Saturday Evening, January 23, 2016, at 8:30 m a r g Rita Moreno o r Russ Kassoff , Music Director and Piano P Jay Anderson , Bass e Ted Sommer , Drums h T This evening’s program is approximately 75 minutes long and will be performed without intermission. Please make certain all your electronic devices are switched off. Major support for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook is provided by Amy & Joseph Perella. Endowment support provided by Bank of America This performance is made possible in part by the Josie Robertson Fund for Lincoln Center. Steinway Piano The Appel Room Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall American Songbook Additional support for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook is provided by The DuBose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund, The Shubert Foundation, Jill and Irwin B. Cohen, The G & A Foundation, Inc., Great Performers Circle, Chairman’s Council, and Friends of Lincoln Center. Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts. Artist catering provided by Zabar’s and zabars.com MetLife is the National Sponsor of Lincoln Center UPCOMING AMERICAN SONGBOOK EVENTS IN THE APPEL ROOM: Wednesday Evening, February 3, at 8:30 Craig Finn Thursday Evening, February 4, at 8:30 The Songs of Todd Almond with special guests Courtney Love, Sherie Rene Scott, and Brandon Victor Dixon Friday Evening, February 5, at 8:30 Janis Ian Saturday Evening, February 6, at 8:30 Jerry Dixon & Mario Cantone Wednesday Evening, February 17, at 8:30 Foreigner: The Hits Unplugged Thursday Evening, February 18, at 8:30 A Coffin in Egypt: An Opera-in-Concert featuring Frederica von Stade Friday Evening, February 19, at 8:30 Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! Saturday Evening, February 20, at 8:30 Andy Karl & Orfeh The Appel Room is located in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall. For tickets, call (212) 721-6500 or visit AmericanSongbook.org. Call the Lincoln Center Info Request Line at (212) 875-5766 or visit AmericanSongbook.org for complete program infor - mation. Join the conversation: #LCSongbook We would like to remind you that the sound of coughing and rustling paper might distract the performers and your fellow audience members. In consideration of the performing artists and members of the audience, those who must leave before the end of the performance are asked to do so between pieces . Flash photography and the use of recording equipment are not allowed in the building. American Songbook I Meet the Artists s t s i t r A e E V A R h G R t A H N I T S t U A e e Rita Moreno M One of the few performers to win entertainment’s grand slam of an Oscar, Grammy, Tony, and Emmy, Rita Moreno remains one of the busiest stars in show business and was recognized for her achievements in the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. Ms. Moreno has been cast to co-star in the Latino remake of Norman Lear’s classic sitcom One Day at a Time for Netflix, and most recently released her first all-Spanish-language album, Una Vez Más , produced by Emilio Estefan. She provides the voice of Abuelita in the animated series Nina’s World , and her first book, Rita Moreno: A Memoir , became a New York Times bestseller. In 2011 she premiered her one-woman biographical show, Life Without Makeup. Such creative diversity has been the hallmark of Ms. Moreno’s nearly 70- year career. She won the 1962 Oscar for her role as Anita in the film ver - sion of West Side Story . The Tony was for her 1975 comedic triumph as Googie Gomez in Broadway’s The Ritz , and she won a Grammy for her 1972 performance on the original cast album of The Electric Company . Ms. Moreno won not one, but two Emmys—the first for a 1977 variety appearance on The Muppet Show and the second for a dramatic turn the following year on The Rockford Files . Ms. Moreno was born Rosa Dolores Alverio in Humacao, Puerto Rico, and moved with her mother to New York at the age of five. She made her Broadway debut at just 13 in Skydrift , starring Eli Wallach. Then, in true Hollywood tradition, a talent scout spotted her and arranged for her to meet MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer, who signed her to a film contract. Her numer - ous film appearances include Singin’ in the Rain starring Gene Kelly, and as Tuptim in the classic The King and I with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. Although early roles sometimes found her typecast as a Mexican spitfire or Indian maiden, Ms. Moreno broke the Latina mold playing an Irish teacher, an Italian widow, a proper Englishwoman, and a Southern belle. American Songbook I Meet the Artists Ms. Moreno’s long stage career has included starring roles in Hal Prince’s 1962 production of She Loves Me and the 1997 West End run of Sunset Boulevard , among