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| Live at Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater: February 2023 Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater are proudly open this February with a full slate of nightly performances! January 31 – February 4 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (1/31-2/2); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (2/3-4) – Birdland Jazz Club Mike Stern Band featuring Dennis Chambers and Randy Brecker with Leni Stern and Edmond Gilmore Named one of DownBeat's 75 Great Guitarists of All Time, Mike Stern is an iconic figure in post 1960s creative music. A member of Blood, Sweat & Tears in the 1970s—and in the 1980s, a member of groups led by Miles Davis, Billy Cobham, Jaco Pastorius, and Michael Brecker—Stern's fusion of rock and jazz styles was part of a movement of innovators that changed the way guitarists viewed their instrument. In 2009, Stern won the Grammy award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for his recording Big Neighborhood. Catch him and his masterful group on their week upstairs at the Jazz Club. $40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 2 (Thursday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Vicki Burns – "Lotus Blossom Days" Album Release Vicki Burns celebrates the release of her new album, Lotus Blossom Days with a stellar band featuring Art Hirahara on piano and Sam Bevan on bass and arrangements. The album features fresh lyrics to instrumental tunes like Billy Strayhorn's "Lotus Blossom (Lotus Blossom Days)" and "Bittersweet, " John Coltrane's "Equinox (A Long Way to Go), " and original music, such as the new song "Love Spell, " dubbed "intoxicating" by noted Grammy Award-winning jazz critic, Neil Tesser. Described by legendary jazz drummer Max Roach as a "gold mine of talent, " Vicki Burns has been singing professionally since she was a teenager when she joined the acclaimed New England based big band, The Clayton Poole Orchestra and toured throughout her college years. Later as a solo act, she sang regularly throughout the Boston area before heading west, first to San Jose where she sang at the renowned San Jose Jazz Festival and later San Francisco, where she sang regularly at Yoshi's, Jazz at Pearl's, Enrico's and Anna's Jazz Island. It was at Anna's that she recorded her first live album in 2008 with Blues legend Taj Mahal in the audience. Her first studio album Siren Song, released in 2003, received rave reviews including a quote from noted jazz critic Dan Ouelette, who said that she succeeded with "rapturous, mystical beauty." $30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 3-5 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater Ben Wolfe Quartet – Unjust Album Release New York bassist/composer and bandleader Ben Wolfe's music has been described as "Mingus and Miles Davis meet Bartok and Bernard Herrmann" (Ben Ratliff – The New York Times). Acclaimed by some of the jazz world's most respected critics for his "wit and cool intelligence" and signature "innovative, melding of hard-swinging jazz quartet, outstanding guest soloists and classical string quartet, " Wolfe continues to produce works that draw top-flight reviews from fans and jazz journalists alike. Ben's 2023 upcoming release is Unjust. His is his tenth as a leader, the album features all original compositions. Ben's previous release Fatherhood, touted by New York City Jazz Record's Elliott Simon as a "career defining work… creative meshing of distinctive forms and genres, mature alteration of previously released material, elegant arrangements of difficult material and strong leadership", adds to his extensive collection of original albums, and ties together a career of musical prestige. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 5 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Uptown Jazz Tentet Founded in 2016 by the marvelous trombonist Willie Applewhite, the Uptown Jazz Tentet is a family—with friendships dating back to their Juilliard days, this fine ensemble swings crisp and meaningful arrangements with imagination and energy. The 10-person band features Aaron Kimmel on drums, Clovis Nicolas on bass, Adam Birnbaum on piano, Brandon Lee and Tatum Greenblatt on trumpets, Jon Irabagon, Carl Maraghi, and Andrew Gatauskas on saxophones and woodwinds, and James Burton III joining Appliewhite on trombone. In the words of Brandon Lee, "We all have bonded playing in the bands of Christian McBride, Ron Carter, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, etc… and we love our gigs! This is our opportunity to do our own thing." $30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 5 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Bill O'Connell and the Latin Jazz Sextet After