Cyrille Aimee, Christina Bianco and More Set for Birdland, Feb 2014

Birdland Jazz Club announces its February 2014 schedule, featuring: 4 Generations of Miles with Jimmy Cobb, Mike Stern, Buster Williams & Sonny Fortune; Reflections of Monk with Tom Harrell, Greg Osby, Melissa Aldana, Aaron Goldberg, Ben Allison & Matt Wilson; Quest with Dave Liebman, Richie Beirach, Ron McClure & Billy Hart; Joey DeFrancesco Organ Trio; Cyrille Aimée; Barbara Carroll; Christina Bianco's Birthday Bash; Jay Leonhart Duo; Tim Rosser and Charlie Sohne; Anne Tofflemire; Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more!

Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with the following acts:

January 28 - February 1 (Tuesday - Saturday) at 8:30 & 11PM

Joey DeFrancesco Organ Trio

Credited with repopularizing the instrument in the late-1980s, Hammond B3 Organist Joey DeFrancesco got an early career start in a musical family. Following his saxophonist grandfather Joseph and his jazz organist father "Papa" John DeFrancesco, Joey began playing at age four. By age ten he played in a Philadelphia band legendary tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley and "Philly" Joe Jones on drums. At sixteen Joey signed with Columbia Records and released his first record at seventeen. Soon after, he went on tour and/or recorded with MiLes Davis, John McLaughlin, Ray Charles, Bette Midler, David Sanborn, George Benson and many more. He has gone to win numerous Down Beat Critics and Readers polls and has been nominated for two Grammies. Joey currently splits his time between his own quartet and David Sanborn's band.

All seats $40, $10 minimum

February 1 (Saturday) at 6PM

Jay Leonhart Duo

Combining the skills of an old school entertainer and virtuoso jazz man, bassist, vocalist and composer Jay Leonhart has been a fixture of the New York scene for over forty years. When Jay was fourteen he started playing the bass in The Pier Five Dixieland Jazz Band in Baltimore and never looked back. After studying at The Peabody Institute, Jay attended The Berklee School of Music and The Advanced School of Contemporary Music in Toronto, before leaving school to start touring with the traveling big bands of the late 50's and early 60's.

All seats $30, $10 minimum

February 3 (Monday) at 7PM

Tim and Charlie Go Solo

Tim Rossmer and Charlie Sohne

With Special Guests Giuseppe Bausillio (Newsies), Riley Costello (Bye Bye Birdie), Noah Galvin (The Burnt Part Boys), Jason Gotay (Spiderman), Arielle Jacobs (In the Heights), Anthony Lee Medina (Spring Awakening National Tour)

After years of writing shows about everything from creationists, Afghan dancing boys and a Frenchman with a penchant for identity theft, Tim Rosser and Charlie Sohne have had it with each other. They have therefore both decided to launch their solo careers at Birdland. On the same night. At the same time. See them as they bicker over who wrote what in their catalog of songs and decide for yourself who will join the ranks of breakout solo acts like Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake - and who will be relegated to the dustbin of history. Buy your tickets now and witness the pair onstage together for the very last time until their inevitable reunion concert.

All seats $25, $10 minimum

February 4-8 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30 & 11PM

4 Generations of Miles

with Jimmy Cobb, Mike Stern, Buster Williams and Sonny Fortune

MiLes Davis' career as a trumpeter, composer and bandleader is synonymous with the stylistic evolution of jazz. His ensembles and recordings are the benchmarks for cool, post-bop and fusion as evidenced by these four-generations of artists who first gained recognition under Davis' leadership. Drummer Jimmy Cobb appeared on one of the most popular and influential recordings in history, "Kind of Blue" (1959) while guitarist Mike Stern ("We Want Miles," 1981), bassist Buster Williams ("Directions," 1960s) and alto saxophonist Sonny Fortune ("Big Fun," 1974) have the post-bop and fusion bases well covered.

