Throughout January, Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) invites audiences on a vibrant, cultural journey which include performances inspired by the visionary legacy of Duke Ellington, whose deep connection to the African continent shaped his artistic imagination and lifelong exploration of jazz’s ancestral roots.

Through two concert events, Duke in Africa and Come Sunday: The Sacred Works of Duke Ellington in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, also known as The House of Swing, and on the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s U.S. tour, the organization explores the origins, spirit, and sacred depths of Ellington’s works. Additional premier events this month—Jazz Congress, the Unity Jazz Festival, and the 2026 National Collegiate Jazz Competition—further unite and celebrate the global jazz community, bringing together fans, musicians, students, educators, and industry leaders.

Jazz Congress
Jazz Congress, a unique conference which brings together members of the global jazz community to nurture the bond between artists, media professionals, and industry leaders, takes place on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, and Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. Panels and workshops include “Setting Up a Tour, presented by Midwest Jazz Collective;” and “The Impact of AI & Technology” panels, Jazz Congress 2026 features panel topics including “Jazz in the Age of Spotify,” “Setting Up a Tour (Midwest Jazz Collective),” “Live Podcast Recording with Open Studio,” “Placing Music in Films, TV, and Advertising,” “Funding Your Future,” “Jazz Legacies Fellowship Roundtable,” “Coltrane and Miles Centennial Discussion,” and more. The 2026 conference hosts annual favorites, including the “Jukebox Jury” and “Ask Us Anything” interactive workshops. A welcome reception on Jan. 7 gives attendees an opportunity to network with colleagues from all over the world.

More information can be found on jazzcongress.org.

Unity Jazz Festival
Unity Jazz Festival returns to Jazz at Lincoln Center on Jan. 8–9, 2026, showcasing an exciting lineup of more than 20 acclaimed musicians and emerging artists across five stages. KestheBand featuring Etienne Charles will headline the 2026 festival, bringing a signature blend of Soca, soul, calypso, and island pop to the Jazz at Lincoln Center stage. The history-making debut features KestheBand’s first-ever stripped-down performances on Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater and Appel Room stages.

2026 UNITY JAZZ FESTIVAL LINE-UP:
THURS., JAN. 8
– An Intimate Evening with Kes and Friends
-Jazz Legacies Fellowship Honors All-Star Concert 2026: featuring Valerie Capers, Amina Claudine Myers, George Coleman, Akua Dixon, Tom Harrell, Billy Hart, Bertha Hope, Roger Humphries, Carmen Lundy, Roscoe Mitchell, Johnny O’Neal, Shannon Powell, Julian Priester, Herlin Riley, Michele Rosewoman, Dom Slavador and Reggie Workman
-DJ Logic and Friends with Herlin Riley, Luques Curtis, and Nicole Glover
-FUNMI’S JAM with Stacy Dillard & Brookyln Circle and Friends
-Tomeka Reid Septet: In Tribute to Ellington
-Erena Terakubo Sextet
-Veronica Swift
-Theme for Akiko: Organ Jam Celebrating Akiko Tsuruga
-Camila Cortina Trio
-Rajna Swaminathan & Miles Okazaki
-William Hill III Trio

FRI., JAN. 9:
– An Intimate Evening with KesTheBand and Friends
-Eddie Palmieri Experience: A Musical Retrospective
-Etienne Charles: Gullah Roots
-Tivon Pennicott and Friends
-Gabriel Chakarji Trio
-Solomon Hicks
– Leroy Jones Quartet
-Kate Kortum
-Andre White Trio
-Samir LanGus Trio
-Veronica Leahy & Emmanuel Michael

*Schedule and artists are subject to change

New this year to the Unity Jazz Festival: All-Access Passes include admission to all Unity Jazz Festival performances plus Kestheband’s headlining concerts, with guaranteed entry and assigned seating.

The Nightly Festival Pass (excludes Kestheband concert) offers its own world of discovery, providing access to every performance throughout The House of Swing—excluding Kes—featuring the Festival’s full slate of artists

For tickets and more information, visit: jazz.org/unity

Duke in Africa
The first Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis concert in Rose Theater of 2026 is Duke in Africa, a powerful tribute to Duke Ellington’s profound ties to the African continent. Nearly 60 years after Ellington’s historic performance in Senegal, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by co-music directors Chris Lewis and Alexa Tarantino, revisits the rich cultural inspirations that shaped the composer’s work. The program features selections from Afro-Bossa (1963), a vibrant fusion of Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms; the Liberian Suite (1947), written in honor of Liberia’s centennial; the Grammy Award–winning Togo Brava Suite (1971) and more. Together, these works illuminate Ellington’s enduring ability to transcend cultural boundaries, drawing deeply from African traditions while resonating with audiences around the world.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit jazz.org/duke

Come Sunday: The Sacred Works of Duke Ellington
Jazz at Lincoln Center continues its January programming with Come Sunday: The Sacred Works of Duke Ellington in the Appel room, a concert highlighting the music Ellington described as “the most important thing I have ever done.” These landmark compositions, including Black, Brown and Beige, Come Sunday, and In the Beginning God, expand the language of jazz by blending sacred themes with orchestral colors, improvisation, and deep spiritual expression.

