Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater: September 1 – September 30 Schedule
Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater are proudly open this September with a full slate of nightly performances!
At Birdland Jazz Club, catch Yardbird Big Band, Nicole Zuraitis, Catherine Russell, Quintin Harris Quintet, Bryce Edwards, Eliane Elias, Uptown Jazz Tentet, Karen Mason, Artemis, Jihye Lee, Amanda McBroom, Coltrane Revisited, Adi Yeshaya Big Band, and Bill Russell.
Birdland Theater will present Charlie Parker Birthday Celebration, Composers Concordance Presents: Gene Pritsker’s Sound Liberation Album Release, Geoffrey Keezer Trio, Bill Mays Trio, Cyrille Aimée Duo, Shelly Berg/Tierney Sutton Duo, Senri Oe Trio, Miss Maybell & Her Jazz Age Artistes, Champian Fulton, Phillip Officer, Ted Rosenthal Trio, and “Bouncin with Bud” Bud Powell Birthday Celebration.
Repeat engagements include Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks, 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, The High Society New Orleans Jazz Band, The Birdland Big Band, Pasquale Grasso Trio, and The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.
See below for the full schedule! More information can be found at www.birdlandjazz.com
August 29 – September 1 (Thursday-Sunday) 8:30 PM (8/29); 7:00 & 9:30 PM (8/30 – 9/1) – Birdland Theater
Charlie Parker Birthday Celebration
Celebrate Charlie “Yardbird” Parker, the giant of American music and namesake of Birdland Jazz Club! To honor this legend, Birdland Theater presents David DeJesus and his ensemble. Alto saxophonist DeJesus is a master musician fluent across Latin, jazz and dozens of other styles. The director of the Birdland Big Band, he has been a fixture on the New York City music scene for three decades, performing with the best of the best: the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band, the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars, Ron Carter’s Great Big Band, and Jimmy Heath’s Big Band; the Grammy-nominated Arturo O’Farrill Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Bobby Sanabria Big Band, Ruben Blades, Larry Harlow, and Gilberto Santa Rosa. DeJesus is also a passionate educator, serving as Professor of Jazz Studies at SUNY Purchase and directing the conservatory’s Latin Jazz Orchestra.
$35 tables / $25 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 1 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Yardbird Big Band
August 29th, 1920 was American music hero Charlie “Yardbird” Parker’s birthday. One hundred and four Augusts later, Birdland celebrates Parker’s life and legacy with a slew of performances dedicated to Bird’s genius. Join the Yardbird Big Band, directed by David DeJesus, on August 27th for a tribute to the great master’s music. This band brings together some of the best musicians in New York City to play Bird’s songs, and DeJesus—an expert on the life of Charlie Parker—will guide audiences through this evening of iconic music. The songs may be classic, but the arrangements are fresh. Enjoy the Yardbird Big Band!
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 2 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Nicole Zuraitis
The winner of 2024’s Grammy award for Best Jazz Vocal Album — with her latest recording “How Love Begins” — Nicole Zuraitis is a powerhouse vocalist and bandleader, an undeniable force in the modern jazz landscape of New York City and beyond. She is the esteemed vocalist for both the Birdland Big Band and the Dan Pugach Nonet; “How Love Begins,” her co-produced collaboration with legendary bassist Christian McBride, was released in 2023 to great critical acclaim, as were her other three albums as a leader; in 2019, Nicole was nominated for a Grammy alongside her husband, renowned drummer and bandleader Dan Pugach, for their arrangement and performance of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” Success has long been familiar to Zuraitis: back in 2015, she was the second runner-up in the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. Catch this phenom at Birdland for a single Monday night performance.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 3-7 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (9/3-5); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (9/6-7) – Birdland Jazz Club
Catherine Russell
Internationally-renowned vocalist Catherine Russell is jazz royalty. Her grandfather, Elisha Ray, graduated from Juilliard in 1925 and performed with Harlem Renaissance legend James Reese Europe. Her mother, vocalist Carline Ray, toured with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm and attended The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music in the 1950s. And her father, Luis Russell, was Louis Armstrong’s musical director. Born into the music, Ms. Russell possesses an easy feeling and genuine soulfulness, documented on seven acclaimed recordings under her own name and over 200 recordings for and with other major artists. Two recent albums as a leader—2019’s Alone Together and 2016’s Harlem on My Mind—received Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album. 2014’s Bring It Back (Jazz Village) received a rare 5-star rating from Downbeat Magazine. Russell’s style tastefully mixes early Harlem jazz stylings and American Songbook gems with New Orleans music and country blues stylings. Back in 2022, for Valentine’s week, Russell celebrated the release of Send For Me (Dot Time). But after every performance—Valentine’s Day or not—the feeling of romance hangs in the air until we see her again. This time she celebrates her acclaimed new album My Ideal.