All seats $40, $10 minimum

February 6 (Thursday) at 6PM

Mike Bono Group featuring Chris Cheek

CD Release Celebration

Guitarist Mike Bono, now 21 years old, recently finished his degree at Berklee College of Music where he was the first guitarist in the school's renowned history to be awarded a Presidential Scholarship. Though young, this phenom has already performed with artists such as Julian Lage, Taylor Eigsti, and Grace Kelly. He has also studied with Terri Lyne Carrington, Mick Goodrick, Hal Crook, Tim Miller, and Ralph Peterson Jr, to name a few. In summer of 2012, Bono went on tour with the Matthew Halpin Quintet, playing at several notable venues throughout Ireland. During that same summer, Mike was accepted into the Stanford Jazz Workshop "Mentor Fellowship" as one of 7 young musicians to be teaching and playing alongside faculty members such as Victor Wooten, Tootie Heath, Julian Lage, and Charles McPherson to name a few. Presently, Mike leads his own band, "The Mike Bono Group" and just released his first album as a leader called From Where You Are.

All seats $20, $10 minimum

February 10 (Monday) at 7PM

Christina Bianco's Birthday Bash!

After a video impersonating 19 superstars singing "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" went viral (over 4 million hits), Bianco has been traveling the world with her acclaimed one-woman show. She recently completed a sold-out run at London's Hippodrome, and made a successful television appearance on "Ellen." Praised for her work in Forbidden Broadway and Newsical The Musical, Bianco's versatile vocals and celebrity impressions entertain and connect with audiences of all ages. Song selections range from Broadway classics to well-known standards and popular hits, including: "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," "What Did I Have That I Don't Have," "River Deep Mountain High," "Bewitched Bothered & Bewildered," "Last Dance" and a few Forbidden Broadway gems!

All seats $30, $10 minimum

February 11-15 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30 & 11PM

Cyrille Aimée

Jazz vocalist Cyrille Aimée (pronounced: "Surreal Emmay") has a culturally rich background -- Dominican and French Gypsy -- and conservatory training (SUNY Purchase) that help to form the rhythmic and expressive foundation by which a jury of legendary vocalists including Al Jarreau, Kurt Elling, Dianne Reeves and Dee Dee Bridgewater judged her to be a finalist in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition in 2010. At the young age of twenty-six, Cyrille has since become one of the hottest young artists on the New York scene. She has already released four CDs with a variety of ensembles and performed at the top venues around the world. The New York Times dubs her, "one of those singers whom non-singing musicians call 'a musician.'"

All seats $40, $10 minimum

February 13 (Thursday) at 6PM

Rotem Sivan Trio

Rotem Sivan is a well-praised and fascinating new voice in the New York jazz scene. Sivan is a graduate of the prestigious WIZO arts high school's music department. He continued to study in the Tel-Aviv University Music Academy, where he completed his B.A. with honors in Classical Composition. In 2008, Sivan moved to New York City and continued his music education at The New School earning his B.F.A in Jazz and Contemporary Music, with honors. In New York, Sivan instantly became an active player in the village jazz scene and started collaborating with acclaimed musicians such as Ari Hoenig, Peter Brenstien, Yasushi Nakamura, Colin Stranahan, Haggai Cohen-Milo, Paul Bollenback, Ziv Ravitz, Dave Schnitter and Omer Avital. He performs regularly at well-known jazz venues such as The Bar Next Door, Smalls, Fat Cat, Le Poisson Rouge, The Metropolitan Room and many others. Sivan is a prize-winner of the Montreux Jazz Festival 2009 and, in the summer of 2010, the Rotem Sivan Group was invited to perform at the renowned Bern Jazz Festival, playing side by side with the McCoy Tyner Quartet.

