Julia Keefe, Ben Allison-Ted Nash-Steve Cardenas, and More to Play Birdland This Month

Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater have announced jazz programming running January 8th - January 21st.

Performers appearing at Birdland Jazz Club include Julia Keefe, Ben Allison-Ted Nash-Steve Cardenas, Yellowjackets, Cyrille Aimée, Maria Schneider Orchestra, Gunhild Carling and Uptown Jazz Tentet.

Downstairs at Birdland Theater, catch Our Sinatra, Daniel Glass Trio, Tia Fuller Quartet, Lakecia Benjamin Quartet and Elan Mehler.

Repeat engagements for the rest of the month include Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks, David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band, Frank Vignola's Guitar Night, Birdland Big Band, Nicole Zuraitis, Ashley Pezzotti and The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. 
 

Jazz Programming at Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater January 8th - January 21st 

January 8 (Monday) 5:30 & 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks
Catch Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks every Monday evening in January 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!
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 8 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Julia Keefe's Mildred Bailey Project
Though an oft-forgotten name in jazz, Mildred Bailey was the first female vocalist to front a big band in the 1930s. Inspiration to Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, the Native American Bailey was called “just about the greatest songbird in the US” by TIME Magazine in 1944. The talented vocalist Julia Keefe presents both the Mildred Bailey project and the Indigenous Big Band as exuberant, swinging jazz projects that highlight the contributions of Native peoples in the United States. Not to be missed!
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 9 (Tuesday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Ashley Pezzotti
Called a “performer to watch” by DownBeat Magazine, Queens-born Ashley Pezzotti takes an early set on the Birdland Theater stage four consecutive Tuesdays in January to deliver her trademark renditions of American standards. This 25-year-old rising star has performed with jazz icon Wynton Marsalis (on his 2020 recording The Ever Fonky Lowdown and on their latest national tour), country legend Keith Urban, and piano prodigy Joey Alexander. On her debut recording, We've Only Just Begun, she was backed by the Emmet Cohen Trio and other young lions. With vocals indebted to the great jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Carmen McRae, Pezzotti offers listeners a chance to relax into the music they know and love, while bringing a freshness of presence that enchants her audiences.
$35 + $25 food/drink minimum

January 9 (Tuesday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Ben Allison, Ted Nash, Steve Cardenas Album Release Celebration
Boundary-pushing bassist Ben Allison, beloved guitarist Steve Cardenas, and consummate saxophonist Ted Nash form one of contemporary jazz's most enchanting trios, and they celebrate the release of 2024's Tell The Birds I Said Hello: The Music of Herbie Nichols. The new recording comes after the unit released Healing Power in 2022, honoring the idiosyncratic, humorous, and profound writing of Carla Bley. Bley, who passed earlier this year, was one of modern music's most original writers, inspiring generations with evocative melodies and lifelike sonic portraits—a tradition which Allison, Nash, and Cardenas have continued. Starting with 2018's Quiet Revolution, and continuing with the 2019 release of Somewhere Else—West Side Story Songs, their drummerless trio is wry and adventurous: alternatively plaintive, bemused, searching, and exhilarating. Join them as they celebrate the new project at Birdland!
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 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

