Delfeayo Marsalis and Cécile McLorin Salvant (from left to right) are among the jazz artists performing at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts welcomes jazz back to the stage in 2024 with a variety of entertaining performances for all, including a Mardi Gras celebration with Delfeayo Marsalis on Friday, February 9.
“We are elated to present a wide range of jazz in 2024, in hopes that folks will find something they know and love but are also persuaded to explore something fresh and new,” said Abbey Messmer, programming director for Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. “Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra offer joy and fun that can only come from a big band group while multitalented innovator Cécile McLorin Salvant brings a mixture of strong narratives, unexpected twists and humor.”
Jazz Lounge returns in 2024 with two performances in January and February. The first of these two shows, “I Got Rhythm—A Tribute to Cole Porter and George Gershwin,” features vocalist Jan Sandwich on Saturday, Jan. 13, as she presents a new show saluting two of the greatest songwriters of all time with music for all ages. Then, on Saturday, Feb. 10, “Alexis Janae | Love & Pain” invites audiences for an intimate and soulful performance as singer-songwriter Alexis Janae explores songs that express the joys and pains of love, reflecting on her personal experience.
On Saturday, Jan. 13, Scottsdale welcomes 10-time Grammy award-winning artist Arturo Sandoval. A protégé of the legendary jazz master Dizzy Gillespie, Sandoval is one of the most brilliant, multifaceted and renowned musicians of our time. He has been awarded 10 Grammys and nominated 19 times; he has also received 6 Billboard Awards and an Emmy Award.
Cécile McLorin Salvant makes a stop in Scottsdale on Thursday, Jan. 18, to celebrate her latest work, “Mélusine.” The late opera singer Jessye Norman described Salvant as “a unique voice supported by an intelligence and full-fledged musicality, which light up every note she sings.” “Mélusine” is a mix of five originals and interpretations of nine songs that tell a folkloric tale from the 12th century about the eponymous shape-shifting maiden — half-serpent, half-woman.
“While I love storytelling, I love the intimacy in secret-telling,” said Salvant in an interview with JAZZ.FM91. “Revealing secrets is even more intimate than telling a story. There’s something about it that’s illicit. You’re not supposed to reveal a secret. … The story of Mélusine is the story of a woman with a secret.”
Delfeayo Marsalis and Uptown Jazz Orchestra arrive in Scottsdale just in time to celebrate Mardi Gras on Feb. 9. Since 2008, the Uptown Jazz Orchestra has been stretching the boundaries of what is expected from big bands, playing with an extraordinary sense of joy and fun that could only come from New Orleans. With influences from Louis Armstrong to Count Basie, Delfeayo Marsalis and Uptown Jazz Orchestra performances help free the mind, warm the heart and heal the soul.
The 2023–24 season ends with SFJAZZ Collective on Thursday, March 21. Described as “contemporary jazz’s premier all-star band” by The New York Times, SFJAZZ is celebrating its 10th season by performing a wide selection of material chosen and arranged by the members, from new compositions to timeless classics and everything in between.
“Later this spring, we come back to iconic jazz with SFJAZZ Collective, featuring rearrangements of socially relevant classics along with fresh compositions,” Messmer said. “It’s a nice arc of options, and our theater is a great room to hear music, so we look forward to celebrating the many forms of jazz with all the music lovers out there.”
All concerts will take place at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. 2nd St., Scottsdale, Arizona. Ticket prices vary by show. Visit ScottsdalePerformingArts.org/events or call Scottsdale Arts at 480-499-TKTS (8587) for more information.
