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| What's Coming Up at Birdland: Jazz Programming March 4th - March 17th March 4 (Monday) 5:30 & 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks Catch Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks every Monday evening in January at 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! $40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 5 (Tuesday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Theater The Andersons Play Richard Rogers Juilliard-trained identical twins Peter and Will Anderson have been hailed as "virtuosos on clarinet and saxophone" by The New York Times. Their passion for classic jazz shines through each time they perform. Sharing the stage with some of the biggest acts in straight-ahead jazz—including the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Wycliffe Gordon, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Paquito D'Rivera, and Wynton Marsalis—the brothers constitute a formidable force in front of an audience. They've headlined shows at Carnegie Hall, The Blue Note, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and live on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion Radio Program. Birdland welcomes them every Tuesday in March. Spotlighting the music of legendary American composer Richard Rogers, the Anderson Brothers will deliver some straight-down-the-middle swinging. $30 + $20 food/drink minimum March 5-9 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (3/5-7); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (3/8-9) – Birdland Jazz Club The Hot Sardines Stars of the trad-jazz world, The Hot Sardines bring early jazz into the modern day. With their love of classic jazz—jazz that feeds the heart and soul—bandleader Evan Palazzo, lead singer Elizabeth Bougerol and a New York-based ensemble have brought their music across the globe for years. Their brassy horn arrangements, rollicking piano melodies, smooth vocals and love for audience engagement earned them the respect of Downbeat Magazine, who called the group "one of the most delightfully energetic bands on New York's 'hot' music scene." The Hot Sardines have released five records since 2011 to critical acclaim. "Everything in our DNA is about connecting with the audience, " says Bougerol. Make sure not to miss this exciting night! $45 tables / $35 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 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 March 6 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater Frank Vignola's Guitar Night with special guest Al Gafa 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 Quartet, featuring pianist Ted Rosenthal, bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, and drummer Vince Cherico, will perform tunes from the standard repertoire, bringing in special guests weekly. This week it's guitarist Al Gafa. *Guitar night streams live every week at YouTube.com/RadioFreeBirdland $30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 7 (Thursday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Theater The High Society New Orleans Jazz Band Led by veteran trumpeter Simon Wettenhall and Grammy winning pianist Conal Fowkes, The High Society New Orleans Jazz Band are a New Orleans style Jazz band which for decades have been Woody Allen's band of choice for his movies, concert tours and weekly performances. The band have appeared on all the premiere concert stages of Europe and the United States. Band members have appeared in and provided music for Woody Allen movies including: Wild Man Blues, Sweet and Lowdown, Midnight in Paris, Blue Jasmine, Cafe Society, Magic In The Moonlight, and A Rainy Day In New York. Their driving sound is a testament to the ongoing relevance of New Orleans Jazz and they have an international fan base to prove it. Loved by critics and jazz aficionados alike, they have attracted Jazz icons like Chick Corea, Marian McPartland, Diana Krall and many others who sat in with the band during its twenty year residency at the Cafe Carlyle. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 7 (Thursday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Alicyn Yaffee Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Alicyn Yaffee brings pensive lyrics, fretboard prowess, and lush vocals together with her electrifying contemporary jazz group. Part of the movement by millennial artists from Northern California to blend jazz and indie rock sensibilities, Yaffee represents a particularly intimate and authentic space in jazz music where the authentically modern meets the nostalgic and the reverential. Under her belt already are tours of Europe with Becca Stevens (Winner of Downbeat's prestigious "Rising Star Vocalist" award); acting and guitar roles in Bacchae at the Classical Theater of Harlem; and an endorsement by PRS Guitars. Her debut album, Someone Else, features appearances by music greats such as Cindy Blackman Santana, Pepe Jimenez, Jeff Cressman and Ronnie Foster. Catch her on this Thursday night engagement at the Theater! $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 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 why yelp.com proclaims, "If you hear one band in NYC make sure this is it… and prepare to be blown