African Routes: Danilo Pérez & Godwin Louis
The JLCO with Wynton Marsalis

ARNHOLD INNOVATION SERIES

ABOUT THE CONCERT

Grammy Award–winning pianist Danilo Pérez and saxophonist Godwin Louis join the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis for a powerful world premiere that explores the enduring musical connections between Africa and the Americas. Featuring two new commissions, this expansive program weaves sound, rhythm, and spoken word into an immersive journey across shared histories and traditions.

Pérez’s The Panáfrica Suite draws on Afro-Caribbean and Latin influences rooted in his Panamanian heritage, while Louis’s African Roots, Diasporic Routes: Benin, Kongo, and the Music of the Americas reflects his Haitian roots and travels through West Africa.

Joining them are Grammy Award–winning vocalist Catherine Russell, acclaimed poet and cultural historian Yvette Modestin as spoken word artist, and master percussionist Weedie Braimah on djembe. Together with the JLCO, these artists transform the concert hall into a vibrant, living exchange of music, memory, and movement, inviting audiences to experience the rhythms, stories, and connections that continue to shape jazz today.

Made possible by the John and Jody Arnhold Innovation Fund.