a 40-year long career that has seen him excel as a leader, soloist, arranger, musical director, and accompanist for some of the most celebrated names in jazz and Latin music, GRAMMY-nominated pianist Bill O'Connell can lay claim to a track record of challenging and artistic-diverse triumphs that few of his peers can match. As a recording artist, his over a dozen dates as a leader have drawn universal critical acclaim while his talents as a pianist and arranger have been tapped by a diverse range of noted soloists to elevate their sessions. Today, as both a respected educator and leader of The Latin Jazz All-Stars, O'Connell's professional life brims with new opportunities to express and fulfill his singular music vision. He brings the smokin' sextet to Birdland for two sets of unforgettable Latin jazz. $30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 6 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Julie Benko with Euphonic Gumbo (featuring Jason Yeager) Broadway's Funny Girl Julie Benko marches her band out in celebration of Mardi Gras. Joined by six instrumentalists (including her jazz-pianist spouse Jason Yeager) performing in the classic New Orleans jazz style, Julie lets the good times roll with a delightful potpourri of tunes inspired by her love of the Crescent City. Grab your beads and join the parade–nobody's gonna rain on this one! Hailed by The New York Times as "the bright-eyed, dulcet soprano who went from standby to star, " Benko currently performs every Thursday as the alternate for Fanny Brice in Funny Girl on Broadway. Other Broadway/National touring credits include Fiddler on the Roof, Les Miserables, and Spring Awakening. A recipient of the Wilde Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Girl in Once, Benko also won the Gold Medal and Johnny Mercer Award at the American Traditions Vocal Competition in 2017. Her albums Hand in Hand (Club44 Records) and Introducing Julie Benko were released to widespread acclaim. Pianist and composer Jason Yeager has performed across five continents at such noteworthy venues as Carnegie Hall, the Blue Note, Panama Jazz Festival, Qintai Concert Hall, and more. A 2nd place winner at the Ravenscroft Jazz Piano Competition and two-time finalist at the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition, Yeager has released seven albums as a bandleader, including his latest, Unstuck in Time: The Kurt Vonnegut Suite (Sunnyside Records). Yeager's septet, featuring special guests Miguel Zenón and Julie Benko, will celebrate the release of this work at Birdland on March 27. Livestream ($25): fly.live/birdland $45 tables / $45 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 7-11 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (2/7-9); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (2/10-11) – Birdland Jazz Club Gunhild Carling International sensation, virtuoso multi-instrumentalist, vocalist extraordinaire—shall we say, conceptualist? The real question is: what can’t you say about Gunhild Carling? She seems to do it all: performing on trumpet, trombone, bagpipes, drums, piano, bass, three trumpets at once, a trumpet balanced vertically using no hands, all on one song which she is singing—Carling continuously proves she can, and will, break any limitation in front of her. And with her feel-good revival of 1920s hot swing, this brilliant entertainer makes audiences smile and dance as she wows them with unheard-of talents. Featured on Scott Bradlee’s Post Modern Jukebox, Carling has put the 20s twist on popular contemporary songs such as Madonna’s “Material Girl, ” Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up, ” and Pharell’s “Happy.” This will surely be a week filled with surprises! $40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 9 (Thursday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Nicolas King Nicolas King has been performing since age 4. He was seen first on Broadway in Beauty and the Beast, then in A Thousand Clowns opposite Tom Selleck, and Hollywood Arms, directed by Hal Prince, all before age 12. Other credits include 8 consecutive annual performances on “The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, ” Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, “The View, ” NBC’s “Today” show, “Liza & David, ” “Sally Jesse Raphael” and twice on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Other career highlights include originating the role of “Oscar” on Discovery Kids’ “Kenny the Shark”, as well as over two dozen national Television commercials. His “Oscar Mayer Lunchables” commercial went international, and won the Golden Marble Award in 1998. Nicolas went on the road with his mentor Liza Minnelli to perform as her opening act from 2002-2012. The Mabel Mercer Foundation awarded Nicolas their “Julie Wilson Award” at the 2010 Cabaret Convention at Lincoln Center. He’s the recipient of the 1995 Talent America Award, 2012 Bistro Award for Outstanding Performer of the Year, 2015 AMG Heritage Award for Artist of the Year, the winner of the 2019 Legends Award, as well as receiving a Grammy consideration for his album, On Another Note with jazz great Mike Renzi. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 10–14 (Friday-Tuesday) 7:00 PM & 9:30 PM (2/10-12); 8:30 PM (2/13); 5:30 & 8:30 PM (2/14) Birdland Jazz Club Melissa Errico – “A Noir Romance” The sound of a lonely saxophone, the melancholy patter of midnight rain, the velvet black of a city at night, and a chanteuse in a strapless gown…there’s one word for it: Noir. This Valentine’s week, Melissa Errico returns to Birdland with a seductive suite of Noir songs inspired by her album Out of the Dark. From songs like “Angel Eyes” to “The Man That Got Away, ” celebrate with Melissa the sexy, swinging music of voluptuous fatalism & doomed love, of smoky nightclubs and half-lit hotel rooms. “A Noir Romance” luxuriates in the darkness the reminds us of the light that love can bring. With her trademark sexy smarts, Errico will be a Valentine’s femme fatale, feeling her way through a night-lit world of uncertainty and mischief with a sound that came to life in American movies of the forties, passed on to the world as a permanent emotional field. The show features classic standards – including selections by Harold Arlen, David Raksin, Harry Warren, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Michel Legrand and Stephen Sondheim – in addition to new songs written especially for her by David Shire, Peter Foley and Adam Guettel. Special guests will join the show nightly. $30-$40 Table / $20-$30 Bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 12 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Ben Markley Band Feat. Ari Hoenig Ben Markley’s latest project in a series of brilliant homages to musical heroes, Ari’s Funhouse celebrates (by setting to a big band) the music of drum icon and rhythmic scientist Ari Hoenig. Markley, active on the Denver scene as a pianist and arranger, has arranged Ari Hoenig compositions for large ensemble, and with the ever-daring, fearless and voracious Ari himself playing drums, the night is sure to be special. Markley’s Hoenig project was released in April 2022. The last project before that was Markley’s Clockwise: The Music of Cedar Walton, which was rated one DownBeat’s 4 Best 4-Star-Rated Albums of 2017. With an ear for honoring a great artist, Markley is a thorough and creative writer. Enjoy this great band playing the music of one of modern jazz’s legendary drummers and composers! $30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 13 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Steve Ross – “Falling in Love… Again” Vocalist and pianist Steve Ross – widely heralded as “The Crown Prince of New York Cabaret” – returns in a special new show. Ross will sing romantic ballads and a few light-hearted standards by Stephen Sondheim, Irving Berlin and of course Cole Porter. Ross has been a fixture of the cabaret community in Manhattan for over forty years. In 1981 he re-opened the legendary Oak Room at Manhattan’s famed Hotel Algonquin where he held forth for over 15 years. He has appeared on Broadway in Noël Coward’s Present Laughter and off-Broadway in his Fred Astaire tribute I Won’t Dance. Internationally, he has performed in London, Paris, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Melbourne and Sydney as well as cabarets and theatres across America and on the high seas. He hosted a live cabaret series for BBC Television, and back in America was host of New York Cabaret Nights, a series for National Public Radio. $40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 14-18 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (2/14-16); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (2/17-18) – Birdland Jazz Club Catherine Russell Internationally-renowned vocalist Catherine Russell is jazz royalty. Her grandfather, Elisha Ray, graduated from Juilliard in 1925 and performed with Harlem Renaissance legend James Reese Europe. Her mother, vocalist Carline Ray, toured with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm and attended The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music in the 1950s. And her father, Luis Russell, was Louis Armstrong’s musical director. Born into the music, Ms. Russell possesses an easy feeling and genuine soulfulness, documented on seven acclaimed recordings under her own name and over 200 recordings for and with other major artists. Her two most recent albums as a leader—2019’s Alone Together and 2016’s Harlem on My Mind—received Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album. 