Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater: January 1 – January 31 Schedule
Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater are kicking off 2022 with a full slate of nightly performances.
At Birdland Jazz Club, catch Birdland Big Band Featuring Nicole Zuraitis, Bill Charlap Solo Piano, Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap, Ron Aprea Big Band, Ann Kittredge: Movie Night, Eddie Palmieri 85th Birthday Celebration, Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, Mingus Big Band, Joe Alterman, Meg Okura: Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble, Silver Lining: Karrin Allyson Sings Songs of Bonnie Raitt, Mike Holober and Jeff Harnar.
Birdland Theater will present Marilyn Maye New Year’s Eve Extravaganza!, Gabrielle Stravelli, Steven Feifke Trio, Lew Tabackin Trio Plus Special Guests, Scott Robinson Quartet, ArtLab Presents The Muse Sessions, Matt Munisteri, Duchess, Tia Fuller Quartet, Cyrille Aimee, Vanessa Rubin, Adam Birnbaum Trio, Ariana Neikrug Quartet, Katie Unhearsed, Ben Wolfe, Margot Sergent’s The PIAF Experience: A Parisian Cabaret Revival, Holly Bean Trio, and Nick Biello Quartet.
Repeat engagements include Jim Caruso’s Cast Party with Billy Stritch at the piano, The Lineup with Susie Mosher, David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band, Frank Vignola’s Guitar Night, Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano and Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.
*In compliance with New York City rules for indoor activities, Birdland requires proof of vaccination from all customers, staff, and performers.
See below for the full schedule! More information can be found at www.birdlandjazz.com
December 28 – January 1
Birdland Big Band Featuring Nicole Zuraitis (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (12/28-30); 8:00 & 11:00 PM (12/31); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (1/1) – Birdland Jazz Club
Few can lead you into the new year better than the Birdland Big Band featuring vocalist Nicole Zuraitis. An exhilarating ensemble praised for its ability to switch between multiple musical universes at the drop of a hat, Birdland’s very own comes out roaring to end this year with a bang. Comprised of New York’s premier jazz talent, the band that Time Out New York called “a completely unique experience“ seamlessly transitions between classic jazz, Brazilian, and funk styles, all with musical chameleon Zuraitis—Gold Medalist and winner of the Ben Tucker Jazz Award in the 2021 American Traditions Competition—effortlessly leading the way. Saxophonist David DeJesus, a veteran of New York’s most prestigious large ensembles, directs the band. Audiences will delight as this stellar cast rings in the dawn of a great 2022.
12/28-30: $40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
12/31, 8:00 PM: $75 tables / $40 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
12/31, 11:00 PM: $150 tables / $50 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
1/1: $40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
December 29 – January 1 (Wednesday-Saturday) 8:30 PM (12/29-30); 8:00 & 11:00 PM (12/31); 7:00 PM (1/1-2) – Birdland Theater
Marilyn Maye New Year’s Eve Extravaganza!
What do these three scenes have in common? 1) Steve Allen discovers a young singer at The Colony in Kansas City and presents her to a national audience. 2) Johnny Carson tells America on live TV, “And that, young singers, is the way it’s done.” 3) Standing room only audiences gather in April 2015 for an 8-day engagement at 54 Below: “Her Way: A Salute To Sinatra.” The answer? They all depend on the talent of musical legend Marilyn Maye. A treasure of American song with 76 appearances on The Tonight Show, a 1966 GRAMMY nomination for Best New Artist, and lifetime achievement awards from both the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame and the American Jazz Museum, Maye will lead audiences into the New Year with the grace that she has brought to her jaw-dropping performances for the past eighty—yes, eighty—years on stage. Without question, this will be a night to remember.
