Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Barbican

Sometimes, the names speak for themselves. Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra  are two of the brightest stars in the jazz firmament. With a programme of music from the iconic Blue Note Label (who will be celebrating their 75th anniversary in 2014), this unmissable event is likely to sell out months in advance. 

Formed in 1988 from surviving members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Marsalis’ own septet, the JALC Orchestra is widely regarded as the best big band in the world. Led by Marsalis, it mainly performs established, swing-based repertoire by composers like Ellington, Benny Goodman and Dizzy Gillespie.  It has also collaborated with contemporary groups like the Ghanaian drum collective Odadaa! , and also with classical orchestras like the Berlin Philharmonic.  

Marsalis is technically one of the finest trumpeters on the planet; he has an unmistakably smooth, muscular tone and he is capable of mind-bendingly complex runs of notes. While some argue that Marsalis’ musical attitudes are too conservative, shunning the innovation of contemporary Jazz, he is celebrated around the world by audiences keen to hear this golden repertoire played with ear-popping skill.  

Blue Note Records made its reputation in the 1950s with recordings of the hugely influential generation of jazz musicians who came immediately after Charlie Parker. They developed the bebop style, with its driving, angular runs of chords and complex polyrhythms - where several different rhythms run alongside one another at the same time. The most famous of this generation ( Thelonius Monk, Horace Silver and Art Blakey) vary in many ways but they share an emotionally and rhythmically intense ‘Blue Note’ sound.

Tickets: £20 - £35

Address & Map:  Silk St, London EC2Y 8DS  

Nearest Tube: Barbican, Moorgate