AN EVENING WITH NORM LEWIS is Coming to 92NY in July

The 92nd Street Y, New York will present An Evening with Norm Lewis as part of Midsummer MusicFest, a new summer festival debuting this year in celebration of 92NY's 150th anniversary. Envisioned as an annual summer event inspired by a musical genre that has made a significant impact on 92NY's programming, the festival launches this year with three weeks focusing on jazz and its far-reaching influence.

The festival's opening concert with Tony, Emmy, and Grammy nominee Lewis is on Tuesday, July 11, spotlighting jazz and the American Songbook. Midsummer MusicFest runs from July 11-27 and includes jazz vocalist Veronica Swift and tap-and-swing dance sensation Caleb Teicher in their first-ever collaboration, 92NY's signature Jazz in July festival led by artistic director Bill Charlap, and more. Complete festival details are below.

"I'm thrilled to be welcoming Norm Lewis to our stage," comments Amy Lam, Vice President, Tisch Music. "92NY has a long history of presenting jazz and American Songbook artists and it seems fitting to celebrate our 150th anniversary and the launch of a new summer festival that focuses this year on jazz's far-reaching influence with this uniquely versatile artist."

MIDSUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

***In Person ***
Midsummer MusicFest

AN EVENING WITH Norm Lewis

Tue, Jul 11, 7:30 pm
One of Broadway's most sought-after stars, Tony, Emmy, and Grammy nominee Norm Lewis kicks off our summer music season. Renowned for his work in musical theater, film, and television, and the rich baritone that made history in Phantom of the Opera and brought leading roles in Les Misérables, Porgy and Bess, Sweeney Todd, and more, Lewis joins us for an evening highlighting the influence of jazz on the American Songbook. In a program spanning jazz, Broadway, standards, and blues, this uniquely versatile artist showcases the talent the New York Times has called "electrifying."

***In Person & Online***
Midsummer MusicFest

Caleb Teicher & Veronica Swift

Thu, Jul 13, 7:30 pm
Modern tap and swing-dance sensation Caleb Teicher and Veronica Swift, dubbed by Downbeat as "one of the most irresistibly talented jazz vocalists of her generation," are two singular artists expanding the idea of what a jazz-rooted art form can be. In this delight-filled first collaboration, Swift and band and Teicher and dancers blend standards, bebop, tap, and Lindy Hop for a playful exploration of rhythm in all its possibilities. Co-presented with Harkness Dance Center.

Optional in person add-on event for Caleb Teicher & Veronica Swift ticket buyers:

SWING-DANCE PARTY

Featuring Charles Turner and Uptown Swing
with Caleb Teicher, Nathan Bugh and Gaby Cook
Thu, Jul 13, 9 pm
Join us in Buttenwieser Hall at The Arnold Center immediately following the concert for a social swing dance party led by top NYC swing dancers and instructors, Caleb Teicher, Nathan Bugh, and Gaby Cook, and the fabulous swing band Charles Turner & Uptown Swing! No experience necessary, there's dance and joy for all! Co-presented with Harkness Dance Center

***In Person & Online***
Midsummer MusicFest

ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

with the VIJAY IYER TRIO
Sun, Jul 16, 5 pm

"Vijay Iyer could be the poster boy for twenty-first-century jazz: omnivorous in his musical interests, socially and politically aware, his powers as a pianist, composer, and bandleader ever expanding ... A triumph of small-group interchange and fertile invention." - The New Yorker

One of the leading musical minds of his generation in jazz and far beyond, composer and pianist Vijay Iyer joins us with his superlative trio - drummer Tyshawn Sorey and bassist Linda May Han Oh - trio and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for the New York premiere of Emergence - Iyer's mesmerizing suite for chamber orchestra and jazz trio. Also on the program: Paul Chihara's artful reimagings for strings of four classic Ellington songs, and the New York premiere of a new piece by legendary film and concert music composer and four-time Grammy nominee Danny Elfman.

Program:
Iyer: Emergence, for jazz trio and orchestra (New York premiere)
Ellington/Chihara: Ellington Fantasy
I'm Beginning to See the Light
Sophisticated Lady
Take the "A" Train
Mood Indigo
Elfman: Suite for Chamber Orchestra (New York premiere)

***In Person & Online***
Midsummer MusicFest / Jazz in July

Bill Charlap TRIO with special guests Dee Dee Bridgewater and NICHOLAS PAYTON

Tue, Jul 18, 7:30 pm
"There are certain gigs that remind you why you fell in love with jazz in the first place. Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and pianomeister Bill Charlap did just that Friday night at Catalina's," wrote Jazz Weekly following a 2022 performance at the famed LA jazz club. The NEA Jazz Master and triple Grammy Award winner teams with Grammy-winning trumpeter Nicholas Payton and the Grammy-winning Bill Charlap Trio - Peter Washington on bass, Kenny Washington on drums - to open the 2023 Jazz in July season. They bring the artistic alchemy that has made their collaborations a joyride of spontaneous storytelling and improvisation, making this opening concert one not to miss.