12/29-30, 8:30 PM: $50 tables / $40 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
12/31, 8:00 & 11:00 PM: Tiered Seating $75-150 tables / $75 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
1/1-2, 7:00 PM: $150 tables / $50 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 1-2 (Saturday-Sunday) 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Gabrielle Stravelli
Award-winning vocalist Gabrielle Stravelli kicks off the new year at Birdland Theater with two nights of her trademark vocal style. Stravelli’s clear tone, gutsy rhythm, impeccable scat-singing and contagious joy have delighted audiences the world over. At prestigious festivals—such as WBGO’s Jazz on the Mountain Festival, the All That Jazz Festival in Bahamas, and the Maree Sonore Festival in Venice—her swinging original compositions, as well as adventurous interpretations of classics give this singer a refreshing edge. Stravelli’s latest release, 2019’s Pick Up My Pieces: Gabrielle Stravelli Sings Willie Nelson, features the country legend’s songs reconceptualized for the jazz singer. Her 2017 release, Dream Ago, received a rare 5-star review from Downbeat. She has served as the chosen vocalist for artists Wynton Marsalis and Fred Hersch as they present major new works; and her recent honors include the Bistro Award for Outstanding Recording (2020); the Broadway World Cabaret Award for Best Jazz Vocalist (2019); the MAC Award for Best Female Vocalist (2015); and the Bistro Award as a Jazz Vocalist (2015). Expect a swinging, engaging night of music.
$30 table / $ 20 bar seating + $20 food/drink minimum
January 3 (Monday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Steven Feifke Trio
Steven Feifke isn’t just an arranging extraordinaire: he’s also a fantastic pianist. When appearing in trio format, he can’t command the seven voices of his stellar debut album, Peace In Time (2015), nor the eighteen musicians of his two imaginative 2021 big band releases, Kinetic and Prologue. Yet in pared down form, the two-time finalist of the Thelonious Monk Competition still brings his music to robust heights, using the more open-ended configuration as a vehicle for bluesy, daredevil improvisations. Feifke—the recipient of the 2020 David Baker Prize in composition from the Ravinia Festival and the musical director for Tony Award-winning actor and singer Santino Fontana—has quickly made a name for himself in the jazz world. His prodigious output includes recording credits on over 30 albums, as well as on television and film. Audiences will experience the artist in a more intimate setting for this one night at Birdland.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 4 (Tuesday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Bill Charlap Solo Piano
A thoughtful, pristine voice on the piano, Bill Charlap has collaborated for the last several decades with jazz’s leading artists. While his working trio (with drum and bass stars Kenny Washington and Peter Washington) has earned him years of accolades, he also shines as a solo performer. Notable concerts at New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center and Seattle’s KNKX Studios have highlighted the solo genius of this interpreter of American popular song. With four Grammy nominations and one Grammy win under his belt, Charlap is a veteran whose touch and swinging sensibility on the piano combines with a generous storyteller’s approach to make for highly engaging renditions of Songbook classics and lesser-known gems.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 5-8 (Wednesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (1/5-6); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (1/7-8) – Birdland Jazz Club
Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap
Music legend Dee Dee Bridgewater remains a force to be reckoned with after fifty years at the top of her craft. Now with 23 albums as a leader, over 125 recording credits, 2 Grammy wins and 8 nominations, as well as several major acting credits (including as Glinda the Good Witch in The Wiz alongside Michael Jackson, Lena Horne, Richard Pryor, Nispey Russell and Diana Ross), Bridgewater continues to wow audiences with her incredible voice, her magnetic personality, and the sheer generosity of her spirit. For four nights, she will join forces with the great Bill Charlap, whose position is secure as one of the world’s finest pianists, accompanists, and interpreters of popular song—himself the recipient of four Grammy nominations and one Grammy win. Charlap is renowned for his duo performances, including the November 2021 shows he performed at Birdland with legends Houston Person, Ron Carter, Jon Faddis, and Chris Potter. Don’t miss Bridgewater and Charlap’s duets—sure to be unforgettable.