away!" $35 + $25 food/drink minimum March 8-10 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM - Birdland Theater Flying High with Champian Fulton, Jane Monheit, Lezlie Harrison and Nicholas Payton The new star-studded vocal group Flying High carries forth the legacy of the great female big band vocalists who went solo: Billie Holiday, Anita O’Day, Lena Horne, Peggy Lee, Jo Stafford, Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald, and others. Presented by California music non-profit Jazz At The Ballroom, the group features three powerful vocalists—Champian Fulton, Lezlie Harrison, Jane Monheit—accompanied by an incredible band of Nicholas Payton, Willie Jones III, and Neal Miner. Birdland fan-favorite Fulton serves as pianist and Artistic Director. Singing such classics as “Mad About The Boy, ” “A Tisket A Tasket, ” “Travelin’ Light, ” and “Social Call, ” this group delivers in a big way and highlights the trailblazing women of yesteryear with the trailblazers of today. $35 tables / $25 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 9 (Saturday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club Loston Harris Duo Loston Harris possesses a voice like the great big band singers and the consummate pianism of a Wynton Kelly or a Tommy Flanagan. This combination of outgoing performance and exuberant technical mastery is rare, but Harris has it in spades—and at Birdland, accompanied by the brilliant Gianluca Renzi on bass, Loston will bring his one-two punch to the stage for four Saturday nights in March. Harris’s life in jazz has included tutelage with some of the music’s greatest masters. He studied with Marsalis family patriarch, the pianist Ellis, on recommendation by the great Harry Connick Jr. after participating in the first Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition in Washington, D.C. Since then, Harris has wowed many a special audience: besides tours with the legendary Wynton Marsalis, or an appearance with piano genius Marcus Roberts on the PBS special “Portraits in Blue, ” he was also the featured singer at George Clooney’s Birthday with John Mayer; Sarah Jessica Parker’s private Sex and the City movie after-party; Tom Cruise’s ICON Award Ceremony; and the Friar’s Club Gala honoring Don Rickles. Don’t miss the heavy-hitting crooner! $30 + $20 food/drink minimum March 10 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Dan Pugach Big Band featuring Nicole Zuraitis The acclaimed Dan Pugach is a drummer and composer based in New York whose explorations with his 9-piece ensemble, the Dan Pugach Nonet, have brought him the 2019 Grammy Nomination for Best Arrangement (Instruments with Vocals); the 2019 BMI Charlie Parker Composition Prize; the 2013 ASCAP Jazz Composer Award; and the 2011 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award. Birdland favorite Nicole Zuraitis sings with the group—she herself just took home the 2024 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal album this past month. Pugach’s band is sure to delight audiences with intricate but open-hearted arrangements and fire-breathing performances. $30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 10 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) brings 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. Thirteen 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. $40 + $30 food/drink minimum March 11 (Monday) 5:30 & 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks Catch Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks every Monday evening in January at 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! $40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 12 (Tuesday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Theater The Andersons Play Richard Rogers Juilliard-trained identical twins Peter and Will Anderson have been hailed as “virtuosos on clarinet and saxophone” by The New York Times. Their passion for classic jazz shines through each time they perform. Sharing the stage with some of the biggest acts in straight-ahead jazz—including the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Wycliffe Gordon, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Paquito D’Rivera, and Wynton Marsalis—the brothers constitute a formidable force in front of an audience. They’ve headlined shows at Carnegie Hall, The Blue Note, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and live on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion Radio Program. Birdland welcomes them every Tuesday in March. Spotlighting the music of legendary American composer Richard Rogers, the Anderson Brothers will deliver some straight-down-the-middle swinging. $30 + $20 food/drink minimum March 12-16 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (3/12-14); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (3/15-16) –Birdland Jazz Club Maria Schneider Orchestra The legendary, groundbreaking composer and arranger Maria Schneider returns to Birdland this February. Ms. Schneider’s music, which has received 7 GRAMMY wins and 14 nominations across jazz, classical and arranging categories, is regarded as some of the most evocative work of our contemporary artistic world. Her most recent project, the double-album Data Lords (2020)—called “the