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| Jazz Programming at Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater February 28 - March 13 February 28 (Monday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Tony Glausi Quartet The award-winning Tony Glausi has long cultivated a sound that defies easy categorization. Even on his 2015 debut, Identity Crisis, the trumpeter and composer presented a mixture of hard-hitting hip-hop styles, straight ahead jazz portraits, and smooth, languishing balladry. 2016's One Dimensional Man featured powerful, complex funk; 2017's Bad Boy offered a live jazz set; and while 2017's Christmas With Tony Glausi offers jazz versions of Yuletide classics, 2018's TGXP is a highly-produced collection of hip-hop and R&B. In 2021, Glausi released When It All Comes Crashing Down and EVERYTHING AT ONCE, which both offer up a broad spectrum of styles, with Tony singing, playing, and producing a storm of original music that brings his full palette of influences to life. This winner of the 2017 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Solo Competition will surely surprise his audiences in this one-night engagement at Birdland Theater with his working quartet. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 1-5 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (3/1-3); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (3/4-5) – Birdland Jazz Club The Cookers One of the longest-working supergroups in jazz history, the Cookers have for fourteen strong years brought together seven of the biggest names in jazz. Drummer Billy Hart, bassist Cecil McBee, pianist George Cables, saxophonists Billy Pierce and Donald Harrison, and trumpeters Eddie Henderson and David Weiss have each made powerful contributions to the history of the music and can be heard on no less than a collective 1, 000 recordings. Together, they make robust, high-octane statements, bringing back to life the harmonic and melodic sensibilities of the 1960s explorations that made jazz music what it is today. With six full-length recordings to their name—including iTunes 2014 Jazz CD of the Year Time and Time Again—this group of jazz legends has headlined more than twenty major international festivals, including the Newport Jazz Festival, New Orleans Jazz Fest, Playboy Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Jazz a Vienne, London Jazz Festival, San Sebastian Jazz Festival, Chicago Jazz Festival, and Jazz in Marciac. Anyone looking to hear jazz masters hold the flame in fiery form should make a point to witness the Cookers, who hold court at Birdland for five nights. $40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 2 (Wednesday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Theater David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band Inspired by the noble jazz pioneers Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton and their colleagues, David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band breathes life and passion into America's own great art form. Now in its 18th year of residency at Birdland, the weekly post-workday engagement is the city's best musical bargain! Tuba player David Ostwald leads a rotating lineup that features talents such as clarinetist Anat Cohen, trombonist/vocalist Wycliffe Gordon, pianist Ehud Asherie, drummer Marion Felder and more! $30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 2 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Frank Vignola's Guitar Night One of the world's most exciting jazz guitarists for the last 25 years, Frank Vignola's virtuosity and pan-stylistic expertise has led to work with such stars as Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Tommy Emmanuel, and the Boston and New York Pops. Every Wednesday Frank takes the Birdland Theater stage with the guitar band featuring Jimmy Bruno and Ken Smith (guitars), Harvie S (bass), and Vince Cherico (drums), + Special guests: Michael Zito (Feb 2) Denis Pol (Feb16) *Jack Wilkins (Feb 23) The last Wednesday of the month is "Solo Guitar Night, " a Round-Robin of unaccompanied solo guitar performances, in February by Frank Vignola, Jimmy Bruno, and Jack Wilkins $30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 3 (Thursday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Composers Concordance "Eclectic Bands": The Michael Wolff Trio, Dan Cooper Quartet & Gene Pritsker's Sound Liberation Staying in rotation for over 30 years in NYC is a rare feat. In the case of a new music presenting organization, it requires not only diligence and cognizance of achievements of the past, but also an ethic of keeping one's ear to the ground for emerging stylistic and technological developments, as well as talented new composers on the scene. Composers Concordance strives to present contemporary music in innovative ways, with an emphasis on thematic programming. On March 3, the institution comes to Birdland Theater to present The Michael Wolff Trio, Dan Cooper Quartet & Gene Pritsker's Sound Liberation. Each band will play a 20 minute set of vibrant original music. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 4 (Friday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club The Birdland Big Band Every Friday, and for two headlining weeks a year, the "BBB" roars into action playing a thrilling and original mix of jazz, funk, Brazilian, Latin and world music for sold-out audiences. Featured weekly guest artists drop-in from television bands (David Letterman, Saturday Night Live) and pop music touring bands (Rob Thomas, Rod Stewart). Come see for yourself why Time Out New York called the BBB, "a completely unique experience… there isn't another band like this anywhere, " and yelp.com proclaims, "if you hear one band in NYC make sure this is it… and prepare to be blown away!" $30 + $20 food/drink minimum March 4-6 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM - Birdland Theater Samara Joy At only 22 years old, Samara Joy has already been thrust into the limelight, hailed as one of jazz's most promising new voices. From a musical family, she was steeped early in gospel and R&B, ultimately leading worship services at her church during high school. But it was when she encountered recordings of luminaries Sarah Vaughan and Tadd Dameron that she felt the pull of jazz—and, since putting her heart into that tradition, Samara has found ample support from some of the music's greatest lights, including Christian McBride, Cyrus Chestnut, Kirk Lightsey and the late NEA Jazz Master Dr. Barry Harris. She has performed at top New York venues such as Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, The Blue Note, and Mezzrow, as well as internationally at Paris's Le Duc Des Lombards. A TikTok sensation, Samara was recently featured on the TODAY Show. Her working band, which features guitar master Pasquale Grasso, creates the swinging atmosphere to support Joy's mellifluous tone. She performs a weekend of standards at Birdland Theater. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 6 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Celebrating the Slide Hampton Octet The late master trombonist Slide Hampton passed away in November of this past year. In homage to his artistry, veteran drummer Charles Ruggierio and top-call saxophonist Frank Basile bring together an octet to play Hampton’s famous 8-piece orchestrations of the 1950s and 60s. The band recorded together in 2019, bringing these great arrangements to life for an album entitled Slide’s Blues (SmallsLive) which featured the great Hampton himself on two tracks. Slide no longer being with us, the musicians join forces again to honor his life, his legacy, and his amazing music. $30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 6 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble Pianist, composer and educator Arturo O'Farrill—leader of the "first family of Afro-Cuban Jazz" (New York Times)—leads the GRAMMY® award winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) and the pared down, appropriately socially-distanced ensemble, who bring together the drama of big band jazz, the culture of Latin music, and the virtuosity of eighteen of the world’s most accomplished solo musicians. Twelve years of critically-acclaimed performances internationally have firmly established the ALJO as the standard-bearer for creative interpretation of Latin jazz greats such as Tito Puente, Frank “Machito” Grillo, and Chico O’Farrill, as well as the driving force behind new commissions from Latin music’s most talented composers and arrangers. $30 + $20 food/drink minimum March 7 (Monday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater The Anderson Brothers Quintet - The Andersons Play Richard Rodgers “Virtuosos on clarinet & saxophone” (New York Times), Grammy-winning Juilliard graduates and identical twins, Peter & Will Anderson have been featured soloists on the Broadway stage, at the Kennedy Center, Blue Note, Jazz at Lincoln Center, New Orleans Jazz Festival, live on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion Radio Program, and can be heard on the soundtrack of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Vanity Fair magazine listed their album in “Four New Releases to Make You Love Jazz, ” and the Washington Post said they “consistently bring a fresh perspective to classic jazz.” On May 1st & 2nd at the Birdland Theater, they will explore the works and life of the legendary composer Richard Rodgers. Songs will include "My Favorite Things, ” “Blue Moon, ” “My Funny Valentine, ” “Where or When, ” and “Manhattan." $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 8-12 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (3/8-10); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (3/11-12) – Birdland Jazz Club Maria Schneider Orchestra Widely recognized and revered as one of her generation’s greatest composers, the great Maria Schneider brings her orchestra to Birdland in March. In 2020—after 25 years of groundbreaking contributions in the form of Schneider’s eight profoundly lush recordings (nearly all receiving GRAMMY wins and nominations)—she presented Data Lords. Hailed as her greatest work to date and a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, this sweeping two-albums-worth of music sets the digital world against the natural in two vast, contrasting portraits. Through its moving sonic narrative, Data Lords intently warns listeners of the dangers that contemporary tech industry rulers pose for human freedom. Schneider’s orchestra performs for five nights at Birdland. $40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 9 (Wednesday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Theater David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band Inspired by the noble jazz pioneers Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton and their colleagues, David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band breathes life and passion into America’s own great art form. Now in its 18th year of residency at Birdland, the weekly post-workday engagement is the city’s best musical bargain! Tuba player David Ostwald leads a rotating lineup that features talents such as clarinetist Anat Cohen, trombonist/vocalist Wycliffe Gordon, pianist Ehud Asherie, drummer Marion