January 10-13 (Wednesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (1/10-11); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (1/12-13) – Birdland Jazz Club
Yellowjackets
The Yellowjackets are a household name for jazz fusion fans. The band's original flavor,  beloved for its long and whirling sing-song melodies and undeniable pocket, has been captivating listeners since the group first burst onto the scene in the late 1970s. Originally the rhythm section behind guitarist Robben Ford, the Yellowjackets became its own entity and—adding the then-trailblazing (and now-legendary) saxophonist Bob Mintzer—turned into one of the most original quartets of the last 40 years, recording 30 albums, winning 2 Grammys, and receiving 17 Grammy nominations. Currently, the lineup includes founding member Russell Ferrante on keys, Bob Mintzer on winds, the spectacular drummer Will Kennedy, and the band's newest member, a young Dane Alderson twisting out brilliant basslines.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 10 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola's Guitar Night with Guest Host Pasquale Grasso and his Trio with vocalist Janis Siegel
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 Quartet, featuring pianist Ted Rosenthal, bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, and drummer Vince Cherico, will perform tunes from the standard repertoire, bringing in special guests weekly. This week, Frank's out of town and Pasquale Grasso's trio, featuring vocalist Janis Siegel, steps in. 
*Guitar night streams live every week at YouTube.com/RadioFreeBirdland
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 11 (Thursday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Our Sinatra: A Musical Celebration
A special return reunion starring Eric Comstock, Hilary Kole, and Brian Long - with Boots Maleson on bass.
Our Sinatra returns to Birdland to celebrate the music of Frank Sinatra. The three performers playfully interact with one another, sharing their joy and passion for this great music as they lovingly sing the hits of Sinatra, individually and in combination, taking the audience back to relive their memories. The show includes over 50 songs interspersed with witty banter and humor. The show covers Sinatra's entire musical cannon from the classic ballads of the 40's to the saloon and torch songs, the 50's and 60's swingers and the all time hits. Our Sinatra steers clear of imitation and impersonation as these accomplished performers deliver the great music of Sinatra. The New York Times calls Our Sinatra “An utterly winning tribute to Ol' Blue Eyes” and “Superior Entertainment”
$40 tables; $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 11 (Thursday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Daniel Glass Trio
Join Daniel as he returns to the Birdland Theater with his own trio for a brand-new show that tips its hat to the American musical traditions of tap dance, standards and swing. The Daniel Glass Trio, features guitarist Sean Harkness and bassist Michael O'Brien, both master musicians and beloved performers in the NYC jazz and cabaret worlds. The trio released its debut album BAM! on the Club 44 label in 2021. The group's ultra-eclectic repertoire blends original material from all the members with unique arrangements of both jazz and rock classics. You can guarantee their concerts will always include some unexpected surprises. Joining the group will be two special guests: Luke Hawkins, one of the most dynamic, virtuosic tappers on the New York scene, and Eddie Wakes, a master of the Great American songbook, whose voice bears an uncanny resemblance to that of the legendary Nat King Cole.
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 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!”
$35 + $25 food/drink minimum

January 12-13 (Friday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Tia Fuller Quartet
Grammy-nominated saxophonist Tia Fuller is an internationally-regarded performer and composer. Fuller's career highlights include performances in President Barack Obama's White House; on morning shows Oprah, Today Show and Good Morning, America; and on tour with Beyonce's all-female I Am…Sasha Fierce band. The saxophone sound in Pixar's Oscar-winning 2020 animated jazz movie, Soul, Fuller's music has been heard all over the world, and she brings a deeply cultivated power to her lines and melodies. Compositionally, her music draws influence from across many genres beyond just swinging jazz music: she dives into pop, R&B and mixed-meter stylings to create a sound that is uniquely hers. Fuller's latest release, Diamond Cut, was nominated for a Grammy and features some of jazz's greatest living masters. She performs as part of APAP week.
$35 tables / $25 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 13 (Saturday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Nicole Zuraitis
Grammy-nominated Nicole Zuraitis is a New York-based vocalist, pianist, and songwriter who took home the Gold Medal and Ben Tucker Jazz Award in the 2021 American Traditions Competition. A musical chameleon, she brings her signature warmth and outstanding vocals to various genres and styles, as demonstrated on her latest album, 2023's Oil on Water: How Love Begins, featuring Christian McBride. As a bandleader, a recording artist, and the premiere vocalist of both the world-famous Birdland Big Band and the Dan Pugach Nonet, Nicole has established herself as a staple on the New York City jazz scene and has made a significant mark on the global modern jazz landscape. The 2nd-runner-up in the 2015 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition and the winner of the 2014 Herb Alpert ASCAP Young Composer Award, Zuraitis has been settled in success for years. The vocalist hosts an intimate residency at Birdland on Saturday evenings in January.
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum

January 14 (Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Lakecia Benjamin Quartet
New York native and 3x GRAMMY nominee Lakecia Benjamin is one of the electric new voices in contemporary jazz. Long influenced by jazz, R&B, and hip-hop, Benjamin and her distinctive sound gained both inner clarity and public attention through work with music icons Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Macy Gray, and The Roots. Her mission to blend genres and dismantle musical boundaries developed on her critically-acclaimed solo albums “Retox” (2012), “Rise Up” (2018), and “Pursuance: The Coltranes” (2020), and she was voted 2020 Rising Star Alto Saxophonist in the Downbeat Critics Poll, as well as Up and Coming Artist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association. When a near-fatal car accident in 2021 threatened her ability to perform, Benjamin persevered, recording and releasing her album “Phoenix” to rave reviews. Featuring special guests Dianne Reeves, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Patrice Rushen, Sonia Sanchez, Angela Davis and Wayne Shorter, it solidifies Benjamin's artistic presence as an indispensable voice in contemporary music culture. Benjamin performs for one Sunday evening at the Theater.
$35 tables / $25 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 14 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Cyrille Aimée
Grammy-nominated Cyrille Aimée spent over 10 years in NYC wowing audiences with her joyful improvisations, effortless swing, and wild spirit. Having relocated to New Orleans to enter the vibrant musical community of that storied city, Aimée loves to return to Birdland—where she spent years with a weekly residency. From her native France to the USA, from jazz festivals to Broadway, from a longtime working band to new adventures in new sonic landscapes, Cyrille Aimée is never content to stay in one place too long. Recent releases include 2018's Cyrille Aimée Live (Mack Avenue); 2019's Move On: A Sondheim Adventure (especially relevant now that the legend has just passed); 2021's I'll Be Seeing You; and 2021's Petite Fleur, as a featured guest of drummer Adonis Rose and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. Hailed as “one of the most promising jazz singers of her generation” by The Wall Street Journal, Aimée will certainly bring something new to her old city.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 15 (Monday) 5:30 & 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks
Catch Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks every Monday evening in January 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!
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 15 (Monday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Maria Schneider Orchestra
The legendary, groundbreaking composer and arranger Maria Schneider returns to Birdland this January, performing as part of a week of events sponsored by the Association of Performing Arts Professionals. Ms. Schneider's music, which has received 7 GRAMMY wins and 14 nominations across jazz, classical and arranging categories, is regarded as some of the most evocative work of our contemporary artistic world. Her most recent project, the double-album Data Lords (2020)—called “the most daring work of Schneider's career” by esteemed critic Nate Chinen—was a Finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize. It pits the digital world against the natural one in musical form to warn listeners of the profound dangers of Big Data and reacquaint them with their essential lifeforce. A living icon of music, Ms. Schneider's one-night-only engagement is not to be missed.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 16 (Tuesdays except 1/2) 5:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Ashley Pezzotti
Called a “performer to watch” by DownBeat Magazine, Queens-born Ashley Pezzotti takes an early set on the Birdland Theater stage four consecutive Tuesdays in January to deliver her trademark renditions of American standards. This 25-year-old rising star has performed with jazz icon Wynton Marsalis (on his 2020 recording The Ever Fonky Lowdown and on their latest national tour), country legend Keith Urban, and piano prodigy Joey Alexander. On her debut recording, We've Only Just Begun, she was backed by the Emmet Cohen Trio and other young lions. With vocals indebted to the great jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Carmen McRae, Pezzotti offers listeners a chance to relax into the music they know and love, while bringing a freshness of presence that enchants her audiences.
$35 + $25 food/drink minimum