$50 tables / $40 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 5 (Thursday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Composers Concordance Presents: Gene Pritsker’s Sound Liberation Album Release For
“Gene & The Strings”
A New York City institution for 30 years and counting, Composers Concordance presents contemporary music in innovative ways, with an emphasis on thematic programming. In this Thursday evening program at Birdland Theater, Composers Concordance co-director, Gene Pritsker, presents his new release, “Gene & The Strings.” A master composer, Pritsker is known for his work with jazz fusion legend Joe Zawinul and his work orchestrating major Hollywood movies including “Cloud Atlas” — for which he wrote his “Cloud Atlas Symphony” — and 2021’s “The Matrix Resurrections.” Indeed, Pritsker has written over nine hundred compositions, including chamber operas, orchestral and chamber works, electro-acoustic music and songs for hip-hop and rock ensembles. Sound Liberation is his eclectic hip hop-chamber-jazz-rock-etc. ensemble — which, according to New York Newsday, is “not designed for easy listening or to melt into the background. It is insistent. It demands attention and curiosity.” Celebrate with Pritsker and crew as they debut this new work.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 6-8 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Geoffrey Keezer Trio Album Release Celebration
With John Patitucci (bass), Clarence Penn (drums). Hired as an 18-year-old by jazz legend Art Blakey, the virtuoso pianist Geoff Keezer has lived out a star-studded life in music. Stints with Ray Brown, Joshua Redman, Diana Krall, Art Farmer, Benny Golson and Barbara Hendricks in his 20s, and subsequent tours with Wayne Shorter, Dianne Reeves, David Sanborn, Chris Botti, Sting, Joe Locke and Christian McBride have made this artist a top name for the modern age. Keezer’s music is found on primetime TV and in cinema; he sits on faculty at The Juilliard School. His is an inventive, lyrical, and worldly piano style, with influences from Hawaiian and Afro-Peruvian traditions; indeed, his album Áurea was even nominated for the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album. His 2022 album, Playdate, earned him a Grammy win. Now he’s back with a live album recorded at our world famous theater – Birdland Theater! With a breathtaking technique and an effusive pianistic personality, Keezer brings audiences to their feet—as he will surely do on this weekend engagement at Birdland Theater as he celebrates Live at Birdland.
$35 tables / $25 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 8 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Quintin Harris Quintet
A Finalist in the American Jazz Piano Competition in Savannah, Georgia, young Quintin Harris follows up on successful Birdland Jazz Club performances with this Sunday evening engagement. Leading a quintet of Dakari Barclay (trumpet), Bailey Giles (saxophone), Sam AuBuchon (bass), and Marlen Suero-Amparo (drums), Harris performs dexterously on both piano and vocals, employing a suave baritone on American Songbook standards like “What A Difference A Day Makes” and “Day By Day,” and nimbly crafting piano lines over jazz standards like “Tricrotism” and “These Foolish Things.” Students of Birdland favorite and master pianist Bill Charlap at William Paterson University, the members of the group’s rhythm section are frequent guests at the Birdland Theater in Susie Mosher’s “The Lineup” on Tuesdays.