***In Person & Online***
Midsummer MusicFest / Jazz in July

Bill Charlap, AARON DIEHL, ISAIAH J. Thompson & CAELAN CARDELLO
with Noriko Ueda and CARL ALLEN

Thu, Jul 20, 7:30 pm
The present - and future - of jazz piano convenes on the stage that has hosted legends of the art form from Thelonious Monk to Hank Jones to Chick Corea. Jazz in July artistic director Bill Charlap is joined by a dynamic virtuoso of modern jazz piano, the sublimely talented Aaron Diehl, and two fast-rising piano stars of the next generation. Isaiah J. Thompson, winner of the 2023 American Pianists Awards, has been hailed by NPR as, "a young musician and composer with a mature touch and rare combination of talent, creativity, humility, and honesty." Caelan Cardello is the recipient of the 2021 BMI Foundation's Future Jazz Master Award, and has played with such major artists as Jimmy Cobb, Rufus Reid, and Christian McBride. Hear them all in solo, trio, and two-piano performances, with the masterful rhythm team of bassist Noriko Ueda and drummer Carl Allen.

***In Person & Online***
Midsummer MusicFest / Jazz in July

JOHN SCOFIELD with Bill Charlap, SCOTT COLLEY and BILL STEWART

Tue, Jul 25, 7:30 pm
Guitar legend John Scofield has been a force in jazz for 50 years, playing with artists from Miles Davis to Charlie Haden, Charles Mingus to Herbie Hancock. He joins Bill Charlap with two contemporary masters, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Bill Stewart, bringing the distinctive sound, stylistic diversity, and brilliant improvisation that has made him a giant of post-bop, funk-edged modern jazz guitar.

***In Person & Online***

Midsummer MusicFest / Jazz in July

Bill Charlap, solo piano

Wed, July 26, 7:30 pm
Bill Charlap has collaborated with countless giants of jazz on our stage since his first Jazz in July appearance more than 35 years ago. This solo piano concert is Charlap's first at 92NY, and a rarity even among his jazz club appearances. The New York Times wrote, "Bill Charlap is masterful. His stylistic range encompasses rollicking stride piano, bebop virtuosity, and harmonically opulent modernism." Performing jazz and songbook standards in the intimate space of our newly renovated Buttenwieser Hall at The Arnhold Center, this one-night-only concert is a rare chance to experience Charlap's artistry up close and personal.

***In Person & Online***
Midsummer MusicFest / Jazz in July

JAZZ IN JULY ALL-STAR JAZZ PARTY

Bill Charlap, John Pizzarelli, Renee Rosnes, Steve Wilson, Ken Peplowski, Jeremy Pelt, Nicole Glover, David Wong, and Dennis Mackrel
Thu, Jul 27, 7:30 pm
Each artist a star - each, one of THE definitive performers on their instrument - together, a constellation. Join us for the brilliance, chemistry, and a night of music that will only happen once and only happen here.

Jazz at The 92nd Street Y - A Brief History

Jazz at The 92nd Street Y traces back over a century. It was first mentioned in the 92NY Bulletin in 1918, when the Jumuly Jazz Band entertained Sergeant Milton Weill and a host of others on Thanksgiving eve and, later, supplied music at the Chanukah festival. Through the 1920s, 92NY housed a boy's glee club and hosted evenings of parlor jazz and, a couple of decades on, notable dance figures including Martha Graham, Pearl Primus and Alvin Ailey collaborated with numerous jazz musicians right on the 92NY stage. In 1955, 92NY established jazz as a pillar of its programming by hosting a Modern Jazz Festival featuring jazz giants like Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Art Farmer, as well as a host of others. The sixties welcomed the likes of John Coltrane, Betty Carter, Sonny Rollins, Sarah Vaughan, and more. In 1985, jazz piano legend Dick Hyman founded Jazz in July, and the modern era of jazz programming at 92NY was born. As jazz has evolved as a genre, so has 92NY's jazz programming - presenting the brightest stars of each subsequent generation - from Bucky Pizzarelli, Marian McPartland and Freddy Cole to Wynton Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Joshua Redman and Cécile McLorin Salvant. The broad nature of Jazz in July's programming, now under the direction of Bill Charlap, not only features hot jazz at its finest but also dives deeply into the American Songbook and other jazz influences.

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