dance/ jazz collaboration. The founder of
Evidence, A Dance Company (1985), Ronald K. Brown has a long history of
choreographing works for jazz legends, such as pianists Ahmad Jamal and Mary Lou
Williams. His upcoming collaboration with Jason Moran furthers his creative
relationships with that lineage of jazz pianists and his influence on the genre. His
celebrated work centers around modern dance experimentation, including the fusion of
movements and dances from Senegal, West Africa, and the Caribbean. His numerous
artistic collaborations include working with Mary Anthony Dance Theater, Jennifer
Muller/The Works, and Ballet Hispanico, among other artists and companies.
Jason + Mason
Jason Moran with Special Guest Mason Bates
March 5, 2016
Crossroads Club
Check out the electric-jazz vibe in the Crossroads Club as the space is energized with
pianist and Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran headlining a mini big band—including
musicians from the DC jazz scene. Joining them will be special guest, Kennedy Center
Composer-In-Residence Mason Bates, whose kinetic work for virtuoso percussionist and
jazz band will be complemented by pre-concert DJing of nu jazz by Bates’s alter persona,
DJ Masonic.
Jason + Charles Lloyd
Charles Lloyd and Jason Moran
April 29, 2016
Terrace Theater
NEA Jazz Master Charles Lloyd, the ever-inventive saxophonist who is “expansive in
his musical discourse yet without a wasted note” (Wall Street Journal), joins pianist
Jason Moran, with duet selections from their 2013 recording Hagar’s Song (ECM),
which contains a mixture of re-imagined standards, pop gems, and the title suite
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dedicated to Lloyd’s great-great-grandmother, who was sold into slavery in the early
1800s.
Jason + Gershwin
June 17-18, 2016
Concert Hall
Jason + Gershwin is indeed a celebration. The program marks the 80th anniversary of the
musical’s first run in Washington at the National Theatre in 1936. Jason Moran will be at
the keyboard for some of the most tuneful sounds ever written. Steven Reineke and the
NSO will then be joined by Norm Lewis and Alicia Hall Moran for selections from
Porgy and Bess. Lewis, who played Porgy in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess on
Broadway, and Hall Moran, who was Bess in the National Tour—including the weeklong engagement at the National Theatre in 2013—will bring some of the classic songs of
this beloved American icon to vivid life on June 17 and 18, 2016.
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Jazz has a deep legacy of familial ties—whether it’s father/son, mother/daughter, husband/wife,
or first cousin to first cousin—sometimes family members play together (the Heath Brothers, or
Bill Charlap/Renee Rosnes for instance), or sometimes they are legacy performers (such as John
Coltrane/Ravi Coltrane). In following this theme, the Kennedy Center has identified three groups
to showcase this season, the ‘family’ theme of which also echoes WNO’s 2016 presentation of
the family theme of the Ring Cycle by Richard Wagner.
E. J. and Marcus Strickland
October 10, 2015
KC Jazz Club
“The identical twin brothers Marcus and E. J. Strickland, from Miami, have spent most of
this decade carving a foothold on the New York jazz landscape. ….[B]oth are central
figures within the present wave of dynamic and open-minded post-bop” (The New York
Times). E. J. (drummer) and Marcus Strickland (saxophonist, and alumnus of the
Kennedy Center’s Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead career development program), have each
made names for themselves for performing with their own respective groups and with
others (E. J. with the likes of Ravi Coltrane and Russell Malone; Marcus with musicians
such as Roy Haynes and Jeff “Tain” Watts). In concert with each other, they show the
power of brotherly love with their acoustic group performing in its Kennedy Center
debut.
Dorado Schmitt and the Django Festival All-Stars
November 13, 2015
Terrace Theater
Showcasing the rhythmic, virtuosic intricacies of the Django Reinhardt guitar style of
“hot jazz,” the Django Festival All-Stars return to the Kennedy Center by popular
demand, featuring superstar Dorado Schmitt on guitar and violin, joined this year by his
teenage son Amati on guitar.
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The Whitfield Family Band
February 13, 2016
KC Jazz Club
Making its Kennedy Center debut, The Whitfield Family Band continues the jazz
tradition of familial, intergenerational performance. Joining bandleader, guitarist, and
father Mark Whitfield are his sons pianist Davis Whitfield and drummer Mark Whitfield,
Jr. (an alumnus of the Kennedy Center’s Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead career development
program). Rounding out the band, which will play selections from a new, as-yet-named
recording, is bassist Yasushi Nakamura. As father Mark Whitfield says, “We just try to
make a program of music that showcases our different influences and rocks the crowd.
