In this much-anticipated annual tradition (not to mention the official Rose Theater homecoming of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra), the JLCO with Wynton Marsalis offers swinging performances of holiday music. In celebration of the inauguration of the new Mica and Ahmet Ertegun Atrium, Aretha Franklin will be a special guest on tonight's performance. The JLCO will debut new arrangements of familiar songs sacred and secular, from Count Basie’s “Jingle Bells” to classics like “White Christmas” and “Zat You Santa Claus?” Big Band Holidays travels the country annually, spreading holiday cheer in a tour that includes a four-show run in Rose Theater. Extraordinary guest vocalists Denzal Sinclaire and Audrey Shakir join the festivities. A Juno Award nominee and National Jazz Award recipient, Sinclaire is regarded as one of the most dynamic voices in jazz, making important contributions in the continuum of the great jazz crooners. Shakir is one of the greatest bebop singers in the world today, an unrecognized talent with a thrilling voice, sure to send elation through the audience. A long-time friend of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Shakir made her first appearance at the opening festivities of Frederick P. Rose Hall and has performed with artists like Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, and Pharoah Sanders. She is also an early inspiration to her son, veteran JLCO saxophonist Walter Blanding. Together with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, they share the stage of Rose Theater to celebrate “the most wonderful time of the year.”

• published: 19 Dec 2015
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