Two years after his acclaimed debut at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Bobby McFerrin returns to open our 25th Anniversary Season, performing for the first time with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. “Audio Biography” will explore McFerrin’s wide-ranging influences from symphonies to spirituals to soundtracks, bebop and beyond. Framed with all new and inventive arrangements by members of the JLCO, the iconic vocalist will revisit the music that has shaped his singular imagination.

Bobby McFerrin was exposed to a multitude of musical genres during his youth--classical, R&B, jazz, pop and world musics. "When you grow up with that hodgepodge of music, it just comes out. It was like growing up in a multilingual house," he says. Bobby McFerrin continues to explore the musical universe, known and unknown. Drawing on all genres, demonstrating matchless improvisational skills, he never fails to dazzle. He never seems to run out of new ideas, and he loves having no clue what's going to happen next. Ask him where he went to school, and he just might tell you that he is a graduate of MSU: Making Stuff Up. "Music for me," McFerrin says, "is like a spiritual journey down into the depths of my soul. And I like to think we're all on a journey into our souls. What's down there? That's why I do what I do."

Event takes place Thu-Sat, Sep 13-15, 8pm - Rose Theater; free Post-Concert Celebration September 13 Only, Immediately following the performance: Live music featuring drummer Bryan Carter.