From New York Icons to Global Institutions, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts and Jazz at Lincoln Center Announce an Unprecedented Global Partnership

St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT), and Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) announce today an unprecedented global partnership, bringing two New York icons together to concept and create a series of jazz clubs around the world in St. Regis hotels. With a shared ambition to open five jazz clubs in the next five years, St. Regis and JALC will open the first jazz club at The St. Regis Doha in April 2012. Through this partnership, jazz programming will be developed at St. Regis hotels, led by Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, providing both the novice and aficionado the opportunity to experience world-class jazz, learn about its rich history and understand its cultural value in a modern, authentic and bespoke way.

Throughout the Jazz Age, The St. Regis Rooftop Ballroom at the landmark hotel in New York City has played host to some of the finest jazz musicians in history with unforgettable performances from greats like Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Buddy Rich. It is this rich musical legacy born of America’s very own art form that makes jazz, not the classical repertoire of most luxury hotels, the soundtrack of St. Regis. Still committed to the highest level of virtuosity, St. Regis with Jazz at Lincoln Center continue to entertain and enlighten audiences around the world through jazz programming, special performances and beyond expectation guest experiences.

"We are thrilled with the opportunity to work with St. Regis to reach new audiences and to support our mission of growing and inspiring audiences for jazz around the globe,” says Lisa Schiff, Chairman of JALC. "As the world grows smaller, successful cultural organizations forge new partnerships to ensure their programs capture new enthusiasts worldwide,” continued Amy Knapp, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Chief Officer of External Relations. "And with jazz, a recognized international language, we are poised to do exactly that with the St. Regis brand.”

"Jazz is an innate part of the St. Regis legacy, and it is exciting to see a new generation of affluent travelers passionate about this social and cultural tradition,” says Paul James, Global Brand Leader for St. Regis Hotels & Resorts. "As St. Regis continues to grow globally, we look forward to working with Jazz at Lincoln Center, which is uniquely positioned to bring the authentic jazz experience to life for our guests and for music enthusiasts around the world.”

"Throughout the history of jazz, musicians from Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie and Dave Brubeck have brought people from all cultures together through this music. It is an honor for Jazz at Lincoln Center to continue that tradition with St. Regis,” said Marsalis.

The partnership between JALC and St. Regis developed organically over the course of two years. In 2010 in honor of St. Regis’ extraordinary international growth and incredible jazz history, St. Regis produced Timeless is Modern, a limited edition jazz CD exclusively for the brand, which features a selection of 21 masterpieces of Duke Ellington performed by Marsalis and the acclaimed Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Marking St. Regis’ Coming of Age with the debut of its 21^st hotel, The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Jazz at Lincoln Center played in the spirit of the unforgettable performances that have been a foundation at The St. Regis New York since its opening.

"There is a natural synergy between St. Regis and Jazz at Lincoln Center in goal to entertain and enlighten audiences for jazz. The relationship gives St. Regis the opportunity to utilize Jazz at Lincoln Center to program jazz of the highest standards in all sorts of contexts – not just the club but in all its properties, confident that our curatorial standards will ensure music of the highest standards befitting of the St. Regis guest experience,” said Adrian Ellis, Executive Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

As St. Regis continues to grow globally, opening eight hotels around the world in the next six months with three in the Middle East, the brand celebrates its jazz heritage with the upcoming debut of Jazz at Lincoln Center Doha at The St Regis Doha. Scheduled to open in April 2012, the jazz club will be similar in character to JALC's Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at its home in New York City, Frederick P. Rose Hall, designed to entertain, showcase and cultivate the best jazz talent in the world.

The opening of Jazz at Lincoln Center Doha and The St. Regis Doha further solidify the Qatar as an emerging center of culture, commerce and leisure in the Middle East. The hotel, scheduled to open early next year, promises to bring the legendary St. Regis luxury to this thriving commercial and business region.

St. Regis Hotels & Resorts and Jazz at Lincoln Center will continue to develop jazz programming at each St. Regis properties around the world and create beyond expectation guest experiences through the brand’s Aficionado program. For more information, please visit www.stregis.com and www.jalc.org.

About St. Regis Hotels & Resorts

Combining classic sophistication and modern luxury, the St. Regis brand remains faithful to its commitment to excellence. Founded by John Jacob Astor IV over a century ago with the St. Regis Hotel in New York City, the St. Regis brand of hotels and residences is known for its unique luxury dimension, customized service and refined elegance in the best destinations worldwide. Plans for the brand to globally continue its legacy include long-awaited St. Regis US and Latin American hotels and resorts in Bal Harbour, Buenos Aires and the Riviera Maya. In Asia, St. Regis has also announced plans to open hotels in Changsha, Chengdu, Kuala Lumpur, Lijiang, Sanya Yalong Bay, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Zhuhai. In Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the St. Regis brand will continue to expand in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Doha and Mauritius. The distinctive trait of the St. Regis experience is customized service and attention to detail through signature St. Regis Butler Service, coveted locations and luxurious design. For more information on St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, please visit www.stregis.com and for the privilege of residential ownership, please visit www.stregis.com/residences.

About Jazz at Lincoln Center

Jazz at Lincoln Center is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and growing audiences for jazz. With the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and a comprehensive array of guest artists, Jazz at Lincoln Center advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of performance, education and broadcast events for audiences of all ages. These productions include concerts, national and international tours, residencies, a jazz hall of fame and concert series, weekly national radio programs, television broadcasts, recordings, publications, an annual high school jazz band competition and festival, a band director academy, jazz appreciation curriculum for students, music publishing, children’s concerts, lectures, adult education courses, student and educator workshops and interactive websites. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, Chairman Lisa Schiff and Executive Director, Adrian Ellis, Jazz at Lincoln Center will produce thousands of events each season in its home in New York City, Frederick P. Rose Hall, and around the world. For more information, please visit www.jalc.org.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,071 properties in 100 countries and territories with 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and Element SM. The company boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

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