Jazz At Lincoln Center Names A New Executive Director
The trustees of Jazz at Lincoln Center have reached into the ranks of business leaders in the digital media sector for a new executive director, hiring Greg Scholl, a former NBC Universal executive with a background in digital music distribution, to manage the nonprofit arts institution.
Mr. Scholl, 42, will on June 1 replace Adrian Ellis, who resigned in January after steering the organization through a turbulent period of growth. Mr. Scholl’s appointment is part of a reorganization being carried out by Wynton Marsalis, the jazz trumpeter and artistic director for Jazz at Lincoln Center, often referred to by the initials J.A.L.C.
Mr. Marsalis has in the past focused mostly on programming concerts and leading the organization’s orchestra, but he said in a press release this week that he wanted to take “formal responsibility for longterm strategic planning and for leading J.A.L.C. into a new era of innovation.”
Mr. Scholl said the position was a chance for him to return to the music world, where he spent much of his career as a digital distributor for independent labels. He is an avid fan of American roots music, he said, and has collected more than 2,000 78 rpm recordings, stretching from pre-war blues to bebop.
“Personally blues, jazz and American roots music are things I am very passionate about,” he said. “I looked around at NBC and said: ‘I think I’m the only guy here that’s hosting 78 rpm listening parties. Maybe this is something I should take seriously as a philosophical career change rather than a business career change.’ And I’m incredibly excited about it.”
Mr. Scholl’s arrival comes as the longtime chairwoman of the board of trustees, Lisa Schiff, a jazz label owner, is stepping down and Robert J. Appel, a financier and philanthropist, has been elected to lead the board.
