LIVING LEGENDS

From Medeski Martin & Wood to Ravi Coltrane to the Bad Plus, the new four-part documentary Icons Among Us: jazz in the present tense aims to do for contemporary jazz artists what Ken Burns’s doc Jazz did for past legends of the genre. Before it airs April 20 on the Documentary Channel, catch the world premiere of the first episode tonight at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Combining seven years of interviews with more than 75 living jazz artists and more than 25 hours of live performances recorded in the U.S. and Europe, the film also features the predecessors of today’s great performers, including Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. A set with Brian Blade & the Fellowship follows the screening.

Wed., April 15, 8 p.m., 2009