BIRDLAND Releases Programming Through March 27th
Some of the artists appearing include Jane Bunnett and Maqueque, Monty Alexander, the Holly Bean Trio, and more!
By: Marissa Tomeo Mar. 12, 2022
Below, you'll find details on all jazz programming at Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater running March 15 - March 27. Artists appearing at Birdland Jazz Club include Jane Bunnett and Maqueque, Sean Harkness Quartet, Monty Alexander, and Holly Bean Trio.
March 15-19 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (3/15-17); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (3/18-19) - Birdland Jazz Club / Thursday, March 17 at 9:30 - Livestream Event
Jane Bunnett and Maqueque
Maqueque is the brainchild of Canadian saxophone legend Jane Bunnett: an all-star, all-female group of Cuban musicians, propelled by virtuosic drumming, joyful vocals in harmony, and brilliant melodic improvisations. Bunnett grew her international fame over the course of many decades on recordings with legends Dewey Redman, Don Pullen, Jeanne Lee, Sheila Jordan, Paul Bley, and other masters, receiving the title of Officer of the Order of Canada in 2004 for her artistic and social contributions. Her love affair with Cuba and Cuban music began in 1982. Since then, Maqueque, which Bunnett founded in 2014, has won two GRAMMY nominations and a Juno Award. Their beautiful, intricate arrangements are unique in their ability to showcase unbridled technical brilliance while naturally connecting to, enlivening, and inspiring audiences.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
March 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
March 16 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola's Guitar Night - Livestream Event
One of the world's most exciting jazz guitarists for the last 25 years, Frank Vignola's virtuosity and pan-stylistic expertise has led to work with such stars as Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Tommy Emmanuel, and the Boston and New York Pops. Every Wednesday Frank takes the Birdland Theater stage with the guitar band featuring Jimmy Bruno and Ken Smith (guitars), Harvie S (bass), and Vince Cherico (drums). Join us on FlyMachine for a livestream set here.
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
March 17-19 (Thursday-Saturday) 8:30 PM (3/17); 7:00 & 9:30 PM (3/18-19) - Birdland Theater
Dave Liebman-Marc Copland Duo
Saxophonist Dave Liebman is a legend of jazz music, appearing on over 500 recordings, including 200 as a leader. His membership in the bands of trumpeter Miles Davis and drummer Elvin Jones in the 1970s continues to guide him toward artistic heights which inspire countless young musicians the world over. His co-leader on this weekend at Birdland is longtime musical compatriot Marc Copland, the extraordinary pianist for John Abercrombie, Gary Peacock, Randy Brecker, Eddie Harris, and so many others. Copland and Liebman create moving sonic worlds together, reaching peaks of freedom in conversation, as on their recording Impressions, where great swathes of silence, crying melodic lines, and rich harmonic painting create a sonic journey over breathtaking terrain.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
March 18 (Friday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
The Birdland Big Band
Every Friday, and for two headlining weeks a year, 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 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
March 20 (Sunday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Sean Harkness Quartet
Sean Harkness is a guitar virtuoso, one of those warm musicians whose soul and energy shine through every note. His music has earned him the Outstanding Instrumentalist of 2011 Backstage Bistro Award, 2014 Broadwayworld Cabaret Award for Best CD Release, six MAC Awards for ensemble instrumentalist, and performances across the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, and other prestigious stages around the world. Always telling a story with his instrument, Harkness's music is deeply engaging, full of life and technically masterful. His eight recordings have been met with critical acclaim and he is a frequent performer at top New York City clubs, including the Blue Note, Smalls, Smoke, and the Iridium.
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
March 20 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble
Pianist, composer and educator Arturo O'Farrill-leader of the "first family of Afro-Cuban Jazz" (New York Times)-leads the GRAMMY® award winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) and the pared down, appropriately socially-distanced ensemble, who bring together the drama of big band jazz, the culture of Latin music, and the virtuosity of eighteen of the world's most accomplished solo musicians. Twelve years of critically-acclaimed performances internationally have firmly established the ALJO 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.