most daring work of Schneider’s career” by esteemed critic Nate Chinen—was a Finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize. It pits the digital world against the natural one in musical form to warn listeners of the profound dangers of Big Data and reacquaint them with their essential lifeforce. A living icon of music, Ms. Schneider’s week-long engagement is not to be missed. $50 tables / $40 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 13 (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 13 (Wednesday) 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 Quartet, featuring pianist Ted Rosenthal, bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, and drummer Vince Cherico, will perform tunes from the standard repertoire, bringing in special guests weekly. *Guitar night streams live every week at YouTube.com/RadioFreeBirdland $30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 14 (Thursday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Theater The High Society New Orleans Jazz Band Led by veteran trumpeter Simon Wettenhall and Grammy winning pianist Conal Fowkes, The High Society New Orleans Jazz Band are a New Orleans style Jazz band which for decades have been Woody Allen’s band of choice for his movies, concert tours and weekly performances. The band have appeared on all the premiere concert stages of Europe and the United States. Band members have appeared in and provided music for Woody Allen movies including: Wild Man Blues, Sweet and Lowdown, Midnight in Paris, Blue Jasmine, Cafe Society, Magic In The Moonlight, and A Rainy Day In New York. With Conal Fowkes (piano/vocals co-leader), Simon Wettenhall (trumpet/vocals co-leader), Tom Abbott (clarinet), Harvey Tibbs (trombone), Josh Dunn (banjo), Brian Nalepka (bass/vocals), Kevin Dorn (drums). $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 14 (Thursday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater Tedd Firth Tedd Firth is a renowned pianist, musical director, arranger and orchestrator. The consummate accompanist, Firth has worked with superstars Barbara Cook, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Maureen McGovern, Marilyn Maye, Joshua Bell, and many others. He has performed and/or recorded with jazz luminaries John Pizzarelli, Houston Person, Frank Wess, Mark Whitfield, Red Holloway, Benny Golson and Joe Morello. Firth recently served as the musical director for the original Broadway cast of Into The Woods and for Michael Feinstein’s “Jazz and Popular Song” concert series at Jazz at Lincoln Center. He is both a leader in his field and a truly humble music-maker. Appearances include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Blue Note, Birdland, the Iridium, and the White House. Firth brings a sensitive, swinging trio to serenade the Birdland Theater. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 15 (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 why yelp.com proclaims, “If you hear one band in NYC make sure this is it… and prepare to be blown away!” $35 + $25 food/drink minimum March 15-17 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater Hot Club of Cowtown One of the most revered groups in Western Swing, the Hot Club of Cowtown is a virtuosic trio performing at the top of their game. Since forming in 1998, the group—an exuberant storm of vocals, fiddle, guitar, and bass—has won a wide range of awards, including both Western Swing Group of the Year and Western Swing Female of the Year (2015, Ameripolitan Music Awards); Best Music Group (2012, Village Voice Jazz and Pop Poll); and induction into the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame (2004). 25 years after vocalist and fiddler Elana James joined forces with guitarist and vocalist Whit Smith, the group—which has performed the Glastonbury Festival, the National Folk Festivals of the US and Australia, Midsummer Night’s Swing at Lincoln Center, the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, and tours with Bob Dylan, The Avett Brothers, and Willie Nelson. $35 tables / $25 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 17 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Emilio Solla & La Inestable de Brooklyn Grammy-winning composer Emilio Solla calls this 9-piece orchestra La Inestable de Brooklyn. Comprised of celebrated musicians performing in an unusual configuration—two reedists, one trumpet, one trombone, accordion, violin, piano, double-bass and drums—the group garnered the attention of the The New York Times, which stated that “The virile throb of Astor Piazzolla’s nuevo tango was omnipresent in the pianist Emilio Solla’s stately pulse.” The ambitious master composer’s writing for the ensemble is eclectic: he utilizes small configurations of musicians from out of his larger 9 to represent everything from traditional tango and Latin American sounds to avant-explorations to the classicism of American jazz. $30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum March 17 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) brings 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. Thirteen 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. $40 + $30 food/drink minimum write your comments about the article :: © 2024 Jazz News :: home page |