$50 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 6-8 (Thursday-Sunday) 8:30 PM (1/6); 7:00 & 9:30 PM (1/7-8) – Birdland Theater
Lew Tabackin Trio Plus Special Guests
Jazz legend Lew Tabackin is a true original. Since the late 1950s, he has cultivated an expression at once raw, passionate, technically masterful and boundlessly imaginative. Adept as both a flautist and saxophonist, Tabackin’s early career included work with jazz luminaries Donald Byrd, Elvin Jones, Billy Higgins, and Clark Terry in the 1960s, as well several years with The Tonight Show band. He formed small and large ensembles with his wife, the masterful pianist and arranger Toshiko Akiyoshi, which toured the world for three decades. Tabackin’s playing remains remarkably vibrant, and he continues to perform regularly. For this four-night engagement, Tabackin’s trio is powered by the ever-swinging Jason Tiemann on drums and the veteran Boris Kozlov on bass—plus special guests he will invite to share the stage each night. They are sure to cook up soulful jazz for the modern moment.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 9 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Ron Aprea Big Band
Saxophonist Ron Aprea has performed with some of jazz’s most important figures, including Lionel Hampton, Louis Armstrong, Woody Herman, Frank Foster, Tito Puente, John Lennon, Nat Adderley, Charlie Persip, Kenny Barron, and Elvin Jones. This January, the 16-piece Ron Aprea Big Band is joined by vocalist Angel DeNiro—herself an accomplished singer who has worked with Lionel Hampton, Frank Foster, Lew Tabackin, and Mark Murphy, among others—to celebrate a new milestone in Aprea’s artistic oeuvre: an autobiography entitled The Era I Almost Missed. The new book offers readers a look at the 1950s and 1960s through the eyes of this jazzman. Aprea will give away one dozen signed copies of the memoir, and books and albums will be available for sale.
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 9 (Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Scott Robinson Quartet
Virtuoso multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson is widely hailed for his unique, eccentric approach and his powerful improvisations. The top call man for baritone saxophone, Robinson has worked with orchestras led by Maria Schneider, Frank Mantooth, Bob Mintzer and John Fedchock, but his skills on tenor sax, trumpet, clarinets, and even the mysterious sarrusophone are well-known. Having appeared on over 275 recordings to date—20 as a leader—Robinson’s music draws from a wide range of traditions. His playing at once wry, humorous, magnetic, and profound, this is the rare musician from whom you don’t know what to expect—and it’s precisely that joy of surprise which makes Robinson so assuredly a wonder to watch perform. He brings a quartet to Birdland for this engagement.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 10 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Ann Kittredge – “Movie Night”
Kittredge, who has worked on Broadway and off and at major venues across the country, returns with an encore presentation of her show “Movie Nite,” which highlights her favorite songs from the movies and draws on the breadth of movie music beginning in 1927 to today. The show includes a stunning folk-opera rendition of the classic “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life” as well as a vivid reimagining of the opening number from the 2016 movie, La La Land. From the greatest composers of the golden age of movies to today, Ann brings passion, energy, and her unique storytelling to songs introduced by such luminous talents as Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and Doris Day. Alex Rybeck serves as music director with Sean Harkness on guitar. Kittredge is a recipient of the MAC award for her show “One Night Only” at Feinstein’s/54 Below, and her evening of Ahrens & Flaherty has garnered rave reviews.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 10 (Monday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
The Muse Sessions
The Muse Sessions is a unique concert series about inspiration and the creative process, and the role of the muse in some of the world’s most beloved works of art. Each concert features some of Broadway’s finest talent performing songs about art and artists written by great songwriters from the pop and musical theater worlds. It features Damon Daunno (Oklahoma!), Shuler Hensley (The Music Man), Christiani Pitts (King Kong) and Rachel York (Head Over Heels), with a live band premiering brand-new arrangements. The first performance includes the unforgettable songs of Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Michel LeGrand, Stephen Sondheim, Todd Rundgren, Paul McCartney, Rufus Wainwright and more. This show is the first installment in a series conceived by producer Meg Fofonoff of Art Lab. Future evenings will focus on the lives and work of individual artists including Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Auguste Renoir and more.
$35 + $20 food/drink minimum
January 11-15 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (1/11-13); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (1/14-15) – Birdland Jazz Club
Eddie Palmieri 85th Birthday
One of the greatest pianists of the 20th century and a pioneering force in Latin Jazz, Master Eddie Palmieri celebrates 85 trips around the sun at the Jazz Corner of the World. Palmieri’s over 45 recordings since 1962 attest to his brilliance combining salsa music with the harmonies of jazz piano masters like Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner. With 8 Grammy wins and 14 Grammy nominations, and his music beloved the world over, it’s no wonder that this great musician still performs at the highest levels of energy and skill. He brings his dynamic group for five dazzling nights at Birdland for APAP Week. Come wish the master a happy birthday!