We try to keep folks tappin’ their feet.” Celebrate with your Valentine a day early with
this not-to-be missed performance.
Peter and Will Anderson Quintet
April 22, 2016
KC Jazz Club
“Virtuosos on clarinet and saxophone” (The New York Times) and alumni of the Kennedy
Center’s Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead career development program, twin brothers Peter and
Will Anderson grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. Having attended Juilliard in New York
City, where they currently reside, they recently led several concerts at 59E59 Theaters,
including Le Jazz Hot, which was nominated for a 2014 Drama Desk Award. They also
appeared on screen in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. “[Their] saxophones and clarinets
elegantly converge, converse and engage in delightful counterpoint…” (Washington
Post). Part of Discovery Artists in the KC Jazz Club.
TERRACE THEATER / FAMILY THEATER
Butler, Bernstein & the Hot 9
November 7, 2015
Terrace Theater
With a large dose of Jelly Roll Morton and Fats Waller, the all-star band Hot 9 headlined
by New Orleans singer/pianist Henry Butler and trumpeter/arranger Steven Bernstein—
two students of early jazz with decidedly modern voice—perform selections from their
2014 recording Viper’s Drag (Impulse!). Of a performance at the Jazz Standard, The New
York Times said of the musicians that “Their collaboration is both historically aware and
fully prepared to cut loose….[They are] an ideal pairing; Mr. Bernstein and the Hot 9’s
New York City erudition and gusto worked to compound Mr. Butler’s encyclopedic New
Orleans flair.”
Dorado Schmitt and the Django Festival All-Stars
November 13, 2015
Terrace Theater
See description in A Family Affair section above.
Mack Avenue SuperBand featuring Gary Burton and Christian McBride
February 5, 2016
Terrace Theater
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The Mack Avenue SuperBand (Mack Avenue Records) has become synonymous with
stellar line-ups of established as well as up-and-coming jazz artists with pronounced
identities and original ideas. This year’s group features musical directors Gary Burton
(vibraphone) and Christian McBride (bass), with Tia Fuller (saxophone), Sean Jones
(trumpet), and McBride’s trio mates Ulysses Owens, Jr. (bass), and Christian Sands
(piano).
Stefon Harris and Sonic Creed
April 9, 2016
Family Theater
Returning to the Kennedy Center’s intimate Terrace Theater with his electric groove-base
band, Sonic Creed, vibraphonist Stefon Harris performs one concert that ties the
vibraphone histories of Roy Ayers and Bobby Hutcherson. As the Los Angeles Times
notes “...the progress in Harris’s work and ideas that has taken place over the last few
years simply affirms the original view of him as one of the significant jazz players (and,
now, composers) of the new century.” The band includes Stefon Harris, vibraphones and
marimba; James Francies, piano; Joshua Crumbly, bass; Jonathan Pinson, drums; Elena
Pinderhughes, flute and vocals; and Mike Moreno, guitar.
Ambrose Akinmusire
May 6, 2016
Terrace Theater
Jazz trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, “a thrilling young trumpeter and astute bandleader
[with a] unique spark in his playing” (The New Yorker), performs the world premiere of a
Kennedy Center commissioned work centered around the theme of “family.” The piece
augments his quintet with vocals and a string quartet, pushing his compositional pen to a
new terrain. The Blue Note Records artist, “Best Jazz Trumpet” in the DownBeat Critics
poll, and 2007 winner of the Thelonious Monk International Trumpet Competition
(Eisenhower Theater), returns to the Kennedy Center in his Terrace Theater debut,
following his 2009 appearance with the Discovery Series in the KC Jazz Club.
CROSSROADS CLUB
Once again, the Kennedy Center pumps up the jazz club experience in the Crossroad Club—a
performance space housed in the Center’s Atrium, featuring expansive standing room, a dance
floor, and high-top tables, with drinks available for purchase.