others. In New York, she has starred in Lorraine Hansberry’s The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window , opposite Robert Shaw in Gantry, with James Coco in Last of the Red Hot Lovers , and more. In addition to her film, stage, television, and concert commitments, Ms. Moreno lectures on such varied topics as diversity, the power of language, and getting older. She has served on the National Council on the Arts and as a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. In 2013 she received a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. Russ Kassoff Russ Kassoff (music director, piano) is an accomplished jazz pianist, conductor, composer, orchestrator, and arranger. He toured as pianist to Frank Sinatra from 1980–91, including on The Rat Pack—The Ultimate Event Tour featuring Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, and Liza Minnelli, with whom he toured for 18 years. On Broadway he was music director and conductor for Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away (2010) and was conductor/pianist for Charles Aznavour in con - cert (1998). He has served as music director to Rita Moreno since 2003. In 2007 Mr. Kassoff appeared as a featured guest on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz on NPR as a result of his critically acclaimed CD Somewhere . In addition to Moreno, Sinatra, and Minnelli, Mr. Kassoff has accompanied Perry Como, Vic Damone, Carly Simon, Debbie Gravitte, and Luciano Pavarotti in a wonderfully eclectic career. In the jazz world he has enjoyed a 30-year-plus association with Bucky Pizzarelli, and has recorded with the likes of Red Norvo, Chris Connor, Mimi Hines, Rod Stewart, and Sylvia Syms. The Russ Kassoff Big Band is in con - cert annually at the John Birks Gillespie Auditorium in New York’s Baha’i Center, and as part of Midtown Jazz at Midday at Saint Peter’s Church in the Citicorp Center. In 2010 Mr. Kassoff released his CD Bird Fly By . Jay Anderson Jay Anderson (bass) is among the most versatile and respected jazz artists per - forming today. A bassist and composer, he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz artists, including Woody Herman, Carmen McRae, Michael Brecker, Paul Bley, Bob Mintzer, John Abercrombie, Dave Liebman, Joe Sample, Maria Schneider, Stanley Cowell, John Scofield, Lee Konitz, Vic Juris, Red Rodney, Ira Sullivan, Mike Stern, Anat Cohen, Toots Thielemans, Kenny Wheeler, and Jay Clayton. Collaborations with non-jazz artists include Osvaldo Golijov, Dawn Upshaw, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Robert Spano (Atlanta Symphony Orchestra), Michael Franks, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Chaka Khan, Michel Legrand, Allen Ginsberg, and Celine Dion. Mr. American Songbook I Meet the Artists Anderson has been featured on more than 300 recordings, five of which received Grammy Awards. He has conducted clinics around the world and is a professor of jazz bass studies at the Manhattan School of Music. He cur - rently co-leads the critically acclaimed group Bann, featuring Seamus Blake, Oz Noy, and Adam Nussbaum. Ted Sommer Ted Sommer (drums), a much-in-demand percussionist, has performed on hundreds of albums, including the Grammy-nominated Percussive Mariachi (Solid State Records), Drum Suite (RCA), and Puente Goes Jazz (RCA). He has performed and recorded with artists such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis Jr., Lena Horne, Sara Vaughan, Tito Puente, Zoot Sims, Bobby Hackett, Lionel Hampton, Phil Woods, and Ron Carter. Broadway credits include 42nd Street , Music Man , and Over Here! He has also performed on television and radio shows, including the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson , the Perry Como Show , and hundreds of commercials. Mr. Sommer has also been on the staff orchestras at NBC and ABC. American Songbook In 1998, Lincoln Center launched American Songbook, dedicated to the cel - ebration of popular American song. Designed to highlight and affirm the cre - ative mastery of America’s songwriters from their emergence at the turn of the 19th century up through the present, American Songbook spans all styles and genres, from the form’s early roots in Tin Pan Alley and Broadway to the eclecticism of today’s singer-songwriters. American Songbook also showcases the outstanding interpreters of popular song, including estab - lished and emerging concert, cabaret, theater, and songwriter performers. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presen - ter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers 15 programs, series, and festivals including American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, the Mostly Mozart Festival, and the White Light Festival, as well as the Emmy Award–winning Live From Lincoln Center , which airs nationally on PBS.