Wynton Marsalis tour jazzes up 2009 with special Willie Nelson concert

After closing out the year with a few performances in New York City, legendary jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis will be back on the road early in 2009 for a new round of dates along the East Coast. His next performance with the Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) Orchestra is slated for November 20-22 at the Rose Theater in New York, followed by a December 17-21 run at the New York City Center.

Marsalis will kick off the New Year with a January 17 concert at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in Virginia Beach, VA, and has dates booked through a May 10 performance at Avery Fisher Hall in New York, NY. His itinerary includes two more runs at the Rose Theater with the orchestra, first on February 19-21 and then on April 16-18.

The award-winning musician has been the artistic director of JALC since he co-founded the program in 1987. Based out of the Frederick P. Rose Hall, the program hosts a number of events in the Rose Theater every year.

One special Rose Theater performance slated for early next year features the pairing of Marsalis and country legend Willie Nelson on February 9 and 10. As a pair, the musicians perform a repertoire of jazz and blues standards such as “Georgia On My Mind” and “Basin Street Blues.” In July 2008, the duo released the live album “Two Men with the Blues,” which was recorded during a January 2007 JALC concert.

Over the course of his career, Marsalis has released dozens of jazz and classical recordings, both on his own and as director of the JALC Orchestra. Though he is acclaimed for his musical advocacy and talent, Marselis has also been subject to criticism for his strict interpretation of jazz music and its history. Most recently, Quincy Jones criticized Marsalis in the New York’s Daily News, saying that the musician “doesn’t want to hear any other kind of music” than classical jazz.

Wynton Marsalis itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)

* with Willie Nelson