TANGO CONEXION, Steve Kazee, Tex Allen Sextet and More Set for Birdland, Aug 2013

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its August 2013 schedule, featuring: Pablo Ziegler's "Tango Conexion," Billy Hart Quartet, Trio 3, Joey DeFrancesco with the City Rhythm Orchestra, Charlie Parker Birthday Celebration, Luiz Simas Quartet, Tamm E. Hunt, Steve Kazee, Pedro Giraudo Expansions Big Band, Julie Halston, Roni Ben-Hur "Wes Montgomery Tribute," Tex Allen Sextet, Martin Piecuch Trio "Jazzical Fusion," Tim Hagans Quartet, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, Jay Leonhart Duo, and MANY MORE!

Birdland will kick-off their electrifying month of programming with the following acts:

July 30 - August 3 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30 & 11PM

Pablo Ziegler's "Tango Conexion"

with Special Guest Stefon Harris (vibes)
Pablo Ziegler, the Argentinian, Latin Grammy Award winning Tango/Jazz legend returns to Birdland with an exciting quartet featuring Walter Castro (bandoneon), Claudio Ragazzi (guitar), and Pedro Giraudo (bass) plus classical cellist Jisoo Ok and special guest jazz vibraphonist Stefon Harris. Mr. Ziegler, the greatest living exponent of Tango Nuevo, "brings a sense of passion and surprise to every one of his solos." (All About Jazz) His recent CD with the Metropole Orkestra of Amsterdam is "an inspiring release proving that the brilliance of New Tango did not die with Astor Piazzolla but instead has been reinvented under the skillful hands of the great Pablo Ziegler." (Critical Jazz) Produced by Pat Philips & Ettore Stratta. Sponsored by Delta Airlines.

$30 Side Seating, $40 Center Seating, $10 minimum

August 1 (Thursday) at 6PM

Vocalist Abigail Riccards CD Release Celebration

with Special Guest Jane Monheit

Michael Kanan (piano), Neal Miner (bass), Greg Ruggiero (guitar),

Eliot Zigmund (drums) and Chris Madsen (saxophone)

$25 All Seats, $10 Minimum

August 4 (Sunday) at 9PM & 11PM

Brazilian Pianist Luiz Simas Quartet

Luiz Simas (piano/vocals), Adriano Santos (drums), Itaiguara (bass), Sue Terry (sax/clarinet)

Rio-born Brazilian jazz composer/singer/pianist Luiz Simas is a genuine Carioca! A New Yorker since '89, he has led original groups in jazz festivals and clubs in Brazil, Norway, Switzerland, France and the Ukraine. Luiz' voice and music have warmed major venues including Birdland, the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and Bargemusic. His CDs include Cafune, Impromptu, Luiz Simas Live in NYC, New Chorinhos from Brazil, Recipe for Rhythm and Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Forest) Piano Suite. "Luiz Simas is not only a wonderful musician, singer and composer, he is an engaging performer who draws his audience into his witty, joyful, sensuous musical world. Simas epitomizes the fantasies we non-Brazilians have about that wonderful country, and with him, we all get to be Brazilian, at least for the a couple hours!" - Judy Carmichael, pianist

$30 All Seats, $10 Minimum

August 5 (Monday) at 7PM

Broadway at Birdland Presents

Clarke Thorell in "Songs I Wish I'd Writtten"

The concert will feature songs by Harry Nilsson, Paul McCartney, Adam Guettel, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, Elvis Costello, Chris Thile, Sting & more. Joining Clarke will be Music Director/pianist Dan Lipton, who has worked as MD & arranger for Don't Quit Your Night Job as well as for concerts & albums by Kelli O'Hara, Judy Kuhn, Brian d'Arcy James & Martha Plimpton. Guest vocalists will include Haven Burton (First Date, Shrek), and Cortés Alexander (The Swell Show, Liza's at the Palace). The band will also include Simon Kafka on guitar & other strings, Mark Vanderpoel on Bass and Shannon Ford on drums.

$25 All Seats, $10 Minimum

August 6 - 10 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30 & 11PM

Trio 3

Featuring: Reggie Workman (bass), Oliver Lake (sax), Andrew Cyrille (drums)

Plus Special Guest Vijay Iyer (piano)
The unconventional collaboration of internationally-recognized jazz masters, Oliver Lake (alto sax), Reggie Workman (bass) and Andrew Cyrille (drums), was formed in order to centralize the members creative energies and promote a single governing principle: organic improvisation. Every member is a distinct soloist but together they form an unadulterated group effort, exploring the challenging sounds of the sax, bass, drums trio format. The addition of special guest pianist Vijay Iyer -- "...among the most daringly original jazz artists of the under-40 generation," (Chicago Tribune) -- provides a potentially exciting new direction for the group.
$30 Side Seating, $40 Center Seating, $10 minimum

