Blue Note Jazz Club Announces October Schedule

Blue Note Jazz Club, the iconic Greenwich Village jazz and blues venue that offers live musical performances every night of the week, is proud to announce an impressive roster of acts this October. Each performer is scheduled for two shows per night, 8:00 pm and 10:30 pm, unless otherwise noted. Doors open at 6:00 pm and reservations are strongly suggested. Tickets are $30 at the bar, $45 for table reservations unless otherwise noted.

Celebrated piano legend McCoy Tyner will return to Blue Note, performing from October 4 - October 6 with special guests Gary Bartz & John Blake Jr. GRAMMY Award winner Gary Bartz has played with Max Roach and MiLes Davis, as well as performed on Tyner's "Expansions" and "Extensions" albums. McCoy is widely considered one of the finest and most influential pianists in jazz history. His signature booming left-hand and fleeting right created a unique sound that can be heard on his recordings as a sideman with the John Coltrane Quartet in the 1960s and on his 80s -plus album as a leadeR. McCoy's most recent project, titled Solo: Live From San Francisco, was his first solo effort in almost a decade. The release is the third for his label and features eleven solo vignettes recorded at the Herbst TheateR. McCoy has always expanded his vision of the musical landscape and incorporated new elements, whether from distant continents to diverse musical influences. McCoy has earned four GRAMMYS and was awarded Jazz Master from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2002. He continues to leave his mark on generations of improvisers, and yet remains a disarmingly modest and spiritually directed man.

Stanley Clarke & the Harlem Quartet will perform at Blue Note Jazz club from October 8 - October 13. Stanley was among the first bassists in history to double on acoustic and electric bass with equal ferocity and was the first bassist ever to headline tours, selling out shows worldwide. Stanley has collaborated with many jazz artists over the years, such as, the Clarke/Duke Project with George Duke, The Superband with Larry Carlton and Billy Cobham and projects with Quincy Jones, Stan Getz, Art Blakey, Paul McCartney and Keith Richards, just to name a few. Stanley has also won every major award possible. Stanley will perform at Blue Note Jazz Club with The Harlem Quartet. The Harlem Quartet is praised for its panache, and its mission is to advance diversity in classical music while engaging young and new audiences through the discovery and presentation of varied repertoire, highlighting works by minority composers.

On October 15-16, Phil Woods will be performing at the Blue Note Jazz Club. Phil will be performing with Brian Lynch, trumpet, Bill Charlap, piano, Bill Goodwin, drums and Steve Gilmore, bass. Phil is one of the true masters of the bop vocabulary and has had his own sound since-the-mid-50s and stuck to his musical guns throughout a remarkably productive career. Phil contributed the famous alto solo to Billy Joel's hit recording of "Just the Way You Are," and has been one of Michel Legrand's favorite artists, guesting with Legrand on an occasional basis. He has made dozens of rewarding recordings himself through the years, some of his key sets include 1960's Rights of Swing on Candid, 1974's Musique Du Bois on 32 Jazz, 1981's Birds of a Feather from Antilles, and 2002's Americans Swinging in Paris from EMI. An Italian label, Philogy, is named after the popular and still brilliant altoist. Phil is still going strong well into the 21st century; he cut a live session with the Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra in 2005 that was released by Jazz Media in 2006. In 2009, after years of attempting to secure the rights to interpret the work of writer A.A. Milne, Phil released Children's Suite - a tribute to Milne's classic book Winnie the Pooh. Tickets are $20 at the bar and $35 for table reservations.

GRAMMY award winning saxophonist, Kenny G, will return to The Blue Note Jazz Club from October 17 - October 20.Kenny has embedded elements of R&B, pop and Latin music into a jazz foundation solidifying his reputation as the premier artist in contemporary jazz. Inspired by the likes of Earth, Wind & Fire and Grover Washington Jr., Kenny was only 17 years-old when he landed a gig with Barry White and his Love Unlimited Orchestra at the Paramount Northwest Theater, after that the gigs just kept coming. By the 90s, Kenny was a multi-platinum seller and frequent collaborator with some of the most iconic figures in American popular music, including Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Natalie Cole and Frank Sinatra. "Miracles," a 1994 holiday album, took Kenny to the top of Billboard chart for the first time and the album has since become the best-selling holiday album of all time. However, with his most recent album, Kenny has taken a different direction. Namaste India (2012) is a collaboration with Indian santoor player and vocalist Rahul Sharma, the album captures both the natural meditative sound of Indian classical music and the flamboyant jazz melodies of the saxophone. Tickets are $45 at the bar and $75 for table reservations.

Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars will then take the stage on October 21st for Dizzy Gillespie's 96th Birthday Celebration, an evening replete with a special show and special guests, including Roy Hargrove. This birthday show kicks off the band's weeklong residency, performing at Blue Note from October 22 - October 27, an annual tradition to honor Dizzy Gillespie's legendary life and career. As a performer, he left behind an incredible record of innovation and inspiration. As a composer, a broad repository of musical masterpieces, and as a man, a legion of friends, colleagues and compatriots who remember him with the same degree of love and esteem they reserve for his work. The Alumni All-Stars feature some of Dizzy's closest compatriots; all of them are band leaders, educators and recording artists in their own right. They include Terrel Stafford, trumpet & flugelhorn; Freddie Hendrix, trumpet & flugelhorn; Gary Bartz, alto sax; Sharel Cassity, alto sax; Steve Davis, trombone; Cyrus Chestnut, piano; Yotam Silberstein, guitar; John Lee, bass; Lewis Nash, drums & vocals; and vocalist Roberta Gambarini Together, The Alumni All-Stars continue to delight audiences around the world with the enduring power and freshness of Dizzy Gillespie's music. Tickets are $20 at the bar and $35 for table reservations on October 22, 23, 24 and 27th; $25 at the bar and $45 for table reservations on October 25th and 26th.

Closing out the month of October at Blue Note will be the Jimmy Heath Big Band from October 28 - October 31. On October 29, the Jimmy Heath Big Band will be joined by special guest, Bill Cosby. Jimmy Heath has long been recognized as a brilliant instrumentalist and a magnificent composer and arranger. He has performed with nearly all the jazz greats of the last 50 years, from Howard McGhee, Dizzy Gillespie and MiLes Davis, to name a few. During his career, Jimmy has performed on more than 100 albums, including seven with the Heath brothers and 12 as a leader. He has also written more than 125 compositions, many of which have become jazz standards and have been recorded by other artists. For over 60 years, the legendary Heath Brothers have been synonymous with legendary jazz. Although Percey passed away, Jimmy and Tootie have pressed on, continuing to make great music. Tickets are $20 at the bar and $35 for table reservations.

Below are some additional Performances at Blue Note Jazz Club throughout the month of October. The performer is scheduled for two shows per night, 8:00 pm and 10:30 pm, unless otherwise noted. Doors open at 6:00 pm and reservations are strongly suggested.

- October 1- 3 - Lou Donaldson Quartet ($20 at the bar, $30 for table reservations)

- October 7 - Imani Uzuri ($10 at the bar, $15 for table reservations)

- October 14 - TSP: Mark Rapp & Derek Lee Bronston feat. James Genus ($10 at the bar, $15 for table reservations)

- October 23 - Esteban Castro

Sunday Brunch at Blue Note

Every Sunday there will be two performances, one at 12:30pm and another following at 2:30pm at Blue Note from some of the most well known jazz artists. Tickets are $29.50 and include a live music performance, food and a cocktail.

- October 6 - Combo Nuvo

- October 13 - Yotam

- October 20 - Julliard Jazz Brunch: West Coast Sound

- October 27 - Tsuyoshi Niwa

Late Night Groove Series

Blue Note Jazz Club hosts two late night shows on Friday and Saturday nights. The doors open at 12:00am and the show begins at 12:30am. Tickets are $10 both at the bar and at a table unless otherwise noted.

- October 4 - Marine Futin

- October 5 - Sangmin Lee

- October 11 - Camila Meza

- October 12 - Robert Mwamba

- October 18 - Matt Geraghty

- October 19 - Howard Britz

- October 25 - Simona Premazzi

- October 26 - Reggie Washington & Rainbow Shadow - Tribute to Jef Lee Johnson