Duke Robillard and Scott Hamilton, New London Jazz Orchestra, and More to Play Birdland This Month

Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater have announced jazz programming running August 7 - August 20.

Performers appearing at Birdland Jazz Club include Duke Robillard and Scott Hamilton, New London Jazz Orchestra ft. Wayne Bergeron and John Riley, Cindy Blackman Santana Band, Champian Fulton and Hide Tanaka and John Yao.

Downstairs at Birdland Theater, catch Nicole Zuraitis, Daryl Sherman and Jay Leonhart, Vanessa Rubi and Benny Green.

Repeat engagements include Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks, David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band, Frank Vignola's Guitar Night, Birdland Big Band and The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. 

Jazz Programming at Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater August 7 - August 20.

August 7 (Monday) 5:30 & 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks
Catch Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks every Monday evening in August 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!
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

August 8 (Tuesday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Nicole Zuraitis
A Grammy-nominated musician, powerhouse vocalist, and New York-based bandleader, Nicole Zuraitis continues to establish herself as an undeniable force in the modern jazz landscape of both NYC and beyond. Nicole is the premier vocalist for both the Birdland Big Band and the Dan Pugach Nonet; her co-produced collaboration “Oil on Water: How Love Begins” with bassist Christian McBride is set to release in 2023. Nicole's touring ensemble, Generations Of Her: Women Songwriters and Lyricists of the Last 100 Years, has played to sold-out houses in NYC and around the country. As a recording artist, Nicole has released four albums as leader, including 2020's All Wandering Hearts on Dot Time Records. In 2019, Nicole was nominated for a Grammy alongside her husband, renowned drummer and bandleader Dan Pugach, for their arrangement and performance of Dolly Parton's “Jolene.” Nicole has won awards including the New York City Songwriting Competition Coffee Music Project (2016), the Herb Alpert ASCAP Young Composer Award (2014), and the Gold Medal, Ben Tucker Jazz Award, People's Choice, and Johnny Mercer Award. In 2015, Nicole was the second runner-up in the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition.
$20 + $20 food/drink minimum

August 8-12 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (8/8-10); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (8/11-12) – Birdland Jazz Club
Duke Robillard and Scott Hamilton: “Swingin' Again”
Blues guitarist Duke Robillard & Tenor sax giant Scott Hamilton, together with the Duke Robillard Band present a set of classic jazz and blues that are bound to make you tap your feet entitled, “Swingin' Again.” The group features trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso and guitarist Chris Flory. Robillard and Hamilton became friends when they were still youngsters growing up in Rhode Island. Robillard has made a name for himself as a founding member of Roomful of Blues and has since established an impressive solo career with his group, The Pleasure Kings. He also spent a few years playing guitar for The Fabulous Thunderbirds. Scott Hamilton has kept the classic tenor tradition alive. Although he broke into the jazz scene in the 1970s, during the height of fusion, Hamilton was intent on maintaining the more traditional styles of players like Ben Webster, Illinois Jacquet, and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis. As Robillard once said, “Of all the musicians I know, Scott is not just the keeper of the flame, but actually the flame itself.”
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

August 9 (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

August 9 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola's Guitar Night with special guests Mike Stern, Pasquale Grasso and Jimmy Bruno
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 bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, drummer Vince Cherico, and pianist Ted Rosenthal, will perform tunes from the standard repertoire, with special guests Mike Stern, Pasquale Grasso and Jimmy Bruno.
*Guitar night streams live every week at YouTube.com/RadioFreeBirdland
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

