Press Release Announcing the 2023-2024 season of Jazz Roots - Featuring a celebration of Henry Mancini's 100th Birthday, Dave Koz & Friends Christmas, Chucho Valdes Irakere 50 and Gregory Porter!

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County Announces

2023-2024 JAZZ ROOTS SEASON
Four concerts curated for Miami featuring jazz superstars
plus the SoundCheck education program for Miami-Dade high school students

THE NEW SEASON OF JAZZ ROOTS INCLUDES

THE HENRY MANCINI 100^TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
November 3, 2023

DAVE KOZ & FRIENDS CHRISTMAS TOUR 2023
December 1, 2023

CHUCHO VALDES: IRAKERE 50
February 9, 2024

ARTISTRY & SOUL: GREGORY PORTER
February 23, 2024

PLUS, THE ARSHT CENTER’S JAZZ ROOTS: SOUNDCHECK
PROGRAM CONTINUES
More than 150 high school musicians learn from the artists in-person before each concert and attend the performance for free

Miami, FL – July 26, 2023 – The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County (@arshtcenter) is proud to present the 2023-2024 season of JAZZ ROOTS, which returns to the Center’s Knight Concert Hall with four curated evenings of live music that celebrate American and Latin jazz masters.

The 2023-2024 season of JAZZ ROOTS features four unforgettable evenings of jazz, featuring top headliners, exciting new artists and once-in-a-lifetime musical moments. The season kicks off on November 3, 2023 with a celebration of the legacy of composer Henry Mancini, featuring the composer’s daughter Monica Mancini, the Frost School of Music’s Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra and other special guests to be announced soon. Celebrate the season on December 1, 2023 with holiday favorites by saxophonist Dave Koz and special guests. JAZZ ROOTS continues into 2024 with the reunion of Chucho Valdés and Irakere, 50 years after they changed the face of Latin music, on February 9, 2024; and wraps up with the smooth baritone vocals of Gregory Porter on February 23, 2024.

“The longstanding tradition of JAZZ ROOTS presenting the genre’s brightest stars continues with the thrilling lineup for the upcoming 2023-2024 season, which was specially curated for Miami audiences and showcases the best of jazz today,” said Liz Wallace, vice president of programming for the Arsht Center.

TICKETS
JAZZ ROOTS 2023-2024 series subscriptions, which include tickets to all four performances, are on sale to the public beginning July 26 with seating priority given to renewing subscribers. Four-concert subscription packages range in price from $158-$414* and can be purchased online at arshtcenter.org/jazz or by calling the Arsht Center Box Office at 305-949-6722. Single tickets will go on sale on September 8.

The 2023-2024 JAZZ ROOTS season is presented by the Arsht Center with generous support from presenting sponsor Baldwin Richardson Foods, with additional support from PNC Bank, Quint Family Foundation, Alan and Diane Lieberman and Steinway & Sons, the official piano of the Adrienne Arsht Center. WDNA 88.9 FM is the media sponsor.  

The star-studded four-concert season of JAZZ ROOTS includes the following:

THE HENRY MANCINI 100^TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
Friday, November 3, 2023 at 8 p.m.
From “Moon River” (Breakfast at Tiffany’s) and “Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet” to the timelessly iconic Pink Panther theme, HENRY MANCINI (@henrymancini) composed some of the most beloved music of our time while revolutionizing the art of film scoring. The Frost School of Music’s Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra (@hmifrostschool) will join Henry’s daughter, two-time Grammy-nominated vocalist Monica Mancini and eight-time Grammy winner Gregg Field, plus other surprise guest artists in a multi-media spectacular to celebrate Mancini’s 100^th birthday.

DAVE KOZ & FRIENDS CHRISTMAS TOUR 2023
Friday, December 1, 2023 at 8 p.m.
DAVE KOZ AND FRIENDS announce the 26^th anniversary of the longest-running jazz-based Christmas tour. Beginning the next era of this rich musical tradition, Koz and Friends will perform fresh renditions of timeless Christmas classics – as well as a Hanukkah medley – and hits from their respective catalogs. The tour reunites Koz with a longtime musical partner, guitarist/singer Jonathan Butler and will feature special guests, saxophonist/flutist Marcus Anderson making his debut, and vocalist Rebecca Jade, marking her third time with the tour. Traversing 25 cities in one month, the tour will also introduce musical prodigy Justin Lee Schultz, a 16-year-old South Africa-born, U.S. based pianist, guitarist, vocalist and social media sensation.

CHUCHO VALDÉS: IRAKERE 50
Friday, February 9, 2024 at 8 p.m.
Fresh off the world premiere of his epic work La Creación at the Arsht Center in 2021, Cuban pianist and composer CHUCHO VALDÉS (@chuchovaldesmusic) reunites with former bandmates to commemorate 50 years of IRAKERE, the legendary Afro-Cuban jazz band he founded which changed the face of Latin music forever. For more information, visit chucho-valdes.com.

ARTISTRY & SOUL: AN EVENING WITH GREGORY PORTER
Friday, February 23, 2024 at 8 p.m.
An artist whose music is at once timeless yet utterly of its time, GREGORY PORTER (@gregoryportermusic) has solidified his standing as his generation’s most soulful jazz singer-songwriter with two Best Jazz Vocal Album GRAMMY Awards – one for 2017’s Take Me to the Alley and the other in 2014 for his Blue Note debut Liquid Spirit. Liquid Spirit followed the critically acclaimed and GRAMMY-nominated albums Water (2010) and Be Good (2012) selling one million albums worldwide and becoming the most streamed jazz album of all time with more than 20 million streams. Porter has more than 1.3 billion career streams. In 2017, Porter released the heartfelt tribute album, Nat King Cole & Me, and, in 2020, returned to his original songwriting on the uplifting All Rise. For more information, visit gregoryporter.com.