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 11 (Tuesday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Matt Munisteri
What do New Orleans legend Henry Butler, jazz vocal extraordinaires Catherine Russell and “Little” Jimmy Scott, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, and singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright have in common? They’ve all called upon the talents of Matt Munisteri, a genre-defying master guitarist whose work has been featured on over 70 recordings. Munisteri, who was asked to be a part of the legendary Bill Frisell’s Guitar Invitational alongside other world-class six-stringers, is adept in a surprising variety of sonic worlds, from noise music to New Orleans jazz, and this has led him to develop a musical personality that is at once gentle—in its lighthearted embrace of so much music—and profound, offering heartfelt melodies and accompaniment in each passing moment. He performs for one night this January at the Theater.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 13 (Thursday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Duchess
Recently named Vocal Group of the Year in 2021’s Jazz Journalists Association Awards, Duchess—the vocal trio comprised of Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner, and Melissa Stylianou—has brought jazz cheer and swinging fun to audiences around the world since 2015. Each accomplished vocalists in their own right, the women of Duchess connect over their love of the 1930s New Orleans vocal group the Boswell Sisters. This adventurous group serves as their inspiration, and with these pioneers in mind, Duchess brings the close-harmony vocal trio concept squarely into the modern day. They are by no means derivative: these ladies perform original music and swing authentically with vibrant personality. 2017’s Laughing At Life (Anzic), 2018s EP Harmony for the Holidays, and 2020’s Live at Jazz Standard (Anzic) have been met with critical acclaim, including Downbeat’s instruction that, “For a good time, call Duchess.” With their swinging band behind them, Duchess will have Birdland audiences in delight. Special guest Brian Newman joins the group for this special occasion.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 14-5 (Friday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Tia Fuller Quartet
Grammy-nominated saxophonist Tia Fuller is an internationally-regarded performer and composer. Fuller’s career highlights include performances in President Barack Obama’s White House; on morning shows Oprah, Today Show and Good Morning, America; and on tour with Beyonce’s all-female I Am…Sasha Fierce band. The saxophone sound in Pixar’s recent Oscar-winning animated jazz movie, Soul, Fuller’s music has been heard all over the world, and she brings a deeply cultivated power to her lines and melodies. Compositionally, her music draws influence from across many genres beyond just swinging jazz music: she dives into pop, R&B and mixed-meter stylings to create a sound that is uniquely hers. Fuller’s latest release, Diamond Cut, was nominated for a Grammy and features some of jazz’s greatest living masters.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 16 (Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Loston Harris
Loston Harris possesses a voice like the great big band singers and the consummate pianism of a Wynton Kelly or a Tommy Flanagan. This combination of outgoing performance and exuberant technical mastery is rare, but Harris has it in spades—and at Birdland, accompanied by his brilliant peers, Loston will bring his one-two punch to the stage for two swinging sets. His life in jazz has included tutelage with some of the music’s greatest masters. He studied with Marsalis family patriarch, the pianist Ellis, on recommendation by the great Harry Connick Jr. after participating in the first Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition in Washington, D.C. Indeed it was Marsalis who was responsible for Harris’s decision to shift from his first instrument—drums—to piano. An artist with these three perspectives—rhythm of the drums, harmony of the piano, and melody of the voice—can only wow an audience. He performs for the NYC APAP Week.