2014’s Bring It Back (Jazz Village) received a rare 5-star rating from Downbeat Magazine. Russell’s style tastefully mixes early Harlem jazz stylings and American Songbook gems with New Orleans music and country blues stylings. Last year, for Valentine’s week, Russell celebrated the release of her latest recording, Send For Me (Dot Time, 2022). This year, she’s back, and the feeling of romance is still hanging in the air. $40-$50 tables / $30-$40 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 16 (Thursday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Margot Sergent Transport yourself back to the 1920 and 30s with Margot Sergent. In her native French, the exquisite vocalist and harpist brings you right into the world of romance, despair, and Bohemian grandeur which characterize the favorite songs of Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, and Charles Trenet. Sergent’s trio, So French Cabaret, features double bass and guitar, and together they invite you on a storyteller‘s journey, performing classics like “La Vie en Rose, ” “Non, je ne regrette rien, ” and “l’Hymne à l’Amour.” Sergent has performed across Paris and at France’s legendary l’Olympia. As saxophone legend Archie Shepp describes: “What she does is pure poetry. No doubt she is one of the most captivating artists of her generation.” Last year was her Birdland debut: welcome her back this Thursday night. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 17-19 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater Miki Yamanaka One of the best jazz piano players working in New York today, Miki Yamanaka is the favorite of Antonio Hart, Roxy Coss, Larry Goldings, Frank Lacy, Philip Harper and plenty of other revered musicians. Her powerful and elegant style is deeply rooted in the tradition of jazz piano while extending far beyond mere cliches. During the pandemic, Miki launched Miki’s Mood, which became a popular livestream series from her apartment featuring husband and frequent collaborator Jimmy MacBride on drums with a host of New York’s most amazing musicians joining in. She released Miki in 2018 (Cellar Live), Human Dust Suite in 2020 (Outside In), and Stairway to the Stars in 2021 (Outside In) featuring the great bassist Orlando Le Fleming and modern saxophone legend Mark Turner. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 19 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Sam Blakeslee Large Group Born in Ohio and based in New York City, Sam Blakeslee is an original compositional voice penning modern jazz music with an exploratory, industrial intelligence and imaginative twists and turns. His excellent group, featuring some of New York’s finest young players, released Live at Blu Jazz from the popular Akron, OH club. The trombonist composer performs and records regularly with Grammy-nominated large ensembles that define the face of modern jazz large ensembles like the Terraza Big Band, Dan Pugach Nonet, Emilio Solla’s Tango Jazz Orchestra, Remy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows, Manuel Valera’s New Cuban Express Big Band, and the New York Afro-Bop Alliance Big Band. Sam has also performed with artists such as Joe Lovano, Sean Jones, Dan Wilson, Ingrid Jensen, and Aretha Franklin. $30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 20 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Lina Koutrakos – “One Night Only” Lina will be perfectly perched at Birdland with her stellar trio: Tedd Firth at the piano, David Finck on bass and Matt Zebrowski on drums. Witness the compelling synthesis of seasoned voice, joyful exuberance, unique interpretative, and storytelling skills, while Lina explores music from (mostly!) the Great American Songbook. Koutrakos is a singer, songwriter, director and teacher. She has been called “a walking Master Class” (The New York Times) and “The Pied Piper of song” (Billboard). From the Rainbow Room to the legendary Bottom Line she has successfully straddled the musical worlds of rock and cabaret simultaneously, earning her rave reviews and major awards across the country and in Europe. $30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 20 (Monday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Esteban Castro Trio A force of indomitable technique, extraordinary passion, and expansive imagination, the 19 year-old Esteban Castro is a jaw-dropping pianist whose capacities on his instrument defy categorization. The First Prize winner at the 2019 MSM Precollege Philharmonic Concerto Competition, the 2017 Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition, and the 2016 Montreux Jazz Piano Solo Competition, as well as the recipient of 15 Downbeat Student Music Awards, Castro has performed to sold-out audiences at The Blue Note, The Montreux Jazz Club, The New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, as well as in Switzerland, Italy, France, Peru, Canada, and Puerto Rico. He is a Young Steinway artist. