The University of Central Arkansas’s A Night Out at Reynolds Series returns with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by legendary trumpet soloist Wynton Marsalis, at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 21 at the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall.
“Wynton Marsalis is arguably the premier jazz trumpet player in the world today,” said Jerry Biebesheimer, director of UCA Public Appearances. “Many of the band’s other members are well known jazz soloists in their own right.”
The 15-piece jazz orchestra was hailed as “extraordinarily versatile” by the Los Angeles Times, and “the finest big band in the world today,” by the Daily Telegraph. The band performs selections from extensive repertoires that include the classic greats such as Ellington, Mingus and Coltrane, as well as original compositions by Marsalis himself.
“We were only able to afford to bring them to UCA because Marsalis hates to fly, and they will be driving back to New York from a tour with the orchestra in the Southwest,” Biebesheimer said. “It was simply too great an opportunity to pass up.”
Dedicated to jazz education, the orchestra tours nationally and internationally and conducts regular education and broadcast events for audiences of all ages. In addition to leading the band, Marsalis also serves as the artistic director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Marsalis formerly performed with Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins and Herbie Hancock. He has been awarded nine Grammys in both classical and jazz music genres, and in 1997 he became the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Tickets, available at the UCA Ticket Central Box Office, are $30-$40 for adults, $27-$37 for senior citizens, $25-35 for UCA alumni, $28-$33 for UCA faculty and staff, and $10 for all students. For tickets, call (501) 450-3265 or toll free from anywhere in Arkansas at 1-866-810-0012.
For more information, contact Biebesheimer at (501) 450-3682 or jerryb@uca.edu.
