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Monty Alexander, John Pizzarelli, Jim Caruso's Cast Party and More Set for January 2018 at Birdland
By: BWW News Desk Dec. 15, 2017
Birdland Jazz Club has announced its January 2018 lineup, featuring An Evening with Monty Alexander - From Kingston to Harlem, Vijay Iyer Sextet, John Pizzarelli, Vincent Herring's The Story of Jazz: 100 Years, David Murray Infinity Quartet, La Tanya Hall and The Andy Milne Trio, Fleurine, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more. Scroll down for details!
Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with the following acts:
January 1 (Monday) at 5:30PM
Sunport JAZZ Festival in NY: "Night At Birdland" with Swingin' Wonderland JAZZ Orchestra
Swingin' Wonderland JAZZ Orchestra (SWJO) formed in 1991 in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. Comprised of the area's best musicians, and under the leadership of bandmaster and trumpeter Naoto Sekimoto, SWJO has been pursuing its ideal of being a full-fledged Swing jazz orchestra. SWJO's magnetic appeal stems from its members' collective spirit to play dynamic Swing. Also, SWJO is boosted by a multitude of fans fascinated by the band's intellectual and warm sounds.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
January 1 (Monday) at 9:00PM and 11:00PM
John Colianni Big Band
The 17-piece John Colianni Jazz Orchestra has been creating a sensation amongst NYC area jazz fans with its fresh and exciting perspective on big band jazz. With a robust book of exciting original arrangements from leader and pianist John Colianni and a multi-generational lineup of top caliber NYC area jazz musicians, the JCJO is creating a unique brand of big band jazz that is really modern and really swings. More than just another jazz repertory big band, the JC jazz orchestra brings to life the timeless essence of the jazz big band tradition - great musicianship, solid blues feeling, harmonic inventiveness, and ferocious swing in a program of original compositions, and creative new arrangements of classics.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
January 2-6 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30PM and 11:00PM
An Evening with Monty Alexander - From Kingston to Harlem
In a career spanning five decades, pianist Monty Alexander has built a reputation for exploring and bridging the worlds of American jazz, popular song and the music of his native Jamaica, finding in each a sincere spirit of musical expression. Monty has performed and recorded with a wide array of renowned artists such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ray Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry, Quincy Jones, Ernest Ranglin, Bill Cosby, Natalie Cole, Bobby McFerrin, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare and others. As a leader, Monty Alexander has recorded over 60 albums to date, and has reinterpreted the music of a diverse collection of his favorite artists including Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett and Bob Marley.
All tickets $40, $10 food/drink minimum
January 4 (Thursday) at 6:00PM
Fleurine
Vocalist Fleurine has caused a stir with her new band Boys from Brazil, with Vitor Goncalves on piano and accordeon, Ian Faquini playing the acoustic guitar, Eduardo Belo on acoustic bass and rogerop boccato- percussion and Fleurine singing lead vocals and on guitar.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
January 6, 11 and 13 (Saturdays and Thursday) at 6:00PM
At just 23 years of age Veronica Swift is being recognized as one of the top young singers in jazz. The child of jazz vocalist Stephanie Nakasian and the late bebop pianist Hod O'Brien, Veronica has already appeared at Lincoln Center, Telluride Jazz Festival, Blues Alley, The Jazz Cruise, and Birdland, performing with Jon Hendricks, Annie Ross, Esperanza Spalding, Joe Lovano, Bob Dorough, Paquito d'Rivera, and other established jazz artists.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
January 7 (Sunday) at 6:00PM
Ken Peplowski Quartet
By the time Ken was in his early teens, he was experimenting with jazz by playing in the school "stage" bands, and also by jamming with many of the local jazz musicians. After a year of college, Ken joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the direction of Buddy Morrow. In 1980, Ken moved to New York City,and was soon playing in all kinds of settings, from Dixieland to avant-garde jazz.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
January 8 (Monday) at 7:00PM
Gabrielle Stravelli & Billy Stritch "Down for Double"
The Broadway at Birdland concert series is proud to present jazz singer Gabrielle Stravelli with singer/pianist Billy Stritch in "Down For Double." In addition to her recent four-country State Department tour, Gabrielle premiered a new song cycle, Rooms of Light, by world-renowned jazz pianist, Fred Hersch with lyrics by award-winning poet Mary Jo Salter. Billy Stritch is one of the premier singer-pianists on the New York and national jazz and cabaret scene who has worked with Liza Minnelli, Linda Lavin, Marilyn Maye, Lillias White, Paulo Szot, and most recently, toured as Tony Bennett's musical director.
All tickets $30-35, $10 food/drink minimum
January 9-13 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30PM and 11:00PM
Vijay Iyer Sextet
Vijay Iyer's new ECM Records release, "Far From Over," features his dynamically commanding sextet with Graham Haynes on horns, Steve Lehman on alto saxophone and Mark Shim playing the tenor sax, alongside rhythm partners Stephan Crump and Tyshawn Sorey. The music ranges from the thrillingly explosive ("Down to the Wire," "Good on the Ground") to the cathartically elegiac ("For Amiri Baraka," "Threnody"), with melodic hooks, entrancing atmosphere, rhythmic muscle, and an alluring elemental spirit.
