Lincoln Center Names Wynton Marsalis 2026-2027 Visionary Artist
Groundbreaking Trumpeter, Composer, and Jazz at Lincoln Center Founder Honored in His Final Year Leading the Organization, with Programs Spanning Musical Traditions
NEW YORK, NY (May 20, 2026) – Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) today announces award-winning trumpeter, composer, and educator Wynton Marsalis as the 2026-2027 Lincoln Center Visionary Artist. Free concerts, performances from Marsalis, talks and panels, and more celebrate his storied musical journey as his tenure leading Jazz at Lincoln Center, which he co-founded in 1987, comes to a close.
Marsalis is one of the most internationally acclaimed and consequential figures in American music and culture and has shaped Lincoln Center in ways that few artists in any field ever change an institution. After nearly 40 years as the founder and driving force of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and founder and Music Director of the remarkable Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the 2026-2027 season will be his last as Artistic Director.
“Wynton Marsalis embodies the cultural excellence that the Visionary Artist distinction was created to celebrate. His works have defined modern jazz and shaped how we think about education, community, and nurturing the next generation of artists from around the world,” said Shanta Thake, Ehrenkranz Chief Artistic Officer of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. “We are so proud to honor him in his final year leading Jazz at Lincoln Center and celebrate all he has contributed to the Lincoln Center campus and the American music canon.”
“Lincoln Center would not be what it is today without Wynton Marsalis,” said Mariko Silver, President and CEO of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. “With his strong vision for what jazz could achieve, he built the genre a home on the Lincoln Center campus and brought the joy of jazz to millions of people here in New York City, and in communities across the country and the world. We are grateful to have the opportunity to recognize his incredible legacy, which will endure for generations to come.”
“Few artists have shaped the cultural landscape as profoundly as Wynton Marsalis,” said Clarence Otis, Board Chair of Jazz at Lincoln Center. “Through his extraordinary artistry, visionary leadership, and unwavering commitment to performance, education, and advocacy through jazz, he has inspired generations of artists and audiences around the world. As the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts community honors Wynton’s remarkable achievements through these organization-wide celebrations, we welcome the broader arts community in recognizing the legacy of our visionary founder.”
The 2026-2027 Visionary Artist celebration – running from June 14, 2026 to October 27, 2027 – offers a comprehensive look at Marsalis’ body of work, beginning this summer with six free concerts in the David Rubenstein Atrium. Part of Summer for the City, these concerts trace the musical traditions and relationships that have shaped Marsalis’ artistic life. The Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center performs Still Singing, Marsalis’ second string quartet that combines multiple American music sounds, from jazz and blues, to classical and funk. Concerts presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center see both beloved and up-and-coming artists perform, including Jason Marsalis, Orrin Evans, Nicole Glover, Xavier Anderson, Ben Wolfe and more. As the finale to their Summer Evenings concert series, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center takes on Marsalis’ Selections from At the Octoroon Balls in Alice Tully Hall. Later in the year, two formidable ensembles from The Juilliard School perform Marsalis’ Symphony No. 4, “The Jungle,” inspired by New York City; and Lincoln Center Theater will host an intimate salon-style evening, celebrating musical storytelling at the intersection of jazz and Broadway.
Also, part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s own 2026-2027 season Wynton: Come Home, audiences can experience a rich cross-section of Marsalis’ music, from big band settings to rare, intimate performances with his Quintet and Septet, in Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Highlights include:
- The Ever Fonky Lowdown with award-winning actor Wendell Pierce;
- New works honoring Mark Twain and Benjamin Franklin;
- Selections from Ochas and Afro!;
- The lively animal ballet Spaces;
- Marsalis and the Masters featuring his big band arrangements of Thelonious Monk, Louis Armstrong, and John Coltrane, with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra;
- The World in Swing celebrating jazz as a dynamic bridge across cultures, with masters of flamenco, Brazilian, and Arab classical traditions;
- Call and Response where members of the Orchestra perform their own bold interpretations of Marsalis’ most beloved compositions, and many more.