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 9 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Bryce Edwards – “The Frivolity Hour”
After several sold-out shows at Birdland, crooning troubadour and nouveau vaudevillian Bryce Edwards is thrilled to be bringing “The Frivolity Hour” back by popular demand. Once more, Bryce will share his brand of hot traditional jazz and early 20th century popular music. Edwards is a unique vocalist that takes equal cues from the crooners and soft singers of the late 1920s and early ‘30s and from the bombastic voices of the earlier acoustic phonograph era, as well as an instrumentalist who plays banjo, ukulele, tenor guitar, and mandolin in the modernistic jazz idiom. Leading a hot combination featuring the talents of jazzmen Scott Ricketts (cornet), Ricky Alexander (clarinet, tenor saxophone), Conal Fowkes (piano), and Jay Rattman (baritone saxophone), Edwards revels in the amazing sounds both hot and sweet that made the twenties roar! He brings his singular verve and sensibility to songs made famous by great artists such as Cliff Edwards, Ted Lewis, Jack Teagarden, Rudy Vallée, and Bing Crosby. Steeped in jazz age novelty, Edwards takes frivolity very seriously, and vows to entertain his audience, or die trying.
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 10-14 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (9/10-12); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (9/13-14) – Birdland Jazz Club
Eliane Elias
With over 2.2 million albums sold to date, Eliane Elias’ singular sound is one of the most unique and immediately recognizable in jazz. Elias blends her Brazilian roots and alluring voice with her instrumental jazz, classical and contemporary skills as a vocalist and pianist. The New York Times has described Elias’ live concert as “a celebration of the vitality of a culture overflowing with life and natural beauty” and JAZZIZ has called her “a citizen of the world” and “an artist beyond category.” Her most recent recording, MIRROR MIRROR (Candid, 2021) – a set of duets with Eliane and the late Chick Corea, and Eliane and Chucho Valdez – won the 2022 GRAMMY® Award for Best Latin Jazz Album. With her quartet of bass master Marc Johnson (Bill Evans Trio), drummer Rafael Barata (Ivan Lins), and guitarist Leandro Pellegrino—plus special guests—she will deliver her trademark brilliance for Birdland audiences.
$45 tables / $35 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 11 (Tuesday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Bill Mays Trio
Bill Mays has lived a beautiful life in modern music, performing in the piano chair for a long list of its greatest practitioners: singers Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow, Al Jarreau, and Anita O’Day; soloists Harold Land, Art Pepper, Sonny Stitt, Toots Theilmans, Clark Terry, Gerry Mulligan and Benny Golson; drummers Jimmy Cobb, Mel Lewis, and Shelly Manne; and in large ensembles such as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and Maria Schneider’s group. A pianist of imagination, restraint, and exuberant power, he leads a creative and dynamic trio.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 12-15 (Thursday-Sunday) 8:30 PM (9/12); 7:00 & 9:30 PM (9/13-5) – Birdland Theater
Cyrille Aimée Duo
With Mathis Picard (piano). Grammy-nominated Cyrille Aimee spent over 10 years in NYC wowing audiences with her joyful improvisations, effortless swing, and wild spirit. Having relocated to New Orleans to enter the vibrant musical community of that storied city, Aimee loves to return to Birdland—where she spent years with a weekly residency. 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; 2021’s I’ll Be Seeing You; 2021’s Petite Fleur, as a featured guest of drummer Adonis Rose and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra; and this year’s à Fleur de Peau. 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.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 15 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Uptown Jazz Tentet
Founded in 2016 by the marvelous trombonist Willie Applewhite, the Uptown Jazz Tentet is a family—with friendships dating back to their Juilliard days, this fine ensemble swings crisp and meaningful arrangements with imagination and energy. The 10-person band features Aaron Kimmel on drums, Clovis Nicolas on bass, Adam Birnbaum on piano, Brandon Lee and Tatum Greenblatt on trumpets, Jon Irabagon, Carl Maraghi, and Andrew Gatauskas on saxophones and woodwinds, and James Burton III joining Applewhite on trombone. In the words of Brandon Lee, “We all have bonded playing in the bands of Christian McBride, Ron Carter, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, etc… and we love our gigs! This is our opportunity to do our own thing.”
