Lifestyle

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

Published

12 months ago

May 1, 2025

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

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.”

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Lifestyle

Sunday Puzzle: Sweet Treat

Published

11 hours ago

April 12, 2026

Press Room

Sunday Puzzle

NPR

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NPR

This week’s challenge

Every answer today is a flavor of ice cream or sorbet.
What flavor of ice cream …

1. … has a two-word name in which each word starts CH-?

2. … has a two-word name in which each word starts RO-?

3. … is hidden in this sentence: That’s the caravan I’ll announce.

4. … has the string of letters UTTI in its name twice?

5. … has a silent P as its fourth letter?

6. … would spell some men’s facial hair if you changed its first two letters from PI to MU?

7. … consists of the names of two trees starting with M and W?

8. … is a fruit flavor that would become the name of another fruit flavor if you interchanged its first and third letters?

9. … is an anagram of TEENAGER (2 wds.)?

Last week’s challenge

Last week’s challenge came from Michael Schwartz, of Florence, Ore. Think of a musical instrument. Add two letters at the end, and you’ll get the names of two popular automobile models reading left or right. What musical instrument is this?

Answer

Accordion –> (Honda) Accord + (Hyundai) Ioniq

Winner

Nell Newton of Austin, Texas

This week’s challenge

This week’s challenge comes from Benita Rice, of Salem, Ore. Name a famous foreign landmark (5,4). Change the eighth letter to a V and rearrange the result to make an adjective that describes this landmark. What landmark is it?

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, April 16 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.

Lifestyle

Ask Imran Anything: On Boring Fashion, the Meaning of Luxury and Building Outside the System

Published

11 hours ago

April 12, 2026

Press Room

Ask Imran Anything: On Boring Fashion, the Meaning of Luxury and Building Outside the System

In the second instalment of the BoF Podcast’s Ask Me Anything series, Imran Amed takes on listener questions about creative energy returning to the industry, what luxury really feels like, why independent brands don’t need the old gatekeepers, and how to keep going when the world feels uncertain.

Lifestyle

Trump touts newly released plans for D.C. triumphal arch

Published

23 hours ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

Trump touts newly released plans for D.C. triumphal arch

Artist renderings and diagrams for President Trump’s proposed triumphal arch released by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on April 10, 2026.

Jon Elswick/AP

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Jon Elswick/AP

President Trump on Friday unveiled official architectural renderings for the triumphal arch he plans to add to the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The proposed monument would stand at one end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge next to the Arlington National Cemetery.

In addition to the president’s post on Truth Social, the plans were released by the Commission on Fine Arts, a federal agency that has review authority over the design and aesthetics of construction within Washington, D.C., and produced by Harrison Design, an architecture, interior and landscape design firm with offices in six U.S. cities, including D.C. The mockup shows a structure very similar to the 3D model that Trump touted at a fundraising dinner at the White House last October.

This model of President Trump’s proposed triumphal arch was shown at a White House press conference on Oct. 15, 2025.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

At 250 feet tall, the overall height of the structure is intended to serve as, “a fitting recognition of America’s 250th birthday,” the White House said in an email to NPR.

A monument aimed at honoring what and whom?

The proposed arch bears a striking resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris — though would stand almost 100 feet taller — and is topped with two golden eagles and a winged, crowned figure reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty (which was gifted to the U.S. by France in 1884.) On one side, the words “One nation under God” appear, with the phrase “Liberty and justice for all” on the other.

The structure would also loom over the nearby Lincoln Memorial — at more than twice the height.

“The Triumphal Arch in Memorial Circle is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world,” said White House spokesperson Davis Ingle in an email to NPR. “It will enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike, serving as a visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes throughout our 250 year history so we can enjoy our freedoms today. President Trump will continue to honor our veterans and give the greatest Nation on earth — America — the glory it deserves.”

When asked by CBS political correspondent Ed O’Keefe whom the monument was intended to honor after Trump initially unveiled his plans in October, Trump responded: “Me.” The exchange was captured in a social media video.

A group of Vietnam War veterans launched a lawsuit in February seeking to bar the Trump administration from constructing the arch. The plaintiffs argued the project violates statutes requiring express congressional authorization for the erection of commemorative works or any “building or structure” on federal park grounds in D.C., among other issues.

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris as part of the city’s Christmas celebrations (2007).

Christophe Ena/AP

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Christophe Ena/AP

“It’s textbook Trump,” said Sue Mobley, director of research at Monument Lab, of the proposed plans for the arch, in an interview with NPR. The nonprofit design studio based in Philadelphia reimagines public art and structures. “It has to be the biggest. That’s the authoritarian impulse.” Trump has repeatedly pushed back on accusations of authoritarianism, rejecting the label of dictator.

Mobley added that she doesn’t think the plans will come to fruition. “It will likely get tied up in court,” she said.

Approval process

The White House said it will “follow all legal requirements” in constructing the triumphal arch. As part of that process, it mentioned the National Park Service’s recent request to present potential designs to the Commission on Fine Arts. The plans are scheduled to be reviewed next week. At this point, that commission is composed entirely of members appointed by Trump. (In October 2025, Trump took the unusual step of firing six sitting members of the commission.) The National Capital Planning Commission, the federal government’s central planning agency for the National Capital Region, is also expected to weigh in on the plans.

The White House said the estimated cost of the project, which it anticipates will draw on a combination of public and private funds, is still being calculated. Harrison Design, the architecture firm behind the plans, did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for information about the price tag.

Multiple D.C. makeover projects

The arch plans are the latest in a series of current and potential architectural interventions from the White House in and around Washington, D.C.

Most dramatically, the administration is pushing for the creation of a $400 million neoclassical ballroom at the White House. A federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily allowed the construction of the ballroom to move forward while the administration challenges a March ruling that it required congressional approval. Whatever the outcome, the historic East Wing has already been demolished to make room for the new structure.

Trump has converted the White House Rose Garden into a stone-covered patio. He aims to shut down The Kennedy Center for two years to facilitate a major renovation (a coalition of groups including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Institute of Architects, and the D.C. Preservation League, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in March opposing the plans.) And he has proposed architectural changes to the Washington Dulles International airport through an initiative the Department of Transportation launched late last year to overhaul the Northern Virginia airport. Several prominent architecture firms including Zaha Hadid Architects and Adjaye Associates have submitted proposals.

In August, the president also signed an executive order requiring that new federal buildings with construction budgets of more than $50 million be designed in “classical” or “traditional” styles.

Anastasia Tsioulcas contributed to this story.