Audiences have multiple opportunities to hear directly from Marsalis himself. In a keynote, entitled An Evening with Wynton Marsalis: The Future of Jazz and Democracy at Alice Tully Hall, Marsalis discusses the intersectionality of the arts and civics for up-and-coming American artists and future generations of creatives. In collaboration with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Marsalis speaks with the Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb in the panel The Universal Language of Jazz: Utilizing America’s Pioneer Artform Across Disciplines, with archival items from the library’s collection aiding their discussion. Future programming to be announced includes collaborations with Film at Lincoln Center, and additional moments to celebrate Wynton Marsalis’ legacy.
Each year, Lincoln Center’s Visionary Artist distinction honors an extraordinary creative whose impact and vision resonate across the many disciplines represented on the Lincoln Center campus. Celebrated in collaboration with Lincoln Center’s resident arts organizations, previous Visionary Artist honorees are Terence Blanchard (2023-2024), Rubén Blades (2024-2025), and Jeanine Tesori (2025-2026), whose celebratory season recently concluded.
Marsalis is the founder of Jazz at Lincoln Center, one of the campus’ resident arts organizations, which he has led as managing and artistic director for almost 40 years. His vision and advocacy for the art of jazz brought to life this permanent home for the genre on the Lincoln Center campus in 1996, growing from a small jazz concert series, to a Lincoln Center department, into a full-fledged organization in just a few short years. He also simultaneously built one of the most substantial catalogues in American music. Marsalis is a nine-time GRAMMY Award winner. His jazz oratorio Blood on the Fields was the first jazz composition to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. His compositions include more than 600 original works, including 13 suites, five symphonies, 11 dance scores, and concertos for violin, tuba, trumpet, orchestra, and cello; he has performed more than 5,300 concerts in 70 countries. Marsalis is the Founding Director of Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School and President of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation. He has long championed music education, including through Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz for Young People concerts and the internationally acclaimed Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival, which will publish eight unreleased scores by Marsalis this year, distributed free to schools worldwide. Additionally, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Swing U will present a series of classes on various aspects of Marsalis’ career as band leader and composer throughout the 2027 season.
Several ticketing options are available for Lincoln Center’s Visionary Artist series with Wynton Marsalis. Concerts in the David Rubenstein Atrium, part of Summer for the City, are free, first-come, first-served. Events taking place at Jazz at Lincoln Center go on sale today. For a full list of Visionary Artist events and additional ticketing details, visit LincolnCenter.org/Wynton. To download images and additional assets, click here.
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LINCOLN CENTER VISIONARY ARTIST: WYNTON MARSALIS
Chronology of Events
June 14, 2026 – October 27, 2027
Sunday, June 14, 2026 at 6:00 pm
Buhaina’s Hot Seat: The Art Blakey Jazz Messengers
Trumpet Tradition featuring Bruce Harris
David Rubenstein Atrium
Presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center
Art Blakey’s bandstand was never just a gig—it was a proving ground. From the early fire of Clifford Brown and Kenny Dorham, through the hard-bop declarations of Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, and Woody Shaw, the trumpet chair in Art Blakey (aka Buhaina) and the Jazz Messengers became one of the most demanding and transformative seats in jazz. Under Blakey’s relentless swing and uncompromising leadership, generations of trumpeters were forged in sound, spirit, and storytelling. When Wynton Marsalis stepped into Buhaina’s band in the early 1980s, he didn’t simply join a group—he stepped into a lineage rooted in blues feeling, virtuosity, discipline, and deep respect for the art form. Hosted and curated by acclaimed trumpeter Bruce Harris, Buhaina’s Hot Seat traces how the Jazz Messengers’ trumpet tradition shaped hard bop, defined generations of musicians, and continues to influence today’s jazz landscape.
Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 6:00 pm
Call & Response: Blues, Spirituals & Folk Songs
Sean Mason Trio
David Rubenstein Atrium
Presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center
Sean Mason, piano
Felix Moseholm, bass
Domo Branch, drums
In this program, the Sean Mason Trio traces the deep roots of American music through the blues, spirituals, and folk songs that helped shape the musical imagination of Wynton Marsalis. These traditions—born in work songs, church services, and community gatherings—form the foundation of jazz and remain central to Marsalis’ approach to melody, rhythm, and composition.
Sunday, June 28, 2026 at 6:00 pm
Jason Marsalis Presents The Modern New Orleans Music
David Rubenstein Atrium
Presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center
The youngest son of piano and jazz luminary Ellis Marsalis, Jr., Jason Marsalis carries forward one of jazz’s most extraordinary family legacies. Equally acclaimed as both a drummer and vibraphonist, Jason brings his deep musicality and unmistakable swing to a heartfelt celebration of his father’s music, alongside the works of James Black, Alvin Batiste, and Harold Battiste. Joined by his quartet, he honors the elegant compositions and New Orleans spirit of these composers—music that profoundly shaped his brother Wynton Marsalis and the family's approach to jazz. This performance offers a rare opportunity to hear this rich musical lineage brought to life by an artist who grew up inside its sound.
Sunday, July 5, 2026 at 6:00 pm
Louis Armstrong at 125, America at 250
A Birthday Celebration for Pops
David Rubenstein Atrium
Presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center
Led by trombonist Sam Chess, this evening celebrates the life and work of the iconic Louis Armstrong, whose music laid the foundation for jazz, modern music, and American culture. For Wynton Marsalis, Louis Armstrong is the foundational "transcendent genius" of jazz, representing the pinnacle of musical artistry, soulfulness, and humanity.
Sunday, July 12, 2026 at 6:00 pm
From Black Codes to The Magic Hour
David Rubenstein Atrium
Presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center
Xavier Anderson, trumpet
Nicole Glover, tenor saxophone
Orrin Evans, piano
Ben Wolfe, bass
An intergenerational all-star ensemble traces the evolution of Wynton Marsalis’s small-group sound, from the fire and precision of Black Codes (From the Underground) to the lyrical maturity of The Magic Hour. Featuring Xavier Anderson, Nicole Glover, Orrin Evans, and Ben Wolfe, this band brings together powerhouse improvisers to explore some of the most influential music in modern jazz. The result is an evening of deep swing, fearless interplay, and compositions that helped define a generation.
Thursday, July 16, 2026 at 7:30 pm
David Rubenstein Atrium
Join performers from the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center for an evening of classical music at the David Rubenstein Atrium in honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. A string quartet led by Concertmaster Ruggero Allifranchini (violin) and featuring Laura Frautschi (violin), Shmuel Katz (viola), and Ilya Finkelshteyn (cello), performs Still Singing, the second string quartet from Jazz at Lincoln Center's own Wynton Marsalis. This signature work captures Marsalis's joyful embrace of American music traditions, from jazz to blues, and classical to funk. The quartet also plays Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12 in F major, better known as the American quartet. As an immigrant artist living in New York in 1893, Dvořák famously predicted that a “great and noble school” of uniquely American music would spring from the nation’s “negro melodies.” In keeping with his prognostication, Dvořák’s American quartet evokes the panoply of sounds that enlivened American music at the turn of the 20th century, with notable influence from Black spirituals and other contemporary folk music of the time. The American quartet remains one of today's most popular pieces of chamber music.
Saturday, July 25, at 5:00 pm
Alice Tully Hall
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
The acclaimed Calidore String Quartet takes the stage in the Chamber Music Society’s final Summer Evenings concert of the year, featuring selections from Wynton Marsalis’s At the Octoroon Balls. The work, which draws on jazz, blues, and dance rhythms to give the string quartet an unmistakably American voice, was co-commissioned by CMS in 1995. Opening the program is a quartet long attributed to Benjamin Franklin; though its authorship remains uncertain, the piece offers a fascinating glimpse into 18th-century musical life. Haydn’s “Joke” Quartet follows, one of the witty Op. 33 quartets that earned him the title “father of the string quartet.” The Italian Serenade by Hugo Wolf brings lively charm and character, and Mozart’s “Prussian” Quartet in B-flat major, written for the cello-loving King of Prussia, highlights graceful melodies and elegant writing for all four instruments.