Revive Music: Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown Reimagined
October 24, 2015
Crossroads Club
Under the musical direction of The Roots’s pianist Ray Angry, the classic Sarah
Vaughan with Clifford Brown LP recording (Emarcy, 1964) is reimagined in a
contemporary setting with two trumpeters and two vocalists. The new interpretation
honors the 60th anniversary of the original recording and it premiered at Lincoln Center
in 2014 under the auspices of the Revive Music group. The original 1964 recording,
inducted to the Grammy® Hall of Fame in 1999, is widely lauded and is part of The
Penguin’s Guide to Jazz’s “Core Collection.”
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The Bad Plus Joshua Redman
April 15, 2016
Crossroads Club
When saxophonist Joshua Redman, longtime friend and collaborator of The Bad Plus—
Reid Anderson, Ethan Iverson, and David King—joined the trio as a special guest a few
years back, a brilliant collaboration was born. Redman’s melodic prowess blends
seamlessly with the “avant-garde populism” of the trio, pushing the boundaries of jazz
beyond all imagination. “It’s as though Redman is the long-lost fourth member of the
group, just waiting to be snapped snugly into place. Imagine if the Beatles had spent the
first decade of their career as a trio before adding Paul. It’s like that.” (Metroland) As
Opus One Review states, “Joshua Redman fits in with The Bad Plus like a hand in a glove
on the driving wheel of a high performance engine.”
Jason + Mason
Jason Moran with Special Guest Mason Bates
March 5, 2016
Crossroads Club
See description in Jason + section above.
KC JAZZ CLUB
The Kennedy Center’s KC Jazz Club continues its second decade of concerts by hot new talents
and seasoned jazz veterans in an intimate club setting, featuring cabaret seating and a light menu.
Jimmy Cobb Trio
October 2, 2015
KC Jazz Club
Jason Moran brings NEA Jazz Master drummer Jimmy Cobb, with Cobb’s trio of
guitarist Larry Coryell and bassist Buster Williams, to open the 2015-2016 jazz season in
style. Cobb is an iconic drummer and the last surviving player from Miles Davis’s Kind
of Blue. The DC native is supported by two of the best in the business, Williams and
Coryell.
Kurt Rosenwinkel
October 3, 2015
KC Jazz Club
There are artists who uphold what has already been defined in music and then there are
artists who do the defining. Guitarist and composer Kurt Rosenwinkel sits among the
trailblazers in the latter group. With a career spanning almost 25 years, collaborating with
dynamic peers such as Brad Mehldau, Brian Blade, and Joshua Redman; and esteemed
jazz elders such as Joe Henderson, Paul Motian and Gary Burton; Rosenwinkel
contributes a new language to the canon, from a perspective steeped in tradition. Or in the
words of Eric Clapton, “Kurt Rosenwinkel is a genius—he really is.” (Uncut Magazine)
Joanne Brackeen
October 16, 2015
KC Jazz Club
For decades, pianist Joanne Brackeen has defined modern piano jazz. Brackeen joined
Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the late 1960s and went on to play with notable artists
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such as Joe Henderson and Stan Getz, before establishing—to much acclaim—her own
trio and quartet. Of this perennially cutting-edge pianist and composer, the late Marian
McPartland said “Brackeen, like Picasso, broke convention, and she always likely will.”
Derrick Hodge
October 17, 2015
KC Jazz Club
Bassist Derrick Hodge returns to Kennedy Center following his appearance with the
Center’s all-star Blue Note at 75 Celebration in May 2014, performing works from a
new, currently untitled Blue Note Records release. Hodge works across genres,
performing with a wide array of artists such as Terence Blanchard, Mulgrew Miller,
Clark Terry and Donald Byrd; as well as Maxwell, Common, Q-Tip, Mos Def, Jill Scott,
and Kanye West. As a leader, Hodge firmly steps out as The New York Times states,
“with roots in gospel, jazz and R&B…bearing earnest intentions and a glow of
transparent optimism.”
Lynne Arriale, Carla Cook and Grace Kelly, Celebrating Great Women of Jazz:
Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, and Joni Mitchell
November 14, 2015
KC Jazz Club
In this one-night-only celebration, three dynamic jazz artists—Lynne Arriale (pianist),
Carla Cook (vocalist), and Grace Kelly (saxophonist)—honor the legacy of three women
who have served as their musical inspiration: Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, and Joni
Mitchell. This concert snapshots “where we were” and “where we are” as Lincoln,
Simone, and Mitchell all comment on the state of America as an evolving nation with a
stellar catalog of songs.
