Wynton Marsalis jazz show celebrates Harlem church

He may be a world-renowned musician, but Wynton Marsalis still likes to jazz things up.

So during his performance at Memorial Hall on Thursday and Friday with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, he will be joined by no less than a 70-member gospel choir in a piece that celebrates the culture of the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem.

Elizabeth Joyner, the audience development and engagement coordinator for Carolina Performing Arts, which is hosting the show, said she is excited about the concert because the piece has only been performed a few times throughout the world.

“Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra are starting a North American tour playing this piece, and Chapel Hill is the first stop,” she said.

Marnie Karmelita, director of programming for CPA, said the piece was commissioned by the Harlem church in 2008 to celebrate its bicentennial anniversary.

She said while Marsalis performs at UNC every year, this performance is especially exciting because there will be nearly 100 performers on stage instead of the usual average of 15.

Joyner said her outreach to promote the event has been primarily to churches and church choirs throughout Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Durham.

She said CPA gave the churches special offers to come see the performance as a group.

“What Wynton does in this piece is going to be really rich and important to a lot of members of our community,” she said. “It’s been one of our goals to get as many local singers and gospel singers and people who would really enjoy this and know this kind of music to fill our seats.”

Joe Florence, CPA’s marketing manager, said he hopes to introduce community members to a new style of music that they may not be familiar with or that they may associate with their parents, and therefore not be very interested in, through this performance.

“I know personally I wasn’t interested in jazz until I got into my 30s, so if I can cut 10 years off of that and let someone enjoy jazz, then I think — on a very surface level — that’s a goal,” he said.

He said he thinks the performance can also inform studies on African-American or New York City culture since it relies heavily on history.

“It’s just different from words on a page, and anything that gets anyone motivated and eager to learn more is something we try to do,” he said.

Florence said he doesn’t know what the atmosphere will be like at the concert, except that it will be lively. But he said not knowing what to expect is what makes it fun.

“Wynton Marsalis being one of the most world-renowned trumpeters in the land just serves our mission of bringing the best to Chapel Hill,” he said.

“But it doesn’t hurt that he is a household name to anyone who appreciates music.”

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