Ann Hampton Callaway, Ella Fitzgerald Tribute and More Coming to Birdland This November
By: BWW News Desk Oct. 13, 2017
Birdland Jazz Club has announced its November 2017 lineup, featuring Veronica Swift with the Benny Green Trio, Ann Hampton Callaway, Memo Acevedo, Django Reinhardt NY Festival Allstars, Thana Alexa's Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Diane Schurr, Marcus Roberts Trio, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more. Scroll down for details!
Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with the following acts:
October 31-November 4 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30PM and 11:00PM
Ann Hampton Callaway is one of the leading champions of the great American Songbook, having made her mark as a singer, pianist, composer, lyricist, arranger, actress, educator, TV host and producer. Callaway's live performances showcase her warmth, spontaneous wit and passionate delivery of standards, jazz classics and originals. She is one of America's most gifted improvisers, taking words and phrases from her audiences and creating songs on the spot, whether alone at a piano or with a symphony orchestra.
All tickets $40-50, $10 food/drink minimum
November 2 (Thursday) at 6:00PM
Alexis Cole in "Now's the Time"
Called "one of the great voices of today," by Jonathan Schwartz, Alexis Cole has been compared to classic jazz singers such as Sarah Vaughan and Anita O'Day. Alexis will be joined by Chris Rogers, Sam Dillon, Joe Fiedler, Scott Arcangel, Dean Johnson and Joe Spinelli.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
November 6 (Monday) at 7:00PM
Debbie Gravitte Celebrates Her New CD "Big Band Broadway"
The Broadway at Birdland concert series is proud to welcome back Tony Award Winner Debbie Gravitte to the stage with a 16-piece big band will bring "Big Band Broadway" to the iconic music room. Expect swinging orchestrations, blaring brass, and "one of the best voices on Broadway" (Associated Press). You've never heard "Surrey With The Fringe on Top" sound anything like this!
All tickets $35, $10 food/drink minimum
November 7-12 (Tuesday-Sunday) at 8:30PM and 11:00PM
Django Reinhardt NY Festival Allstars
The Django Reinhardt NY Festival launched in 2000 and out of the Festival came the top players, The Django Festival Allstars, who tour twice a year and always spend a week at their home in the US, Birdland. They will be joined by special guests Grace Kelly November 7, 8 and 11 and top swinging clarinetist Ken Peploski on November 9 and 10. For a change of pace, newcomer Chris Smith will be on drums on November 12.
All tickets $50, $10 food/drink minimum
November 9 (Thursday) at 6:00PM
Denise Reis, Brazilian singer and composer began studying guitar at age 10. As her musical career progressed, she found widespread acclaim and encouragement from the Brazilian people and media. This success was due in part to Denise's remarkable ability to impeccably imitate the sound of the trumpet using only her lips and voice. Denise amazes and delights audiences from around the world with her warmth, unique artistic expression and exquisite musicality. Her music, rich with emotion and Latin-American textures, speaks to the human ear and heart, allowing concertgoers and listeners to experience commonalities of human experience transcending all cultural barriers.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
November 12 (Sunday) at 6:00PM
Thana Alexa Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald
MusicTalks celebrates Ella Fitzgerald's centennial in a special concert featuring MusicTalks Jazz Quartet, and award-winning vocalist Thana Alexa. The program features milestone standards that inspired the legendary Ella Fitzgerald and highlight her journey from debut performance at the Apollo Theater's Amateur Night to her groundbreaking career as one of the most celebrated jazz artists of the 20th Century.
All tickets $30-40, $10 food/drink minimum
November 13 (Monday) at 7:00PM
Amanda Green's Amazing Colossal Sh*t Sheaux!
With Special Guests Norm Lewis, Jenn Colella, Howard McGillin, Jarod Spector and Kelli Barrett,
The Broadway at Birdland concert series is proudto announce the return of two-time Tony Award nominee Amanda Green to the stage. Come celebrate with this award-winning performerand Broadway composer-lyricist along with her fantastic Broadway friends, as they sing an evening of her hilarious and moving songs, including a few fromnew and upcoming shows. Amanda's very special musical guests will include TonyAward nominees Norm Lewis (Sweeney Todd, Phantom) Jenn Colella (Come FromAway), Howard McGillin (Phantom, Drood, Anything Goes) Jarrod Spector (Beautiful), Kelli Barrett (Dr. Zhivago) and more.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
November 14-18 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30PM and 11:00PM
Diane Schurr
One of the premier vocalists in jazz, Seattle native Diane Schuur -- nicknamed "Deedles" since the 1984 recording of the same name featuring saxophone icon Stan Getz -- has won two Grammy Awards and headlined the most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall and The White House. She has also collaborated, toured and/or recorded with Quincy Jones, BB King, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Barry Manilow among many others. For this engagement, Deedles will perform material from her recent CD, "I Remember You: With Love to Stan and Frank," a tribute to her mentors Stan Getz and Frank Sinatra.
