Molly Ringwald, Peter Mazza Trio and More Coming Up This Month at Birdland

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its lineup for February 29-March 6, featuring Molly Ringwald, Peter Mazza Trio, Purchase Latin Jazz Orchestra, and more. Scroll down for details!

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

February 29 (Monday) at 7PM

Broadway at Birdland presents

"Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens": A Benefit Concert with Bill Russell & Friends

The evening is a night to celebrate life! Bill Russell leads the night with personal anecdotes about the conception and inspiration of Elegies. Hewill be joined by a star-studded cast of Broadway and Birdland favorites including Josh Young (Amazing Grace), Caroline Bowman (Evita, Wicked), Karen Mason (Mamma Mia, Sunset Boulevard), Jaime Cepero (Smash), Sean MacLaughlin (Phantom of the Opera, Evita), Natalie Douglas (7-time MAC Award Winner), and more. The night is conceptualized by Jill Sapenoff and an intimate orchestra will be led by William Waldrop. Inspired by the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, Elegies is told from the perspective of characters afflicted with AIDS, their friends and their families. Proceeds from the evening will go to benefit Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS.

All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum

February 29 (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

March 1-5 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:00PM Tuesday-Wednesday, 8:30PM Thursday-Saturday

Molly Ringwald

Molly Ringwald acts, writes books, and sings jazz. Since the release of her Concord Records debut jazz album, "Except Sometimes," in April 2013, Ringwald and her band have performed over 200 concerts around the world. The crowd-pleasing concert program, "An Evening with Molly Ringwald," with her quartet, prompted The New York Times to note, "the spin she brings to the American Songbook is thoroughly contemporary... the same brashness and zaniness that Madonna breathed into pop." An actress of stage and screen, Ringwald earned a Golden Globe nomination at age thirteen, and went on to star in numerous films, including the iconic John Hughes hits, "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," and "Pretty in Pink." On stage, Ringwald starred in Broadway productions of the Pulitzer Prize winning "How I Learned to Drive," the revival of "Cabaret," the Tony-nominated "Enchanted April," and the West End production of "When Harry Met Sally."

All tickets $50, $10 food/drink minimum

March 2 (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 $25, $10 food/drink minimum

March 3 (Thursday) at 6:00PM

Peter Mazza Trio

Peter Mazza is a jazz guitarist, composer, educator and jazz venue-Music Director born and raised in New York City. He is a Thelonius Monk Competition semi-finalist who earned degrees from The Manhattan School and Music and The Julliard School. Over the last 25 years he has had the opportunity to perform in groups with some of the most respected names in jazz including Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy McGriff, Chris Potter, Joel Frahm, Roy Hargrove, Brad Mehldau, Donny McCaslin, Christian McBride among many others.

All tickets $25, $10 food/drink minimum

March 4 (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! 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 $40, $10 food/drink minimum

March 5 (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

March 6 (Sunday) at 6:00PM

New Hot Sounds with the Purchase Latin Jazz Orchestra

The Purchase College Jazz Studies program, Pete Malinverni, Head, boasts several exciting groups, from small combos to large ensembles, including the Purchase Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of Jon Faddis and Todd Coolman, and the Purchase Latin Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of David DeJesus, featuring tenacious ensemble playing and hot soloists. Don't miss the opportunity to hear this fantastic group of young pros, whose members you'll be hearing about for a long time to come.

All tickets $25, $10 food/drink minimum

March 6 (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, and 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, go to www.BirdlandJazz.com, or follow BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB on Twitter: @birdlandjazz, Facebook, Instagram, and on Pinterest.

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