August 8 (Thursday) at 6PM

Vocalist Tamm E. Hunt

with special guest TK Blue (Talib Kibwe, sax/flute), Sharp Radway (piano),

Dwayne "Cook" Broadnax (drums) Hilliard Greene (bass)
$25 All Seats, $10 minimum

August 11 (Sunday) at 6PM

Broadway at Birdland Presents Steve Kazee

The Broadway at Birdland concert series is proud to announce that Steve Kazee, who won the 2012 Tony Award for his performance as Guy in Once, will make his Birdland debut on Sunday, August 11 at 6pm. Kazee will perform an intimate acoustic set of original material, some favorite covers and will host several surprise guests

$25 All Seats, $10 minimum

August 11 (Sunday) at 9PM & 11PM

Pedro Giraudo Expansions Big Band

Bassist and Composer Pedro Giraudo's music has captivated listeners around the world with its passion and energy. With Argentine underpinnings, South American grooves and a dash of tango his original compositions and arrangements -- in the tradition of such composers as Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus -- highlight the unique talents of each band member, masterfully weaving together pre-composed and improvised elements. His latest CD, "Córdoba" (Zoho Music 2011) won 2011 Latin Jazz Corner's: "Latin Jazz Large Ensemble Album Of The Year," "Latin Jazz Boundary Breaking Album Of The Year," " South American Jazz Album Of The Year" and "Latin Jazz Composition Of The Year."

$30 All Seats, $10 minimum

August 12 & 19 (Monday) at 7PM

Broadway at Birdland Presents Julie Halston in "Classical Julie"

"Classical Julie," which debuted one year ago, was such a smashing success that Birdland invited Ms. Halston back for a month-long run of Mondays. The run was a sell-out, and a critical hit! As before, the two night engagement combines classic Halston rants with brand new material, including her inimitable take on Ibsen and other highly literate writers.

$25 Side Seating, $35 Center Seating, $10 minimum

August 13 - 17 (Tuesday - Saturday) at 8:30 & 11PM

Joey DeFrancesco with the City Rhythm Orchestra
Credited with re-popularizing the instrument in the late-1980s, Hammond B3 Organist Joey DeFrancesco got an early career start (age four) in a musical family following his saxophonist grandfather Joseph and his jazz organist father "Papa" John DeFrancesco. By age ten Joey played in a Philadelphia band with legendary tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley and "Philly" Joe Jones on drums. At sixteen Joey signed with Columbia Records and released his first record at seventeen. Soon after, he went on tour and/or recorded with MiLes Davis, John McLaughlin, Ray Charles, Bette Midler, David Sanborn, George Benson and many more. He has since won numerous Down Beat Critics' and Readers' polls and has been nominated for two Grammy awards. For this special engagement, Joey joins forces with the City Rhythm Orchestra, a powerhouse Philadelphia big band.

$30 Side Seating, $40 Center Seating, $10 minimum

August 18 (Sunday) at 9PM & 11PM

Guitarist Roni Ben-Hur "Wes Montgomery Tribute"

Featuring Steve Nelson (vibes), Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), Bruce Barth (piano),

Santi Debriano (bass), and Victor Lewis (drums)

$30 Side Seating, $40 Center Seating, $10 minimum

August 20 - 24 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30 & 11PM

Billy Hart Quartet

With Ethan Iverson (piano), Mark Turner (sax) and Ben Street (bass)

Legendary drummer Billy Hart has been a fixture on the jazz scene for over fifty years, performing and recording along the way with jazz legends Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz and MiLes Davis. At Birdland -- along with iconoclastic pianist Ethan Iverson (The Bad Plus), saxophonist Mark Turner and bassist Ben Street (both members of Kurt Rosenwinkel's Quartet among other acclaimed groups) -- Hart leads a quartet formed in 2003. Since the group's 2005 recording for hard-bop label High Note landed on many critics' best-of-the year lists, the ensemble has recorded again for the ECM label and their music has gotten more free and spacious. All of the members contribute material including a modern blues, a Coltrane tribute and an Iverson-penned homage to Paul Bley, the wonderfully-titled "Nostalgia for the Impossible."
$30 Side Seating, $40 Center Seating, $10 minimum

August 22 (Thursday) at 6PM

Trumpeter Tex Allen Sextet

With Joe Ford (alto sax), Patience Higgins (tenor sax), Ronnie Burrage (drums),

Ugonna Okegwo (bass) and Lafayette Harris (piano)

Produced by The Tamm E Hunt Agency

$25 All Seats, $10 minimum

August 25 (Sunday) at 9PM & 11PM

Trumpeter Tim Hagans Quartet

Featuring Vic Juris (guitar), Rufus Reid (bass) and Jukkis Uotila (drums)
Grammy-nominated Composer and Trumpeter Tim Hagans is one of the most unique and influential modern voices in jazz. Tim Hagans performs and records with the Tim Hagans Quartet. THE MOON IS WAITING, his latest CD just released on Palmetto Records, features his quartet performing all original compositions by Hagans. THE MOON IS WAITING has been heralded by JazzTimes as "scrumptious madness," and Downbeat as "an artistic success," and described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as "free jazz with constant drive and passion." He was nominated for Grammy awards for Best Instrumental Composition for "Box of Cannoli" from THE AVATAR SESSIONS (2010 Fuzzy Music); Best Contemporary Jazz CD for Re: Animation (2000 Blue Note) and Animation*Imagination (1999 Blue Note). In 2012 he was awarded an honorary doctorate of music from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Tim Hagans has performed and recorded with Thad Jones, Ernie Wilkins and Dexter Gordon. Tim Hagans is the featured soloist on the soundtrack by Howard Shore for the movie The Score, starring Robert DeNiro and Marlon Brando.

