LCJO TOURS UNITED STATES -
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME - EDUCATION RESIDENCY IN MEXICO

• Big band tours throughout the United States and Mexico in February and March 2004.

• Big band conducts major performance and education residencies in Chicago and for the first time in Mexico.

The LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA (LCJO) WITH WYNTON MARSALIS began a national and international tour in Newark, NJ that will culminate in the orchestra's Mexico debut. Hailed as "an extraordinarily versatile orchestra" by The Los Angeles Times, the LCJO is composed of 15 of jazz music's leading soloists.

The LCJO's concerts are always lively and entertaining. "Jazz is a serious, thoughtful music, but it's a lot of fun too—and that's the message Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra are carrying out to the world," said the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. The big band will travel to cities such as Louisville, KY, Chicago, IL, St. Louis, MO, Seattle, WA, Portland, OR, San Francisco, CA, and Los Angeles, CA, before traveling to Mexico for an extensive residency.

The Festival de Mexico has invited the LCJO to be one of its major presentations during the three-week 20 th anniversary festival in March 2004. In addition to the four performances and a Jazz For Young People SM concert, the LCJO will participate in a master class for students, educators and cultural leaders in Mexico that will focus on the importance of jazz in the cultural landscape and in the educational system.

Education is a priority for Jazz at Lincoln Center, and events like these have become an integral part of the LCJO touring activities.
The LCJO will also be collaborating with the Orquesta Filarmonica de la Ciudad de Mexico to perform movements from Grieg's Peer Gynt . On March 19 th the Jazz for Young People and the evening concert will take place in historic Zocalo Square and presented free to the public

The 2004 Tour Itinerary:
January 23 • Newark, NJ • New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Prudential Hall
February 1 • Baltimore, MD • Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
February 10-11 * • Louisville, KY • Kentucky Ctr. for the Performing Arts
February 12-14 * • Chicago, IL • Orchestra Hall
February 15 • St. Louis, MO • Univ. of Missouri at St. Louis, Touhill Performing Arts Center
February 28 • Bellingham, WA • Mount Baker Theater
February 29 • Spokane, WA • Opera House
March 2 & 3 • Seattle, WA • Benaroya Hall
March 4 • Portland, OR • Schnitzer Hall
March 5 • Eugene, OR • Halt Center
March 6 • Napa, CA • Napa Valley Opera House
March 7 • San Francisco, CA • Masonic Auditorium
March 9 • Stanford, CA • Memorial Auditorium
March 10 • Davis, CA • Mondavi Center
March 11 • Santa Barbara, CA • Campbell Hall
March 12 * • Santa Barbara • Arlington Theater (Jazz for Young People)
March 13 • Escondido, CA • California Center for the Arts
March 15 • Los Angeles, CA • Disney Hall
March 17 * • Mexico City, Mexico • Palacio del Bellas Artes
March 18 • Mexico City, Mexico • Auditorio Nacional
March 19 * • Mexico City, Mexico • Zocalo Square
March 20 • Aguascalientes, Mexico • Auditorio de la Stada
*educational activity included

The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (LCJO) has been the Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) resident orchestra since 1988. JALC features the versatile LCJO in nearly all aspects of its programming: the LCJO performs and leads educational events in New York, across the U.S., and around the globe; in concert halls, dance venues, jazz clubs, public parks, river boats, and churches; and with symphony orchestras, ballet troupes, students, and an ever-expanding roster of guest artists. Under the leadership of Music Director Wynton Marsalis, the LCJO performs a vast repertory spanning the history of jazz, from masterpieces by composers such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Thelonious Monk, and Charles Mingus, to commissioned works by Benny Carter, Joe Henderson, Jimmy Heath, Chico O'Farrill, members of the LCJO, and others.

Over the last few years, the LCJO has performed collaborations with many of the world's leading symphony orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Russian National Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Czech Philharmonic, the Boston, Chicago, and London Symphony Orchestras, and others. The members of the LCJO frequently conduct educational events produced by JALC, including lectures, master classes, and Jazz for Young PeopleSM concerts while on tour, and serve as mentors in the annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival. In 1999, the LCJO was designated a Cultural Ambassador of the United States of America under the White House Millennium Council Program. In March 2001, Mr. Marsalis was designated a United Nations Messenger of Peace by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Jazz at Lincoln Center is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to jazz. With the world-renowned Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and a comprehensive array of guest artists, Jazz at Lincoln Center advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of performance, education, and broadcast events for audiences of all ages. The LCJO lineup includes Music Director & Trumpet: WYNTON MARSALIS; Trumpets: SENECA BLACK, RYAN KISOR, MARCUS PRINTUP; Trombones: RON WESTRAY, ANDRÉ HAYWARD, VINCENT GARDNER; Reeds: WESS "WARMDADDY" ANDERSON, WALTER BLANDING, JR., VICTOR GOINES, TED NASH, JOE TEMPERLEY; Piano: ERIC LEWIS; Bass: CARLOS HENRIQUEZ; and Drums: HERLIN RILEY.

For more information, please visit www.jazzatlincolncenter.org.