In addition to the four concerts above, JAZZ ROOTS subscribers get priority access to purchase tickets to the following Live at Knight performances: 

CHRIS BOTTI
Friday, February 16, 2024 at 8 p.m.
For over two decades, Grammy Award-winning master trumpeter and composer CHRIS BOTTI (@chrisbottimusic) has amassed a spectacular variety of honors, including multiple Gold and Platinum albums, to become the nation’s  best-selling instrumental artist. His mesmerizing performances with a stunning array of legends such as Sting, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Yo-Yo Ma, Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Andrea Bocelli, have cemented his place as one of the most brilliant and inspiring forces of the contemporary music scene. Whether he’s performing with illustrious symphonies or at renowned venues around the globe, his unparalleled crystalline and poetic sound transcends musical boundaries.  For more information, visit chrisbotti.com.

MAVIS STAPLES
Friday, March 8, 2024 at 8 p.m.
A true icon of soul music, MAVIS STAPLES (@mavisstaples) has captivated audiences for over six decades with her powerful and soul-stirring voice. As a member of the renowned Staple Singers, she played a pivotal role in shaping the sound of gospel, soul, and R&B. Hailed by NPR as “one of America’s defining voices of freedom and peace,” she is the kind of once-in-a-generation artist whose impact on music and culture would be difficult to overstate. From her early involvement in the civil rights movement to her timeless collaborations with contemporary artists, she has effortlessly bridged generational gaps and musical genres. Staples is both a Blues and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and an 11-time Grammy Award winner. She has been honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and  is a National Arts Awards Lifetime Achievement recipient and Kennedy Center honoree. For more information visit mavisstaples.com.

ABOUT JAZZ ROOTS
The Arsht Center’s JAZZ ROOTS series is an institution in Miami music and has been enjoyed by more than 88,000 people. In addition, the series has benefitted more than 15,000 high school jazz music students who have participated in the accompanying JAZZ ROOTS: SoundCheck educational program. JAZZ ROOTS was co-created by the Adrienne Arsht Center in 2008 with the late music industry entrepreneur Larry Rosen and, since then, has presented a rich variety of thematic concerts exploring the spectrum of jazz and featuring more than 160 of the greatest living jazz artists/ensembles on the scene today. Since its inception, the series has included jazz superstars such as Jon Batiste, George Benson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Paquito D’Rivera, Michael Feinstein, Keith Jarrett, Eddie Palmieri, Sonny Rollins and Chucho Valdés as well as world-class ensembles, including the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, the Count Basie Orchestra and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. Quincy Jones has heralded JAZZ ROOTS as “the most important new jazz and educational series in America!” This history-making series has sold out dozens of concerts.

Arts Education Program
JAZZ ROOTS also features JAZZ ROOTS: SoundCheck, an in-depth educational partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools which has brought more than 15,000 high school music students to the Center for a complimentary and unique behind-the-scenes experience including: access to the pre-concert sound check; a Q&A session with featured artists followed by a workshop with a local jazz expert that will highlight the music, the artistic process and the practical skills needed for a career in the arts; and free entry to the evening’s performance, with transportation and dinner provided free of charge. The JAZZ ROOTS education program is presented by the Arsht Center with generous support from presenting sponsor Baldwin Richardson Foods, and made possible in part by PNC Bank, Quint Family Foundation, Hazel Rosen and Alan and Diane Lieberman. For more information on JAZZ ROOTS: SoundCheck, click here.

@ArshtCenter              #ArshtCenter

*All programs, artists, ticket prices, availability, dates and times are subject to change without notice. Additional fees may apply. Visit arshtcenter.org for up-to-date information.

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is made possible by the public support of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council and the City of Miami Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, as well as the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. The Adrienne Arsht Center also receives generous support from individuals, corporations and local, state and national foundations.

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About Us

Set in the heart of downtown Miami, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is committed to welcoming and connecting ALL people to the arts, to the Arsht Center and to each other. Our stages are alive year-round with artists from around the world, innovative programming from our resident companies and local arts partners, free community events that reflect Miami’s unique identity and arts education experiences for thousands of Miami children each year.

 Since opening in 2006, the Arsht Center, a 501C3 non-profit organization, has been recognized as a catalyst for billions of dollars in new development in the downtown area, a leader in programming that mirrors South Florida’s diversity, a host venue for historic events and Miami’s hub for arts education.

Each year, we serve more than 60,000 young learners and offer more than 100 culturally diverse and inclusive education programs — many enhanced by the Arsht Center’s relationship with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, local teaching artists and Miami-based arts organizations.

The Arsht Center is also a home stage for three resident companies — Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet and New World Symphony — and a launch pad for local artists to make their mark on the international stage. Our 300+ events each year include the Center’s Signature Series of classical, jazz, Broadway, local theater and much more. We present a robust series of touring Broadway musicals direct from New York, the largest jazz series in South Florida, a major annual Flamenco Festival and an award-winning Miami-based theater program. In addition, our Family Fest, Free Gospel Sundays, CommuniTEA LGBTQ+ celebration and Heritage Fest are among dozens of free events that bring together people from all corners of our community. For more information, visit arshtcenter.org.