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 21-25 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (2/21-23); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (2/24-25) – Birdland Jazz Club Jane Monheit With a robust, sultry tone and an uplifting stage presence, Jane Monheit has become a household name among contemporary jazz fans over the last 15 years, who have come to identify her with the living tradition of swinging vocalists. Performing standards from the Great American Songbook in a way that is both all her own and yet deeply dedicated to the great achievements of the master singers, Monheit has been the vocalist of choice on recordings by the great Terence Blanchard (Let’s Get Lost), Tom Harrell (Wise Children), Harold Mabern (Afro Blue), David Benoit (Two in Love and Believe) and others. As a leader, she has released 13 full-length albums; for her last engagement at Birdland Jazz Club, she celebrated the release of her latest album on Club44 records, Come What May (2021). As her first recording in five years, Come What May captures Monheit at her peak: sharpened by years on the road, and yet calm, since pandemic touring schedules have allowed her to stay more frequently inside, nourished by the closeness to her loved ones. Performing with her long-time group that features her husband, Rick Montalbano, on drums as well as Michael Kanan on piano and Miles Okazaki on guitar, Monheit will bring audiences into her world for this surely captivating week. $40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 23 (Thursday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Lauren Henderson Quartet A jazz singer with a truly sultry sound, Lauren Henderson fulfills the mission of the jazz tradition with her love of traditional forms and her forward-thinking approach. Henderson’s music runs the gamut—from the hip and highly swinging, to the funky 1970s, to contemporary pop soundscapes, and back again—within an album and sometimes within one song, and always retaining naturalness and ease. Praised by The New York Times and The Financial Times, and reaching the Top 5 of the Jazz Charts, the vocalist conjures late-night pictures with her stellar cast of jazz’s young stars as she sings her way through the African Diaspora, diving into her Panamanian, Montserratian, and Caribbean roots and her North American upbringing in such selections as “Todo Tiene Su Final, ” “Alma Oscura, ” and her arrangement of Amy Winehouse’s “Love Is a Losing Game.” $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 24-26 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater Dena DeRose Trio + Special Guests An artist of the highest order, Dena DeRose has been called “the most creative and compelling singer-pianist since Shirley Horne.” Performances at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Umbria Jazz Festival, Red Sea Jazz Festival, The North Sea and The Hague Jazz Festivals, The Jazz Cruise, and Jazz Baltica Festival—among many others—have brought DeRose worldwide fame. Her most recent recording, 2020’s Ode to the Road (aptly titled for a tourless year of release), features her long-time compatriots, the rhythm team of bassist Martin Wind and drummer Matt Wilson, as well as collaborators trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and saxophone legend Houston Person. DeRose has long straddled the line between modernism and tradition, and with marvelous arrangements and technical grace, she hones a clear vision of contemporary music. With Special Guests: Steve Wilson (sax, 2/24), Scott Robinson (sax, 2/25), Ingrid Jensen (trumpet, 2/26). $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 26 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Earl McIntyre’s Tribute! Earl McIntyre is a brass artist who has performed with the world’s greatest jazz brass masters: Howard Johnson’s Gravity, Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy, and Slide Hampton’s World of Trombones. His recording Brass Carnival & Tribute! is a celebration with two ensembles: Brass Carnival, which plays “the various kinds of carnival music, painted on a Jazz canvas”—whereas “Tribute! is a smaller group that pays tribute to my many influences.” With McIntyre’s hip compositional slant, this is sure to be a soulful, grooving evening. $30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 27 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Amanda Green & Friends – “Merry February” Come catch the post-post Holiday Spirit and join Birdland favorite, two-time Tony-nominated and Grammy-nominated songwriter and performer Amanda Green and her