$25 All Seats, $10 minimum

August 26 (Monday) at 7PM

Broadway at Birdland Presents James Barbour

The Broadway at Birdland concert series is proud to announce that James Barbour will be returning to the historic music room for one night only on Monday, August 26 at 7pm. James Barbour was nominated for the Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Awards for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Sydney Carton in the Broadway musical version of A Tale of Two Cities, and won the Sarasota Magazine Best Actor Award for the Asolo Rep pre-Broadway production. He has starred on Broadway in such Tony-Award winning shows as Stephen Sondheim's Assassins, Disney's Beauty and the Beast as The Beast, Carousel as Billy Bigelow, Urinetown as Officer Lockstock and as Edward Rochester in Jane Eyre (Drama League Award nomination). He also appeared in the Broadway production of Cyrano and the national tour of The Secret Garden.

$30 Side Seating, $40 Center Seating, $10 minimum

August 27 - 31 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30 & 11PM

Charlie Parker Birthday Celebration

Featuring Vincent Herring (alto sax), Tom Harrell (trumpet), George Cables (piano),

Lonnie Plaxico (bass) and Victor Lewis (drums)
Born August 29th, 1920, Charlie "Bird" Parker was one of the most influential and iconic artists in jazz history. As the central figure in the development of bebop in the 1940s Bird was a legendary figure in his own lifetime and was idolized by those who worked with him including Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Bud Powell and MiLes Davis. He was the inspiration for Birdland and practically defined its mission as the home for modern jazz in New York City. Since his death in 1955 at age 34 Bird has inspired every subsequent generation of jazz artist and left a rich legacy of distinctive compositions and signature melodic vocabulary that still informs every style of jazz. For this celebration Birdland presents a group of jazz all-stars who can move seamlessly between classic and contemporary Bird-inspired material.

$30 Side Seating, $40 Center Seating, $10 minimum

August 29 (Thursday) at 6PM

Saxophonist Martin Piecuch Trio "Jazzical Fusion"

$25 All Seats, $10 minimum

Birdland will also feature the following recurring monthly engagements:

August 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 (Fridays) at 5:15-7PM

The Birdland Big Band

Every Friday 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 yelp.com proclaims, "if you hear one band in NYC make sure this is it... and prepare to be blown away!"

$25 all seats, $10 minimum

August 3, 10, 24, 31 (Saturdays) at 6PM

Bassist & Vocalist Jay Leonhart Duo

Combining the skills of an old school entertainer and virtuoso jazz man, bassist, vocalist and composer Jay Leonhart has been a fixture of the New York scene for over forty years. When Jay was fourteen he started playing the bass in The Pier Five Dixieland Jazz Band in Baltimore and never looked back. After studying at The Peabody Institute, Jay attended The Berklee School of Music and The Advanced School of Contemporary Music in Toronto, before leaving school to start touring with the traveling big bands of the late 50's and early 60's. Upon moving to New York, Jay eventually began playing for many of the great jazz musicians, big bands, and singers who were to be found in New York - artists like Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, Tony Bennett, Marian McPartland, and Jim Hall. Jay became a very busy studio musician in New York City, visiting every musical genre from James Taylor to Ozzy Osbourne and Queen Latifah. Between 1975 and 1995 he was named The Most Valuable Bassist in the recording industry three times by the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences. Jay has now recorded 15 solo albums. His first one-man show "The Bass Lesson" is being received warmly by critics and audiences. Jay's next show "Nukular Tulips" is in the works.

$30 all seats, $10 minimum

August 4, 18, 25 (Sundays) at 6PM

The Birdland Jazz Party

Featuring the Birdland Quartet

Plus Guest Vocalists

$25 all seats, $10 minimum

August 5, 12, 19, 26 (Mondays) at 9:30PM

Jim Caruso's Cast Party

Band includes Steve Doyle (bass), Tedd Firth (piano) and Daniel Glass (drums)

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 Mondaynight. It's a cool cabaret night-out enlivened by a hilariously impromptu variety show. Showbiz superstars hit the stage alongside up-and-comers, serving up jaw-dropping music and general razzle-dazzle.

$20 all seats, $10 minimum

August 7, 14, 21, 28 (Wednesdays) at 5:30-7PM

David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Centennial Band

"Tubaist David Ostwald's fabulous early-swing band is about as good as it gets. Known for their energetic treatment of Louis Armstrong's repertoire, these cats like to entertain as much as they like to swing." (Time Out NY)

$25 all seats, $10 minimum

Purchase tickets at: www.BirdlandJazz.com. 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.

The club is located at 315 West 44th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues), New York, NY. 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: www.BirdlandJazz.com

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