The Cookers, Jihye Lee, and More to Play Birdland This Month

Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater have announced Jazz programming running March 13 through March 26.

Performers appearing at Birdland Jazz Club include The Cookers, Jihye Lee, SFJAZZ Collective and Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly of Shadows Orchestra.

Downstairs at Birdland Theater, catch Alicyn Yaffee Band, Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks, Anne Akiko Myers, Orrin Evans Quartet, Orange Coffee, Monday Michiru, Don Braden Quartet and Hailey Brinnel.

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 March 13 through March 26

March 13 (Monday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Alicyn Yaffee Band
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Alicyn Yaffee brings pensive lyrics, fretboard prowess, and lush vocals together with her electrifying contemporary jazz group. Part of the movement by millennial artists from Northern California to blend jazz and indie rock sensibilities, Yaffee represents a particularly intimate and authentic space in jazz music where the authentically modern meets the nostalgic and the reverential. Under her belt already are tours of Europe with Becca Stevens (Winner of Downbeat's prestigious "Rising Star Vocalist" award); acting and guitar roles in Bacchae at the Classical Theater of Harlem; and an endorsement by PRS Guitars. Her debut album, Someone Else, features appearances by music greats such as Cindy Blackman Santana, Pepe Jimenez, Jeff Cressman and Ronnie Foster. Catch her on this Monday night engagement at the Theater!
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 14-18 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (3/14-16); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (3/17-18) - Birdland Jazz Club
The Cookers
One of the longest-working supergroups in jazz history, the Cookers have for fifteen strong years brought together seven of the biggest names in jazz. Drummer Billy Hart, bassist Cecil McBee, pianist George Cables, saxophonists Billy Pierce and Donald Harrison, and trumpeters Eddie Henderson and David Weiss have each made powerful contributions to the history of the music and can be heard on no less than a collective 1,000 recordings. Together, they make robust, high-octane statements, bringing back to life the harmonic and melodic sensibilities of the 1960s explorations that made jazz music what it is today. With six full-length recordings to their name-including iTunes 2014 Jazz CD of the Year Time and Time Again-this group of jazz legends has headlined more than twenty major international festivals, including the Newport Jazz Festival, New Orleans Jazz Fest, Playboy Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Jazz a Vienne, London Jazz Festival, San Sebastian Jazz Festival, Chicago Jazz Festival, and Jazz in Marciac. Anyone looking to hear jazz masters hold the flame in fiery form should make a point to witness the Cookers, who hold court at Birdland for five nights.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 14 (Tuesday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks
Catch Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks for their final performance in a highly successful 7-week Tuesday night residency at the 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!
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 15 (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

March 15 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola's Guitar Night with special guest Ken Peplowski
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 guest guitarists. This week it's Ken Peplowski.
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum


March 16 (Thursday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Composer's Concordance Presents Ludwig's Night Out featuring violinist Anne Akiko Myers
Join Anne Akiko Myers, one of the world's most esteemed concert violinists with nearly 30 albums under her own name, as she performs "Ludwig's Night Out" by modern composer and veritable mad scientist Gene Pritzker. In the piece, Beethoven wanders the city streets with Sonata No. 4 in his head. He enters several music halls-jazz, rock, metal, techno, and reggae-and the Sonata in his head reflects each style. Akiko Myers, who has premiered new work at the Kennedy Center, Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and Walt Disney Hall, was a perfect choice, and she joins the group Sound Liberation to perform the work, which features the great Jay Rodriguez on tenor saxophone and flute.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 17 (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

March 17-19 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Orrin Evans Quartet
Orrin Evans is a prolific modern jazz composer and performer, a Philadelphia powerhouse, a New York institution; the fearless leader of the Captain Black Big Band, the Eubanks-Evans-Experience (with Tonight Show bandleader Kevin Eubanks), Terreno Comun (featuring vocalist Alexia Bomtempo); one-third of Tar Baby (with the iconic Nasheet Waits and Eric Revis), and the second pianist in The Bad Plus. Twice Grammy-nominated for his two big band albums, and simply one of the top musicians in the jazz scene worldwide, Orrin Evans is one of the genre's most active, exuberant, and imaginative practitioners. His own quartet performs daring, contemporary, and virtuosic music on the front lines of the jazz tradition.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 19 (Sunday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Jihye Lee
The winner of BMI Foundation's Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize, Jihye Lee has a wild imagination which guides her in weaving lyrical melodies throughout her evocative arrangements. Indeed, arranging icon Jim McNeely praises her writing for the "exciting chances" that it takes. A rising voice in large ensemble music, Lee has written for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Carnegie Hall's NYO Jazz. Originally from South Korea, her work breaks traditional boundaries for the genre and fits into no easy boxes. Her 2017 album April responded to a 2014 ferry boat tragedy off the shores of Korea; and with her 2021 record Daring Mind, Lee paints portraits of her New York life. Daring Mind has received worldwide acclaim from the likes of the New York Times, NPR, Jazzwise, Jazz Times and more. Her ensemble performs for one special night at Birdland.
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 19 (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

