Laurie Anderson & Christian McBride with special guest Rubin Kodheli – January 21

Power to the People! Herbie Hancock – March 5

Wayne Shorter Celebration • Ambrose Akinmusire — Origami Harvest – April 5

Maria Schneider Orchestra • Anat Cohen Tentet – April 19

Los Angeles, CA (January 13, 2020) – The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2019/20 Jazz series at Walt Disney Concert Hall, led by the LA Phil’s Creative Chair for Jazz, Herbie Hancock, features some of the hottest names in jazz paying tribute to, and expanding upon, the legacies of those who came before.

Individually, Laurie Anderson and Christian McBride are titans in their respective fields: Anderson as an award-winning visual artist and innovative musician working in pop’s avant-garde and McBride as a Grammy®-winning jazz polymath equally adept at leading anything from small ensembles to big bands. Together, complemented by cellist Rubin Kodheli, Anderson’s violin and synthesizers and McBride’s bass form a unique and unexpected combination, leading The New York Times to call their 2017 concert at Town Hall one of the best live jazz performances of the year.

From subversive statements to songs of solidarity, music has always had a role to play in the movements that shift attitudes and shape nations. The LA Phil’s Power to the People! Festival kicks off with Herbie Hancock and his band collaborating with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil  to highlight music of inspiration and resilience – including Hancock’s tributes to Angela Davis, “Ostinato (Suite for Angela),” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream.” This performance is made possible by the Frank Gehry Fund for Creativity, and this project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Members of the Wayne Shorter Quartet and special guests pay homage to the unique musical vision of this living legend, whose 2018 album Emanon was hailed as the year’s best jazz recording by The New York Times. Band members celebrating Wayne Shorter are Brian Blade on drums, John Patitucci on bass, and Danilo Pérez on piano. Special guests for this performance include Terence Blanchard, Kenny Garrett and Joe Lovano. Oakland trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire presents selections from his hard-hitting and rhythmically dexterous 2018 album Origami Harvest, pushing jazz into deeper communication with hip-hop and modernist classical music and using it to address social issues.

Maria Schneider is a multiple Grammy® winner and the 2019 recipient of the prestigious NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship. Under her baton, the Maria Schneider Orchestra has brought big-band composition into the 21st century, developing the art form into an imaginative and beautifully fluid medium – including on the group’s upcoming album Data Lords, out April 17. Multiple Grammy® nominee Anat Cohen’s cosmopolitan vision for jazz encompasses Brazilian bossa nova and samba, swinging New Orleans music, and balladry, all with a post-bop twist.

More information and tickets for the LA Phil’s 2019/20 Jazz series be found at laphil.com.