Jazz At Lincoln Center, Cultural Institutions Open Up Archives Amid Pandemic

News, COVID-19, Wynton Marsalis, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra

By DownBeat I Apr. 7, 2020

A handful of cultural institutions are opening up their vaults to provide video footage during the pandemic, with Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center posting hours of music.
(Photo: Courtesy Blue Engine)

Like newspapers lifting their paywalls during the pandemic, some cultural institutions are making their archives available online without a fee.

Jazz at Lincoln Center and Wynton Marsalis have been at the forefront of providing entertainment to homebound jazz fans—as well as educational materials and hosting online chats. The organization’s been unfurling hours of archival performances and talks during the past few weeks, including the video below where Marsalis and company explore the JLCO Songbook. More’s on the way, too.

For additional information about what JLC is up to during the pandemic, visit its homepage. Donations to the institution can be made here.

The Montreux Jazz Festival and ISSUE Project Room—a nonprofit performance space and commissioner of new works—also have posted hours of video filmed at their events for perusal.

While ISSUE hedges toward the avant-garde (Alvin Lucier, Susie Ibarra, Rhys Chatham, Brandon Lopez), Montreux is offering 50 concert videos, covering Nina Simone and Lou Reed, and everything in between. DB