Emmet Cohen Trio, Gil Evans Project, and More to Play Birdland Next Month

Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater have announced jazz programming running May 2 through May 14.

Performers appearing at Birdland Jazz Club include Emmet Cohen Trio Plus Special Guests, Birdland Big Band with Darmon Meader and Gil Evans Project.

Downstairs at Birdland Theater, catch The Anderson Brothers Play Ellington, Sean Mason Quartet, Joe Alterman Trio, Classics with Tony Glausi and Jennifer Wharton's BONEGASM.

Repeat engagements include Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks, David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band, Frank Vignola's Guitar Night, Birdland Big Band and Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.

Jazz Programming at Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater May 2 through May 14

May 2 (Tuesday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Theater
The Anderson Brothers Play Ellington
Juilliard-trained identical twins Peter and Will Anderson have been hailed as "virtuosos on clarinet and saxophone" by The New York Times. Their passion for classic jazz shines through each time they perform. Having shared the stage with some of the music's biggest straight-ahead jazz acts-including Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Wycliffe Gordon, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Paquito D'Rivera, and Wynton Marsalis-the brothers constitute a formidable force. They've headlined shows at Carnegie Hall, The Blue Note, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and live on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion Radio Program. Birdland welcomes them every Tuesday in May as they deliver their no-funny-business, straight-down-the-middle, jazz-lover's type of jazz: this month paying tribute to the great Duke Ellington.
$20 + $20 food/drink minimum

May 2-6 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (5/2-4); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (5/5-6) - Birdland Jazz Club
Emmet Cohen Trio Plus Special Guests
Special Guests: Warren Wolf (vibraphone, 5/2), Bruce Harris (trumpet, 5/3), Jerry Weldon (saxophone, ) and Houston Person (saxophone, 5/6). Virtuoso pianist Emmet Cohen has taken the jazz world by storm. The Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association, Cohen made a name for himself as the 1st place winner in a number of the United States' most prestigious piano competitions, including the 2019 American Pianists Awards, the 2014 American Jazz Pianists Competition, and the 2011 Phillips Piano Competition at the University of West Florida-as well as placing as a finalist in the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. More recently, however, Cohen became a pioneer of a new kind. When the pandemic caused a lockdown in March 2020, he began filming concerts from his Harlem apartment, calling them "Live From Emmet's Place" and featuring his trio of bassist Russell Hall and drummer Kyle Poole with special guest friends. The series became an instant hit; now, with over 1,000,000 views across more than 300 high-production videos, Emmet's Place is a (literal) household name in jazz. For this week at Birdland, Cohen will hold things down with his trio of Kyle Poole and Phil Norris: be there to see some riveting swing! Saxophone legend Houston Person joins on the final night.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

May 3 (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

May 3 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola's Guitar Night with Karrin Allyson and Ted Rosenthal
It's the best jazz guitar lover's show in the world. Frank Vignola's virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world's top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Les Paul, the Boston and New York Pops, and more. Every Wednesday at 8:30pm in the Birdland Theater, Frank leads "Frank Vignola's Guitar Night at Birdland." Inspired by journeyman jazz guitarist John Pisano's now famous Los Angeles Guitar Night, the Frank Vignola Trio, featuring bassist Gary Mazzaroppi and drummer Vince Cherico, will perform tunes from the standard repertoire, inviting up a rotation of special guests. This week it's Karrin Allyson and Ted Rosenthal.
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

May 4 (Thursday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Sean Mason Quartet
Upon arriving in New York City to attend The Juilliard School, Sean Mason made waves among both his peers and his elders with his original brand of gospel, bebop, early jazz, and soul. An imaginative pianist, Mason's technique and stylistic breadth places him among the top pianists in his generation: though possessed of a deep historical knowledge of his instrument, Mason's playing is decidedly contemporary. Recent work has included performances with Wynton Marsalis, Catherine Russell, Herlin Riley, Joe Farnsworth, Emmet Cohen, and Branford Marsalis, as well as with his own Trio and Quintet. Mason says simply: "My purpose is to play dance music." He brings a quartet for this evening at the Birdland Theater.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

May 5 (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 why 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

May 5-7 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Joe Alterman Trio
Enjoy a week with Birdland favorite Joe Alterman, the pianist who Ramsey Lewis calls "a joy to behold"; who Les McCann calls "a giant"; and whose warm, upbeat pianism calls forth the exuberant wit of Ahmad Jamal, the blues of Red Garland, and the reflections of Bill Evans. The Atlanta native has been performing in New York City for over ten years; his new release, The Upside of Down, captures the power of two sets he played at Birdland in 2019 and 2020 in the months just preceding the pandemic. With close compatriots Nathaniel Schroeder and Marlon Patton on bass and drums, Alterman brings the heat on keys, and conjures up the down-home good feelings which we so badly need right about now. Perhaps this is why famed jazz critic Nat Hentoff says that the young pianist "would have been able to hold his own jamming with...Lester Young, Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, and Duke Ellington." Let Alterman and company swing you out of your seats. Really-don't be surprised if you start dancing!
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

May 7 (Sunday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Birdland Big Band with Darmon Meader
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). For this special Sunday performance, however, the Birdland Big Band showcases vocalist and saxophonist Darmon Meader. Meader's work as a member of the renowned singing group New York Voices brought him onto world stages with legends such as Jon Hendricks, Sheila Jordan, Bob Dorough, Ray Brown, George Benson, Nancy Wilson, Bernadette Peters, and the Count Basie Orchestra. This first Sunday in May, come see for yourself why Time Out New York proclaims that "there isn't another band like this anywhere," and why Yelp.com proclaims, "If you hear one band in NYC make sure this is it... and prepare to be blown away!"
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

