Jazz at Lincoln Center announces the lineup for its fourth annual Monk Festival, October 25–27. The three-day festival will feature performances of, and inspired by, Monk’s 72 brilliant compositions in all of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s performance spaces: The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Plays Monk in Rose Theater, Monk’s Dream in The Appel Room, and Mostly Monk with Mike LeDonne Trio in Dizzy’s Club Coca- Cola.
The Jazz at Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis will feature Monk’s music arranged by members of the band as well as new arrangements written exclusively for this event by three of jazz’s most promising young composers – 15 year old Esteban Castro, currently a Jazz and Classical Music double major at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege on a Nana’s Way Scholarship, as well as a 10th grader at the Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts at Bergen County Academies in New Jersey; and Joe Block and Matt Wong, both winners of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington Composition/Arrangement competition. All three young composers will make their Rose Theater debuts as they conduct the world-famous Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.
In The Appel Room, recent Juilliard graduate and bassist Russell Hall will make his mainstage headlining debut, leading an international and diverse group of living legends and rising talent – the esteemed NEA Jazz Master Barry Harris, also a friend of Thelonious Monk, will join Mathis Picard on piano; drummers Jeff “Tain” Watts, Kyle Poole, Savannah Harris, and Evan Sherman; vibraphonist Joel Ross; vocalist Vuyo Sotashe; trumpeters Bruce Harris and Mark Kavuma; saxophonists Ruben Fox and Julian Lee; guitarist Gabe Schnider; and tap dancer Michela Marino Lerman.
In addition to the musical performances, a special pre-performance lecture series will explore Thelonious Monk’s fashion style with guest panelists. Items including Monk’s iconic hats and clothing will be presented for the public during the Monk Festival. The free pre-concert discussions will take place at 7pm, before each Rose Theater performance, in the Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman Studio, located in the Irene Diamond Education Center at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Addition pre-performance lectures will take place at 6pm and 8:30pm, October 26-27, an hour before The Appel Room performances.
In Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, pianist and organist Mike LeDonne will lead a trio featuring Peter Washington on bass and Lewis Nash on drums in Mostly Monk: Mike LeDonne Trio, October 26–27. LeDonne is a modern master who has worked with Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, and more, many of them top collaborators with Monk. LeDonne will draw upon that musical proximity and his own musicianship in this unique “Mostly Monk” program.
The Monk Festival will take place throughout Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, located on Broadway at 60th Street in New York City. For additional information and to purchase tickets, visit jazz.org/monkfest.
MONK FESTIVAL 2018 LINEUP:
THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA PLAYS MONK
October 25–27 | 8pm | Rose Theater
Thelonious Monk’s music is playful, profound, and universally loved. Its deceptive simplicity unites musicians of all backgrounds and offers endless opportunity for interpretation and improvisation. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis has been performing a steadily growing Thelonious Monk repertoire since its inception (now totaling more than 40 songs), and the JLCO will one day have arrangements of all 72 original Monk compositions. In addition to new versions penned by renowned members of the JLCO, audiences will also hear arrangements written exclusively for this event by some of jazz’s most promising young composers – 15 year old Esteban Castro, presently attending the Manhattan School of Music Precollege on a Nana’s Way Scholarship as a Jazz and Classical Music double major, as well as a 10th grade student at the Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts at Bergen County Academies in New Jersey; and Joe Block and Matt Wong, who won Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington Composition/Arrangement competition when they were in high school. Monk himself was only 18 years old when he wrote the masterpiece “’Round Midnight,” and this performance is a chance to hear the next generation’s brightest minds reinterpret his music for a band that can play anything.
Free pre-concert discussion nightly at 7pm.
MONK’S DREAM
October 26–27 | 7pm & 9:30pm | The Appel Room
In this one-of-a-kind Thelonious Monk celebration, bassist Russell Hall leads a band as eclectic and full of life as Monk’s music. These young musicians hail from Jamaica, New Orleans, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Hawaii, South Africa, France, and England, but they are united in jazz as they take over the New York City jazz scene. These performances will be particularly special, as living legend and Monk’s close personal friend Barry Harris joins on piano alongside Mathis Picard and Emmet Cohen, and one of the best drummers of our time, jazz veteran Jeff “Tain” Watts, shares the stage with rising star drummers Kyle Poole, Savannah Harris, and Evan Sherman. Vibraphone virtuoso Joel Ross is a revelation on a lush rendition of “’Round Midnight.” Ellington’s ballad “I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good)” begins with Vuyo Sotashe’s heart-stoppingly sweet vocals before bursting into an up-tempo trio number like Monk’s classic version. Trumpeter Bruce Harris and saxophonists Ruben Fox and Julian Lee show their chops on the tricky Monk-inspired original, “A Nod to the High Priest.” Guitarist Gabe Schnider and tap dancer Michela Marino Lerman star in a new take on “Brilliant Corners” that you need to see to believe. Trumpeter Mark Kavuma, a major player on the UK jazz scene, also joins. It’s a beautifully designed show full of creative Monk arrangements that keep things varied and swinging.
Free pre-concert discussion nightly at 6pm and 8:30pm.
MOSTLY MONK: MIKE LeDONNE TRIO
October 26–27 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm | Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola
Pianist and organist Mike LeDonne is a modern master who in the past few decades has worked with Benny Goodman, Sonny Rollins, Milt Jackson, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Golson, and more. Many of these musicians were among Thelonious Monk’s top collaborators, and tonight LeDonne will draw upon that musical proximity and his own instrumental kinship as he joins Jazz at Lincoln Center’s annual Thelonious Monk Festival. Monk’s infectious music is a perfect platform for improvisation and ongoing re-imagination, and with 72 brilliant compositions from which to choose, a set of “mostly Monk” simply never gets old. LeDonne’s ace trio features Peter Washington on bass and Lewis Nash on drums, so it’s guaranteed to be a virtuosic set of swinging jazz.
Cover: $45
Student: $25
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2018–19 concert season features living legends and the next generation of talent across multiple artistic mediums and traditions, all sharing their stage, experience, and vast generational knowledge. The season features 31 unique concert programs comprising over 90 performances in Rose Theater and The Appel Room, plus more than 350 nights of music in Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola and an extensive range of education and advocacy programs for all ages.
Ticket Information
Rose Theater ticket prices are $40 and up, dependent upon seating section.
The Appel Room ticket prices are $60 and up, dependent on seating section for the 7pm sets, and $45 and up, dependent on seating section for the 9:30pm sets.
All single tickets for The Appel Room and Rose Theater can be purchased through jazz.org 24 hours a day or through CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, open daily from 10am to 9pm. Tickets can also be purchased at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, located on Broadway at 60th Street, ground floor. Note: Hot Seats – $10 seats for each Rose Theater performance (excluding Jazz for Young People® concerts and other performances as specified) and select performances in The Appel Room (excluding Jazz & Popular Song concerts) – are available for purchase by the general public on the Wednesday prior to each performance. Tickets are subject to availability; please call 212-258-9800 for available Hot Seats performance dates.
Many of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s concerts stream live in high-definition audio and video for free to a global audience. The concerts will also be available on Livestream’s mobile and TV-connected applications with real-time DVR, chat, photos and other materials available to fans worldwide at jazz.org/live.
Additional information may be found at jazz.org |
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Jazz at Lincoln Center proudly acknowledges its major corporate partners:
Bloomberg Philanthropies, Brooks Brothers, The Coca-Cola Company, Con Edison, Entergy, SiriusXM, Steinway & Sons, and United Airlines.