All tickets $40, $10 food/drink minimum
January 11 and 13 (Thursday and Saturday) at 6:00PM
At just 23 years of age Veronica Swift is being recognized as one of the top young singers in jazz. The child of jazz vocalist Stephanie Nakasian and the late bebop pianist Hod O'Brien, Veronica has already appeared at Lincoln Center, Telluride Jazz Festival, Blues Alley, The Jazz Cruise, and Birdland, performing with Jon Hendricks, Annie Ross, Esperanza Spalding, Joe Lovano, Bob Dorough, Paquito d'Rivera, and other established jazz artists.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
January 14 (Sunday) at 6:00PM
Kurt Elling and Ann Hampton Callaway
Starting in Chicago, Kurt Elling recorded several of his early albums, earned the first of many GRAMMY nominations and catapulted onto the national stage. Elling's recent CD, "Passion World," is a tour-de-force program of love songs from around the world. Performing each song in its native tongue, Elling tells rich stories about musical history on a grand multicultural tour of exotic places and cultures. Tony Award nominee Ann Hampton Callaway salutes songs made famous in films in - Jazz Goes to the Movies. This show explores the fascinating ways jazz and film have come together to tell stories. The playlist includes "Taking a Chance on Love" from Vernon Duke's Cabin in the Sky, "Let's Face the Music and Dance" from Irving Berlin's Follow the Fleet, "This Time the Dream's on Me," from Harold Arlen's Blues in the Night, and "As Time Goes By," the Herman Hupfeld classic from Casablanca. Callaway also performs jazz songs she has recorded for films, including "Come Rain or Come Shine" from The Good Shepherd, starring Robert DeNiro, "The Nearness of You" from Last Holiday starring Queen Latifah, and "Pourquoi," a song she wrote for the new film Blind, starring Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore.
All tickets $30-45, $10 food/drink minimum
January 15 (Monday) at 7:00PM and January 16-20 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30PM and 11:00PM
John Pizzarelli charms audiences with his warmth, sense of humor, and musical chops. Through his multi-faceted career as a jazz guitarist, vocalist and bandleader, the son of the legendary New Jersey native guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, has become one of the most recognizable faces and voices in contemporary jazz for his interpretations of classic standards, romantic ballads and the cool jazz flavor he brings to his performances and recordings. Pizzarelli returns to Birdland for the Concord Records release of "Sinatra & Jobim @ 50," an anniversary celebration of the collaboration between jazz vocal icon Frank Sinatra and legendary Brazilian Bossa Nova composer/guitarist Antonio Carlos Jobim, featuring Jobim's grandson Daniel Jobim.
All tickets $40, $10 food/drink minimum
January 18 (Thursday) at 6:00PM
La Tanya Hall and The Andy Milne Trio
Vocalist La Tanya Hall is poised to take her place as one of the foremost jazz vocalists in the world today. Her ability to reinvent the Great American Songbook is amassing glorious reviews from around the globe. Her versatility in a variety of musical genres has allowed her to collaborate with some of music's most celebrated artists, including Diana Ross, Bobby McFerrin, Harry Belafonte, Michael McDonald, Burt Bacharach, Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, Rob Thomas and Patti LaBelle. A fearless, versatile explorer, pianist/composer Andy Milne has been a distinct and respected voice at the heart of New York's creative jazz scene for over 20 years, collaborating with dancers, visual artists, poets and musicians spanning jazz, classical, pop, folk, and world music. At the piano he skillfully blends poetic gravitas with a playful sense of order.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
January 20 and 27 (Saturday) at 7:00PM
Singer/pianist Eric Comstock has been called "a song's best friend," and the jazz and pop songbooks are in great hands when he is onstage at Birdland. Whether the song is by Rodgers and Hart or Ellington and Strayhorn, Paul Simon or Bob Dylan, you'll hear the lyric as if for the first time. Joining Eric will be eminent bassist/composer Sean Smith -- in all, a perfect winter Saturday supper!
