Jazz at Lincoln Center's Billie Holiday Festival Runs This Weekend

This weekend, April 9-12, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Billie Holiday Festival will honor Billie Holiday celebrating an artist of monumental innovation on the centennial of her birth. The Billie Holiday Festival will include three nights of concerts and pre-concert discussions at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, located at Broadway at 60th Street, New York, New York.

The complete Billie Holiday Festival schedule and details:

· Billie and the Boys
A Centennial Celebration of Billie Holiday
April 9-12

Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, 7:30pm & 9:30pm
12-piece big band featuring vocalists Shenel Johns, Elena Pinderhughes, Molly Ryan, Vuyo Sotashe, and Michael Mwenso with Music Director Riley Mulherkar
Cover charge is: Thu & Sun $35, Fri $40, Sat $45; Student:$25

· Cécile McLorin Salvant Sings Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday Festival
April 10-11, 7pm & 9:30pm
The Appel Room

Cécile McLorin Salvant has exploded on the jazz scene as a masterful interpreter of song. The New York Times proclaims: "She radiates authority and delivers a set with almost a dramatic arc." Salvant's odes to her predecessors encompass organic assimilation and brave creativity. Such a skill set is necessary when taking on the music of Billie Holiday. Admittedly taken aback by Holiday during her initial introductions, the idiosyncratic giant of jazz later became one of Salvant's primary inspirations. Her Mack Avenue debut CD, Womanchild, includes a grooving rendition of the Rodgers & Hart standard, "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," which Holiday famously recorded in the 1950s. Salvant delves further into her vast catalogue, with a performance that will surely ignite a renewed appreciation for "Lady Day."
Tickets start at $45.

· Celebrating Lady Day
Featuring vocalists Andy Bey, Molly Johnson, and Sarah Elizabeth Charles and band members Peter Martin, Music Director and pianist, tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana, bassist Robert Hurst, and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr.
Billie Holiday Festival
April 10-11, 8pm
Rose Theater

Holiday was an unapologetically organic artist, once stating: "I don't sing novelty. The things that I sing have to do with me and my life... it has to have a meaning." Vocalists Andy Bey, Molly Johnson, and Sarah Elizabeth Charles will perform repertoire such as "Don't Explain," "You Go To My Head," and "Strange Fruit." Bey is a GRAMMY Award nominated vocalist with a truly resonant sound and a pianist of ultra sensitivity, who has been recording as a leader for over 60 years Molly Johnson is one of Canada's greatest musical voices, noted for her infectious on-stage energy. Sarah Elizabeth Charles was a member of the 2009 Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Composers Residency. Representing three generations from varied regions, each of these artists is uniquely stimulated by the brilliance of Holiday.
Tickets start at $30.

Tickets to Rose Theater and The Appel Room concerts can be purchased through jazz.org 24 hours a day or CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, open daily from 10am to 9pm. Tickets can also be purchased at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, located on Broadway at 60th Street, ground floor. Box Office hours: Monday-Saturday from 10am to 6pm (or 30 minutes past curtain) and Sunday from noon to 6pm (or 30 minutes past curtain). Hot Seats, $10 seats for select shows in Rose Theater and are available for purchase to the general public on the Wednesday prior to each performance. Subject to availability. Jazz at Lincoln Center's Hot Seats Ticket Discount Program is supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

For Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola reservations, call (212) 258-9595 or visit www.jazz.org/dizzys.
Dinner served nightly. General Admission: $20-$45 (unless noted otherwise); students: $5-$25 with valid student ID (selected sets only).

Many of Jazz at Lincoln Center's concerts stream live in high-definition audio and video for free to a global audience. The concerts will also be available on Livestream's mobile and connected TV applications with real-time DVR, chat, photos and other materials available to fans worldwide.

Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2014-15 Concert and Education Season features a season-long journey "through the Americas." Through a diverse array of concerts and programs, Jazz at Lincoln Center's 27th season will explore how jazz has both integrated and influenced the rich musical traditions of the Caribbean and North, South, and Central America. This season, Jazz at Lincoln Center also celebrates the 10th anniversary of Frederick P. Rose Hall, "The House of Swing," which opened its doors on October 18, 2004. Click here for the complete season schedule.