Carmen Lundy
November 20-21, 2015
KC Jazz Club
Vocalist and mainstay of Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Carmen Lundy returns to the KC
Jazz Club for the first time in nine years, in a two-night run as the headliner with her own
band. Having recently appeared in the Terrace Theater in the 2012 Mary Lou Williams
Jazz Festival, Washington, D.C. audiences understand why The Evening Standard
declares “In a world of pretenders, Carmen Lundy is a genuine Jazz Singer.”
Javon Jackson and Sax Appeal, featuring NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath
December 18-19, 2015
KC Jazz Club
Sax Appeal brings together a powerhouse line-up led by Javon Jackson, who is joined by
fellow saxophonists Jimmy Heath (NEA Jazz Master), Gary Bartz, and Donald Harrison,
with pianist George Cables, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Willie Jones III.
René Marie: I Wanna Be Evil, A Tribute to Eartha Kitt
January 29, 2016
KC Jazz Club
Vocalist René Marie brought down the house when she performed her tour de force I
Wanna Be Evil, A Tribute to Eartha Kitt project at the 2014 Mary Lou Williams Jazz
Festival (Terrace Theater). Back by popular demand, she performs this larger than life
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work, which was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 57th annual
GrammyAwards®, to the KC Jazz Club. She returns as headliner with her own group for
the first time since 2009.
Frank Wess Tribute
January 30, 2016
KC Jazz Club
The late saxophonist Frank Wess spent his formative years in Washington, D.C.,
exploring the city with his lifelong friend and fellow NEA Jazz Master, the late Dr. Billy
Taylor (Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz, 1994-2010). Paying tribute to Wess in
concert—in his birthday month of January—are members of what became his final
working band, including drummer Winard Harper, bassist Noriko Ueda, trumpeter Terell
Stafford, guitarist Ilya Lushtak, and pianist Michael Weiss. Scott Robinson will perform
on saxophone.
The Whitfield Family Band
February 13, 2016
KC Jazz Club
See description in A Family Affair section, above.
Joe Lovano Village Rhythms Band
Featuring Liberty Ellman, Michael Olatuja, Abdou Mboup, and Otis Brown III
February 19-20, 2016
KC Jazz Club
Returning to Kennedy Center following his star turn in the Kennedy Center’s Blue Note
at 75 Celebration (May 2014), saxophonist and Blue Note Records Artist Joe Lovano is
joined by guitarist Liberty Ellman, bassist Michael Olatuja, percussionist/African harpist
Abdou Mboup, and drummer Otis Brown III. For two nights, The Village Rhythms Band
showcases the linear relationship between West African music and jazz in a way that is
unique to Lovano’s voice—warm, sinuous, and constantly moving over an emphatic
pulse. “After 30 albums as a leader and at least 25 years in the spotlight, it’s clear Joe
Lovano is more than a dominant figure in jazz. He’s jazz’s answer to George Clooney or
Jeff Bridges, a vibrant player who delivers an award-worthy performance every time
out.” (Wall Street Journal)
Helen Sung Quintet
April 1, 2016
KC Jazz Club
The Helen Sung Quintet, led by the “marvelously imaginative” (All About Jazz) winner
of the 2007 Mary Lou Williams Jazz Piano Competition, arrives at the KC Jazz Club to
perform from her debut 2014 Concord Music Group release, Anthem for a New Day.
Having toured with the likes of Clark Terry, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Mingus
Big Band and Orchestra, Sung stands firmly in front as leader with Anthem. Of the
recording, she remarked to WBGO-FM (Newark), “Now I feel like it’s all starting to
come together: my playing, improvisation, writing and arranging. This one is who I am,
not who I’m working on becoming.”
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DISCOVERY ARTISTS IN THE KC JAZZ CLUB
As part of its mission to showcase new jazz talent, the Kennedy Center presents hot up-andcomers who are generating buzz and accolades everywhere they go. An initiative founded by the
late Dr. Billy Taylor (Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz, 1994-2010), these concerts treat
Washington audiences to tomorrow’s biggest stars.
