FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Press Contacts: April 4, 2012 Rachelle Roe Maggie Berndt Erin Dennis

WYNTON MARSALIS AND JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA RETURN TO SYMPHONY CENTER FOR WEEKEND RESIDENCY

Annual appearance on Symphony Center Presents Jazz series on Friday, April 27 at 8 p.m.

Also presenting Jazz for Young People on Saturday, April 28 at 1 p.m. and a Tribute to Big Band Hits with Natalie Cole on April 28 at 8 p.m.

CHICAGO — The acclaimed Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, comes to Symphony Center for their first multi-concert residency since 2008 on April 27 and 28, 2012. They will be participating in three performances, as well as clinics and workshops for young Chicago-area jazz students. On Friday, April 27 at 8 p.m., they perform as part of the Symphony Center Presents Jazz series with a special tribute to bandleader Wynton Marsalis in honor of his 50th birthday, part of a year-long series of concerts and celebrations. The evening salutes Marsalis’ compositions, ranging from the Pulitzer Prize-winning Blood on the Fields to some of his more recent compositions, including Abyssinian Mass. On Saturday, April 28 at 1 p.m., the orchestra performs one of their acclaimed Jazz for Young People concerts, ―Who is Duke Ellington?‖ This performance introduces young audience members to the legendary composer and bandleader and will be followed by a Q & A session with Marsalis. This concert is recommended for ages 5 and up. Finally on Saturday, April 28, 2012, at 8 p.m., superstar vocalists Natalie Cole and Cécile McLorin Salvant join Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, for a special concert featuring some of the most enduring classics of the big-band era, including ―Stardust,‖ “Cherokee‖ and ―In the Mood.‖ Multiple Grammy Award-winner Natalie Cole, the daughter of the legendary Nat King Cole has made a name for herself as both an R&B singer and a master interpreter of classic American songs. This concert marks her first performance with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra since 1996, bringing together two of today’s top artists for a unique, one-night-only performance. Making her Symphony Center debut with this performance, Cécile McLorin Salvant is the winner of the 2010 Thelonious Monk International Vocal Jazz Competition and has been gaining fans around the world with her distinctive interpretations of jazz and blues standards.

In addition to their concert activities, members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will be presenting in-school clinics at two Chicago-area high schools, Kenwood Academy and Gallery 37 Advanced Arts Education, as well as offering a master clinic for the Northern Illinois University Jazz Ensemble. WYNTON MARSALIS is the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and a prolific performer, composer, educator, author and humanitarian. Born in New Orleans in 1961, Marsalis began his classical training on trumpet at age 12 and soon began playing in local bands of diverse genres. He entered The Juilliard School at age 17 and joined Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He made his recording debut as a leader in 1982 and has since recorded more than 70 jazz and classical albums, which have garnered him nine Grammy Awards. He won the Pulitzer Prize in music in 1999 for his oratorio Blood on the Fields. He is a prolific composer, writing for a variety of ensembles and media, including symphony orchestra and television documentary soundtracks. Marsalis is also an internationally respected teacher and spokesman for music education, and he has received honorary doctorates from dozens of universities and colleges throughout the U.S. Among his many honors and accolades, he has been named United Nations Messenger of Peace and a cultural ambassador to the United States of America through the U.S. State Department, and he received France's Legion of Honor, the highest honor bestowed by this government. He is also active in the Bring New Orleans Back Commission and has hosted a number of benefit concerts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA (JLCO), comprising 15 of the finest jazz soloists and ensemble players today, has been the Jazz at Lincoln Center resident orchestra since 1988. Featured in all aspects of Jazz at Lincoln Center's programming, this remarkably versatile orchestra performs and leads educational events in New York, across the U.S. and around the globe; in concert halls, dance venues, jazz clubs and public parks; and with symphony orchestras, ballet troupes, local students and an ever-expanding roster of guest artists. Under Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, the JLCO spends over a third of the year on tour. The big band performs a vast repertoire, including historical rarities and commissioned works. The orchestra also collaborates with many of the world’s leading symphony orchestras and other musical groups. Television broadcasts of Jazz at Lincoln Center programs have helped broaden the awareness of its unique efforts and have aired all over the world. To date, 13 recordings featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis have been released and internationally distributed, including their most recent album, Portrait in Seven Shades (2010). Nine-time Grammy award winner, singer, songwriter and performer NATALIE COLE has proven to be one of the most beloved performers of all time. She rocketed to stardom in 1975 with her debut album, Inseparable, earning her a #1 single, ―This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)‖ and two Grammy awards for Best New Artist and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. She continued recording R&B hits before recording Unforgettable…with Love in 1991, an album of standards from the American Songbook that included a duet with her late father—Nat King Cole—on the title track. The album spent five weeks at #1 on the pop charts, earned six Grammy awards (including Song, Record and Album of the Year) and sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. Other recent releases include Ask a Woman Who Knows (2002), Leavin’ (2006) and Still Unforgettable (2008). Cole’s memoir Love Brought Me Back, a story of loss and recovery, sorrow and joy, success and despair and, finally, success again, was released in 2009. Recently, Natalie Cole signed on as the spokesperson for the University Kidney Research Organization. UKRO is a Los Angeles based nonprofit organization supporting medical research related to the prevention, treatment and eradication of all forms of kidney disease. CÉCILE McLORIN SALVANT is the winner of the 2010 Thelonious Monk International Vocal Jazz Competition. She is a young French-American jazz singer, born and raised in Miami of a French mother and a Haitian father and started piano studies at 5 and choir and lyrical at 8 with private instructors and at the University of Miami. She graduated from Coral Reef International Baccalaureate Academy in 2007 where she received the highly prestigious National Achievement Scholarship. She is currently studying lyrical and baroque voice at the Music Conservatory of Aix-en-Provence, France. Known for her own unique interpretation of standard jazz classics and blues, as well as rare jazz compositions, Salvant enjoys growing popularity in Europe and in the United States where she has performed in many concerts and festivals accompanied by renowned musicians like Jean-Francois Bonnel, Rodney Whitaker and Dan Nimmer, as well as a guest of the Wynton Marsalis Quintet with Richard Galliano.

Complete program details follow:

Symphony Center Presents Friday, April 27, 2012, 8 p.m. Jazz Series Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Wynton Marsalis, trumpet Tickets: $45–$204

Symphony Center Presents Saturday, April 28, 2012, 1 p.m. Special Concert Jazz for Young People®: “Who is Duke Ellington?”

featuring Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Wynton Marsalis, trumpet Tickets: $17–$57

Symphony Center Presents Saturday, April 28, 2012, 8 p.m. Special Concert Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Wynton Marsalis, trumpet

Natalie Cole, vocals Cécile McLorin Salvant, vocals

Tickets: $55–$195

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s appearances in the 2011/12 season are supported by the Performing Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from the Illinois Arts Council, General Mills Foundation and Land O’Lakes Foundation.

The Symphony Center Presents Jazz series is sponsored by BMO Harris Bank and supported in part by the Sara Lee Foundation. Media Sponsors: Downbeat, WBEZ, Chicago Sun-Times

TICKETS for all 2011/12 Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Center Presents and Civic Orchestra of Chicago concerts can be purchased by calling CSO ticketing services at 312-294-3000 or 800-223-7114, online at cso.org, or by visiting the Symphony Center box office at 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60604. Discounted student tickets for select concerts can be purchased, subject to availability, online in advance or at the box office on the day of the concert. For group rates, please call 312-294-3040. Artists, programs and ticket prices are subject to change.

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