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
January 21 (Sunday) at 6:00PM
The Empathia Jazz Duo with Mafalda Minnozzi and Paul Ricci with special guest Art Hirahara
The eMPathia Jazz Duo is making its third appearance at Birdland, this time with special guest pianist Art Hirahara reunited with them from their Italian summer tour. The duo's singer, Italian born Mafalda Minnozzi has an impressive career predominantly in Brasil and is a remarkably charismatic and powerful stage performer with a vocal extension and versatile timbral palette that blurs the line between singer and improvisational soloist. Completing the duo is Paul Ricci, a NY guitarist who also has worked primarily in Brazil with an inventive use of all these rhythms on jazz, acoustic and baritone guitars result in an impressive and powerful orchestral concept on guitar. Ricci's finely crafted arrangements, Mafalda's fiery voice and Hirahara's textural piano promise to have the audience sit up straight and revisit the beauty of the melodies of Jobim, Morricone and Piaf with a dash of Cole Porter and other surprises.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
January 22 (Monday) at 7:00PM
The Broadway at Birdland concert series is proud to announce that Steve Ross will once again storm the stage with a new show, "I Remember Him Well - The Songs of Alan Jay Lerner." Lerner's equally celebrated musical partners include Kurt Weill (Love Life), Burton Lane (Royal Wedding, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever) and most famously and most prolifically Frederick Loewe. Lerner & Loewe's contributions to the musical world of theatre and film are many and marvelous - Paint Your Wagon, Brigadoon, Camelot, Gigi and the eternal treasure that is My Fair Lady. Steve's songs will include the following: "I Talk to the Trees," "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever," "I Remember It Well," "What Did I Have That I Don't Have?," "The Heather On the Hill," "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" and "Almost Like Being In Love."
All tickets $30-35, $10 food/drink minimum
January 23-27 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30PM and 11:00PM
Vincent Herring's The Story of Jazz: 100 Years
A 10-piece All-Star ensemble lead by Vincent Herring on alto sax, with Jeremy Pelt, Jon Faddis and Randy Brecker on trumpet, James Carter and Eric Alexander on tenor sax, Steve Turre on trombone, Mike LeDonne on piano,
Kenny Davis on bass, Carl Allen on drums and Nicolas Bearde lead vocals. The group will perform newly commissioned arrangements of classic jazz songs written by prominent artists from each decade of jazz history from 1917 to 2017.
All tickets $40, $10 food/drink minimum
January 25 (Thursday) at 6:00PM
Eric Comstock + Barbara Fasano
Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano, whose electrifying combination of warmth, wit, swing and sensuality have made them the nightclub world's most celebrated team, come home to Birdland with a set full of rhythm and romance. Joining them will eminent bassist/composer Sean Smith. Whether the song is by Cole Porter or Paul Simon, Duke Ellington or Joni Mitchell, this glamorous duo makes the American Songbook come alive, and their audiences feel they've been to a terrific party where the stories and songs are equally great. Come join the party!
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
January 27 (Saturday) at 7:00PM
Singer/pianist Eric Comstock has been called "a song's best friend," and the jazz and pop songbooks are in great hands when he is onstage at Birdland. Whether the song is by Rodgers and Hart or Ellington and Strayhorn, Paul Simon or Bob Dylan, you'll hear the lyric as if for the first time. Joining Eric will be eminent bassist/composer Sean Smith -- in all, a perfect winter Saturday supper!
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
January 28 (Sunday) at 6:00PM
The Wee Trio
The Wee Trio, James Westfall (vibes), Dan Loomis (bass) + Jared Schonig (drums), have five critically-acclaimed albums to their name. In 2012, The Wee Trio unveiled their boldest project to date, Ashes to Ashes: A David Bowie Intraspective, which reimagines the iconic work of David Bowie and introduced The Wee Trio to an entirely new audience. The Wee Trio's fall 2013 release, Live at The Bistro, captures the group's sound and showcases their deep musical connection live over two sold-out nights at Saint Louis' venerable club.
All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
January 29 (Monday) at 7:00PM
The Broadway at Birdland concert series it proud to announce the return of singer/songwriter Victoria Shaw in "Under The Covers." Hosted by award winning songwriter Victoria Shaw, Under The Covers has become a favorite recurring highlight at Birdland, featuring a wide variety of top-selling songwriters and musical acts from across the pop, rock and country worlds, and offering intimate acoustic performances of huge hit songs - along with the little-known stories behind them.
All tickets $30-35, $10 food/drink minimum
January 30-February 3 (Tuesday-Sunday) at 8:30PM and 11:00PM
David Murray Infinity Quartet
Tenor saxophonist David Murray is known as a prominent leader of the New York jazz scene of the 1970s, 80s and 90s. A founding member of The World Saxophone Quartet, Murray worked with the likes of Max Roach, Randy Weston, The Grateful Dead, Taj Mahal, Elvin Jones & Geri Allen. As both a bandleader and musician, David Murray has been honored with many prestigious awards including a Grammy Award, the Bird Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Danish Jazz Par Prize along with being named Village Voice Musician of the Decade in 1980 and Newsday Musician of the Year in 1993. Mr. Murray is celebrating 40 years on the road playing and writing jazz with his third release on Motema records named Blues for Memo, to be presented live on Birdland's stage.
All tickets $40, $10 food/drink minimum
Birdland will also feature the following recurring monthly engagements:
January 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 (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 tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum
January 5, 12, 19, 26 (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! Celebrating 10 years at the club, 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 $30, $10 food/drink minimum
January 7, 14, 21, 28 (Sundays) at 9PM & 11PM
The 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 $40, $10 food/drink minimum
January 8, 15, 22, 29 (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, 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 $30, $10 food/drink minimum
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.
Visit www.BirdlandJazz.com or follow BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB on Twitter: @birdlandjazz, Facebook, Instagram, and on Pinterest.
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