$30 tables / $20 bar seating + $20 food/drink minimum
January 16 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra
The legendary, groundbreaking composer and arranger Maria Schneider returns to Birdland this January, performing as part of a week of events sponsored by the Association of Performing Arts Professionals. Ms. Schneider’s music, which has received 7 GRAMMY wins and 14 nominations across jazz, classical and arranging categories, is regarded as some of the most evocative work of our contemporary artistic world. Her latest album, Data Lords (2020)—called “the most daring work of Schneider’s career” by esteemed critic Nate Chinen—was a Finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize. It pits the digital world against the natural one in musical form to warn listeners of the profound dangers of Big Data and reacquaint them with their essential lifeforce. A living icon of music, Ms. Schneider’s one-night-only engagement is not to be missed.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 17 (Monday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Mingus Big Band
Celebrating the music of its founder Sue Mingus’s late husband, this Grammy-winning and 4-time Grammy-nominated ensemble plays with fire and imagination. The Mingus Big Band and its two sister ensembles, Mingus Dynasty and Mingus Orchestra, held a famed weekly residency in New York City for decades until the COVID-19 pandemic put them on pause. But they are still swinging as hard as ever, and with this two set showcase for APAP Week at Birdland, they are bound to knock the socks off of their audience. Charles Mingus was known for powerful bass playing, his groundbreaking compositions of visionary genius, and his openness to the individual personalities of the members of his groups. The Mingus Big Band continues this legacy with a cast of New York’s most inventive, accomplished jazz musicians.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 17 (Monday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Cyrille Aimee
Grammy-nominated Cyrille Aimee spent over 10 years in NYC wowing audiences with her joyful improvisations, effortless swing, and wild spirit. After relocating to New Orleans to enter the vibrant musical community of that storied city, Aimee returns to Birdland—where she spent years with a weekly residency—and is prepared to show a new face to the big city. But that’s what Aimee has always done: from her native France to the USA, from jazz festivals to Broadway, from a longtime working band to new adventures in new sonic landscapes, Cyrille Aimee is never content to stay in one place too long. Recent releases include 2018’s Cyrille Aimee Live (Mack Avenue); 2019’s Move On: A Sondheim Adventure (especially relevant now that the legend has just passed); 2021’s I’ll Be Seeing You; and 2021’s Petite Fleur, as a featured guest of drummer Adonis Rose and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. Hailed as “one of the most promising jazz singers of her generation” by The Wall Street Journal, Aimee will certainly bring something new to her old city.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 18-22 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (1/18-20); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (1/21-22) – Birdland Jazz Club
Joe Alterman Trio
Enjoy a week with Birdland favorite Joe Alterman, the pianist who Ramsey Lewis calls “a joy to behold”; who Les McCann calls “a giant”; and whose warm, upbeat pianism calls forth the exuberant wit of Ahmad Jamal, the blues of Red Garland, and the reflections of Bill Evans. The Atlanta native has been performing in New York City for over ten years; his new release, The Upside of Down, captures the power of two sets he played at Birdland in 2019 and 2020 in the months just preceding the pandemic. With close compatriots Nathaniel Schroeder and Marlon Patton on bass and drums, Alterman brings the heat on keys, and conjures up the down-home good feelings which we so badly need right about now. Perhaps this is why famed jazz critic Nat Hentoff says that the young pianist “would have been able to hold his own jamming with…Lester Young, Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, and Duke Ellington.” Let Alterman and company swing you out of your seats. Really—don’t be surprised if you start dancing!
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 20-22 (Thursday-Saturday) 8:30 PM (1/20); 7:00 & 9:30 PM (1/21-2) – Birdland Theater
Vanessa Rubin
A singer with a robust sound, a storyteller’s smile, and an ear for classic jazz, Rubin treats audiences to real deal, swinging music. Indeed, her latest release, 2019’s The Dream Is You: Vanessa Rubin Sings Tadd Dameron, received a nomination for Outstanding Jazz Album at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards, and so this vocalist—who has released 8 studio albums—continues to swing audiences into the night with her easygoing presentation and her clear tone. Rubin’s earliest recordings reached #1 spots on radio and featured Frank Foster, Cecil Bridgewater, Kenny Burrell, and Grover Washington, among other jazz greats. In 2011 she received a nomination for the Kevin Klein Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical for her work in the one-woman show Yesterdays: An Evening with Billie Holiday. Enjoy Ms. Rubin’s stylings for three nights—sultry, swinging, and full of life—at Birdland Theater.