Thursday, September 17, 2026 – Tuesday, March 16, 2027
The New York Library for the Performing Arts
The New York Library for the Performing Arts partners with Lincoln Center to honor the extraordinary career of musician, composer, and educator Wynton Marsalis as part of the Visionary Artist series. Drawing from the Library’s world-class Music and Recorded Sound Division collections, this case display of archival objects traces Marsalis’s evolution of inspiration and collaboration, examining his commitment to creating ambitious new work deeply rooted in American musical history.
Thursday, September 17, 18, 19 at 7:30 pm
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Rose Theater
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Wynton Marsalis interprets the music of jazz masters Thelonious Monk, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Chick Corea, and other giants. Performed with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, these big band arrangements by Wynton bring his imagination, intelligence, and insight to seminal works that are tuneful and substantive.
Friday, October 23 and Saturday, October 24 at 7:30 pm
From Cuba to the Crescent City
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Rose Theater
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) explore the deep and enduring connections between jazz and the African diaspora. Featuring selections from three of Wynton’s original suites—Ochas, Afro!, and Congo Square—the program blends Yoruba-inspired portraits, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and Ghanaian musical traditions with the communal heritage of jazz handed down from 19th-century New Orleans. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is joined by special guests Pedrito Martinez and Weedie Braimah—two musicians of genius with encyclopedic command of diverse musical languages—on drums, percussion, and vocals, and by soul-stirring vocalist Shenel Johns.
Tuesday, October 27 at 6 p.m.
The Universal Language of Jazz: America’s Pioneer Artform Across Disciplines
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Presented in collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Join Lincoln Center Visionary Artist Wynton Marsalis and Peter Gelb (The Metropolitan Opera) for a conversation on the influences of jazz across genres. Drawing from their distinct institutional and artistic perspectives, the panel explores how improvisation, composition, narrative, and tradition converge to inspire new works. Using archival items from The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts collection to aid their discussion, this panel will explore the many routes of inspiration, collaboration, and cultural legacy—and what it means to build ambitious new work rooted in American musical histories.
Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7 at 7:30 pm
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Rose Theater
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Celebrate the global language of jazz and the spirit of place in Marsalis’ Swinging Cities. Featuring his Vitoria Suite, Shanghai Suite, and Marciac Suite, the program reflects Wynton’s global journey, distilling the cultures, experiences, and connections he and the orchestra have formed across these years. Marsalis says, “This is a celebration of the uncommon embrace and unflagging support I have received from different cities during my nearly five decades on the road.”
Monday, December 14, 2026 at 7:30 pm
Juilliard Orchestra and Juilliard Jazz Orchestra
Conducted by David Robertson
Karen and Richard LeFrak Lobby, David Geffen Hall
The Juilliard School
Two formidable ensembles join forces for a rare and special evening. The Juilliard Orchestra and Juilliard Jazz Orchestra perform living legend Wynton Marsalis’ Symphony No. 4, “The Jungle,” inspired by New York City, “the most fluid, pressure-packed, and cosmopolitan metropolis the modern world has ever seen,” says Marsalis, director of jazz at Juilliard. He has called the piece a meditation on being human, an “attempt to understand the maelstrom of modern life,” and a reminder of what “brings us together.” The program also includes Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2 and the U.S. premiere of Boulez’s Dérive 3—a fitting full circle moment, as Juilliard also gave the U.S. premiere of Boulez’s sur incises in 1998, with Robertson conducting New Juilliard Ensemble.