Grammy Award-winning pianist and music director Luther S. Allison, a multi-instrumentalist equally at home on piano and drums, leads this celebration of Ellington’s sacred music with a fresh perspective. Known for his work with Etienne Charles, Jazzmeia Horn, and Samara Joy, Allison has performed widely across the United States and abroad and reimagines Ellington’s compositions here with a dectet.

He is joined by a remarkable lineup of vocalists: Harlem-based C. Anthony Bryant, celebrated for his powerful and versatile voice; rising star Ekep Nkwelle, known for her lyrical and emotive delivery; and the Sunhouse Singers featuring Joie Bianco, June Cavlan, and Kate Kortum, who bring warmth and rich harmony to the stage. At only 23, Kortum has already earned more than 3.5 million streams for her debut album Good Woman and performed at venues such as the Newport Jazz Festival and Birdland.

The evening also features acclaimed tap dancer and actor John Manzari, whose rhythmic artistry adds another dimension to Ellington’s sacred works. Together, this ensemble explores the spiritual resonance of some of Ellington’s most profound music, honoring his legacy while bringing renewed energy to his visionary sound.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit jazz.org/comesunday

Duke in Africa (Jan. 15-17) takes place at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater at 7:30 p.m. ET and Come Sunday: The Sacred Works of Duke Ellington takes place in the Appel Room on Jan. 30 at 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. and on Jan. 31at 4:30 and 7:00 p.m.

Rose Theater and the Appel Room are located in Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, at Broadway at 60th St. in New York, New York. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit jazz.org.

A pre-concert discussion led by Seton Hawkins, JALC’s Director of Public Programs, will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman Studio at Frederick P. Rose Hall before each Rose Theater performance.

2026 National Collegiate Jazz Championship
Jazz at Lincoln Center selects ten of the most well-regarded university and college jazz programs in the country to compete in the 2026 National Collegiate Jazz Championship, a two-day invitational competition that celebrates the excellence and achievements of the next generation of jazz musicians. The ten selected schools are as follows: Eastman School of Music (Rochester, NY), Huston-Tillotson University (Austin, TX), Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI), North Carolina Central University (Durham, NC), Northwestern University (Evanston, IL), The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH), Temple University (Philadelphia, PA), University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL), University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC), and University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX). This event, which includes big band and combo competition rounds, as well as mentorship with members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, will take place on Sat., Jan. 17 and Sun., Jan. 18, 2026, throughout Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, located on Broadway at 60th St., New York, NY.

For more information, visit jazz.org/ncjc.

For livestream information for January programs, visit jazzlive.com.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis U.S. Tour
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis tours select American cities performing the Duke in Africa repertoire as well as tunes composed and arranged by members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Jan. 22
State Theatre New Jersey
New Brunswick, NJ

Jan. 23
Boston Symphony Hall
Boston, MA

Jan. 24
Appell Center for the Performing Arts
York, PA

Jan. 27
The Overture Center
Madison, WI

Jan. 29
Hancher Auditorium at University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA

Jan. 30
The Sheldon Concert Hall
St. Louis, MO

Jan. 31
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN

Tour continues into February 2026.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit jazz.org/tour

Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 38th season, Mother Africa, delves into the creative spirit that unites African and American musical traditions, and runs from July 24, 2025 to June 20, 2026. The organization’s 2025-26 season includes 19 unique weekends of Jazz at Lincoln Center concerts in the 1233-seat Rose Theater, nine concerts in the 467-seat Appel Room, and more than 350 nights of music at Dizzy’s Club, in addition to webcast performances and in-person and virtual education programs. The 2025-26 season also features tour dates worldwide by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, an ensemble of 15 virtuoso instrumentalists, unique soloists, composers, arrangers, and educators whose mandate is to coalesce and animate an unprecedented variety of styles and genres, in collaboration with noted guest artists and appearances by major figures in jazz and its related genres.

Ticket Information
Ticket prices for Rose Theater are $30 and up dependent upon seating section, except as noted below:
Jazz for Young People® tickets in Rose Theater are $10, $20, and $25.

Ticket prices for The Appel Room are $55 and up, dependent on seating section for the 7:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. sets, and $45 and up, depending upon seating section for the 9:00 p.m. set on Saturday.

Please note that a $5.00 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 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 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.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office hours are:
Tuesday-Sunday: 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Monday: Closed

Jazz at Lincoln Center proudly acknowledges its 2025-26 season partners:
Bloomberg Philanthropies and United Airlines

A very special thanks to Jody and John Arnhold for their extraordinary support of Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

We proudly recognize leadership support from Charina Endowment Fund; Dalio Philanthropies; Ford Foundation; Howard Gilman Foundation, Inc.; Mellody Hobson and George Lucas; Michele and Mark Mandel; Simon Family Foundation; and the Zou Family Fund.

Leadership support for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s concert season is provided by Lynne and Richard Pasculano.

Major support is provided by the Abrams Foundation; Angela and Robert Kissane; Manitou Fund; the Ambrose Monell Foundation; the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; and Seedlings Foundation.

Generous support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Artists, schedules, and venues are subject to change.

Press Inquiries:
Alyssa Bendetson
Associate Director, Public Relations & External Communications
Jazz at Lincoln Center
[email protected]
212-258-9908