$30 table / $20 bar seating + $20 food/drink minimum
January 23 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Meg Okura: Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble
Meg Okura is a visionary violinist and composer. Across several of her own ensembles, she composes and performs hybrid works where Chinese and European classical musics meet with American black classical music and Jewish folk music. Originally a classical violinist touring the world with Asian Youth Orchestra, Okura decided to focus on performing jazz music and, since making her transition into the world of improvisation, the accolades began pouring in. Recent awards and grants from Copland Residency Awards, Chamber Music America New Jazz Works, and Jazz Road Creative Residencies have confirmed what Okura’s heavy performance schedule already makes clear: with concerts at the Village Vanguard, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, Blue Note Tokyo, and residencies at The Stone, Okura is a force on the contemporary music scene. She brings her Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble to Birdland, whose 2018 release, Ima Ima, was praised by The New York Times for its “grandiloquent beauty.”
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 23 (Sunday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Theater
Adam Birnbaum Trio
Pianist Adam Birnbaum has been a major player in jazz for over a decade, with dates at the Village Vanguard, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, the Blue Note, and Birdland. Juilliard-trained and a Steinway artist, Birnbaum leads a refined—yet passionately moving—trio, staffed with such heavyweights as Miles Davis drummer Al Foster and veteran bassist Doug Weiss, or with his swinging peers David Wong and Rodney Green. The 2004 winner of the American Piano Competition, the prodigious pianist is also the recipient of a Gold Disk Award from Swing Journal and commissions by Chamber Music America. He remains a highly in-demand composer and performer—a sideman on over 25 recordings and leader of 4 discs. Expect this young star to dazzle at Birdland on this Sunday evening performance.
$30 tables / $20 bar seating + $20 food/drink minimum
January 23 (Sunday) 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Ariana Neikrug Quartet
Vocalist Ariana Neikrug sings her heart out on her 2018 debut release Changes, but that’s no surprise: she’s been putting on shows since she was only 3 years old. A natural performer and singer since her earliest days, Neikrug, born to two musical parents, became the 2015 winner of the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, the recipient of an Outstanding Soloist Award at the 2015 Next Generation Jazz Festival and a recent Concord Music Group recording artist. Changes features the keys and production work of Kurt Elling’s pianist, Laurence Hobgood, and sees Neikrug performing jazz standards (“No Moon At All,” “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most”) as well as soul classics (“Let’s Stay Together”), and originals (the title track, “Changes,” and “New York Song”). She brings a tight-knit quartet to Birdland.
$30 tables / $20 bar seating + $20 food/drink minimum
January 25-29 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (1/25-27); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (1/28-29) – Birdland Jazz Club
Silver Lining: Karrin Allyson Sings Songs of Bonnie Raitt
Nominated for a whopping 5 Grammy awards, Karrin Allyson has lived a tremendous career in music. Her stylistic palette is broad: she has put out records addressing the music of Chopin, Jobim, Coltrane, Parker, Blakey, Ellington, and many others; and she shows no sign of losing the edge on her artistic daring. 2019’s Shoulder to Shoulder: Centennial Tribute to Women’s Suffrage features an all-star cast reflecting on the early 20th century suffrage movement with contemporary grooves and moving recitations of historical documents. Now, she visits the music of blues, folk, and country legend Bonnie Raitt for five nights at Birdland. Joined by Chris Caswell (keys), Jay Young (bass), Jerome Jennings (drums), and Rod Fleeman (guitar), Allyson will dive into Raitt’s discography—but who knows exactly how she’ll treat it? You’ll have to see her to find out.
$40 table / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 27-29 (Thursday-Saturday) 8:30 PM (1/27); 7:00 & 9:30 PM (1/28-9) – Birdland Theater
Ben Wolfe
Bassist Ben Wolfe has provided the low end for jazz greats such as Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., Junior Cook, Dakota Staton, and Duke Jordan—to name only a few on his resume. But he is also an accomplished bandleader, having released 9 records under his own name. Wolfe’s music is evocative and heartfelt. On his most recent release, 2019’s Fatherhood, the veteran bassist reflects on the passing of his father and what it means to be a father himself. This three-night run at Birdland is sure to be swinging, sincere, and masterful. Don’t miss this opportunity to catch this master of the double bass as he performs with a band of some of jazz’s most exciting veteran—as well as emerging—talent.