Amazing Friends in her least favorite month, for an evening of her hilarious and moving songs. Guest performers include Tony nominee Jenn Colella, two-time Grammy-winning Tamika Lawrence, and Tony-nominated Howard McGillin. Musical Direction is by James Sampliner. Amanda Green is a Tony Award-nominated lyricist and composer. She revised the book and lyrics for the recent revival of Kiss Me, Kate, starring Kelli O’Hara and Will Chase. She is currently writing lyrics for a new musical with Billy Crystal and Jason Robert Brown, and Female Troubles, an original musical comedy conceived by Amanda and composer Curtis Moore. Her Broadway credits include On the Twentieth Century revival, starring Kristin Chenoweth (Addt’l Lyrics); Bring It On, co-lyricist, with Lin-Manuel Miranda; Hands on a Hardbody, lyrics and co-composer; High Fidelity (Lyrics) TV: “Peter Pan Live!” on NBC (Addt’l Lyrics). As a performer, Amanda has appeared in concerts everywhere from Carnegie Hall to Birdland, Joe’s Pub, 54 Below, and beyond. She has received two MAC Awards and a Bistro Award. $40 tables / $40 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 27 (Monday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Karen Oberlin – “Bewitched: The Life and Lyrics of Lorenz Hart” Oberlin – hailed as one of premier interpreters of the Great American Songbook by both The New York Times and London’s Classical Source – will present this show with dazzling arrangements by Tedd Firth, fleshing out the complexities and genius of Lorenz Hart’s songbook while delving into the details of this complicated, troubled and fascinating figure. Lorenz “Larry” Hart transformed the world of lyric writing, and we’ve never looked back. Where many songwriters had been rehashing love-story tropes, Hart delivered substance and sophistication to create songs that were fresh, substantial, and utterly contemporary. His legendary ability to create intricate yet conversational rhymes remains unparalleled. The show includes iconic hits such as “A Lady Is a Tramp, ” “Manhattan, ” “My Romance, ” and “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered.” Oberlin has received the Mabel Mercer Foundation’s Award for Excellence in Cabaret and the New York Nightlife Award for Jazz Vocalist of the Year. She has had major engagements at the Algonquin’s Oak Room, Feinstein’s/54 Below, the Café Carlyle and Birdland, along with performances at Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Caramoor. $30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 28 – March 4 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (2/28 – 3/2); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (3/3-4) – Birdland Jazz Club James Carter “Lookin at the Lock”: Music of Eddie Lockjaw Davis “To hear saxophonist James Carter is to be blown away, ” says the Washington Post. An indomitable force of imagination and soulful expression, Carter has released 19 records under his own name and nearly 40 as a collaborator with giants of music such as Lester Bowie, Christian McBride, Ginger Baker, Hammiet Bluiett, Steve Turre, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Regina Carter, Benny Golson, Marcus Miller, Madeleine Peyroux, and the World Saxophone Quartet. His playing evokes avant-garde, spiritual, gospel, and modern musical traditions within a single solo. For this week upstairs at the jazz club, Carter will explore the music of Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, the gutsy tenor-man known for his blues-soaked melodies and his heartbreaking, heroic improvisations. James Carter (saxophones), Gerard Gibbs (piano), Hilliard Greene (bass), Kahlil Kwame Bell (drums). $40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum Monthly Engagements: February 6, 13, 20, 27 (Mondays) 9:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Jim Caruso’s Cast Party “Jim Caruso’s Cast Party, ” a New York institution for almost two decades, is a wildly popular weekly open mic night/variety show that has brought a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to Birdland since 2004. Called “show-business heaven” by The New York Times and “the gold-standard of open mic nights” by The Wall Street Journal, “Cast Party” will take advantage of the city’s post-pandemic nightlife renaissance to keep presenting a potent mix of Broadway stars, jazz swingers and cabaret legends, in addition to new faces and rising talent from every genre. The buoyant, sharp and charming Caruso guides the entire affair, while musical genius Billy Stritch (Liza Minnelli, Tony Bennett) holds court at the ivories and leads the Cast Party Symphony Orchestra (Steve Doyle on bass and Daniel Glass on drums). $30 + $20 food/drink minimum February 7, 21 (Tuesdays except 2/14 and 2/28) 5:30 PM –Birdland Theater John di Martino Duo John di Martino is a veteran pianist whose Grammy-nominated work with Freddy Cole, Bobby Sanabria, Issac Delgado, and Ray Baretto, as well as his work as a leader with star-studded groups, makes him a stunning pianist to witness. Described as a “shape-shifter” for his creativity across musical genres, di Martino recently gifted us with a new quartet release entitled Passion Flower. Featuring the music of the late, great American composer Billy Strayhorn, the deft pianist brings together some of our generation’s most masterful musical minds. In February, join John for two Tuesdays as he performs in an intimate duo setting. