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| What's Coming Up at Birdland: Jazz Programming March 28 - April 10 March 28 (Monday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Dave Bennett Band A clarinet virtuoso, Dave Bennett is steeped in early swing—but he finds genuine expression simply in music itself. Surely, his world tours with Benny Goodman alum Bucky Pizarrelli and his albums dedicated to classic stylings—Clarinet Is King (2010) and Don't Be That Way (2013)—showcase his love for the jazz clarinet tradition. But his most recent venture, 2017's Blood Moon, sees him authentically delivering a more contemporary approach. With selections such as The Beatles' "In My Life" or Glenn Campbell's "Wichita Lineman" pushing him and his band into modern stylings, what remains consistent is Bennett's pure tone, song-like delivery of melodic line, and uncompromising sincerity, evident in every note. A featured artist on NPR Radio's Jazz at Riverwalk, a guest artist at the Bern Jazz Festival, and a prestigious Mack Avenue recording artist, Bennet released Blood Moon to great success, with the album rising to No. 24 on the Billboard Jazz Chart in 2018. His music is sure to delight Birdland audiences. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 29-April 2 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (3/29-31); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (4/1-2) – Birdland Jazz Club / Thursday, March 31 at 9:30 - Livestream Event Emmet's Place Live Virtuoso pianist Emmet Cohen has taken the jazz world by storm. The Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association, Cohen made a name for himself as the 1st place winner in a number of the United States' most prestigious piano competitions, including the 2019 American Pianists Awards, the 2014 American Jazz Pianists Competition, and the 2011 Phillips Piano Competition at the University of West Florida—as well as placing as a finalist in the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. More recently, however, Cohen became a pioneer of a new kind. When the pandemic caused a lockdown in March 2020, he began filming concerts from his Harlem apartment, calling them "Live From Emmet's Place" and featuring his trio of bassist Russell Hall and drummer Kyle Poole with special guest friends. The series became an instant hit; now, with over 1, 000, 000 views across more than 300 high-production videos, Emmet's Place is a (literal) household name in jazz. For this week in March, Cohen will bring Emmet's Place to Birdland. Special guests include: March 29: Lucy Yeghiazaryan March 30: Benny Benack III and Ruben Fox March 31: Houston Person April 1: George Coleman April 2: Joel Ross $40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 30 (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 30 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Frank Vignola's Guitar Night - Livestream Event 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). Join us on FlyMachine for a livestream set here. $30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 31-April 3 (Thursday-Sunday) 8:30 PM (3/31); 7:00 & 9:30 PM (4/1-3) – Birdland Theater Harry Allen Quartet The saxophonist that John Pizzarelli has called "Nothing less than perfect, " Harry Allen is the consummate swinger. A veteran of jazz music, he has recorded over 70 discs as a leader, three of which won Gold Disc Awards from Japan's Swing Journal, with his album Tenors Anyone? winning both the Gold Disc and the New Star Award. Allen's work with Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, Ray Brown, Hank Jones, Frank Wess, Flip Phillips, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Kenny Burrell, Herb Ellis, John Pizzarelli, Bucky Pizzarelli, Gus Johnson, Jeff Hamilton, Johnny Mandel, James Taylor, and Sheryl Crow—to name a few—places him in an elite class, but he is no snob: in fact, what makes Harry Allen so great is his down-to-earth playing, his love of the music. His off-the-cuff style needs no set-lists. For these three nights at Birdland, he is sure to start and end swinging. What happens along the way will undoubtedly be pure magic. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum April 1 (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\ April 3 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Ed Neumeister's Assembláge Jazz Orchestra Trombonist Ed Neumeister's new project is a revolutionary and unique concept, with "a diverse and inclusive jazz orchestra called Assembláge. Speaking to the divisions of our time and how the jazz community can help to heal us as a nation, he explains that "in these days, more than ever, we need to come together as a humanity. Music can be the metaphor for life when people from different backgrounds and sensibilities come together to act as one voice with each of the individual voices contributing their own musical personality into the common goal of the music of the moment, whether in an improvisatory or notated context." He describes – perhaps tantalizingly so – the music he is preparing for the orchestra as "wide-scope: Schoenberg meets Monk meets Sun Ra, with a little Lutoslawski and James Brown thrown in for spice." By focusing on racial, ethnic, and gender diversity, Neumeister hopes his orchestra, with original compositions, will uniquely contribute to the healing so many desire. The orchestra started rehearsing in the summer of 2019, with one rehearsal in spring 2020 before the Coronavirus dented his plans. He is thrilled to bring this project to Birdland. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum April 3 (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 April 4 (Monday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Francesco Cafiso Quartet Once a child prodigy touring the world with Wynton Marsalis at age thirteen, saxophonist Francesco Cafiso has matured into a dazzlingly personal, heartbreakingly authentic artist. In his youth, he performed with such legends of American music as Hank Jones, Dave Brubeck, Cedar Walton, Jimmy Cobb, Ray Drummond, Joe Lovano, and Christian McBride, among many others. As a 19-year-old, he was named Artistic Director of the Vittoria Jazz Festival and has remained in this position since. And with 16 albums to his name as a leader alone (not to mention abundant recordings as a collaborator), Cafiso has shown himself a prodigious creator. Deservedly, he was named “Ambassador of Italian Jazz Music Around the World” by the Umbria Jazz Foundation and represented his native Italy for 2013’s “Year of Italian Culture” in the US. Cafiso has released projects on record labels Verve and Venus, as well as on his own label, EFLAT Records. His 2020 release, Irene of Boston: Conversation avec Corto Maltese, features the London Symphony Orchestra. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum April 5-9 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (4/5-7); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (4/8-9) – Birdland Jazz Club Ravi Coltrane Quartet The son of jazz’s greatest trailblazers, beloved saxophonist Ravi Coltrane honors the legacy of his parents John and Alice Coltrane with his powerful, free-thinking musical projects. With six albums as a leader, seven as a co-leader, and 40 more as a sideman with jazz music’s greatest innovators—included Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Jack DeJohnette, Terence Blanchard, Kenny Barron, Steve Coleman, and others—the GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist has made a powerful mark on contemporary jazz. His quartet features Gadi Lehavi (piano), Dezron Douglas (bass), and Elé Howell (drums). $40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum April 6 (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 April 6 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Frank Vignola’s Guitar Night - Livestream Event 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). Join us on FlyMachine for a livestream set here. $30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum April 8 (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 April 8-10 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater Roberta Gambarini Born in Turino, Italy, Roberta Gambarini’s move to the United States in 1998 was all it took to launch her to stardom. Now a household name in swinging contemporary jazz, the award-winning vocalist and lyricist has appeared on over 20 albums, with 2007’s Easy to Love and 2010’s So In Love both nominated for the GRAMMY for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Gambarini has performed and recorded as a part of the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, the Roy Hargrove Big Band, The Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band, the Heath Brothers Band, and in duo with piano legend Hank Jones. She counts among her mentors the great Jimmy Heath, Paquito D’Rivera, James Moody, Dave Brubeck, Chucho Valdes, and others in the family of jazz icons. Twice named Singer of the Year by the International Jazz Journalists Association, Gambarini is known for the dignity and sweetness of her tone, her sparkling improvisations, and her joyous stage presence. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum April 10 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club John Minnock CD Release Show A special vocalist who contributes freshness and contemporaneity to the tradition, John Minnock possesses the street-smart sound of jazz vocalists past and maintains the forward-thinking attitude that has always uplifted the music. The recipient of the 2019 Hot House/Jazzmobile Best Male Vocalist Award, Minnock has become a fixture on both the jazz and cabaret circuits in New York City, playing the city’s finest cabaret clubs, including Don’t Tell Mama, the Triad Theater, and the Metropolitan Room, and receiving the 2016 Hot House Jazz Fans Decision Metropolitan Room Award.” At Feinstein’s/54 Below, he performed with legendary jazz saxophonist Dave Liebman, who will join him at this Sunday evening performance, along with pianist extraordinaire Mathis Picard, the excellent bassist Mark Lewandowki and creative drummer Pablo Eluchans to celebrate his new album Simplicity. $30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum April 10 (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. write your comments about the article :: © 2022 Jazz News :: home page |