Discovery Artist: Marquis Hill Blacktet
November 6, 2015
KC Jazz Club
Trumpeter Marquis Hill may very well be a familiar face to Kennedy Center jazz
regulars. The winner of the 2014 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International
Trumpet Competition, this Chicago native is a 2009 graduate of the Kennedy Center’s
Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead career development program, and was a performer with the
Chicago Jazz Orchestra’s December 2014 Terrace Theater and Kennedy Center Honors
Gala performances. The newly-signed Concord Music Group artist makes his KC Jazz
Club debut with his group Blacktet.
Discovery Artist: Fresh Cut Orchestra
December 12, 2015
KC Jazz Club
The Fresh Cut Orchestra is a 10-piece jazz ensemble from Philadelphia led by trumpeter
Josh Lawrence, bassist Jason Fraticelli, and drummer Anwar Marshall. FCO offers an
eclectic blend of straight ahead jazz, contemporary classical, progressive rock, hip hop,
and modern electronica. At the beginning of 2015, NPR asked the host of Jazz Night in
America, Christian McBride, for things he was excited about for 2015. He cited FCO’s
2015 release From the Vine (Ropeadope), selections of which the band performs in their
Kennedy Center debut. Of the FCO recording, McBride said, “I really like the way they
work with layers.”
Discovery Artist: Matthew Whitaker
February 12, 2016
KC Jazz Club
At age 14—jazz, gospel, and R&B organist Matthew Whitaker is not your typical
teenager. Whitaker, who happens to be blind, starting playing electric keyboard at age
three, and taught himself to play the B3 Organ at age nine. This fast-rising star from New
Jersey made a splash winning the Amateur Night at the Apollo Child Stars of Tomorrow
(2010). He has performed in two Apollo galas, one honoring Stevie Wonder. Having
performed with the likes of Roy Ayers, James Carter, Jon Batiste, and Christian McBride;
plus Ozomatli and The New York Pops Orchestra, Whitaker was officially endorsed and
inducted into the iconic Hammond Organ’s artist roster as the youngest artist ever in the
company’s 81-year history, by none other than his mentor and fellow Hammond Artist
Dr. Lonnie Smith. Whitaker’s debut album is being produced by Ray Chew.
Discovery Artist: Duke Ellington School of the Arts, New Washingtonians
with Guest Integriti Reeves
April 8, 2016
KC Jazz Club
Under the direction of saxophonist Davey Yarborough, the New Washingtonians is the
resident student jazz ensemble of Washington, DC’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts.
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Guest vocalist Integriti Reeves is not only a graduate of Ellington, but of Baltimore’s
Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and Howard University’s jazz studies
program. While at Howard, she performed on NBC’s The Sing Off. She also was in Betty
Carter’s Jazz Ahead career development program. In the hands of these talented, young,
jazz musicians, the future of D.C. and the national jazz scene looks bright, indeed.
Peter and Will Anderson Quintet
April 22, 2016
KC Jazz Club
See description in A Family Affair section, above.
ANNUAL FAVORITES
NPR’s A Jazz Piano Christmas
December 4, 2015
Terrace Theater
Join the Kennedy Center and NPR as top jazz pianists perform their favorite holiday songs. The
26th annual event will be recorded and edited for later radio broadcast and streaming online.
Artists and repertoire will be announced at a later date.
A Jazz New Year’s Eve: Diane Schuur and Strings, Celebrating Sinatra’s Centenary
December 31, 2015
Terrace Theater
Mark the new year by celebrating the centenary of Ole’ Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra (born
Dec. 12, 1915) with vocalist Diane Schuur, accompanied by jazz quartet and a full complement
of strings, with lush arrangements of Sinatra standards by Alan Broadbent, as featured on
Schuur’s 2014 release, I Remember You (With Love to Stan and Frank) (Jazzheads).
Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead
March 9-11, 2016
Millennium Stage
Now in its 18th year at the Kennedy Center, Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead—the Center’s
international jazz career development program—includes two weeks of intense training in
performance, composing, and arranging with established jazz artists. For the fourth consecutive
year, Jazz Ahead alumnus Jason Moran will direct this residency program for emerging artists.
The 2016 graduates will perform three free concerts on the Millennium Stage. Betty Carter’s
Jazz Ahead alumni include notable artists such as Aaron Parks, Lage Lund, Andre Hayward,
Marco Panascia, Ameen Saleem, Miri Ben-Ari, and Grace Kelly, among many others.
Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival
May 13-14, 2016
Terrace Theater
The 21st Annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival highlights the legacy of jazz pianist,
composer, educator and bandleader Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981) with two consecutive
nights of performances featuring some of today’s most exciting and respected jazz musicians.
