„Big Band Holidays“ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra & Wynton Marsalis (USA) Jazz Pesulad presents!

This year’s Christmas Jazz opens with one of the world’s finest big bands, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis! Alexela Concert Hall will come alive with the festive programme Big Band Holidays, featuring music guaranteed to lift the spirits and set the mood for the holiday season. The concert brings together Marsalis’s brilliant trumpet playing, world-class big band arrangements, and outstanding vocalists. The orchestra’s Artistic Director, Wynton Marsalis, is one of the most influential jazz musicians of our time. He has won nine Grammy Awards, released more than 150 recordings, and was the first non-classical musician to receive the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Music. Treat yourself and your loved ones to an unforgettable evening of jazz at its very best.

Wynton Marsalis is a world-renowned trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and advocate for American music and culture who has been shaping jazz for five decades. He is the only musician to have won Grammy Awards in both jazz and classical music categories in the same year. Dubbed the “Leonard Bernstein of the 21st century”, Marsalis continues his mission of bringing music to wider audiences through his work at the Juilliard School, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation. Marsalis became Artistic Director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in 1991. With a repertoire that places special emphasis on big band classics, particularly the music of Duke Ellington, alongside contemporary works, the orchestra now tours regularly throughout the United States and around the world, while also collaborating with renowned symphony orchestras. The 2026 world tour will be Wynton Marsalis’s final tour as leader of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

At Christmas Jazz, the orchestra will be joined by guest vocalists Catherine Russell and Georgia Heers. Catherine Russell’s father served as musical director of Louis Armstrong’s orchestra. A three-time Grammy nominee, Russell has toured with numerous international stars, including David Bowie and Steely Dan. Georgia Heers is one of the outstanding jazz vocalists of her generation, earning acclaim for her nuanced vocals and deep understanding of the jazz tradition. She is currently working on her debut album in collaboration with Cécile McLorin Salvant.

The Big Band Holidays concert will be a truly special occasion: Estonian audiences will have the opportunity to experience a Christmas programme created specifically for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and performed outside the United States for the very first time.