The Kimmel Cultural Campus presents the return of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Max Roach Centennial Celebration inside Verizon Hall on January 21, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Led by Wynton Marsalis, Managing and Artistic Director, and Executive Director Greg Scholl, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra celebrates one of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, Max Roach, the pioneering legend, master musician, and innovative bandleader who spanned a diverse range of styles that influenced generations to follow.
“Our Jazz Series showcases the ever-evolving nature of jazz and its enduring ability to reach
audiences of all generations,” said Matías Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of The Philadelphia
Orchestra and Kimmel Center. “This year’s event honors the incredible Max Roach, a pioneer in
using music to address the political and social issues of his time.”
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO), comprising 15 of the finest jazz soloists and
ensemble players today, has been the Jazz at Lincoln Center resident orchestra since 1988 and
spends over a third of the year on tour across the world. Featured in all aspects of Jazz at
Lincoln Center’s programming, this remarkably versatile orchestra performs and leads
educational events in New York, across the U.S. and around the globe; in concert halls; dance
venues; jazz clubs; public parks; and with symphony orchestras; ballet troupes; local students;
and an ever-expanding roster of guest artists.
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 current and former Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra members Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Ted Nash, Victor Giones, Sherman Irby, Chris Crenshaw, and Carlos Henriquez.
The great drummer, bandleader, and activist Max Roach (1924–2007) was a leader in the civil
rights and social justice movements whose no-limits virtuosity and endless musicality made him
a legend of modern jazz drumming. Having been an influential member of the Charlie Parker-Dizzy Gillespie Quintet, pioneering bebop, and performing alongside Miles Davis’ seminal Birth of the Cool album, the founder of the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet went on to make albums with his wife, the trailblazing singer and songwriter Abbey Lincoln.
The Jazz Season also includes Emmet Cohen Trio (March 14, 2024); Terence Blanchard: Fire Shut Up in My Bones (April 7, 2024); and Herb Alpert & Lani Hall (May 18, 2024).
Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999 or online at www.kimmelculturalcampus.org.
In-person ticket sales can be conducted daily from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the Academy of Music
Box Office, located at 240 S. Broad Street.
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