All seats $25, $10 minimum

February 17 (Monday) at 7PM

Anne Tofflemire in This Funny World

After her November sold-out debut concert at Birdland, singer Anne Tofflemire will return to the historic stage in This Funny World on Monday, February 17 at 7pm. Backstage Bistro Award-winning singer Anne Tofflemire returns to New York with her latest show, This Funny World, an evening of popular songs from Rodgers & Hart, Stephen Sondheim, Joni Mitchell, Irving Berlin, Charles Strouse & Lee Adams. Accompanist/music director for the evening will be Ross Patterson. Anne Tofflemire was raised in Northern California, where she starred in the long running San Francisco productions of Side by Side by Sondheim and RapMaster Ronnie. She was discovered by the Academy Award-winning lyricist Sammy Cahn, with whom she toured nationally and internationally in Sammy Cahn: Words and Music. Her other theatre credits include Peter Pan opposite Cathy Rigby, Maria in West Side Story, A Little Night Music, and understudying, as well as going on for Donna McKechnie as Mama Rose in Gypsy. Her cabaret appearances include Town Hall, Firebird Café, Delmonico's, and Eighty-Eights in Manhattan, the Plush Room in San Francisco, and the Gardenia in Los Angeles. Her CD, "Let's Face the Music," was released by Harbinger Records.

All seats $25, $10 minimum

February 18-22 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30 & 11PM

Reflections of Monk with Tom Harrell (trumpet), Greg Osby (alto sax), Melissa Aldana (tenor sax, 2/21-22), Aaron Goldberg (piano), Ben Allison (bass) & Matt Wilson (drums)

Due in part to his clever use of unorthodox harmonies and angular melodic and rhythmic twists, the iconoclastic jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk made indelible contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy," "'Round Midnight," "Blue Monk," "Straight, No Chaser," "Well, You Needn't" and many more. (It's widely believed that Monk is the second-most recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington). For "Reflections of Monk," a diverse collection of composer/performers, influenced by -- if not typically associated with -- Monk's music, ably re-interpret the canon.

All seats $40, $10 minimum

February 25-March 1 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30 & 11:30PM

Quest with Dave Liebman (sax), Richie Beirach (piano), Ron McClure (bass) & Billy Hart (drums)

The 1974 release entitled "Lookout Farm" helped establish pianist Richie Beirach and saxophonist and 2011 NEA "Jazz Master" Dave Liebman as a collaborative force. In 1981 the duo joined drummer Billy Hart and bassist Ron McClure to form the group called "Quest." Spurred by the deep improvisational rapport between Liebman and Beirach, the group managed to become one of the premier outfits in the jazz world by combining detailed compositions with incredible group interplay. After seven acclaimed recordings and several world tours, they disbanded in 1991 to pursue different directions. In 2005, the group reunited to record and release the CD "Redemption: Live in Europe." "Quest" has performed annually at Birdland ever since.

All seats $40, $10 minimum

Birdland will also feature the following recurring monthly engagements:

February 2, 9, 16, and 23 (Sundays) at 9:00PM & 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 seats $30, $10 minimum

February 3, 10, 17, and 24 (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, Tedd Firth 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 minimum

February 5, 12, 19 and 26 (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 seats $25, $10 minimum

February 7, 14, 21 and 28 (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! 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 fast becoming 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 seats $30, $10 minimum

February 8, 15, 22 (Saturdays) at 6PM

Barbara Carroll Duo with Jay Leonhart

Her "jazz pianism is the subtlest and most intricate New York has to offer." (New Yorker) Barbara Carroll's inventive piano playing and unique vocal sound transforms any composition into something hip and urbane. In a sixty-year career she has gone from being dubbed "the first girl ever to play bebop piano" by Leonard Feather in 1947, to today being dubbed a "singer who turns song lyrics into personal dramatic monologues." (Stephen Holden, New York Times)
$35 all seats, $10 minimum

February 9, 16, and 23 (Sundays) at 6PM

The Birdland Jazz Party

With special guest vocalists Nancy Harms & Hilary Gardner
Birdland's very own jazz quartet hits the stage every Sunday to wrap up the weekend with jazz classics! This quartet features John Hart (Guitar), Paul Gil (bass), Carmen Intorre (Drums) & Jon Davis (Piano) with a special guest vocalist!

All seats $25, $10 minimum

Purchase tickets at: www.BirdlandJazz.com. 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.

ABOUT BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB: 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.

Follow BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB on Twitter: @birdlandjazz, Facebook, Instagram, and on Pinterest.

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