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December 14, 2023

MAX ROACH CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION TOUR

FEATURING THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA
WITH WYNTON MARSALIS,
HONORS LEGENDARY DRUMMER-COMPOSER,
BEBOP PIONEER, AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST

U.S. Tour Opens on Jan. 19-20 at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY

New York, NY
(December 14, 2023) —  

To commemorate the centennial of the legendary musician drummer-composer, bebop pioneer, and activist Max Roach (1924-2007), the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis premieres new arrangements of works by the iconic artist at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY on Jan. 19-20 at 8:00 p.m.

Following the performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the world-renowned big band tours the Max Roach Centennial Celebration throughout the U.S., Jan. 23-28. See tour dates listed below.

Exclusively for this centennial celebration, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra features music direction from Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra drummer Obed Calvaire to honor the legendary artist whose groundbreaking performances and social activism continue to impact music, culture, and socio-artistic expression.

“You could take four bars from Max and come up with a lifetime of vocabulary on the instrument – playing bebop,” says Calvaire. “That’s how much he’s influenced our music. He was just a genius and there will never be another Max Roach.”

No jazz musician embodied political activism more thoroughly than Max Roach – a master of rhythmic and tonal design on the drum set and a pioneer in the deployment of odd meter. “He’s one of the great freedom fighters in the history of jazz,” says Jazz at Lincoln Center Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis. “An unbelievable drum virtuoso, Max invented the modern style of drum.”

Visit jazz.org/maxroach for more information.

Max Roach Centennial Celebration
Featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Tour Dates

January 19-20, 2024
Jazz at Lincoln Center
New York, NY

January 21, 2024
Kimmel Center
Philadelphia, PA

January 23, 2024
Moss Arts Center
Blacksburg, VA

January 24, 2024
Mickey L. Burnim Fine Arts Center
Elizabeth City, NC

January 25, 2024
Modlin Center for the Arts
Roanoke, VA

January 26, 2024
Music Center at Strathmore
North Bethesda, MD

January 27, 2024
Staller Center for the Arts
Stony Brook, NY

January 28, 2024
Symphony Hall
Boston, MA



Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2023-24 season focuses on the concept of community; the broader community of jazz; the numerous communities that nurtured its master practitioners across its timeline; the communities of consciousness that influenced these practitioners; the music’s power to bridge divides and coalesce these distinct communities; and the role of jazz – and the arts writ large – in maintaining the human connection in the digital era. Throughout its 2023-24 season, Jazz at Lincoln Center explores these subjects with concerts featuring the forward-thinking composers, virtuosic improvisers, and ingenious conceptualists that populate the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Implicitly or explicitly, season concerts, education programs, advocacy initiatives, and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra tours directly evoke themes that illuminate, as Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis puts it, the notion that, “Our music has the exceptional ability to bring people together.”

The organization’s 36th season runs from Sept. 21, 2023, to June 8, 2024 in Rose Theater, The Appel Room, and Dizzy’s Club – all at Frederick P. Rose Hall, the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, located on Broadway at 60th Street in New York, NY. In addition to 24 unique live concerts throughout Frederick P. Rose Hall and more than 350 nights of music at Dizzy’s Club, the organization offers webcast performances via the Jazz Live app, in-person and virtual education programs, and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis tour dates worldwide.

For a complete listing of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2023-24 season concerts, please visit jazz.org/2324season.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Health and Safety Guidelines

We believe in the power of music to uplift, inspire, and create a sense of community. We very much look forward to welcoming you to The House of Swing at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall this season and are committed to employing all measures to ensure your safety as well as the safety of our artists and staff. Learn more about our health and safety guidelines at jazz.org.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Ticket Information

Ticket prices for Rose Theater are $30 and up depending upon seating section. Family concert tickets in Rose Theater are $10, $20, and $25.

Note: Hot Seats—$10 seats for each Rose Theater performance (excluding Jazz for Young People® concerts and other performances as specified) are available for purchase by the general public on the Wednesday prior to each performance. Tickets are subject to availability; please call 212-258-9877 for available Hot Seats performance dates.

Hot Seats are available only in person at the Box Office, with a maximum of two tickets per person. Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Hot Seats Ticket Discount Program is supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

*Please note that a $3.50 Jazz at Lincoln Center Facility Fee applies to ALL ticket purchases, with the exception of $10 Hot Seats. A $7 handling fee also applies when purchasing tickets from CenterCharge or when purchasing tickets online via jazz.org.

All single tickets for Rose Theater can be purchased through jazz.org 24 hours a day or through CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, located on Broadway at 60th Street, Ground Floor.

Box Office hours:
Monday-Saturday: 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (or 30 minutes past curtain)
Sunday: 12:00 p.m. noon to 6:00 p.m. (or 30 minutes past curtain).

Artists, schedules, pricing, and venues are subject to change.

Press Inquiries:
Zooey Tidal Jones
Senior Director, Public Relations and External Communications
Jazz at Lincoln Center
zjones@jazz.org
212-258-9821