August 10 (Thursday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Daryl Sherman & Jay Leonhart Duo
Rhode Island born Daryl Sherman has been a part of the New York City jazz scene since the mid-70s and she is one of the rare singing pianists equally talented in both roles. When Artie Shaw formed a new band after his retirement, Sherman was his chosen singer, calling her “a first rate singer–musician.” Her albums are in regular rotation on Cable TV's Music Choice, Sirius/XM Radio, BBC, JazzRadio Berlin and she's been a frequent guest on NPR's “Piano Jazz.” Bassist, singer and songwriter Jay Leonhart is both a veteran instrumentalist and an inspiring, storied vocal performer. With decades of accomplishments on his musical resume just as a bassist—including acts so varied as Tony Bennett, Ozzy Osbourne, James Taylor, Thad Jones, and Queen Latifah—Leonhart surprises many a musician with his disarming vocals and his smart, often humorous original songs. Named The Most Valuable Bassist in the recording industry three times by the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences between 1975 and 1995, he is sure to move and entertain his audience—this time in duo format with Sherman.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

August 11 (Friday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
The Birdland Big Band
Every Friday, and for two headlining weeks a year—including the first whole week of August—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

August 11-13 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Vanessa Rubin
A singer with a robust sound, a storyteller's smile, and an ear for classic jazz, Rubin treats audiences to real deal, swinging music. Indeed, her latest release, 2019's The Dream Is You: Vanessa Rubin Sings Tadd Dameron, received a nomination for Outstanding Jazz Album at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards, and so this vocalist—who has released 8 studio albums—continues to swing audiences into the night with her easygoing presentation and her clear tone. Rubin's earliest recordings reached #1 spots on radio and featured Frank Foster, Cecil Bridgewater, Kenny Burrell, and Grover Washington, among other jazz greats. In 2011 she received a nomination for the Kevin Klein Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical for her work in the one-woman show Yesterdays: An Evening with Billie Holiday. Enjoy Ms. Rubin's stylings for three nights—sultry, swinging, and full of life—at Birdland Theater.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

August 13 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Sean Nelson's New London Jazz Orchestra ft. Wayne Bergeron and John Riley
Catch this special performance of a hip new big band featuring two master musicians! Comprised of New England's finest jazz artists, the 17-piece New London Big Band established its beginnings performing swinging classics from the repertoire of Maynard Ferguson, Sammy Nestico/Count Basie, Duke Ellington, the Buddy Rich Big Band, and other great ensembles. For this engagement at Birdland, they explore the long lost—but recently discovered!—music of Harry James, penned for him by the legendary Thad Jones. Playing the role of James in this exciting proposition is the great Wayne Bergeron, the iconic trumpet player of both Maynard Ferguson and Los Angeles session fame. In the drum chair will sit John Riley, the 33-year-tenured drummer for the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. This new project comes after 2022's Social Hour!, which saw the ensemble venturing into uncharted territory, performing a wide variety of original music that draws from across genres. Under direction of its founder, the multi-award-winning trombonist Sean Nelson, the band recently won “Best Jazz Band” for CTNOW's Best of Hartford. Don't miss this fresh new ensemble!
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

August 13 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Twelve years of critically-acclaimed performances internationally have firmly established the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, founded by Arturo O'Farrill, 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. Come enjoy this Birdland tradition!
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum

August 14 (Monday) 5:30 & 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks
Catch Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks every Monday evening in August 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!
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

August 15 (Tuesday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Nicole Zuraitis
A Grammy-nominated musician, powerhouse vocalist, and New York-based bandleader, Nicole Zuraitis continues to establish herself as an undeniable force in the modern jazz landscape of both NYC and beyond. Nicole is the premier vocalist for both the Birdland Big Band and the Dan Pugach Nonet; her co-produced collaboration “Oil on Water: How Love Begins” with bassist Christian McBride is set to release in 2023. Nicole's touring ensemble, Generations Of Her: Women Songwriters and Lyricists of the Last 100 Years, has played to sold-out houses in NYC and around the country. As a recording artist, Nicole has released four albums as leader, including 2020's All Wandering Hearts on Dot Time Records. In 2019, Nicole was nominated for a Grammy alongside her husband, renowned drummer and bandleader Dan Pugach, for their arrangement and performance of Dolly Parton's “Jolene.” Nicole has won awards including the New York City Songwriting Competition Coffee Music Project (2016), the Herb Alpert ASCAP Young Composer Award (2014), and the Gold Medal, Ben Tucker Jazz Award, People's Choice, and Johnny Mercer Award. In 2015, Nicole was the second runner-up in the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition.
$20 + $20 food/drink minimum

