Nine-time GRAMMY award-winning trumpeter, composer, and managing & artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Wynton Marsalis, joins Christian McBride for a rare onstage concert and conversation at Jazz House Kids’ 9th Annual Inside the Jazz Note Education Fund Benefit, this Thursday, May 19.
Jazz House Kids artistic director and five-time Grammy-award winner Christian McBride will perform and sit down with Marsalis for a rare, one-on-one conversation with this American icon and jazz ambassador. “Learning from the masters is an intrinsic part of the jazz tradition, and Wynton Marsalis, whose name is synonymous with jazz education excellence, truly embodies the mission that Jazz House Kids holds dear,” said McBride.
Marsalis, a world-renowned musician and cultural ambassador, has long known McBride — the two met in a Philadelphia high school classroom when McBride was 14 years old. A long-time admirer and supporter of McBride and Jazz House Kids, Marsalis is pleased to be part of this year’s benefit.
“Jazz House Kids students consistently impress, not only because of their musical abilities, but also because of their focus, presence and commitment to quality. Besides having a great name, [the organization] is doing much more than educating musicians: they are developing cultural leaders – something we desperately need at this time,” says Marsalis.
Born in New Orleans, Marsalis got his early start in New York (after attending The Juilliard School) with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He made his recording debut as a leader in 1982, and to date has produced over 80 records which have sold over seven million copies worldwide including three Gold Records, and have earned him nine GRAMMY Awards. In 1983 he became the first and only artist to win both classical and jazz GRAMMY Awards in the same year and repeated this feat in 1984.
Adding momentum to the occasion, McBride and Jazz House Kids’ president & founder Melissa Walker, along with their supporters, will launch the new Jazz House Kids’ Music + Education Fund, which raises much needed funds to close the gap in access to music education in schools and communities across New Jersey. TD Bank returns as Inside the Jazz Note Education Fund Chair.
Representing the next generation of jazz artists, Marsalis and McBride will be backed up by the award-winning Jazz House Big Band, directed by Julius Tolentino, featuring a soloist from the Jazz House Vocal Academy under the direction of lead teachers Amy London and Dylan Pramuk. Earlier this month, the Jazz House Big Band competed among 15 of the top bands in the country at the 21st Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival. Held at Jazz at Lincoln Center under the direction of Wynton Marsalis, Jazz House Kids took home 10 awards: Outstanding Rhythm Section, Best Overall Saxophone Section, and 8 Soloist Awards for Esteban Castro (Piano), Matthew Whitaker (Piano), Wes Whitelock (Guitar), Alex Laurenzi (Alto Sax), Nathan Farrell (Alto Sax), Tim Murphy (Soprano Sax), Reid Christmann (Trombone), and Claudia Nketia (Vocals).
9th Annual Inside the Jazz Note Education Fund Benefit
Thursday, May 19 at 7:30 pm
Alexander Kasser Theater, 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, Nj, 07043
Tickets are $20 – $100 and can be purchased online here