January 7, 8, 9, 2027 at 7:30 pm
Rose Theater
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Wynton Marsalis’ quintet music features exploratory improvising and writing for two horns, rhythmic shifts and strettos as well as unpredictable modulations of moods and keys. Above all, there is his hardcore belief in the dynamic power of swinging jazz. From 1984’s Black Codes (From the Underground) to the Integrity Suite (played before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023), the music is spontaneous, highly interactive, and serious fun. This special lineup features a superb rhythm section of pianist Marcus Roberts, bassist Carlos Henriquez, and drummer Jason Marsalis; and a special guest tenor saxophonist to be announced.
January 21, 22, 23, 2027 at 7:30 pm
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Rose Theater
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Wynton Marsalis has always championed the vernacular music of America—what he calls “Root American Musics,” encompassing blues, folk, gospel, country, and spirituals. Equally influential is the American landscape itself: its shining skyscrapers, expansive highways, rural roads, and ever-changing terrains. Together, these sounds and sights form the bedrock of Wynton’s music. Growing up on a block between the railroad tracks and the Mississippi River, he was immersed in Americana, and traveling the country by car over the decades has given him a deeper understanding of its breadth and depth. Showcasing his arrangements of fiddle reels, folk songs, blues, and ballads, this program also revisits Big Train, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 1998 commission of a 12-part suite evoking the sound and meaning of trains—from the Underground Railroad and westward expansion to the Great Migration and the Glory Train. All aboard!
Friday, February 5 and Saturday, February 6, 2027 at 7:30 pm
Portraits of Bards, Titans, and Legends
Rose Theater
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Made possible by the John and Jody Arnhold Innovation Fund
Jazz is the art of the people. Wynton Marsalis, the son of a jazz musician, was raised in New Orleans clubs amid a cast of vivid characters, and his music is fueled by the creativity and intelligence of the musicians who bring it to life. This music is inseparable from the explosion of invention made possible by America’s democratic freedoms. Featuring New Orleans small ensembles, Jazz Age big band traditions, and the full Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the program presents Wynton’s musical portraits of American legends—boxer Jack Johnson, cornetist Buddy Bolden, and drummer Art Blakey—alongside his concerto for the deeply soulful Scottish baritone saxophonist Joe Temperley. Wynton will also unveil a new work set to the wise and practical words of American bards Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, and Mark Twain, with passages selected by historian Geoffrey Ward.
Wednesday, February 10, 2027 at 7:30pm
An Evening with Wynton Marsalis: The Future of Jazz and Democracy
Alice Tully Hall
Presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center
As part of the yearlong celebration of Wynton Marsalis, Lincoln Center's 2026-27 Visionary Artist, please join us for a special keynote address led by Marsalis that explores the intersections of jazz and democracy and the implications therein for future generations of Americans as artists and as citizens. Throughout his four and a half decades-long career, Wynton Marsalis has become one of the most internationally acclaimed and artistically consequential figures in American culture. Over his nearly 40 years as the founder and driving force behind Jazz at Lincoln Center, he has shaped that organization into a singular testament to the inspiration of jazz as the spearhead of our country's musical heritage. The evening's musical guests will be announced shortly!
Thursday, March 11, 2027 at 8:00 p.m.
David Rubenstein Atrium
Acclaimed pianist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Luther S. Allison leads a bold tribute to Wynton Marsalis, reimagining music from landmark works—including Standard Time, Black Codes (From the Underground), The Majesty of the Blues, and In This House, On This Morning—through a richly textured ensemble of horns, strings, and rhythm section. Rooted in gospel, blues, and swing traditions that connect both artists’ musical lineages, the performance expands Marsalis’s compositional world through the integration of movement, drawing inspiration from his exploration of dance in his work, SPACES. Developed in collaboration with contemporary movement artists, this interdisciplinary work invites audiences to experience Marsalis’s legacy as a living force in contemporary performance.
Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20, 2027 at 7:30 p.m.
