Nicole Zuraitis, Slide Hampton Octet Celebration, and More to play Birdland This Month

Birdland has announced jazz programming at Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater running January 9 through January 22.

Performers appearing at Birdland Jazz Club include Nicole Zuraitis, Slide Hampton Octet Celebration, Delfeayo Marsalis Uptown Jazz Orchestra, Joey Alexander Trio, Stacey Kent, Billy Hart Quartet and Adam Birnbaum Quartet.

Downstairs at Birdland Theater, you'll find also find Ye Huang Quintet, Nicole Zuraitis, Alexa Tarantino, Magos Hererra, NY Voices, Darmon Meader, Olatuja Project and Houston Person Quintet.

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

Jazz Programming at Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater January 9 through January 22

January 9 (Monday) 7:00 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Nicole Zuraitis with Idan Morim, Maya Kromfeld, Sam Weber and Dan Pugach
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 newest multi-hyphenate album, All Wandering Hearts (Dot Time Records). As a bandleader, a recording artist, and the premiere vocalist of the world-famous Birdland Big Band and 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. She is set to release her newest album, Oil on Water: How Love Begins, featuring Christian McBride, in 2023. The vocalist also hosts an intimate weekly Tuesday night residency this month.
$30 cover / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 9 (Monday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Ye Huang Quintet
A revered Chinese-born multiinstrumentalist and composer, Ye Huang has performed across the world with Wynton Marsalis, Mike Stern, Dave Weckl, Arturo Sandoval, Eddie Daniels, and many others. Known for his clarinet, piano, and saxophone playing, Ye is the composer of a wide array of music: four albums, two clarinet sonatas, a clarinet concerto, a 7-movement suite, and an original musical, Jazzing, set to premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai (where he serves as musical director of the big band). Ye's fusion of styles is a unique experience for every listener-a sound quite unlike any before it.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 10 (Tuesday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Nicole Zuraitis with Gilad Hekselman
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 newest multi-hyphenate album, All Wandering Hearts (Dot Time Records). As a bandleader, a recording artist, and the premiere vocalist of the world-famous Birdland Big Band and 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.
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 10-11 (Tuesday-Wednesday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Celebrating the Slide Hampton Octet
The late master trombonist Slide Hampton passed away in November of 2021. In homage to his artistry, veteran drummer Charles Ruggierio and top-call saxophonist Frank Basile bring together an octet to play Hampton's famous 8-piece orchestrations of the 1950s and 60s. The band recorded together in 2019, bringing these great arrangements to life for an album entitled Slide's Blues (SmallsLive) which featured the great Hampton himself on two tracks. Slide no longer being with us, the musicians join forces again to honor his life, his legacy, and his amazing music.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 11 (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 11 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola's Guitar Night
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.
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 12-14 (Thursday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (1/12); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (1/13-14) - Birdland Jazz Club
Delfeayo Marsalis Uptown Jazz Orchestra
The great New Orleans trombonist, producer, composer, and educator Delfeayo Marsalis is a powerful force in the music world. With over 120 recording credits as a producer (including one GRAMMY Award and several nominations) and nearly 50 recordings as a trombonist, Delfeayo could be said to have made his mark. But in 2000, this committed educator created the Uptown Music Theatre, a non-profit that leads musical theater training for youth. The UMT's sister organization is the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, which Marsalis formed in 2008 as the jazz arm of the endeavor. This 18-piece band upholds the traditions of New Orleans swing, ensemble riff-playing, and infectious, soulful dance music that form the foundations of American jazz. With a star-studded cast, they never fail to amaze.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 12 (Thursday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Alexa Tarantino
An ultra-talented woodwind artist with a serious output of music, Alexa Tarantino has been praised by Wynton Marsalis as "an indomitable force for expression...and absolute excellence." Tarantino has been a frequent hire for Marsalis's Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; given her command of her multiple instruments (saxophones, flute, and clarinet) and her sense of poise as a soloist within a band, it's no surprise. Over the past three years she has released three full-length recordings: Firefly (2021), Clarity (2020), and Winds of Change (2019), all on Posi-Tone Records. A Rising Star for Alto Saxophone in DownBeat Magazine's 2020, 2021, and 2022 Critics Polls-and named one of the Top 5 Alto Saxophonists of 2019 by the JazzTimes Critics' Poll-Tarantino's joyful playing has led her to such prestigious venues as Umbria Jazz Festival, Jazz in Marciac Festival, the Kennedy Center, and the Hollywood Bowl.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 13 (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

