Cole Porter Celebrated At Jazz At Lincoln Center With Karen Ziemba, Margo Seibert, Milton Suggs, Ted Rosenthal And More

Songbook Sundays, created and hosted by Deborah Grace Winer celebrating the American Songbook will continue at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club with Happen to Like Cole Porter on Sunday, December 8th at 5 PM and 7:30 PM.

Happen to Like Cole Porter fizzes up the holiday season, as Jazz at Lincoln Center American Songbook swings the tunes of arguably the world's most famous songwriter.  This Songbook Sundays celebrates Cole Porter's hot and cool tunes and racy lyrics, like Night and Day, I Get a Kick Out of You, From This Moment On, It's De-Lovely, and more.

Hosted and curated by leading American Songbook expert Deborah Grace Winer, the set features Tony Award-Winner Karen Ziemba, Broadway's starry Margo Seibert and JALC favorite Milton Suggs.

Music Director Ted Rosenthal leads a band of all-stars including Jay Leonhart on bass/guest vocals (Judy Garland, Mel Torme, Frank Sinatra), Peter Anderson on saxophone (Blue Note, Kennedy Center, New Orleans Jazz Festival), and Jerome Jennings (Sonny Rollins, Hank Jones, Wynton Marsalis & the JALC Orchestra) on drums.

Add in a few stories, and it's a glittery New York holiday toast.

Ms. Winer said: “Dizzy's Songbook Sundays is that warm, welcoming place we need so much now, gathering together as audiences and performers to feel joy and community, and celebrating each other's company with great music.  We're grateful that every other month, we can be that haven.” 

One of New York's most popular music destinations, Songbook Sundays is in its third year, after premiering spring 2022 with Got Gershwin followed by salutes to Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, Lerner and Loewe, Fats Waller, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Cy Coleman, Frank Loesser, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael. It will begin its third season in the New Year with a celebration of Jule Styne (February 2nd).  All shows are at 5pm and 7:30pm, and feature top vocal talent from Broadway, cabaret and jazz, with a diverse mix of young artists and veteran stars.  Energy, fun, great music—welcoming new Songbook Sundays audiences from all over the world as well as a fresh new offering for JALC's home audience. 

In the spirit of swing, the mission of Jazz at Lincoln Center is to entertain, enrich and expand the global community for jazz through performance, education and advocacy. Dizzy's Club offers live jazz performances with panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline and Central Park. 

To reach Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club, enter at Columbus Circle at 60th Street and Broadway, take the Jazz elevators to the 5th floor for Dizzy's Club as well as The Rose Theater and The Appel Room.

Tickets for Songbook Sundays are $65, with student tickets available at $20.  There is a $21 food/drink minimum. To purchase, visit: Jazz.org/dizzys.

Deborah Grace Winer (Curator, Host) is a leading expert on the classic American Songbook, and writer and creator of theatrical revues and concerts.  Along with multiple projects with Jazz at Lincoln Center, collaborations include Feinstein's/54 Below, Birdland, and a decade as Artistic Director of the 92Y's Lyrics & Lyricists concert series, presiding over 50 original shows and steering the venerable series back to audience and critical acclaim.  She collaborates with top-tier artists from Broadway and the music world, and works with leading institutions.  Author and dramatist, among her four books is On the Sunny Side of the Street: The Life and Lyrics of Dorothy Fields (Macmillan), recently named by the Wall Street Journal one of the Five Best books on American Songwriters. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, and her plays, off-Broadway and regionally.  She has been featured on PBS American Masters, and NPR's “Fresh Air” and “Morning Edition.”  She wrote and created the new comedy-adventure podcast, Flash Force! Middle-Aged Women Superheroes Save Democracy, featuring an all-star Broadway cast; available on all podcast platforms.

Karen Ziemba (Vocalist) received the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance in Contact at Lincoln Center Theatre. For some of her other NYC and regional appearances she's garnered three Tony Award nominations, the Drama Desk, the Outer Critics Circle, the Bay Area Theatre Critics, and Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Awards. Select theatre credits: Prince of Broadway, Steel Pier, Curtains, Crazy for You, Bullets Over Broadway, Never Gonna Dance, And the World Goes ‘Round, Do I Hear a Waltz, A Little Night Music, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, Much Ado About Nothing, Other People's Money, Six Degrees of Separation, Brighton Beach Memoirsand Broadway Bound and recently, Mrs. Warren's Profession Off-Broadway. TV: Madam Secretary, Elementary, The Good Wife, Law and Order C.I & S.V.U., The Kennedy Center Honors, and PBS' Great Performances. 

Margo Seibert (vocalist) is a Drama Desk Award winner and starred as Adrian in Broadway's Rocky the Musical, as well as in Broadway's first a cappella musical, In Transit; Off Broadway, she recently co-starred in Dave Malloy's Octet.  Her debut album, 77th Street, was released on Yellow Sound Label.  She performs in club and concert dates, while theatrical appearances also include Playwrights Horizons, Shakespeare Theatre (DC) and Paper Mill Playhouse.  TV: Boardwalk Empire, Elementary, Instinct and The Good Cop.

Milton Suggs (vocalist) is a singer, arranger, composer and musician who has been repeatedly named top 10 rising star male vocalist in Downbeat Magazine's critic's poll. He has shared the stage or recording with such notable musicians as Roy Hargrove, Wycliffe Gordon, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.  A third generation musician, he recently released his fifth album, Pure Intention, on Imani Records.

Ted Rosenthal (Music Director) has performed worldwide as piano soloist, with his trio, and with many jazz greats including Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Phil Woods, and James Moody.  Winner of the Thelonious Monk International Competition, Rosenthal has released 15 critically acclaimed CDs as a leader. His latest, Rhapsody in Gershwin, reached #1 on iTunes and Amazon.  HIs jazz opera, “Dear Erich,” was commissioned and premiered by New York City Opera in 2019.  He is on the faculties of Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music.

SONGBOOK SUNDAYS, created and hosted by Deborah Grace Winer celebrating the American Songbook, continues on Sunday, December 8th, at 5 & 7:30 PM with Happen to Like Cole Porter at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club, 60th Street & Broadway, NYC.  The all Cole Porter evening features Karen Ziemba, Margo Seibert, Milton Suggs.  Tickets $65 and $20 for students. There is a $21 food/drink minimum.