Heroines, Desire, and the Pursuit of Happiness
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Rose Theater
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Experience originals and bold new big band arrangements of Wynton’s most emotionally charged works. From In This House, On This Morning and Blood on the Fields to All Rise, From the Plantation to the Penitentiary, and last year’s Afro!, his most provocative pieces feature a heroine delivering the most significant idea. From 1983’s Hot House Flowers and 1989’s Blue Interlude to 1998’s The Midnight Blues to the third movement of 2026’s Cello Concerto, he returns again and again to the unscripted electricity between couples in mutual pursuit saying, “Love is the spark that gives life its sweetest magic.” This program showcases jazz’s enduring power to move the heart, heal the weary, and conjure up the moon on a starless night.
April 8-10, 2027 at 7:30 p.m.
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Rose Theater
Jazz at Lincoln Center
In his 2018 jazz parable, Wynton Marsalis combines the rhythmic language of New Orleans funk, the melodic influence of unsung Crescent City genius, drummer James Black, and a trio of soulful sirens, Christie Dashiell, Ashley Pezzotti, Georgia Heers, and narrated by Wendell Pierce, to satirize the public’s descent into supporting a sectarian, con-man leader called Mr. Game. Set in contemporary America, Marsalis’ rhyming oratorio seems nearly prophetic against today’s national climate. As it swings between jovial satire, unapologetic cultural critique, and earnest warning, this non-partisan examination of the cost of apathy and the loss of empathy provokes deeper thought and feeling to inspire meaningful action. The Ever Fonky Lowdown uses theatrical, vocal, and dance elements to tell a contemporary tale in a most original way.
April 30-May 1, 2027 at 7:30 p.m.
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Rose Theater
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Iraqi oud virtuoso Naseer Shamma, Brazilian bandolim master Hamilton de Holanda, and Spanish jazz and flamenco pianist Chano Domínguez join the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis for an expansive program that celebrates jazz as a dynamic bridge across cultures, anchored in Wynton’s decades-long commitment to global musical collaboration with living masters of their traditions. Founder of the Arabic Oud House (a series of music schools throughout the Middle East and North Africa), a musicologist, and a UNESCO Artist for Peace, Shamma has earned international acclaim for elevating the oud and expanding the global reach of Arabic music. Winner of the Prêmio da Música Brasileira, de Holanda has redefined the bandolim’s role in Brazilian music, expanding its range through show stopping improvisation and compositions that span choro, jazz, classical, and popular traditions. Domínguez—a singular improviser at the intersection of jazz and flamenco, and the recipient of Spain’s National Prize for Current Music—is recognized for his bold, multilingual virtuosity. Through electrifying musical dialogue, the program weaves jazz with traditional and original melodies from flamenco, Brazilian, and Arab classical music to create vivid, emotionally resonant portraits of place and history that reveal a shared humanity.
May 20-22, 2027 at 7:30 p.m.
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Rose Theater
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Made possible by the John and Jody Arnhold Innovation Fund
Garth Fagan Dance, New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey, and Twyla Tharp are just a few of the legendary companies that have commissioned ballets by Wynton Marsalis. This evening showcases highlights from his celebrated collaborations with the world of dance. Performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, the program features dances drawn from this extraordinary canon, alongside new choreography by Atlanta Ballet’s Choreographer-in-Residence and Princess Grace Award Winner Claudia Schreier, and a restaging of selections from Spaces (2016), an animal ballet created and performed by the gravity-defying Memphis jookin’ innovator Lil Buck and Tony Award–nominated tap virtuoso Jared Grimes. Playful and intimate, acrobatic and sensual, the performance is brought to life with colorful spoken introductions for each animal— reminding us of a shared connection with animals, for example “because each nightingale can improvise up to 300 unique songs, they are often compared to jazz musicians.”
June 10-12, 2027 at 7:30 p.m.
Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis
Rose Theater
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Made possible by the John and Jody Arnhold Innovation Fund
The members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra bring a season-long celebration of Wynton Marsalis’s artistic achievement to a thrilling close with their own bold interpretations of his most beloved compositions. In the history of jazz, no ensemble has ever assembled more soloists and composer–arrangers on a single stage. Over its 35-year history, the orchestra has premiered countless landmark works; between 2008 and 2026 alone, its members created more than 1,200 original compositions and arrangements. This astonishing creative and diverse output has propelled the orchestra into the ranks of the most flexible and dynamic large ensembles of all time.