All tickets $40, $10 food/drink minimum
November 16 (Thursday) at 6:00PM
Steve Sandberg Quartet
Steve Sandberg is an eclectic musician with a lifetime of experience in many worlds of music. Steve will be joined by Zach Brock, heralded as "the pre-eminent improvising violinist of his generation," composer and performer Michael O'Brien and 5-time Grammy Award winner Vince Cherico.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
November 19 (Sunday) at 6:00PM
Memo Acevedo
Memo Acevedo and his daughter Jacquelene Acevedo are performing at Birdland with their 10 piece Manhattan Bridges Orchestra (MBO), featuring Brazilian guests, Chico Pinheiro and Liz Rosa. On drumset, Memo illustrates the community underscoring the diversity of Latin styles wrapped with Jazz elements of Be Bop. Even if you don't know the difference between Samba, Songo and Cumbia, Memo, Jacquelene and their associates are going to have you feeling it in no time flat. Memo can swing his jazz Tentet with the same effortless mastery as he rings the bell in the Mambo shout-chorus-either way gets things moving!
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
November 20 (Monday) at 7:00PM
Julie Halston "Life, Death & Filler"
The Broadway at Birdland concert series is proud to announce the return of Julie Halston to the historic stage. Julie Halston is one of New York's busiest actresses. Well-known to theatre audiences, she was recently nominated for a Drama Desk Award for her critically acclaimed performance in You Can't Take it With You. She has appeared in many Broadway and off-Broadway productions including Anything Goes, Hairspray, Gypsy, The Twentieth Century, (Outer Critics Circle Nomination) , The Divine Sister (Drama Desk Nomination), Love Loss and What I Wore, and numerous others.
All tickets $30-35, $10 food/drink minimum
November 21-25 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30PM and 11:00PM
Veronica Swift with The Green Benny Green Trio
At just 22 years of age Veronica Swift is being recognized as one of the top young singers in jazz. The child of jazz vocalist Stephanie Nakasian and the late bebop pianist Hod O'Brien, Veronica has already appeared at Lincoln Center, Telluride Jazz Festival, Blues Alley, The Jazz Cruise, and Birdland, performing with Jon Hendricks, Annie Ross, Esperanza Spalding, Joe Lovano, Bob Dorough, Paquito d'Rivera, and other establish jazz artists. Veronica's recent CD, "Lonely Woman," features some of the hottest young jazz players on the scene including Emmet Cohen and Benny Benack III. Veronica will be joined by The Benny Green Trio.
All tickets $30-40, $10 food/drink minimum
November 25 (Saturday) at 6:00PM
Billy Stritch "Lucky To Be Me"
Acclaimed pianist/singer Billy Stritch brings his new solo show "Lucky To Be Me" to the Birdland stage for three shows only (November 25, December 2 and 9 - Saturdays at 6:00 pm). This show will include Billy's arrangements of songs by Gershwin, Kern, Hoagy Carmichael, Cy Coleman and other giants of American popular music and stories of his career thus far. These shows also commemorate the 20th anniversary of Billy's first appearance at Birdland in 1997 when he premiered his Brazilian CD "Waters Of March" and will include selections from that recording as well. Billy will be joined by bassist Neal Miner.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
November 26 (Sunday) at 6:00PM
Melanie Stace has appeared on stage and screen literally all over the world. The Night Has Just Begun is to celebrate Melanie's latest CD release The Key To Me, and will feature for the first time some of her original songs, together with other songs from some of the writers who have influenced her: Leon Russell, James Taylor and Harry Connick Jr.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
November 27 (Monday) at 7:00PM
"The Donny Nova Band Featuring Julia Trojan"
Starring Corey Cott, Laura Osnes, Brandon J. Ellis, Joe Carroll, Joey Pero, Geoff Packard and Nate Hopkins
The Broadway at Birdland concert series is thrilled to announce that "The Donny Nova Band Featuring Julia Trojan" from the Broadway musical, Bandstand, will reassemble on the historic stage. "The Donny Nova Band featuring Julia Trojan," fresh from the Tony Award-winning musical Bandstand, will return to make it big in New York City! For the first time since their Broadway run, Corey Cott (as Donny Nova), Brandon J. Ellis, Joe Carroll, Joey Pero, Geoff Packard, Nate Hopkins, and Laura Osnes (as Julia Trojan) will perform favorite tunes from the original score - plus some swingin' standards and new surprises! Don't miss your chance to be back with the band!