$30 table / $20 bar seating + $20 food/drink minimum
January 30 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Mike Holober
For the last 25 years, pianist, composer and arranger Mike Holober has been considered one of the world’s premier writers for large ensemble. Downbeat called his latest release, 2019’s Grammy-nominated Hiding Out (ZOHO Music), “a long-anticipated, epic work.” Holober writes sprawling, innovative and evocative pieces that challenge the conventions of jazz big band music and captivate listeners from beginning to end. His resume is long in the States and overseas: Holober served as Guest Conductor of two German National Radio Big Bands, the hr-Big Band Big Band in Frankfurt, and the WDR Big Band in Cologne, between 2009 and 2016. There, he arranged and conducted shows that featured a long list of jazz legends, including Billy Cobham, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Terje Rypdal. In 2017, he was named Stuart Z. Katz Professor in the Humanities and the Arts at CCNY. Holober performs at Birdland for one night only: don’t miss his inspiring work!
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 30 (Sunday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Theater
Margot Sergent: The PIAF Experience, A Parisian Cabaret Revival
Transport yourself back to the 1920 and 30s with Margot Sergent. In her native French, the exquisite vocalist and harpist brings you right into the world of romance, despair, and Bohemian grandeur which characterize the favorite songs of Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, and Charles Trenet. Sergent’s trio, So French Cabaret, features double bass and guitar, and together they invite you on a storyteller‘s journey, performing classics like “La Vie en Rose,” “Non, je ne regrette rien,” and “l’Hymne à l’Amour.” Sergent has performed across Paris and at France’s legendary l’Olympia. As saxophone legend Archie Shepp describes: “What she does is pure poetry. No doubt she is one of the most captivating artists of her generation.” She makes her Birdland debut this January to close out the month.
$30 tables / $20 bar seating + $20 food/drink minimum
January 30 (Sunday) 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Holly Bean Trio
A semifinalist in the UNISA International Piano Competition after only two years playing jazz piano, Holly Bean is a fresh new voice on the jazz scene. Her skill as a pianist is matched by her prowess as a vocalist; and as a singing pianist, Bean is an engaging act to watch, singing and playing classic repertoire with joy and a suave intelligence. In New York, she has grown her reputation with a Friday night residency at midtown’s Le Rivage. She brings a trio for her Birdland debut.
$30 tables / $20 bar seating + $20 food/drink minimum
January 31 (Monday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Nick Biello Quartet
Nick Biello is a powerhouse saxophonist with a fresh, contemporary sound. Named a 2010 Thelonious Monk Emerging Artist by the Blue Note, and the recipient of the 2014 Julius Keilworth International Saxophone Idol Competition, Biello has long been recognized for his musical talent. Over the years, he performed with such greats as Slide Hampton, Cedar Walton, and the Jimmy Heath Big Band. He released his debut recording, Vagabond Soul, in 2018, bringing his virtuosic, gutsy compositions to life and featuring some of jazz’s biggest names, including drummer Clarence Penn, bassist John Benitez, and pianist Phil Markowitz. A hybrid of modern jazz, muscle-bound funk, sensitive balladry, and compositional sprawl, the album showcases Biello’s artistic range—which he is sure to display at Birdland for this special evening.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 31 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Jeff Harnar Sings Cy Coleman
Harnar salutes Emmy, Grammy, Tony winning songwriter Cy Coleman in his award-winning, critically acclaimed show “A Collective Cy.” Expect to hear familiar standards like “The Best is Yet To Come,” “Witchcraft,” “Hey Look Me Over,” “When in Rome,” as well as surprises from Coleman’s six decade career that included Broadway hits like Sweet Charity. Alex Rybeck conducts The Rhythm of Life Quartet and the show is directed by Sara Louise Lazarus
Jeff Harnar is an award-winning cabaret, concert and recording artist. His Carnegie Hall appearances include both the Cole Porter and Noel Coward Centennial Galas. Jeff’s televised PBS concerts include “The 1959 Broadway Songbook” and “American Songbook: Stephen Sondheim” co-starring KT Sullivan. Most recently Jeff debuted his own Sondheim show “I Know Things Now.” Jeff toured with Broadway’s Shauna Hicks in their Symphony Pops Concert “I Got Rhythm: Mickey & Judy’s Hollywood.” He has won multiple MAC, Bistro and BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards and The Noel Coward Foundation Cabaret Award. Together with Music Director Alex Rybeck he has released four solo albums. Their musical partnership has taken them across the country, across the high seas and to London, Paris, Oslo. Most recently they won the 2020 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award for Best Show for the 30th Anniversary encore engagement at Birdland Theater of “Carried Away,” their tribute to Betty Comden & Adolph Green.
