Screening: Jazz at Lincoln Center – Abyssinian Mass

Cosponsors: Jazz at Lincoln Center, Town of New Castle and Friends of the Chappaqua Library

Relax and enjoy an evening of cheese, wine and jazz in the elegant surroundings of the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center.

The worlds of gospel music and jazz have always shared a close bond. In Wynton Marsalis’ Abyssinian Mass, these two worlds come together as the Lincoln Center Orchestra—with a full gospel choir–performs one of the most joyful, ecstatic, and life-affirming pieces of music ever written.

Drawing from the full well of both styles’ traditions, Marsalis brings his own take on the Mass
format, infusing it with swinging energy, Blues expression, and rich melodic contours. Classic
aspects of the Mass, from the Doxology to the Gloria Patri, are all present and will provide
those familiar with the format with an exciting roadmap. The evening also featured a sermon
prepared and delivered by Reverend Calvin Butts of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem,
where the piece was first premiered.

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