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 7, 21 (Tuesdays except 2/14 and 2/28) 8:30 PM –Birdland Theater The Lineup with Susie Mosher “The Lineup with Susie Mosher” is a wild, anything-goes variety show featuring entertainers from the Broadway, cabaret and comedy scenes, ranging from today’s hottest headliners to the best up-and-coming stars of tomorrow. Mosher – the noted actress and singer from Broadway and beyond, called “one of those talents you need to see to believe” by Time Out New York – hosts the spontaneous extravaganza every Tuesday, and each Lineup is unique and promises to deliver an unforgettable night of quintessential New York City entertainment. $20 + $20 food/drink minimum February 28 (first Tuesday night of an upcoming bi-weekly run) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks Catch Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks for their final performance in a highly successful 7-week Tuesday night residency at the Birdland Theater. Giordano, the recipient of a GRAMMY Award for his work scoring the HBO show Boardwalk Empire, is a master composer and arranger whose 11-piece band, The Nighthawks, recreate the jubilant 1920s jazz sound with amazing definition, using violins, tubas, banjos, and collector’s item drum sets. The band has provided soundtracks for film and television productions including The Cotton Club, The Aviator, Finding Forrester, Revolutionary Road, Cafe Society, Boardwalk Empire, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and many more. Not to be missed! $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 1, 8, 15, 22 (Wednesdays) 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 February 1, 8, 15, 22 (Wednesdays) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Frank Vignola’s Guitar Night It’s the best jazz guitar lover’s show in the world. Frank Vignola’s virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Les Paul, the Boston and New York Pops, and more. Every Wednesday at 8:30pm in the Birdland Theater, Frank leads “Frank Vignola’s Guitar Night at Birdland.” Inspired by journeyman jazz guitarist John Pisano’s now famous Los Angeles Guitar Night, the Frank Vignola Trio, featuring bassist Gary Mazzaroppi and drummer Vince Cherico, will perform tunes from the standard repertoire, inviting up a rotation of special guest guitarists: Rubens De La Corte (2/1), Rodney Jones (2/8), Tessa Lark & Ted Rosenthal (2/15), and Sheryl Bailey (2/22) $30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum February 3, 10, 17, 24 (Fridays) 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 why 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 February 4, 11, 18, 25 (Saturdays) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano Hailed as “the truest heir to Bobby Short” in The New York Times, pianist/singer Eric Comstock returns to Birdland with star bassist/composer Sean Smith with songs by everyone from George Gershwin to George Harrison. These two masters met on the Off-Broadway hit Our Sinatra (which Eric co-wrote) and have since worked separately and together around the world. Vocalist Barbara Fasano joins them at Birdland for a swinging Saturday supper where the music and stories are equally great. Sean Smith has been an integral part of the international jazz scene for over 25 years, and has performed with Gerry Mulligan, Phil Woods, Benny Carter, Art Farmer, Flip Phillips, Clark Terry and many others. Barbara Fasano has been praised as “a gorgeous, soulful singer who has an actor’s intensity in whatever she sings” by The New York Post and “a lyrically sensitive interpreter” by The New York Times. Her latest album Busy Being Free is the recipient of the MAC Award for “Major Recording of the Year.” $30 + $20 food/drink minimum February 12, 19, 26 (Sundays) 8:30 & 10:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (Octet 2/12) Pianist, composer and educator Arturo O’Farrill—leader of the “first family of Afro-Cuban Jazz” (The New York Times)—leads the GRAMMY® award winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO), 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 :: © 2023 Jazz News :: home page |