May 7 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Pianist, composer and educator Arturo O'Farrill-leader of the "first family of Afro-Cuban Jazz" (The New York Times)-leads the GRAMMY award winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO), 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

May 8 (Monday) 5:30 & 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks
Catch Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks every Monday evening in May at Birdland Theater! Giordano, the recipient of a GRAMMY Award for his work scoring the HBO show Boardwalk Empire, is a master composer and arranger whose 11-piece band, The Nighthawks, recreate the jubilant 1920s jazz sound with amazing definition, using violins, tubas, banjos, and collector's item drum sets. The band has provided soundtracks for film and television productions including The Cotton Club, The Aviator, Finding Forrester, Revolutionary Road, Cafe Society, Boardwalk Empire, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and many more. Not to be missed!
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

May 9 (Tuesday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Theater
The Anderson Brothers Play Ellington
Juilliard-trained identical twins Peter and Will Anderson have been hailed as "virtuosos on clarinet and saxophone" by The New York Times. Their passion for classic jazz shines through each time they perform. Having shared the stage with some of the music's biggest straight-ahead jazz acts-including Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Wycliffe Gordon, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Paquito D'Rivera, and Wynton Marsalis-the brothers constitute a formidable force. They've headlined shows at Carnegie Hall, The Blue Note, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and live on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion Radio Program. Birdland welcomes them every Tuesday in May as they deliver their no-funny-business, straight-down-the-middle, jazz-lover's type of jazz: this month paying tribute to the great Duke Ellington.
$20 + $20 food/drink minimum

May 9-13 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (5/9-11); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (5/12-13) - Birdland Jazz Club
Gil Evans Project
Twice Grammy-nominated for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album of the Year (2013 and 2016), the Gil Evans Project is a critically-acclaimed all-star band that delivers rare work by legendary composer/arranger, Gil Evans. For a week at Birdland, the band will celebrate Evans's 111th birthday, fronted by Grammy Award-winning producer Ryan Truesdell. Featuring alto saxophonist Steve Wilson, drummer Lewis Nash, bassist Jay Anderson, tubist Marcus Rojas, and trumpeter Scott Wendholt, the group will perform music by Evans from the 1940s-1960s: from his time with Claude Thornhill Orchestra, as well as from albums Out of the Cool, Individualism of Gil Evans, New Bottle Old Wine, and a variety of vocal numbers featuring audience favorite, Wendy Gilles.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

May 10 (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

May 10 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola's Guitar Night with Janis Siegel and Ted Rosenthal
It's the best jazz guitar lover's show in the world. Frank Vignola's virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world's top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Les Paul, the Boston and New York Pops, and more. Every Wednesday at 8:30pm in the Birdland Theater, Frank leads "Frank Vignola's Guitar Night at Birdland." Inspired by journeyman jazz guitarist John Pisano's now famous Los Angeles Guitar Night, the Frank Vignola Trio, featuring bassist Gary Mazzaroppi and drummer Vince Cherico, will perform tunes from the standard repertoire, inviting up a rotation of special guests. This week it's Janis Siegel and Ted Rosenthal.
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

May 12 (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 why 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

May 12-14 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Tony Glausi Presents New Suite in the Theater
The award-winning Tony Glausi has long cultivated a sound that defies easy categorization. Even on his 2015 debut, Identity Crisis, the trumpeter and composer presented a mixture of hard-hitting hip-hop styles, straight ahead jazz portraits, and smooth, languishing balladry. In 2016, '17, and '18, Glausi continued to deliver across genres; and in 2021, he released When It All Comes Crashing Down and EVERYTHING AT ONCE, which both offer up a broad spectrum of styles, with Tony singing, playing, and producing a storm of original music that brings his full palette of influences to life. This winner of the 2017 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Solo Competition will surely surprise his audiences in this one-night engagement at Birdland Theater: Classics With Tony Glausi features 2x Latin-GRAMMY-nominated singer Nana Mendoza; pianist Davis Whitfield; bassist Mark Lewandowski; and drummer Charles Goold. Join this dream team of young New York talent for a spectacular evening.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

May 14 (Sunday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Jennifer Wharton's BONEGASM
Bass trombonist Jennifer Wharton presents her trombone-powered ensemble, Bonegasm, whose second record, Not a Novelty, was released in April 2021. After the group's self-titled album was released in 2019 on Sunnyside Records to great critical and popular acclaim, Wharton knew she had created something important by highlighting the primacy of the trombone in jazz music. Bonegasm features trombonists John Fedchock, Nate Mayland and Alan Ferber, along with the rhythm section of pianist Michael Eckroth, bassist Evan Gregor and drummer Don Peretz. Producing a record during the height of the pandemic-which meant making music while adhering to social-distancing practices-wasn't easy. But Wharton's skills and ambition led her through, having been honed through years performing in some of the world's top modern big bands and Broadway shows: like Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Birdland's-own Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, West Side Story, and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Enjoy BONEGASM at Birdland this Mother's Day as they rip through imaginative originals and arrangements with their unique sound.
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum

May 14 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Pianist, composer and educator Arturo O'Farrill-leader of the "first family of Afro-Cuban Jazz" (The New York Times)-leads the GRAMMY award winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO), 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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