Billy Taylor News

Legendary Jazz bassist and New Jersey native Buster Williams will be honored at the 20th Annual Giants of Jazz concert at the South Orange Performing Arts Center on Nov. 25.

TITAS Presents, in association with the nonprofit AT&T Performing Arts Center, announced today that single tickets will go on sale Friday, November 10 at 10 a.m. The remaining six shows of the 2017/2018 season will feature the return engagement of the powerful and breathtaking imagery of France's HERVE KOUBI in January; Texas debuts in March with the funny, smart and thought-provoking LUCKY PLUSH and stunning choreography of L.A. DANCE PROJECT. May brings the jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring TITAS Presents annual event, COMMAND PERFORMANCE. And in June, the season culminates with the return of the celebrated contemporary ballet company, ALONZO KING LINES BALLET and the exuberant, virtuosic and sexy PARSONS DANCE COMPANY.

Legendary Jazz bassist and New Jersey native Buster Williams will be honored at the 20th Annual Giants of Jazz concert at the South Orange Performing Arts Center on Nov. 25.

Due to popular demand, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts announces an added second show of Dr. Phillips Center Jazz Orchestra's Vocal Jazz Summit.

Bravo Media's Emmy-nominated FLIPPING OUT returns for its tenth season, premiering Today, August 17 at 9pm ET/PT.

Bravo Media's Emmy-nominated FLIPPING OUT returns for its tenth season, premiering Thursday, August 17 at 9pm ET/PT.

Due to popular demand, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts announces an added second show of Dr. Phillips Center Jazz Orchestra's Vocal Jazz Summit.

???????The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced programming for its 2017–2018 jazz season, the sixth presented under Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran, who has extended his contract with the Kennedy Center to continue in this role through 2021. The season features celebrations of some of the jazz world's greatest luminaries and shines a light on contemporary artists. Under Moran's direction, the Kennedy Center remains committed to artist-centered jazz programming, which presents a wide spectrum of artists and work that highlights the rich and diverse history of this American art form while simultaneously looking forward to new frontiers.

Bravo Media is adding six new unscripted series to its development slate, it was announced today by Rachel Smith, Senior Vice President, Development.

The TITAS Presents season is another stunning collection of the world's most inspiring, innovative and intriguing dance companies.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, under the leadership of Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran, continues to celebrate the legacy of jazz artist Mary Lou Williams with the annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, May 4, 2017 at 8 p.m. in the Eisenhower Theater.

Jack Kleinsinger's Highlights In Jazz, New York's longest running jazz concert series, continues its record breaking 45th season at 8:00 PM on Thursday, April 6, 2017 at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street, New York City, with a special Women In Jazz program featuring the festive multi-dimensional music of Cynthia Sayer and her Joyride Band with clarinetist Adrian Cunningham, the innovative vocal stylings of Rene Marie plus International Women in Jazz Youth in Action Award Winner pianist Leonieke Scheuble, and, as in all Highlights In Jazz concerts, a surprise special guest.

Jazz Women of New York is a new all-woman band conceived by vocalist Lee Torchia.  The core group is pianist Jill McManus, bassist Melissa Slocum, drummer Sylvia Cuenca, flutist Andrea Brachfeld, and saxophonist Carol Sudhalter, with occasional subs from the female side of NY jazz.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced the participants in Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead (BCJA)-the international jazz residency, performance, and composition project discovering and presenting the next generation of jazz greats-to be held March 20-31, 2017 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Led by Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran, the Jazz Ahead program identifies outstanding, emerging jazz artists/composers in their mid-teens to age 25 and brings them together under the tutelage of experienced artists/instructors who coach and counsel them, polishing their performance, composing, and arranging skills.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, under the leadership of Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran, continues to celebrate the legacy of jazz artist Mary Lou Williams with the annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, May 4, 2017 at 8 p.m. in the Eisenhower Theater. This year's festival will celebrate the musical legacy of vocalist, actor, and civil rights activist and NEA Jazz Master Abbey Lincoln, and features NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves, Esperanza Spalding, and Music Director and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington.

Last night (March 9, 2017) at Tribeca Performing Arts Center Highlights In Jazz producer Jack Kleinsinger presented David Amram with their annual award. Every year since 1974 Highlights In Jazz has honored a living jazz musician for their 'matchless musical achievements'.

Jack Kleinsinger's Highlights In Jazz, New York's longest running jazz concert series, proudly continues its 45th season at 8:00 PM on Thursday, March 9, 2017 at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street, NYC with A Salute To David Amram.

Jack Kleinsinger's Highlights In Jazz, New York's longest running jazz concert series, continues its record breaking 45th season at 8:00 PM on Thursday, April 6, 2017 at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street, New York City, with a special Women In Jazz program.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts will celebrate the 2017 NEA Jazz Masters with a free concert, Monday, April 3, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall. The performance will honor the recipients of the nation's highest honor in jazz, highlighting their lifetime achievements and exceptional contributions to the advancement of jazz music. The concert, held during Jazz Appreciation Month, will also be streamed online at www.kennedy-center.org. In addition to the April 3 concert, the NEA Jazz Masters will hold a listening party at National Public Radio headquarters on Sunday, April 2, and a master class for young musicians to learn from the Jazz Masters themselves at Howard University on Tuesday, April 4.

Nat King Cole broke the pop barrier in 1943 when his "Straighten Up and Fly Right" soared up the charts. His smooth, smoky vocals continued to rack up pop hit after hit, but his piano technique, vocal phrasings, and on-the-mark orchestration always hinted to his early roots in jazz.