$40 cover / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
Monthly Engagements:
January 3, 10, 24, 31 (Mondays) 9:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
“Jim Caruso’s Cast Party,” a New York institution for almost two decades, is a wildly popular weekly open mic night/variety show that has brought a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to Birdland since 2004. Called “show-business heaven” by The New York Times and “the gold-standard of open mic nights” by The Wall Street Journal, “Cast Party” will take advantage of the city’s post-pandemic nightlife renaissance to keep presenting a potent mix of Broadway stars, jazz swingers and cabaret legends, in addition to new faces and rising talent from every genre. The buoyant, sharp and charming Caruso guides the entire affair, while musical genius Billy Stritch (Liza Minnelli, Tony Bennett) holds court at the ivories and leads the Cast Party Symphony Orchestra (Steve Doyle on bass and Daniel Glass on drums).
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum
January 4, 18, 25 (Tuesdays) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
The Lineup with Susie Mosher
“The Lineup with Susie Mosher” is a wild, anything-goes variety show featuring entertainers from the Broadway, cabaret and comedy scenes, ranging from today’s hottest headliners to the best up-and-coming stars of tomorrow. Mosher – the noted actress and singer from Broadway and beyond, called “one of those talents you need to see to believe” by Time Out New York – hosts the spontaneous extravaganza every Tuesday, and each Lineup is unique and promises to deliver an unforgettable night of quintessential New York City entertainment.
$20 + $20 food/drink minimum
January 5, 12, 19, 26 (Wednesdays) 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 5, 12, 19, 26 (Wednesdays) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola’s Guitar Night
One of the world’s most exciting jazz guitarists for the last 25 years, Frank Vignola’s virtuosity and pan-stylistic expertise has led to work with such stars as Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Tommy Emmanuel, and the Boston and New York Pops. This December, Vignola will take charge at Birdland every Wednesday (with two exceptions) for a night of brilliant guitar playing. Accompanied by his versatile and masterful quartet featuring Jimmy Bruno (guitar), Peter Washington or Harvie S (bass), and Vince Cherico (drums), + Special guests: Paul Bollenback (Jan 5), Howard Paul (Jan 12), Bill Wurtzel (Jan 19), Dave Stryker (Jan 26). Guitar and music lovers will delight!
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
January 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 (Saturdays) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano
Hailed as “the truest heir to Bobby Short” in The New York Times, pianist/singer Eric Comstock returns to Birdland with star bassist/composer Sean Smith with songs by everyone from George Gershwin to George Harrison. These two masters met on the Off-Broadway hit Our Sinatra (which Eric co-wrote) and have since worked separately and together around the world. Vocalist Barbara Fasano joins them at Birdland for a swinging Saturday supper where the music and stories are equally great. Sean Smith has been an integral part of the international jazz scene for over 25 years, and has performed with Gerry Mulligan, Phil Woods, Benny Carter, Art Farmer, Flip Phillips, Clark Terry and many others. Barbara Fasano has been praised as “a gorgeous, soulful singer who has an actor’s intensity in whatever she sings” by The New York Post and “a lyrically sensitive interpreter” by The New York Times. Her latest album Busy Being Free is the recipient of the MAC Award for “Major Recording of the Year.”
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum
January 2, 9, 23, 30 (Sundays) 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” (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
January 7, 14, 21, 28(Fridays) 5:00 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 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