Jazz at Lincoln Center Lines Up a New Season

NEW YORK — Tributes to jazz legends, excursions into bluegrass and contemporary dance, and appearances by pre-eminent improvisers such as McCoy Tyner and Charles Lloyd will all be a part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 31st season.

The concert series will start Sept. 13 at the Rose Theater with a performance of “Spaces,” a broadly accessible work composed by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, the organization’s artistic director, as an homage to the animal kingdom. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will perform the suite in conversation with the contemporary dancers Lil Buck and Jared Grimes. Subsequent concerts by the orchestra will focus on the songbooks of Thelonious Monk (Oct. 25-27) and Miles Davis (Nov. 8-10).

Other major shows will also pay tribute to departed jazz luminaries, in keeping with Jazz at Lincoln Center tradition. On Dec. 14-15, vocalist Sachal Vasandani will present a program celebrating the 100th birthday of Nat King Cole. A conclave of eminent pianists — including Gerald Clayton, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Kenny Barron, a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master — will perform a concert Feb. 22-23, 2019, dedicated to the repertoire of Oscar Peterson. And on March 29-30, bassist Marcus Miller will offer a tribute to Davis, his former employer, entitled “Electric Miles.”

The season will include some concerts exploring parallel music traditions, including “Jazz, Bluegrass and Folk,” on Oct. 5-6, featuring violinist Mark O’Connor and his ensemble; “Music from Appalachia,” on Dec. 7-8, headlined by singer-songwriters Steve Miller and Marty Stuart; and “Country Music,” on April 25-27, in which the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will share the stage with documentarian Ken Burns.

And audiences will have ample opportunity to hear from throwback jazz vocalists. Diane Schuur will sing music from the Count Basie Orchestra’s repertoire on Nov. 2-3. And Michael Feinstein will present three different programs, one dedicated to the music of Peter Allen (April 10-11), another titled “Great American Crooners” (May 15-16), and the last focused on the songwriting team Lerner and Loewe (June 5-6).

A full schedule can be found at jazz.org.