Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton Play the Blues in NYC

Jazz at Lincoln Center announces Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton will perform together in Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton Play the Blues, with a special solo performance by blues legend Taj Mahal, in Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The special concert events have been added to the season schedule as the organization's 2011 Annual Gala on April 7 and as ticketed concerts open to the public on April 8 and 9.

Clapton, a guitar icon and three-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director and nine-time GRAMMY Award winner, will perform blues classics which may include tunes by Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith and Howling Wolf. For these special concerts, Clapton and Marsalis will be joined by Marcus Printup (trumpet), Chris Crenshaw (trombone), Victor Goines (clarinet), Jonathan Batiste (piano), Carlos Henriquez (bass), Ali Jackson (drums) and Don Vappie (banjo). The concerts will also include a special performance by composer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Taj Mahal, one of the most prominent and influential figures in late 20th century blues and roots music.

The April 7 performance marks Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2011 Annual Gala evening. A gala dinner will be held at Roseland Ballroom at 239 W. 52nd Street immediately following the concert and will feature entertainment by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Proceeds from Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2011 Annual Gala benefit the thousands of performance, education and broadcast events the organization produces each year. Underwriters of this extraordinary event are Diana DiMenna, John Arnhold, and Dick Cashin. Co-Chairmen are Helen and Robert J. Appel, Marlene Hess and James Zirin, Little Johnny Koerber and Kari Gronberg, Chip and Burwell Schorr, and Dr. Agnes Varis. Vice-Chairmen are Shahara Ahmad-Llewellyn, The Jeffrey A. Altman Foundation, Bank of America, Gail and Al Engelberg, Ed and Carolyn Lewis, MasterCard, Louise and Leonard Riggio, Lisa and David T. Schiff, Melanie Shorin and Greg Feldman and Mary Kay and John Strangfeld/Prudential Financial.

Clapton and Marsalis first collaborated for Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2003 gala, and most recently, Marsalis appears on Clapton's 2010 CD, Clapton.

Jazz at Lincoln Center 2011 Annual Gala: Thursday, April 7, 2011, 7pm. Tickets on sale now.

Public Concerts: Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9, 8pm.
Jazz at Lincoln Center subscribers and members advance sale on January 24
MasterCard cardholders advance sale on January 28.
Go to http://jalc.org/advancesale/ for more info.

Tickets for the general public on sale February 12.

Where:
Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center
Broadway at 60th Street, New York, New York

*April 7 gala post-performance dinner party to take place at Roseland Ballroom, 239 W. 52nd Street