May 13, 2016 brings the unique staged concert presentation of “A Conversation with Mary Lou
Williams.” Directed by the Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning actor S. Epatha Merkerson
(Law & Order, Lackawanna Blues) this evening will feature the music of Mary Lou Williams,
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interspersed with dialogue and vignettes of Williams’s life and work. Performed by pianist and
music director Geri Allen, vocalist Carmen Lundy as Mary Lou Williams, Kenny Davis (bass),
and Kassa Overall (drums), with a script written by Farah Jasmine Griffin, the work premiered at
Harlem Stage in 2014. A complete festival schedule and list of artists for May 14, 2016 will be
announced at a later date.
CHAMBER MUSIC
Vijay Iyer and the Brentano String Quartet
October 7, 2015
Terrace Theater
The Fortas Chamber Music series opens with 2013 MacArthur Fellow, Grammy®
nominee, and jazz nonpareil Vijay Iyer. His solo jazz set will be followed by the
Brentano String Quartet in Mendelssohn’s E-flat major quartet. The two then join forces
for Iyer’s Time, Place, Action, a compelling work defying categorization, indeed, as Iyer
does himself.
Jason + Jeremy
Jeremy Denk and Jason Moran
October 9, 2015
Terrace Theater
A Co-Presentation with Washington Performing Arts
See description in Jason + section, above.
Ambrose Akinmusire
May 6, 2016
Terrace Theater
See description in Terrace Theater / Family Theater section, above.
Additional artists and events will be announced at a later date.
ABOUT KENNEDY CENTER JAZZ
Kennedy Center Jazz, under the leadership of Artistic Director Jason Moran, presents legendary
artists who have helped shape the art form and artists who are emerging on the jazz scene in
hundreds of performances a year. The KC Jazz Club, launched in 2002 and dubbed “the future of
the jazz nightclub” by JazzTimes, hosts many of these artists in an intimate setting, while the
Crossroads Club (launched in 2012) is a nightclub dance venue. Annual Kennedy Center jazz
events include the professional development residency program for young artists, Betty Carter’s
Jazz Ahead; NPR’s A Jazz Piano Christmas, the Kennedy Center holiday tradition shared by
millions around the country via broadcast on NPR; and the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival,
created in 1996 by the late Dr. Billy Taylor (Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz, 1994–
2010). The Center’s jazz concerts are frequently recorded for future broadcast on NPR. Kennedy
Center Jazz has produced such recordings as Taylor Made at the Kennedy Center featuring Billy
Taylor’s original compositions; Up On the Roof: The Best of Kennedy Center Jazz on JazzSet,
Vol. 1, featuring performances recorded live at the Kennedy Center; and Walkin’ & Swingin’,
released in 2011, which features highlights from the 15th annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz
Festival.
2015-2016 Season Schedule – Jazz
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Performance Date
Venue
Show
September 11-12, 2015
Kennedy Center Plaza
Finding a Line: Skateboarding, Music,
and Media
October 2, 2015
KC Jazz Club
Jimmy Cobb Trio
October 3, 2015
KC Jazz Club
Kurt Rosenwinkel
October 7, 2015
Terrace Theater
Vijay Iyer and the Brentano String
Quartet
October 9, 2015
Terrace Theater
Jason + Jeremy
October 10, 2015
KC Jazz Club
E. J. and Marcus Strickland
October 16, 2015
KC Jazz Club
Joanne Brackeen
October 17, 2015
KC Jazz Club
Derrick Hodge
October 24, 2015
Crossroads Club
Revive Music: Sarah Vaughan with
Clifford Brown Reimagined
October 28-30, 2015
Eisenhower Theater
Jason + Ronald K. Brown
November 6, 2015
KC Jazz Club
Marquis Hill Blacktet
November 7, 2015
Terrace Theater
Butler, Bernstein & the Hot 9
November 13, 2015
Terrace Theater
Dorado Schmitt and Django Festival
All-Stars
November 14, 2015
KC Jazz Club
Lynne Arriale, Carla Cook, and Grace
Kelly, Celebrating Great Women of
Jazz: Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone,
and Joni Mitchell
November 20-21, 2015
KC Jazz Club
Carmen Lundy
December 4, 2015
Terrace Theater
NPR’s A Jazz Piano Christmas
December 12, 2015
KC Jazz Club
Fresh Cut Orchestra
December 18-19, 2015
KC Jazz Club
Javon Jackson, Sax Appeal
featuring NEA Jazz Master Jimmy
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Heath
December 31, 2015
Terrace Theater