June 17-19, 2027 at 7:30 p.m.
Rose Theater
Jazz at Lincoln Center
The Wynton Marsalis Septet has been lauded as one of Marsalis’ most beloved ensembles, often playing encores until deep into the night. Bringing the feeling and sophistication of all styles of New Orleans music to the fundamental concepts of modern jazz—swing, blues, ballads, and the Afro-Latin diaspora—the Septet produced a set of definitive recordings that added another chapter to the story of jazz. From 1990’s Citi Movement to the JALC 1992 Commission In This House, On This Morning, to the landmark seven-CD Live at the Village Vanguard and the COVID-era Democracy! Suite, the four-horn “big band” sophistication of Wynton’s long-form writing has framed the unbridled creativity of the group’s improvisations to create an intensely collaborative and disciplined band. For decades, the Septet has sold out halls and excited audiences all over the world. Great musicians from every era of his septet, including Herlin Riley, Reginald Veal, Wycliffe Gordon, Dan Nimmer, Chris Crenshaw, Alexa Tarantino, Chris Lewis, and Abdias Armenteros, come together to offer a panoramic view of Wynton’s ever-evolving life in jazz.
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About Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center is a premier performing arts center and iconic civic cultural campus. A beacon for the arts in New York City and around the world, Lincoln Center believes the arts are fundamental to our humanity and should be accessible to all — connecting us to one another, expanding our individual and collective imaginations, and elevating our spirit. Opened in 1962, the 16-acre campus is home to eleven resident arts organizations dedicated to uplifting the role of art and artists in our society, providing a destination for global artistic voices, training the next generation of great artists, and creating unforgettable experiences for all New Yorkers: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Film at Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Theater, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and School of American Ballet. Lincoln Center welcomes millions of people for thousands of performances each year, anchoring New York City’s legendary creative life and greatly impacting its civic and economic wellbeing.
About Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) is a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring the Lincoln Center campus is a destination that welcomes all — where every visitor, whether a native New Yorker or New Yorker for a day, can find inspiration, artistic innovation, and community in the creative achievements realized on campus. Year-round, we offer robust seasons of programming, representing a broad spectrum of performing arts disciplines and complementing the artistic and educational activities of the 10 fellow resident arts organizations with whom we share a home. LCPA presents hundreds of programs each year, offered primarily for free and Choose-What-You-Pay, helping ensure that the arts are at the center of civic life for all.
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Lead support for Choose-What-You-Pay is provided by the Family of Robert Wood Johnson III
Major support is provided by the Scully Peretsman Foundation
Additional support is provided by the PNC Foundation
Lead support for Summer for the City Community Programming is provided by the
Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)
Major support for Summer for the City is provided by Chase
NewYork-Presbyterian is the Official Hospital of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Contemporary Dance is made possible by the Pasculano Collaborative for Contemporary Dance - Lynne and Richard Pasculano, Founding Donors
United Airlines is the Supporting Airline of Lincoln Center Presents
Steinway & Sons is the Preferred Piano Partner of Lincoln Center
Major support for Lincoln Center Presents and Summer for the City is provided by the Shubert Foundation, MOVADO Group Foundation, and Howard Gilman Foundation
BAAND Together Dance Festival is made possible by CHANEL
Additional support is provided by Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc. and Park Lane New York
Endowment support is provided by the Blavatnik Family Foundation Fund for Dance, The Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Foundation, Oak Foundation, and PepsiCo Foundation
We are grateful to our Board of Directors for their leadership and generous support in making our work possible
Operation of Lincoln Center’s public plazas is supported in part with public funds provided by the City of New York
Programs are made possible, in part, with public funds provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor, Mayor of the City of New York, the New York State Legislature and the New York City Council
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