Jazz at Lincoln Center Plans Hurricane Relief Concert on September 17

Jazz at Lincoln Center will host a concert to raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina on September 17 at 7 p.m.

The concert at Rose Hall will feature performances by singer and pianist Peter Cincotti, pop singer Elvis Costello, saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera, vocalist Abbey Lincoln, singer and pianist Diana Krall, vocalist Jon Hendricks, and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, among others. Marsalis, the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, is a native of New Orleans.

"New Orleans is the most unique of American cities because it is the only city in the world that created its own full culture—architecture, music, and festive ceremonies," Marsalis said in a statement. "New Orleanians are blues people. We are resilient, so we are sure that our city will come back."

"This tragedy, however, provides an opportunity for the American people to demonstrate to ourselves and to the world that we are one nation determined to overcome our legacies of injustices based on race and class," he added. "At this time all New Orleanians need the nation to unite in a deafening crescendo of affirmation to silence that desperate cry that is this disaster."

The concert will be carried live on XM Satellite Radio, on Newark's WBGO Jazz88.3, and on other NPR stations around the country. It can also be heard via the web sites of NPR, WBGO, and XM Radio. A CD of the event will be released on Blue Note Records, with all profits going to hurricane relief efforts.

Tickets are $50-$10,000 and go on sale on September 8. They are available at the Jazz at Lincoln Center box office, via www.jalc.org, or by calling CenterCharge at 212-721-6500.

By Ben Mattison

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