Felder and more! $30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 9 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Frank Vignola’s Guitar Night One of the world’s most exciting jazz guitarists for the last 25 years, Frank Vignola’s virtuosity and pan-stylistic expertise has led to work with such stars as Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Tommy Emmanuel, and the Boston and New York Pops. Every Wednesday Frank takes the Birdland Theater stage with the guitar band featuring Jimmy Bruno and Ken Smith (guitars), Harvie S (bass), and Vince Cherico (drums), + Special guests: Michael Zito (Feb 2) Denis Pol (Feb16) *Jack Wilkins (Feb 23) The last Wednesday of the month is “Solo Guitar Night, ” a Round-Robin of unaccompanied solo guitar performances, in February by Frank Vignola, Jimmy Bruno, and Jack Wilkins $30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 10-12 (Thursday-Saturday) 8:30 PM (3/10); 7:00 & 9:30 PM (3/11-12) – Birdland Theater Sara Gazarek A contemporary vocalist who continues the tradition of the great jazz singers in a fresh sonic context, Sara Gazarek has received two GRAMMY nominations for her striking work, including the 2019 nomination for Best Jazz Album for her latest recording, Thirsty Ghost. Gazarek’s clear, refined tone and artful melodic sensibility shine in selections like her reimagination of Dolly Parton’s classic, “Jolene”; the Nancy Wilson theme “Never Will I Marry”; or her version of Brad Mehldau’s contemporary classic, “When It Rains, ” sung with original lyrics as Gazarek’s “Distant Storm.” And while collaborations with Kurt Elling, Billy Childs, Ambrose Akinmusire, Fred Hersch, and Larry Goldings have been highlights of her star-studded career, it is her future—evinced by her groundbreaking work on Thirsty Ghost—which Gazarek finds most exciting. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 11 (Friday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club The Birdland Big Band Every Friday, and for two headlining weeks a year, the “BBB” roars into action playing a thrilling and original mix of jazz, funk, Brazilian, Latin and world music for sold-out audiences. Featured weekly guest artists drop-in from television bands (David Letterman, Saturday Night Live) and pop music touring bands (Rob Thomas, Rod Stewart). Come see for yourself why Time Out New York called the BBB, “a completely unique experience… there isn’t another band like this anywhere, ” and yelp.com proclaims, “if you hear one band in NYC make sure this is it… and prepare to be blown away!” $30 + $20 food/drink minimum March 13 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Grace Fox Big Band Celebrating the release of her debut album, Grace Fox—a precocious talent at only 19 years old—premiers at Birdland with her 17-piece all-female jazz ensemble. On her new recording, Eleven O’ Seven (Next Level), Fox assembles a brilliant cast of jazzwomen, a multiethnic and intergenerational group that deftly represent Fox’s originals and arrangements—like “Sterile, ” which Fox penned to illustrate the deadening effects of early pandemic quarantine, or “Strasbourg St. Denis, ” the Roy Hargrove anthem which Fox orchestrated for large ensemble. “I had the opportunity to get this band together and I couldn’t say no, ” the trumpeter stated in a recent interview with Jazz Philadelphia. “It’s my dream, as corny as that may sound.” Fox currently attends the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, deepening her study of trumpet and composition. $30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 13 (Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater Ariana Neikrug Quartet The pure-toned vocalist Ariana Neikrug is no stranger to success. The daughter of musical parents, she began singing at age 3 and went on to win major honors in the world of jazz voice: in 2015, she received an Outstanding Soloist Award at the Next Generation Monterey Jazz Festival and won the 2015 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. With her 2018 debut of Changes, Neikrug became a Concord Music Group recording artist. Changes, produced by Kurt Elling’s pianist, Laurence Hobgood, includes standards and originals, freshly performed for modern ears. And modern ears delighted in Changes when Neikrug brought the music on her first international tour in 2018. Indeed, the Chicago Tribune named it one of the “Best Jazz Vocal Recordings of 2018, ” calling it “the vocal debut of the year, ” and JAZZIZ and PASTE magazines named the singer one of their “Artists to Watch in 2019.” Ariana’s new sound, captivating performances, and electric band are not to be missed for this Sunday evening performance. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 13 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble Pianist, composer and educator Arturo O'Farrill—leader of the "first family of Afro-Cuban Jazz" (New York Times)—leads the GRAMMY® award winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) and the pared down, appropriately socially-distanced ensemble, who bring together the drama of big band jazz, the culture of Latin music, and the virtuosity of eighteen of the world’s most accomplished solo musicians. Twelve years of critically-acclaimed performances internationally have firmly established the ALJO as the standard-bearer for creative interpretation of Latin jazz greats such as Tito Puente, Frank “Machito” Grillo, and Chico O’Farrill, as well as the driving force behind new commissions from Latin music’s most talented composers and arrangers. $30 + $20 food/drink minimum write your comments about the article :: © 2022 Jazz News :: home page |