Deborah Grace Winer to Host SONGBOOK SUNDAYS Featuring Karen Ziemba, Sydney James Harcourt & More

New programming created and hosted by Deborah Grace Winer celebrating the American Songbook will debut at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club next month. Songbook Sundays will kick off with Got Gershwin on Sunday, May 22nd at 5 PM and 7:30 PM at Dizzy's Club. The inaugural Jazz at Lincoln Center program explores the iconic songs of brothers George and Ira, featuring Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba, original Hamilton cast member Sydney James Harcourt and sensational young JALC favorite Georgia Heers. Headed by Music Director Tedd Firth on piano, the band features a multi-generational group of jazz stars including Stephen Colbert's bassist Endea Owens, Bryan Carter on drums and Summer Camargo on trumpet. The fresh, fun, informal 75 minute shows, hosted by leading American Songbook expert Deborah Grace Winer, adds another high note to the House of Swing.

Ms. Winer said: "The set will celebrate famous Gershwin tunes like I Got Rhythm, But Not for Me, How Long Has This Been Going On, Love is Here to Stay, Embraceable You; plus some little known gems. What's really exciting putting together this show-and the whole Songbook Sundays program-is gathering star singers and instrumentalists, mixed up with young, emerging artists. These different generations of talent coming together, with the audience, gives it a great, joyful energy along with great music. This show and future ones, will feel like an informal, fun jam party. And I'm thrilled that our 5 pm shows will attract families to Jazz at Lincoln Center."

Host Deborah Grace Winer will interweave breezy chat and stories about the Gershwin brothers and the songs we will be hearing.

Got Gershwin, the first show in the new Jazz at Lincoln Center "Songbook Sundays" program at Dizzy's Club, continues with Sunday dates every other month through 2022. Upcoming shows will celebrate Cole Porter (in July), Duke Ellington (in Sept) and Irving Berlin (in November). All shows at 5pm and 7:30, and each will feature top vocal talent from Broadway, cabaret and jazz, with a diverse mix of young artists and veteran stars. Energy, fun, great music-welcoming new Songbook Sundays audiences from all over the world as well as a fresh new offering for JALC's home audience.

In the spirit of swing, the mission of Jazz at Lincoln Center is to entertain, enrich and expand the global community for jazz through performance, education and advocacy. Dizzy's Club offers live jazz performances with panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline and Central Park.

Jazz at Lincoln Center will require proof of full vaccination against Covid-19. To reach Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall, enter at Columbus Circle at 60th Street and Broadway, take the Jazz elevators to the 5th floor for Dizzy's Club as well as The Rose Theater and The Appel Room.

Tickets for Songbook Sundays are $40, with student tickets available at $25. Jazz.org/dizzys

BIOS:

Deborah Grace Winer (Curator, Host) is a leading expert on the classic American Songbook, and writer and creator of theatrical revues and concerts. Along with previous projects with Jazz at Lincoln Center, collaborations include Feinstein's/54 Below, Birdland, and a decade as Artistic Director of the 92Y's Lyrics & Lyricists™ concert series, presiding over 50 original shows and steering the venerable series back to audience and critical acclaim. She collaborates with top-tier artists from Broadway and the music world, and works with leading institutions. Author and dramatist, among her four books is On the Sunny Side of the Street: The Life and Lyrics of Dorothy Fields (Macmillan), recently named by the Wall Street Journal one of the Five Best books on American Songwriters. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, and her plays, off-Broadway and regionally. She has been featured on PBS' American Masters, and NPR's "Fresh Air" and "Morning Edition."

Karen Ziemba (Vocalist) received the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance in CONTACT at Lincoln Center Theatre. For some of her other NYC and regional appearances she's garnered three Tony Award nominations, the Drama Desk, the Outer Critics Circle, the Bay Area Theatre Critics, and Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Awards. Select theatre credits: PRINCE OF BROADWAY, STEEL PIER, CURTAINS, CRAZY FOR YOU, BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, NEVER GONNA DANCE, AND THE WORLD GOES 'ROUND, DO I HEAR A WALTZ, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, GYPSY, SWEENEY TODD, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY, SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS and BROADWAY BOUND, and recently, MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION Off-Broadway. TV: Madam Secretary, Elementary, The Good Wife, Law and Order C.I & S.V.U., The Kennedy Center Honors, and PBS' Great Performances.

Sydney James Harcourt (Vocalist): Broadway includes Hamilton (original company, following Leslie Odom, Jr. in the role of Aaron Burr), The Lion King, Green Day's American Idiot, and he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for his performance in Bob Dylan's Girl From the North Country at The Public Theater. He has appeared with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall, and sung at Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall, among many other venues. He's opened for Donna Summer, and performed at the White House. TV appearances include Blue Bloods, NCIS, Elementary, The Good Wife, and Law and Order.

Georgia Heers (Vocalist) Georgia Heers is a vocalist and composer residing in Harlem. She recently moved to New York City from Greenville, South Carolina to pursue her graduate studies at The Juilliard School.

Tedd Firth, a New York City based musical director, pianist and arranger, will be Musical Director for GOT GERSHWIN on May 22nd. His New York appearances include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Blue Note, Birdland, the Iridium, the Algonquin, the Cafe Carlyle and Feinstein's at the Regency. Numerous national appearances include a performance at the White House as well as serving as musical director for Michael Feinstein's "Jazz and Popular Song" concert series at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

For more information visit: Jazz.org/dizzys

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