The performance, presented by the Washington Performing Arts Society, features Marsalis's Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and the Boys Choir of Harlem. Vocal soloists include Allan Harris, Jennifer Sanon, and Milt Grayson, a former vocalist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra; actress Nancy Giles is the narrator.
The suite was commissioned by the WPAS in honor of Douglas H. Wheeler, its president emeritus. The libretto, by Diane Charlotte Lampert, tells the story of Mother Nature and Father Time and their adventures as they create the world.
The piece returns to the Lincoln Theatre on December 11 and 12. On December 16, it gets its New York premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center's new Rose Hall.
