Smoke Jazz Club Announces September Line-Up With Branford Marsalis and More

SMOKE Jazz Club will continue its 25th anniversary season with an exciting month of album release shows and club debuts. September kicks off with a residency featuring pianist Brad Mehldau (Aug 29-Sep 1).

For the first time in the club's history, SMOKE presents NEA Jazz Master Dave Holland at the helm of his New Quartet (Sep 4-8) and the long-awaited New York City appearance of Branford Marsalis leading his Quartet (Sep 17-22).

Also, this month SMOKE hosts two new recording celebrations: award-winning vocalist Jazzmeia Horn releases Messages (Sep 11-15) and pianist Christian Sands releases Embracing Dawn (Sep 26-29). 

For the complete September schedule and most updated calendar, please visit SMOKEjazz.com. 

September 2024 Concert Schedule (subject to change):

Thu-Sun August 29-September 1: Brad Mehldau

After last summer's 2023 sold-out run, Brad Mehldau returns to lead a rare intimate concert series to end the summer. A transformative artist since the early 1990s, Mehldau has had a powerful influence on a generation of musicians and has attracted a large and devoted audience. The Los Angeles Times writes, he is “universally admired as one of the most adventurous pianists to arrive on the jazz scene in years.”

Wed-Sun September 4-8: Dave Holland New Quartet
marking Dave Holland's SMOKE debut and world premiere of brand-new music
Dave Holland – bass
Jaleel Shaw – alto saxophone
Kris Davis – piano
Nasheet Waits – drums

Dave Holland makes his SMOKE debut, leading his New Quartet featuring saxophonist Jaleel Shaw, pianist Kris Davis, and drummer Nasheet Waits. Holland is a legendary bassist, composer, and bandleader whose passion for musical expression of all styles and dedication to creating innovative ensembles have propelled a career of more than 50 years. A guiding light on acoustic and electric bass, Holland has earned top honors, including multiple Grammy Awards and Grammy Nominations and the title of NEA Jazz Master. Holland rose to prominence in groundbreaking groups led by such legends as Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Sam Rivers, Betty Carter and Anthony Braxton, and Joe Henderson—as well as collaborations with Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Jack DeJohnette, and John Abercrombie. Today, he is equally celebrated for his own remarkable ensembles, including this acclaimed new group, the New Quartet.

Wed-Sun September 11-15: Jazzmeia Horn album release 
Jazzmeia Horn – vocals
Victor Gould – piano
Aidan McCarthy – bass
Greg Artry – drums

Three-time GRAMMY nominee, vocalist and composer Jazzmeia Horn will release her third album Messages on Empress Legacy Records this Fall. She celebrates this highly anticipated new recording of her stellar quartet with a five-night concert celebration at SMOKE. An award-winning vocalist (winner of 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and the 2015 Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition), Horn is “without a doubt among the jazz world's most exciting young vocalists…her sound is explosive and bright and rich, catnip for audiences looking for boldness that's still traditional,” reports Billboard. Downbeat adds, “Jazzmeia Horn harbors both astounding technique and an acute artistic vision…[she] has a thrilling presence with a musical sensibility that strikes a deft balance between mid-century jazz and contemporary neo-soul.”

Tue-Sun September 17-22: Branford Marsalis Quartet SMOKE debut
Branford Marsalis – tenor saxophone
Joey Calderazzo – piano
Eric Revis – bass
Justin Faulkner – drums

Saxophonist Branford Marsalis makes his SMOKE debut, leading his acclaimed quartet with pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Justin Faulkner, in its first New York City club dates since 2019. Marsalis is one of the most influential and revered figures in contemporary music. An NEA Jazz Master, Grammy Award winner, and Tony Award nominee, he is equally at home performing concertos with symphony orchestras and sitting in with members of the Grateful Dead, but the core of his musical universe remains the Branford Marsalis Quartet. After more than three decades of existence with minimal personnel changes, this celebrated ensemble is revered for its uncompromising interpretation of a kaleidoscopic range of both original compositions and jazz and popular classics. John Zeugner captured the impact of the Quartet in a concert review, calling it “casually confident, professional, cerebral, and supercharged with energy. The Branford Marsalis Quartet...was all of those adjectives and more.”
 
September 26-29: Christian Sands Quartet album release 
Christian Sands – piano
Marvin Sewell – guitar
Eric Wheeler – bass
Ryan Sands – drums

Pianist and composer Christian Sands celebrates his new release, Embracing Dawn (TBR 09/27/24 Mack Avenue Records), with a stunning quartet featuring guitarist Marvin Sewell, bassist Eric Wheeler, and drummer Ryan Sands. An emerging jazz force, Sands has collaborated with jazz luminaries such as Christian McBride, Gregory Porter, Geri Allen, Esperanza Spaulding, and Warren Wolf, among many others. His virtuosic technique and compelling musical vision encompass and reexamine the entire language of jazz. Whether it's stride, swing, bebop, progressive, fusion, Brazilian, or Afro-Cuban, he expresses himself through an extensive vocabulary of patterns, textures, and structures, all the while maintaining a strong sense of understatement, sensitivity, taste, and swing — hallmarks for as long as he has been playing. The Boston Globe calls Sands “a fabulously gifted instrumentalist, a piano protege of Dr. Billy Taylor, Geri Allen, Jason Moran, and Vijay Iyer.”

About SMOKE

Located on Manhattan's Upper West Side at the junction of Broadway and 106th Street (aka Duke Ellington Boulevard), Smoke Jazz Club is one of New York City's premier live music venues. Renowned for offering top-notch programming of accessible, timeless jazz featuring legendary performers, modern masters and rising stars, Smoke stands apart with its candlelit dining room, stellar acoustics, and classic American cuisine. Founded in 1999, SMOKE also boasts a GRAMMY-nominated label, Smoke Sessions Records, and a celebrated streaming concert series, Smoke Screens. For everything else, visit SMOKEjazz.com.