Ben Vereen & Charl Brown at 'AFTER HOURS' and More Coming Up at Birdland

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its lineup for October 24-30, featuring Kurt Elling, ShowBiz After Hours with Frank DiLella with Special Guests Ben Vereen and Charl Brown, David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band, and more!

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Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with the following acts:

October 24 (Monday) at 7:00PM

"Show Biz After Hours With Frank DiLella"

Returns to Birdland

The Broadway at Birdland concert series is proud to announce that NY1 theater journalist, Frank DiLella, will return to the Birdland stage with the seventh episode of his new talk show, "Show Biz After Hours With Frank DiLella." Frank's very special guest stars will be Broadway legend, Ben Vereen, and Motown's, Charl Brown. The event will be taped in front of a live audience on Monday, October 24 at 7pm. "Show Biz After Hours With Frank DiLella" is a regular theater-based live talk show featuring Broadway movers-and-shakers, impromptu musical performances, audience interaction, and a cocktail or two! Musical director for the show will be performer and composer Randy Redd. The show will be filmed and aired on Time Warner Cable's Video On Demand System.

All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum

October 24 (Monday) 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 $25, $10 food/drink minimum

October 25 (Tuesday) at 8:30PM & 11:00PM

Jane Bunnett and Maqueque

Saxophonist Jane Bunnett's "Spirits of Havana," the landmark 1993 album that brought together North American and Cuban musicians in Havana, preceded Buena Vista Social Club by three years. With her all-female sextet, Maqueque, whose self-titled debut recently won a Juno (the Canadian Grammy) for Best Group Jazz Album of the Year, Jane is breaking new ground yet again. The name of the group means "the energy of a young girl's spirit," and with four of its members still in their early twenties, this is a band with energy to spare. That spirit is manifested through propulsive montuno improvisations, call and response numbers and ivory-tickling piano features, as might be expected, but also on a stirring cover of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone." Maqueque (pronounced Mah-Keh-Keh) includes Canadian Jane Bunnet (saxophone) and Cuban musicians Yissy Garcia (drums) Melvis Santa (percussion and vocals) Dánae Olano (piano) Magdelys Savigne (batá drums and congas) Celia Jiménez (bass).

All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum

October 26-29 (Wednesday-Saturday) at 8:30PM & 11:00PM

Kurt Elling

"The Beautiful Day" CD Release Celebration

Regarded as one of the world's foremost jazz vocalists, Kurt Elling's rich baritone spans four octaves and features both astonishing technical mastery and emotional depth. His repertoire includes original compositions and modern interpretations of standards, all of which are springboards for inspired improvisation, scatting, spoken word, and poetry. Elling won the DownBeat Critics Poll for fourteen consecutive years and has also been GRAMMY nominated a dozen times. His most recent works include the full length album, Upward Spiral with Branford Marsalis, and a live performance of "New York Minute" with the superstar pianist Lang Lang for the upcoming PBS special Live from Lincoln Center. Elling recently signed a recording contract with OKeh/Sony Music Masterworks. His new CD release, "The Beautiful Day" is his first for the label as well as his first holiday album.

All tickets $50, $10 food/drink minimum

October 26 (Wednesday) 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

October 27 (Thursday) at 6:00PM

Kristen Lee Sergeant

Kristen Lee Sergeant's newly released CD, "Inside/Out" (Whaling City Sound), has already been selected as Downbeat's Editors' Pick with Bobby Reed describing her vocals as "buttery or deliciously tart and impressive in this solid debut already yielding gems. Kristen and her formidable trio as she celebrates her debut release at Birdland on Thursday, Oct. 27th at 6:00PM with Kristen Lee Sergeant (vocals), David Budway (piano), Chris Smith (bass), Donald Edwards (drums) and Ted Nash (reeds).

All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum

October 28 (Friday) at 5:15PM

The Birdland Big Band

With Guest Conductor Rob Middleton

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

October 29 (Saturday) at 6:00PM

Barbara Carroll

Barbara is an elegant jazz pianist, composer and vocalist, long recognized as one of the premier players of swinging jazz piano and expressive vocals.

All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum

October 30 (Sunday) at 6:00PM

Paul Marinaro

Chicago-based jazz vocalist Paul Marinaro, dubbed as having "one of the most beautiful vocal instruments in the business today" by Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune, is a modern classic. Paul has quickly made a name for himself, becoming one of the most in-demand and respected male vocalists, and taking "his place among the top five male jazz singers active today." (Scott Yanow, LA Jazz Scene).

All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum

October 30 (Sunday) at 9PM & 11PM

Arturo O'Farrill 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 $30, $10 food/drink minimum

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Purchase tickets at www.BirdlandJazz.com, or 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.

For more information, visit www.BirdlandJazz.com, or follow BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB on Twitter: @birdlandjazz, Facebook, Instagram, and on Pinterest.

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