At Jazz at Lincoln Center, Dave Chappelle Rallies to Keep ‘Tradition Alive'

New York Times

01-05-2025

Outside the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Wednesday night, hundreds of people in shimmering gowns and velvet tuxes waited for the program to begin. They snacked on popcorn from gold pinstriped bags and sipped cocktails in front of a wall lined with giant black-and-white photos of the jazz pianist and composer Duke Ellington.
'I love coming here,' said Alec Baldwin, as he posed with his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, who was wearing a plunging lilac gown and a cross necklace, on the red carpet at Jazz at Lincoln Center's annual fund-raising gala, which celebrated Ellington's 125th birthday.
The couple, who married in 2012, star in a TLC reality TV show, 'The Baldwins.' Filmed as Mr. Baldwin faced trial for involuntary manslaughter, it focuses on their hectic family life with seven children, all age 11 and under, and eight pets. A judge dismissed the case in July.
'The kids aren't necessarily into the music I appreciate,' said Mr. Baldwin, 67, who wore a navy suit and a burgundy button-down. 'I like a lot of classical. I love Japanese jazz, too.' (Ms. Baldwin, 41, a fitness expert and podcast host, said she played a lot of Billie Eilish.)
Another jazz fan in the crowd was Michael Imperioli, the 'Sopranos' star who recently played Dom Di Grasso, a smooth Hollywood producer, in the second season of 'The White Lotus.'
He has not seen the new season yet, he said, but he plans to soon.
'I'm going to sit down and watch the whole thing in two days or something,' he said. 'I've been binging British detective shows.'
The Baldwins and Mr. Imperioli were among a smattering of celebrities from the film, music and media worlds, including the journalist Joy Reid and Ellington's granddaughter, Mercedes Ellington. The evening, which was hosted by the actor and comedian Dave Chappelle, honored the philanthropist H.E. Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo and the jazz pianist and composer Toshiko Akiyoshi.
Around 6:45 p.m., attendees began funneling into the theater. In front of the stage were two rows of table seating, topped with bags of popcorn and bottles of wine. The Baldwins shared a table with Chloe Breyer, the executive director of the Interfaith Center of New York, and Greg Scholl, the executive director of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
As they waited for the concert to begin, which featured the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Ms. Baldwin sipped a glass of red wine, while Mr. Baldwin munched on a bag of popcorn and scrolled through his phone.
Around 7:15 p.m., Mr. Chappelle took the stage.
'Man, you would've never thought you'd see me at an event like this, would you?' said Mr. Chappelle, the famously firebrand comedian.
'Don't worry, no bad words,' he joked. 'Just here to help out.'
He then shared a lesser-known part of his biography: Before he was in the stand-up comedy scene, he attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., a public high school with a focus on arts education.
'That school profoundly, profoundly, profoundly changed my life,' said Mr. Chappelle, who is an amateur jazz pianist. 'Duke Ellington was a guy who traveled all around the world just based off his talent. And as kids, we knew that it was possible, just because his energy was in the air.'
Though he mostly stuck to the teleprompter, Mr. Chappelle did throw in a few ad-libs. ('You can't get one of the greatest comedians in the world to just read a teleprompter,' he said.)
He took light aim at President Trump.
'It's up to us. We got to keep this tradition alive. This is one of the best things we got going in America,' he said. 'You see what Trump did at the Kennedy Center? You're next. He'll come here, 'I got to make jazz great again.' Oh, no! Oh, no!'
Around 9:15 p.m., the members of the orchestra led a second-line procession that snaked through the atrium, as a dozen trumpeters, drummers and saxophonists played 'When the Saints Go Marching In.' Afterward, a few hundred dinner guests tucked into plates of roasted branzino, chatting at tables with views of Columbus Circle.
Around 10 p.m., they began filtering down a hallway lined with a metallic gold curtain into Dizzy's Club, an intimate space with bamboo walls and windows overlooking Central Park.
They danced until after midnight, as the Norman Edwards Jr. Excitement Band played swing standards like 'Take the 'A' Train,' and the lights of Manhattan twinkled behind them.
'It's heartening to see so many different generations here,' Ms. Ellington said. 'Music is the only thing that's going to really keep us going. We need it now more than ever.'