Wynton Marsalis and "Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra" are coming to Romania for the first time, in the 21st edition of the JTI Meetings - a tour special edition.

Soloist and composer Wynton Marsalis, the best known contemporary trumpeter, and "Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra" from New York, composed of the 15 greatest instrumentalists of the moment will perform a first Jazz Concert at the Grand Palace Hall, on the 1st of July from 8PM, on the same stage where, decades ago, "sacred monsters" of the genre such as Louis Armstrong or Dizzy Gillespie were present. This is not JTI's first encounter with jazz. In the 90's JTI presented the "Jazz Alive" series on the stage of the Palace Hall, where Chick Corea, Airto Moreira, Johnny Răducanu and other great names of the genre were present.

The second concert of the tour will be a symphonic one, on July 2nd, from 8PM, at the Radio Hall. Wynton Marsalis and "Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra" will perform the symphony "The Jungle", together with the Romanian National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cristian Măcelaru. Composed by Wynton Marsalis at the behest of the New York Philharmonic to mark the 175th anniversary of the orchestra's founding, the Symphony "The Jungle" had its partial premiere in December 2016. The complete performance of the work, together with the Romanian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Cristian Măcelaru took place for the first time at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, in January 2019.

The third concert, a jazz one, will take place on July 3rd, from 9PM, in the Great Square (Sibiu), the heart of the city, which has become a symbol of the performance arts. The concert will take place during the Romanian-American Musical Days organized by the Sibiu State Philharmonic, being also a preview to the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, a special partner of the JTI Meetings.

Under the guidance of music director Wynston Marsalis, "Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra" will perform a wide repertoire, including compositions and adaptations by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Thelonius Monk, Mary Lou Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Charles Mingus and many others.

Wynton Marsalis is internationally recognized as a musician, composer, conductor and promoter of American culture. He is the first jazz artist to perform and compose in the entire scale, from its New Orleans roots to modern jazz. He created and performed the most various genres, music for quartets, but also for orchestras, for step, but also for ballet, managing to expand the jazz vocabulary. Wynton Marsalis's creativity has been celebrated all over the world. Among other things, he won the Edison Award in the Netherlands, is an honorary member of the Conservatory of the British Royal Academy of Music and a Knight of the Legion of Honour.

Inaugurated in 2000 by the famous ballet company Bejart Ballet Lausanne, the JTI Meetings were mainly dedicated to dance, hosting well-known choreographers and bands, such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Gigi Căciuleanu and Chile National Ballet, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Akram Khan Company, Martha Graham Dance Company, but also to music, especially in the beginning. The JTI Meetings were held annually, except in 2020, when they were postponed due to the pandemic.

Join us for the 21st edition of the JTI Meetings, an edition that brings in Romania the vigour and profoundness of American jazz music!

For the concerts in Bucharest, tickets can be found in the Eventim.ro network. For the concert in Sibiu the access is free within the available seats.