A Jazz New Year’s Eve:
Diane Schuur and Strings,
Celebrating Sinatra’s Centenary
January 29, 2016
KC Jazz Club
René Marie: I Wanna Be Evil,
A Tribute to Eartha Kitt
January 30, 2016
KC Jazz Club
Frank Wess Tribute
February 5, 2016
Terrace Theater
Mack Avenue SuperBand
featuring Gary Burton and
Christian McBride
February 12, 2016
KC Jazz Club
Matthew Whitaker
February 13, 2016
KC Jazz Club
The Whitfield Family Band
February 19-20, 2016
KC Jazz Club
Joe Lovano Village Rhythms Band
Featuring Liberty Ellman,
Michael Olatuja, Abdou Mboup,
and Otis Brown III
March 5, 2016
Crossroads Club
Jason + Mason
March 9-11, 2016
Millennium Stage
Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead
April 1, 2016
KC Jazz Club
Helen Sung Quintet
April 8, 2016
KC Jazz Club
Duke Ellington School of the Arts,
New Washingtonians with Guest
Integriti Reeves
April 9, 2016
Family Theater
Stefon Harris and Sonic Creed
April 15, 2016
Crossroads Club
The Bad Plus Joshua Redman
April 22, 2016
KC Jazz Club
Peter and Will Anderson Quintet
April 29, 2016
Terrace Theater
Jason + Charles Lloyd
May 6, 2016
Terrace Theater
Ambrose Akinmusire
May 13-14, 2016
Terrace Theater
Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival
June 17-18, 2016
Concert Hall
Jason + Gershwin
Artists and performances are subject to change.
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TICKET INFORMATION
To receive subscription information by mail, call the Subscription Office at (202) 416-8500.
Subscriptions may be purchased in advance of general on sale dates. Groups of 20 or more may
contact Kennedy Center Group Sales at (202) 416-8400. Dates for sales of individual tickets will
be announced at a later date.
FUNDING CREDITS
Kennedy Center Jazz is made possible through the generous support of BET Networks.
Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead and Discovery Artists in the KC Jazz Club are made possible through
the generous support of The King-White Family Foundation and Dr. J. Douglas White; and The
Argus Fund.
Additional support for Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead is provided by the U.S. Department of
Education.
Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead and MyTix are part of the Rubenstein Arts Access Program, which is
generously funded by David and Alice Rubenstein.
David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of the NSO.
Additional support for the 2015-2016 NSO Pops Season is provided by
The Honorable Barbara H. Franklin and Mr. Wallace Barnes.
The Millennium Stage is brought to you by Target and the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott
Foundation, and was created and underwritten by James A. Johnson and Maxine Isaacs to make
the performing arts accessible to everyone in fulfillment of the Kennedy Center’s mission to its
community and the nation.
Additional funding is provided by The Isadore and Bertha Gudelsky Family Foundation, Inc.,
The Meredith Foundation, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Dr. Deborah Rose
and Dr. Jan A.J. Stolwijk, U.S. Department of Education, and the Millennium Stage Endowment
Fund.
The Millennium Stage Endowment Fund was made possible by James A. Johnson and Maxine
Isaacs, Fannie Mae Foundation, James V. Kimsey, Gilbert† and Jaylee† Mead, Mortgage
Bankers Association of America, and other anonymous gifts to secure the future of the
Millennium Stage.
Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the
generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory
Committee on the Arts.
For more information about the Kennedy Center, please visit kennedy-center.org.
Please visit facebook.com/kennedycenter for behind-the-scenes news, special offers, advance
notice of events and other related Kennedy Center Facebook pages.
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Follow @kencen on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news, offers and more.
Patrons 30 and under and active-duty members of the military are invited to join the Kennedy
Center’s MyTix program for special discount offers and chances to win free tickets.
For more information, visit www.kennedy-center.org/mytix.
# # #
PRESS CONTACT
Camille Cintrón Devlin
(202) 416-8447
[email protected]
TICKETS & INFORMATION
(202) 467-4600; (800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org
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