Jazz at Lincoln Center


Jazz at Lincoln Center is part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The organization was founded in 1987 and opened in October 2004. Wynton Marsalis is the artistic director and the leader of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
The Center hosts performances by the Orchestra and by visiting musicians. Many concerts are streamed live on the Center's YouTube channel. The Center also presents educational programs in its home buildings, online, and in schools throughout the country.

History

In 1987, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis was involved in starting the Classical Jazz concert series, the first series of jazz concerts at Lincoln Center.
In 1996, the Jazz at Lincoln Center organization became a constituent of Lincoln Center next to organizations such as the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera. The budget for Jazz at Lincoln Center was $4 million in 1996, compared to $150 million for the Metropolitan Opera. In 2016, its budget was over $50 million. Wynton Marsalis has been artistic director since 1987. Greg Scholl became executive director in 2012.
Marsalis leads the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, which performs in the Appel Room and the Rose Theater in addition to extensive international tours. Concerts are also broadcast live online. Educational programs are broadcast on the Center's YouTube channel. Since 2015, the Orchestra's albums have been issued on its own label, Blue Engine Records.
The Center distributes jazz curriculums to high schools through its Essentially Ellington program. Professional musicians visit schools through the Let Freedom Swing program. The Center runs a Middle School Jazz Academy, a High School Jazz Academy, and a Summer Academy, all in New York City, all of them with free tuition. Every year the Orchestra tours and visits schools throughout the U.S. The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival has supported high school jazz bands nationwide.

Rose Hall

The performing arts complex, Frederick P. Rose Hall, was designed by Rafael Viñoly and constructed by Turner-Santa Fe in a joint venture between Turner Construction and Santa Fe Construction. Rose Hall consists of three venues: Rose Theater, The Appel Room, and Dizzy's Club, named after trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. The Hall also contains the Irene Diamond Education Center with rehearsal and recording rooms.

Hall of Fame

The Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame is named for Nesuhi Ertegun, co-founder of Atlantic Records. A 60-person international voting panel, which includes musicians, scholars and educators from 17 countries, is charged to nominate and select "the most definitive artists in the history of jazz for induction into the Hall of Fame".
Inductees have included:
2004
2005
2007
2008
2010
2013
2014