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum
March 22-26 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (3/18-20); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (3/21-22) - Birdland Jazz Club / Thursday, March 24 at 9:30 - Livestream Event
Monty Alexander
A master pianist with 70 years in music, Monty Alexander is a jazz legend. Named the 5th greatest jazz pianist in history in Hal Leonard's Fifty Greatest Jazz Piano Players of All Time, Alexander's achievements have earned him the highest honors: native Jamaica granted the title of Commander in the Order of Distinction; Institute of Jamaica awarded him the Musgrave Medal; and the University of the West Indies bestowed upon him an honorary doctorate. What makes this 23-time guest of the Montreux Jazz Festival such a beloved figure? According to him, it is his insatiable capacity "to build up the heat and kick up a storm"-a joyful skill that has been recorded on over 70 discs as a leader. He is sure to uplift his listeners this week at Birdland.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
March 23 (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
March 23 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola's Guitar Night - Livestream Event
One of the world's most exciting jazz guitarists for the last 25 years, Frank Vignola's virtuosity and pan-stylistic expertise has led to work with such stars as Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Tommy Emmanuel, and the Boston and New York Pops. Every Wednesday Frank takes the Birdland Theater stage with the guitar band featuring Jimmy Bruno and Ken Smith (guitars), Harvie S (bass), and Vince Cherico (drums). Join us on FlyMachine for a livestream set here.
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
March 24-26 (Thursday-Saturday) 8:30 PM (3/24); 7:00 & 9:30 PM (3/25-6) - Birdland Theater
Chad Lefkowitz-Brown Quartet
Celebrated as a saxophone prodigy from a young age, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown is now an internationally-recognized musician, seen on world stages with Taylor Swift, Chris Botti, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, and his own groups. Performances at Carnegie Hall, the Super Bowl, and Madison Square Garden have been highlights in his star-studded career, and his albums have met great critical acclaim: critic Doug Ramsey named Lefkowitz-Brown's debut album, Image Manifesto, "Debut Album of the Year," and DownBeat named Onward, his May 2017 release, an Editor's Pick for 2017. His latest release, Open World, features greats Lionel Loueke, Randy Brecker, and other stars.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
March 25 (Friday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
The Birdland Big Band
Every Friday, and for two headlining weeks a year, 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 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
March 27 (Sunday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Holly Bean Trio
Jazz pianist, vocalist and visual artist Holly Bean has been playing the piano since the age of three, though she was mostly self taught until meeting former Jazz Messenger and world-renowned pianist Donald Brown during her undergraduate studies at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. With years of classical voice experience and independent piano study under her belt, Holly's musical expression transformed and flourished rapidly under Brown's instruction, and after just two years of studying the jazz idiom she was performing at international jazz piano competitions and moving to New York City to pursue her music career as member of the rare breed of jazz singer-pianists. Holly has performed as artist in residence at venues such as the Woolworth Building and Grand Hotel (Mackinac Island). The up-and-coming artist is now performing regularly at venues in NYC.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
March 27 (Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Marissa Licata Quartet
Honduran-American violinist Marissa Licata has toured internationally with Alicia Keys, Jethro Tull, Wyclef Jean, H.E.R., Ringo Starr, Gloria Estefan, and many others. Active in pop, classical, theater and jazz circuits, she has appeared everywhere from Scullers Jazz Club to Good Morning America to the Latin Grammys. Licata's prodigious musicianship has allowed her to work in a wide variety of contexts: from American Repertory Theater's Alanis Morrisette musical (where she served as concertmistress) to the Radio City Music Hall "Christmas Spectacular" to performances at the BET Awards and on Jimmy Kimmel. And, in uniquely fusing world musical cultures-mixing Eastern European, Latin American, and Middle Eastern spheres-she has created a personal style quite unlike other violinists. Catch her with her own quartet performing her genre-defying compositions at the Birdland Theater for one night only.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
March 27 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble
Pianist, composer and educator Arturo O'Farrill-leader of the "first family of Afro-Cuban Jazz" (New York Times)-leads the GRAMMY® award winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) and the pared down, appropriately socially-distanced ensemble, who bring together the drama of big band jazz, the culture of Latin music, and the virtuosity of eighteen of the world's most accomplished solo musicians. Twelve years of critically-acclaimed performances internationally have firmly established the ALJO 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.
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum
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