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
November 29-December 2 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30PM and 11:00PM
Marcus Roberts Trio
A 2014 CBS 60 Minutes profile, "The Virtuoso," traced blind Jacksonville native pianist Marcus Roberts from his early roots at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind to his remarkable career as a modern jazz musician. At age 21, Roberts toured with Wynton Marsalis for six years before striking out on his own. His recordings include solo piano, duets, and trio arrangements of jazz standards as well as symphony orchestra recordings. Roberts is an accomplished composer - with commissions from Jazz at Lincoln Center, Chamber Music America, and ASCAP - and an accomplished educator on the faculty of Florida State University.
All tickets $40, $10 food/drink minimum
November 30 (Thursday) at 6:00PM
Ronny Whyte is not only considered a premiere interpreter of Classic American Popular song he is also an outstanding jazz pianist, and an award-winning songwriter. Singer and pianist Ronny Whyte will be joined by Boots Maleson on bass, Taro Okamoto on drums and John Hart on guitar.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
Birdland will also feature the following recurring monthly engagements:
November 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 (Wednesdays) at 5:30PM
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 14th 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!
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
November 3, 10, 17, 24 (Fridays) at 5:15PM
The Birdland Big Band
Founded by drummer and musical director Tommy Igoe, the Birdland Big Band features the finest musicians in New York! Celebrating 10 years at the club, the BBB roars into action every Friday, playing the finest Jazz, Latin and Brazilian music from the world's best arrangers. After work or before a show, drinks or a great dinner, come hear one of the world's best drummers driving the hardest swinging band in New York. Experience why the BBB is the must-see weekly jazz event in New York and kick off your weekend with what critics are calling "the best live music bargain in all of NYC!"
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
November 5, 19, 26 (Sundays) at 9PM & 11PM
The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Grammy Award winning pianist, composer and educator Arturo O'Farrill -- leader of the "first family of Afro-Cuban Jazz" (NY Times) -- was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. Son of the late, great composer Chico O'Farrill, Arturo was Educated at Manhattan School of Music, Brooklyn College Conservatory and the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. He played piano in Carla Bley's Big Band from 1979 through 1983 and earned a reputation as a soloist in groups led by Dizzy Gillespie, Steve Turre, Freddy Cole, Lester Bowie, Wynton Marsalis and Harry Belafonte.
All tickets $40, $10 food/drink minimum
November 6, 13, 20, 27 (Mondays) at 9:30PM
Jim Caruso's Cast Party
Jim Caruso's Cast Party is a wildly popular weekly soiree that brings a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to the legendary Birdland in New York City every Monday night. It's a cool cabaret night-out enlivened by a hilariously impromptu variety show. Showbiz superstars, backed by Steve Doyle on bass, Billy Stritch on piano and Daniel Glass on drums, hit the stage alongside up-and-comers, serving up jaw-dropping music and general razzle-dazzle.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
November 4, 11, 18 (Saturdays) at 6:00PM
At just 22 years of age Veronica Swift is being recognized as one of the top young singers in jazz. The child of jazz vocalist Stephanie Nakasian and the late bebop pianist Hod O'Brien, Veronica has already appeared at Lincoln Center, Telluride Jazz Festival, Blues Alley, The Jazz Cruise, and Birdland, performing with Jon Hendricks, Annie Ross, Esperanza Spalding, Joe Lovano, Bob Dorough, Paquito d'Rivera, and other establish jazz artists. Veronica's recent CD, "Lonely Woman," features some of the hottest young jazz players on the scene including Emmet Cohen and Benny Benack III.
All tickets $30-40, $10 food/drink minimum
Purchase tickets at www.BirdlandJazz.com, and for more information and reservations call 212-581-3080. Ticket prices will vary by performer. At the tables, there is a $10 food/drink minimum per person in addition to the music charge. At the bar, the music charge will include one complimentary drink with no additional minimum.
Named for alto saxophonist and jazz pioneer Charlie "Bird" Parker who dubbed it "The Jazz Corner of the World," Birdland opened on December 15th 1949. For 60 years it has been home to jazz legends, from Parker, John Coltrane Duke Ellington and Count Basie to Oscar Peterson, Hank Jones, Diana Krall and everyone in between. The original 52nd street location was a cultural barometer and meeting place, inspiring the songs "Birdland" and "Lullaby of Birdland," and serving as a regular haunt for celebrities and cultural figures. The modern incarnation is a state of the art nightclub featuring award winning Southern and Cajun cuisine, first rate sound and lighting and a who's who of contemporary musical artists, 7 nights a week.
Birdland is located at 315 West 44th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues), New York, NY 10036. Students (with current ID) & Broadway Theatre-Goers (with Broadway ticket stub from same day of performance): 50% off music charge at 11PM shows only. Birdland serves American Fare with a Cajun Flair nightly from 5PM until Midnight and until 1AM on Friday and Saturdays. Parking is available across the street at 332 West 44th Street. Concert Grand Piano By: Yamaha.
Visit www.BirdlandJazz.com or follow BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB on Twitter: @birdlandjazz, Facebook, Instagram, and on Pinterest.
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