January 16-20 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (1/16-18); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (1/19-20) – Birdland Jazz Club
Gunhild Carling
International sensation, virtuoso multi-instrumentalist, vocalist extraordinaire—shall we say, conceptualist? The real question is: what can't you say about Gunhild Carling? She seems to do it all: performing on trumpet, trombone, bagpipes, drums, piano, bass, three trumpets at once, a trumpet balanced vertically using no hands, all on one song which she is singing. Carling continuously proves she will break any limitation in front of her. And with her feel-good revival of 1920s hot swing, this brilliant entertainer makes audiences smile and dance as she wows them with unheard-of talents. Featured on Scott Bradlee's Post Modern Jukebox, Carling has put the 20s twist on popular contemporary songs such as Madonna's “Material Girl,” Rick Astley's “Never Gonna Give You Up,” and Pharell's “Happy.” This will surely be a week filled with surprises!
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 17 (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

January 17 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola's Guitar Night with special guest Jocelyn Gould
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 Quartet, featuring pianist Ted Rosenthal, bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, and drummer Vince Cherico, will perform tunes from the standard repertoire, bringing in special guests weekly. This week, it's Jocelyn Gould.
*Guitar night streams live every week at YouTube.com/RadioFreeBirdland
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 19 (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!”
$35 + $25 food/drink minimum

January 19-21 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Elan Mehler
Backed by an enigmatic all-star ensemble, pianist Elan Mehler brings his unique sound to Birdland Theater for three nights in January. Mehler was raised by a mother who was “a mystic,” he says. Perhaps this is why he has chosen his particular cast: mysterious guitarist Ben Monder, enigmatic alto saxophonist Loren Stillman, legendary bassist Tony Scherr, the exuberant drummer Rudy Royston, intimate tenor saxophonist Andy Zimmerman, and a different special guest trumpeter each night. Mehler has released 11 albums as a leader—his latest, “There Is A Dance” (2022), features the rhythm section on this weekend's performance. Special trumpet guests include: Ron Horton (1/19); Nadje Noordhuis (1/20); and Riley Mulherkar (1/21).
$35 tables / $25 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 20 (Saturday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Nicole Zuraitis
Grammy-nominated Nicole Zuraitis is a New York-based vocalist, pianist, and songwriter who took home the Gold Medal and Ben Tucker Jazz Award in the 2021 American Traditions Competition. A musical chameleon, she brings her signature warmth and outstanding vocals to various genres and styles, as demonstrated on her latest album, 2023's Oil on Water: How Love Begins, featuring Christian McBride. As a bandleader, a recording artist, and the premiere vocalist of both the world-famous Birdland Big Band and the Dan Pugach Nonet, Nicole has established herself as a staple on the New York City jazz scene and has made a significant mark on the global modern jazz landscape. The 2nd-runner-up in the 2015 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition and the winner of the 2014 Herb Alpert ASCAP Young Composer Award, Zuraitis has been settled in success for years. The vocalist hosts an intimate residency at Birdland on Saturday evenings in January.
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum

January 21 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Uptown Jazz Tentet
Founded in 2016 by the marvelous trombonist Willie Applewhite and co-led by the great trumpeter Brandon Lee, the Uptown Jazz Tentet is a family—with friendships dating back to their Juilliard days, this fine ensemble swings crisp and meaningful arrangements with imagination and energy. The 10-person band features Aaron Kimmel on drums, Clovis Nicolas on bass, Adam Birnbaum on piano, Brandon Lee and Tatum Greenblatt on trumpets, Jon Irabagon, Carl Maraghi, and Andrew Gatauskas on saxophones and woodwinds, and James Burton III joining Appliewhite on trombone. In the words of Brandon Lee, “We all have bonded playing in the bands of Christian McBride, Ron Carter, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, etc… and we love our gigs!  This is our opportunity to do our own thing.”
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 21 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra
The GRAMMY award winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) brings 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. Thirteen 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.
$40 + $30 food/drink minimum

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