January 13 (Friday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Magos Hererra
The Latin Jazz Network has called Magos Herrera "one of the greatest contemporary interpreters of song," and this APAP week, the Mexican-born vocalist's profound skill will be on display in New York City, where she now calls home. Singing in Spanish, English, and Portuguese, Herrera for decades has blended contemporary jazz musicalities with rhythms and melodies from across the world. The only female artist to receive Berklee College of Music's Master of Latin Music Award, Mangos's delivery is spiritual in both its humility and its power; her dazzling voice has placed her on the most revered stages on the planet, including Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Duc des Lombardes, the Montreaux Jazz Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival, and Festival Internacional Cervantino, among many others. Recent collaborations include work with John Pattitucci, Antonio Sanchez, and Chano Dominguez, as well as with esteemed chamber music ensemble Brooklyn Rider.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 14 (Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM - Birdland Theater
NY Voices
The sensational NY Voices was born in 1988 when a group of busy solo vocalists in New York City decided to join forces. "It's certainly not something that occurred to us when we were thinking about starting a band," says musical director Darmon Meader of the group's 35 year success. But the collective of vocalists was blessed with great chemistry and concept. In the style of vocal groups like Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross, NY Voices became well known in the 90s and 00s for its inspired takes on jazz classics, putting "vocalese" lyrics to jazz improvisations or melodies by John Coltrane, Chick Corea, and others. Over the decades, they have collaborated with the Count Basie Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, the Metropole Orchestra directed by John Clayton, the Bob Mintzer Big Band, guitar legend Jim Hall, and Paquito D'Rivera. They perform as part of NYC's APAP week.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 15 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Joey Alexander Trio
3x Grammy nominee and early piano prodigy Joey Alexander recently released Origin (Mack Avenue, 2022) to critical acclaim. Featuring his heavy-hitting trio of Kendrick Scott and Larry Grenadier, as well as his collaborators Chris Potter and Gilad Hexelman, the passionate virtuoso Alexander is in the company of masters. At only 18 years old, he has already lived a musician's dream life, performing on the world's biggest stages (Obama's White House, the Grand Ole Opry, Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Newport Jazz Festival) with its most revered names (Wayne Shorter, Wynton Marsalis, Esperanza Spalding)-all since the age of 11. For APAP week, Alexander will bring the latest moment of his mature genius to your ears.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 15 (Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Darmon Meader
The multi-talented Darmon Meader is both saxophonist and singer, both arranger and composer, both producer and musical director. A member of New York Voices (which performs as part of APAP NYC+ one night before Meader's Sunday show), Meader has toured the world over with the group, singing with the legendary Jon Hendricks, Sheila Jordan, Bob Dorough, Ray Brown, George Benson, Nancy Wilson, Bernadette Peters, and the Count Basie Orchestra. His solo work-and prolific work as an educator-includes guest artist and artist residency spots around the country at Northwestern University, University of Georgia, and the University of Louisville, as well as internationally at the Inzigkoven Vocal Jazz Workshop in Germany and the IAJE's Teacher Training Institutes. An artist not to be missed at this APAP showcase!
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 16 (Monday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Stacey Kent
A singer of marvelous talent, Stacey Kent's beautiful voice and natural musicality have been the feature of 11 studio albums, including Platinum, Double-Gold and Gold records that have garnered her a much-deserved worldwide audience. With performances in over 55 countries during her stellar career, Kent's global fandom makes perfect sense because of her miraculous fluency singing in French, Italian, German, Portuguese and English. Over the course of two decades as a recording artist, Kent's vision has broadened beyond the Great American Songbook: French and Brazilian classics also feature prominently in her contemporary work. Her latest album, Songs From Other Places, was released September of 2021. For this special show as a part of APAP NYC+, Kent is backed by her normal group of veteran collaborators. Her new studio album, Summer Me, Winter Me, is set for 2023 release.
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 16 (Monday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Olatuja Project
Bassist Michael Olatuja and his wife, vocalist Alicia Olatuja, have toured the world with their solo projects for years, each recognized internationally for their popular work hybridizing jazz, African traditional sounds, funk, and modernist aesthetics. They have performed on jazz's biggest stages: Newport Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, SFJAZZ, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and countless others. The couple's intimate and powerful collaboration, The Olatuja Project, brought about 2013's critically acclaimed The Promise (World Tune Records)-and while future recordings never materialized, the group reunites to present its music at this APAP NYC+ showcase. Do not miss these modern icons!
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 17-21 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (1/17-19); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (1/20-21) - Birdland Jazz Club
Billy Hart Quartet
One of the art form's greatest drummers and bandleaders, Billy Hart is an imaginative artist whose innovations on drum language of the 1960s placed him amongst modernists Jack Dejohnette, Joe Chambers, Elvin Jones and Tony Williams to bring jazz forward into the 1970s and beyond. Hart was the drummer in Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi band and Miles Davis's On the Corner band in the 1970s, recording also with Pharoah Sanders, Stan Getz, Cecil McBee, Kenny Barron, Lee Konitz, John Scofield, and countless others. One of the hardest-working veteran drummers in the music, Hart at 82 years old has been leading and supporting groups of younger stars for the last two decades, with Mark Turner, Ethan Iverson, and Ben Street forming the elder master's quartet. Their music is broad, pensive, and exploratory, as well as swinging.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 17 (Tuesday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Nicole Zuraitis with Doug Wamble
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 newest multi-hyphenate album, All Wandering Hearts (Dot Time Records). As a bandleader, a recording artist, and the premiere vocalist of the world-famous Birdland Big Band and 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.
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 18 (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 18 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola's Guitar Night
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.
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 20 (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

January 20-22 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Houston Person Quintet
The 87 year-old jazz legend Houston Person has NOT slowed down. In fact, with one or two scattered exceptions, Person has continued to release at least one record per year as a leader for the past nearly 60 years. A jazz lover's jazzman, this great artist plays from his soul with a great mastery of affect, technique, and style. He has served as a sideman for Etta Jones (15 recordings), Joey Defrancesco, Ron Carter, Horace Silver, Richard "Groove" Holmes, and too many others to name. This engagement is sure to be as swinging, blues-soaked, and robust as ever.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 22 (Sunday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Adam Birnbaum Quartet
Adam Birnbaum is emerging as one of the top young voices in jazz piano. A presence on the New York City scene as a leader and sideman, Birnbaum has performed all over NYC and international venues. As a leader, Birnbaum has released four albums under his name in Japan and the U.S. His most recent, Three Of A Mind, featuring bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Al Foster, was hailed as "an eloquent dispatch from the heart of the contemporary piano trio tradition" by the New York Times and received an Editor's Pick and four star review in DownBeat Magazine.
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 22 (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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