March 20 (Monday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Orange Coffee
Orange Coffee (formerly Kat Rodriguez) is a multi-talented, Grammy-nominated singer, saxophonist, songwriter, vocalist, and educator. Over her career she has performed with the likes of Beyoncé, Erykah Badu, Jay-Z, Kelly Clarkson, Kanye West, The Dixie Chicks, Missy Elliott, Anthony Hamilton, Nikki Minaj, Jill Scott, Ledisi, Estelle, and Ciara-some of the biggest musical acts in the past 20 years. As her solo project Orange Coffee, she sings contemporary R&B/hip-hop as naturally as if it had been her calling card all along. Vibe with Orange Coffee on this Monday night at the Theater.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 21-25 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (3/21-23); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (3/24-25) - Birdland Jazz Club
SFJAZZ Collective
The SFJAZZ Collective's mission is "to perform fresh arrangements of works by a modern master and newly commissioned pieces by each member....simultaneously honoring music's greatest figures while championing jazz's up-to-the-minute directions." This year's members include Mike Rodriguez, trumpet; Kendrick Scott, drums; Matt Brewer, bass; David Sanchez, saxophone; Warren Wolff, vibraphone; Chris Potter, saxophone; and Edward Simon, piano. They have studied and performed the work of John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Horace Silver, Stevie Wonder, Chick Corea, Joe Henderson, Michael Jackson, Miles Davis, António Carlos Jobim, and Sly Stone, and they have created over 100 new arrangements and original compositions. A masterful lineup, this is a jazz supergroup.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 22 (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

March 22 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola's Guitar Night with special guest Pasquale Grasso
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 guest guitarists. This week it's Pasquale Grasso.
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 23 (Thursday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Monday Michiru
The daughter of music masters Toshiko Akiyoshi and Charlie Mariano, as well as reedist Lew Tabackin, Monday Michiru has led an abundantly successful life as a performer across media. First raised as a musician, the gifted young Michiru became famous as an actress in 1987, winning Japan Film Academy's Best New Actress award for her role in Hikaru Onna by Shinji Somai. She also hosted her own radio programs, modeled, and wrote columns as a journalist, all while performing as a musician. Indeed, Michiru became known as one of the mothers of the Japanese acid jazz movement, releasing several chart-topping hits. Today, her music is a melange of jazz, soul, Brazilian, folk, and other world flavors. Don't miss this special artist!
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 24 (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

March 24-26 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Don Braden Quartet
Tenor Saxophonist, flute player, and composer Don Braden has toured the world with jazz legends Betty Carter, Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Marsalis, Terumaso Hino, Mingus Big Band, Geri Allen, Art Farmer, J.J. Johnson, Tom Harrell, Mulgrew Miller and others. His 21 recordings as a leader-not to mention his compositions and arrangements for film and television programs on Nickelodeon and CBS-reveal a distinctive personal sound radiating joy and virtuosity. Braden is widely considered one of his generations foremost reedists and brings a quartet to this weekend at the Theater.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 26 (Sunday) 5:00 PM - Birdland Theater
Hailey Brinnel
The excellent Hailey Brinnel is both vocalist and trombonist, bringing a heartfelt lyricism and swing to both. With her band, Brinnel performs jazz from the 1920s-40s, singing with a wry exuberance and hip rhythmic attitude. A performer since age 12 and just recently a finalist in 2021's Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, Brinnel's music has brought her onto stages with the best of the best, including The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, The Philly Pops, Sherrie Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, Ingrid Jensen, Anat Cohen, Tony Glausi, Haley Reinhart, and Camille Thurman. She was featured on Spotify's Best Vocal Jazz of 2022 editorial playlist and has performed at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in NYC, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, The North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in NYC, and other major jazz venues. ​Her debut album, I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles, peaked at #13 on Amazon's Jazz New Release chart. Enjoy her lively band and snappy arrangements.
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 26 (Sunday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly of Shadows Orchestra
Remy Le Boeuf is a 4x Grammy-nominated composer and saxophonist whose music is rooted in the jazz tradition and overlaps into contemporary classical and indie-rock realms. Le Boeuf is also the founder and director of the jazz orchestra, Assembly of Shadows, as well as the Chief Conductor of the Nordkraft Big Band in Denmark. He has worked with a range of collaborators including the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Linda Oh, HAIM, JACK Quartet, Dayna Stephens, Prefuse 73, and his identical twin brother Pascal, with whom he co-leads the experimental jazz quintet, Le Boeuf Brothers.
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 26 (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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