Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis

Ever since Wynton Marsalis seized the reins of the JLCO in the early ’90s, both the orchestra and the organization have been hallmarks of supreme scholarship and top-notch quality control in the effort to enshrine jazz as America’s classical music. The only danger was that Marsalis would smother his project with love, favoring hermetically sealed technique over goosebumps. But the theme chosen for JLCO’s twelfth tour—Duke Ellington’s love songs—banishes those worries. From “Sophisticated Lady” to “Satin Doll,” to “In a Sentimental Mood” and “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good,” the repertoire should set the stodgiest stick-in-the-mud all atwitter. And with a stellar fifteen-piece band—the trumpet section alone includes Ryan Kisor, Marcus Printup, Sean Jones, and Marsalis—channeling some of Duke’s most heartfelt compositions, the gig shapes up as an ideal Valentine’s date, albeit three weeks and three days early.

Orchestra Hall, 612-371-5656.