August 15-19 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (8/15-17); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (8/18-19) – Birdland Jazz Club
Cindy Blackman Santana Band
One of jazz's superstar drummers, Cindy Blackman Santana has performed and recorded with Lenny Kravitz (for no less than 17 years), Carlos Santana (for the last 13 years), Pharoah Sanders, Bill Laswell, Joss Stone, Joe Henderson, Don Pullen, Hugh Masakela and others legends. Her powerhouse, fire-breathing style, deeply devoted to the innovations of Miles Davis drummer and jazz-rock fusion trailblazer Tony Williams, has been recorded on nearly 100 albums, including 11 as a leader. Her latest recording, Give The Drummer Some, features Santana, John McGlaughlin, Vernon Reid (Living Colour) and other greats. Do not miss this icon in this 5-night stint. With Emilio Modeste (sax), Felix Pastorius (electric bass), Marc Cary (keyboards), David Gilmore (electric guitar).
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

August 16 (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

August 16 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola's Guitar Night with special guest Ted Rosenthal
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 bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, drummer Vince Cherico, and pianist Ted Rosenthal, will perform tunes from the standard repertoire, with special guest Ted Rosenthal this evening.
*Guitar night streams live every week at YouTube.com/RadioFreeBirdland
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

August 18 (Friday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
The Birdland Big Band
Every Friday, and for two headlining weeks a year—including the first whole week of August—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

August 18-20 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Benny Green Solo
With every note, the amazing Benny Green—a modern master of piano—honors his musical mentors: Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Freddie Hubbard, Ray Brown, and Oscar Peterson, all of whom he performed and recorded with extensively. A beloved child of the 1980s and 90s New York scene, Green's ultra-swinging, bluesy approach is a developed combination of his all-hearing ears, joyous commitment to jazz, and humbling mastery of both harmony and piano—not to mention his rhythmic slickness and his seemingly endless capacity to generate fresh ideas. He performs solo for three nights.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

August 19 (Saturday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Champian Fulton Duo with Hide Tanaka
A great jazz singer is something special, and something special indeed is Champian Fulton. Daughter of trumpeter Stephen Fulton, Champian grew up inside the world of music, and as she grew she developed a swinging sound on the piano and a voice beyond her years—a sound reminiscent of the old master vocalists. Named the Hot House Readers Poll 2019 Pianist and Vocalist of the Year, and with more than 15 albums to her name, she is understandably a Birdland fan favorite. Fulton recorded “Birdsong”  in 2020 with the great bassist and drummer team of Hide Tanaka and Fukushi Tainaka. Her latest album “Meet Me At Birdland” is out now and was recorded live at the famed venue. Here she joins us for a special duo performance with Tanaka.
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum

August 20 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
John Yao and His 17-Piece Instrument (JY-17) Plays Bird at Birdland
Trombonist and composer John Yao is an award-winning, innovative artist whose work includes five albums as a leader and long-term relationships with some of the best in the business, including the Grammy-winning Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Paquito D'Rivera, Eddie Palmieri, Danilo Perez, Chris Potter and Kurt Elling, among many others. In possession of a round, warm sound on his instrument and a clear-headed, lyrical approach as a writer, Yao's own projects have been both small and large, including John Yao and His 17-Piece Instrument as well as his small group, the John Yao Quintet. He serves as a faculty member at both Berklee College of Music and Molloy College. For this Sunday performance at Birdland, Yao plays the music of Charlie “Yardbird” Parker, jazz's heavenly bebop pioneer for whom Birdland is named.
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

August 20 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Twelve years of critically-acclaimed performances internationally have firmly established the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, founded by Arturo O'Farrill, 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. Come enjoy this Birdland tradition!
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum

To post a comment, you must register and login.