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 16 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Karen Mason – “Just in Styne: Karen Sings Jule”
In an encore performance of her celebrated show, Broadway and nightclub star Karen Mason honors Jule Styne with Christopher Denny on piano and Tom Hubbard on bass. The evening is directed by Barry Kleinbort. From the first time she sang for Mr. Styne in NY to singing a concert honoring him at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Mason has made the music of Jule Styne a part of her musical life. This concert includes Broadway tunes “Just in Time” and “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” and pop standards “It’s Magic” and “Every Street’s a Boulevard in Old New York. Mason is the star of Broadway’s Mamma Mia!, Wonderland, Hairspray, and Sunset Boulevard, as well as the first US tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Love Never Dies. She is the recipient of the 2019 MAC Lifetime Achievement Award. She has graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and The Drury Lane Oakbrook, as well as Royal Albert Hall in London. She has eight albums, including her latest release Let the Music Play, featuring the title song from Paul Rolnick and David Friedman.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 17-21 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (9/17-19); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (9/20-21) – Birdland Jazz Club
Artemis
Still riding the momentum from last year’s powerful release, In Real Time (Blue Note), the women of ARTEMIS comprise a jazz supergroup assembled by the legendary Blue Note Records. Featuring an internationally diverse lineup of individually-established leaders, ARTEMIS conjures original compositions or arrangements from its members. Bringing together pianist and musical director Renee Rosnes, bassist Noriko Ueda, saxophonist Nicole Glover, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, and drummer Allison Miller, the band offers lush, moving orchestrations and explorative solos. They have performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, and NPR’s Jazz Night in America.
$45 tables / $35 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 19 (Thursday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Shelly Berg/Tierney Sutton Duo
Hailed by The New York Times as “a serious jazz artist who takes the whole enterprise to another level,” Tierney Sutton is an 8-time Grammy nominee, receiving 7 consecutive “Best Jazz Vocal Album” nominations for each project she has released in the last decade. With a recording and touring history spanning over 20 years and 9 CDs, The Tierney Sutton Band is a true collaborative unit with a rich thematic discography that has addressed Americana (American Road, 2011); materialism (Desire, 2009); the pursuit of happiness (On The Other Side, 2007); the musical legacies of Frank Sinatra (Dancing in The Dark, 2003) and Bill Evans (Blue in Green, 2001); as well as scoring Clint Eastwood’s Sully. Pianist Shelly Berg is a 5-time Grammy nominee whose own music has garnered him Record of the Year and Artist of the Year nominations from Jazzweek, as well as reaching #1 on the US Jazz charts. His work with Patti Austin, Nancy Wilson, Gloria Estefan, Bobby McFerrin, Kurt Elling, Arturo Sandoval, Branford Marsalis, and Clark Terry inform his sensitive and mature approach to pianism. Don’t miss the chemistry of this amazing duo!
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 20-21 (Friday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Senri Oe Trio
A multi-faceted singer songwriter, actor and radio host in Japan, Senri Oe was a superstar in Japanese Pop music—the recipient of a Japanese Grammy®, a Billboard chart-topper, a stadium headliner, performing on TV soap operas whose mega-hits were used in major commercials, movies, and more. In 2008 he left this career to pursue a new route as a jazz pianist. With his jazz groups he played at the Atlanta Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Festival, Albania Jazz Festival, Blue Note (New York, Tokyo and Hawaii), Smalls, Birdland, The Jazz Gallery, Vitello’s in Los Angeles, PianoForte in Chicago, Gregory’s Jazz Club in Rome and many other venues around the world. Relationships with artists such as Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer, the legendary Sheila Jordan, Theo Bleckmann, Becca Stevens and Lauren Kinhan have colored this chapter of his amazing career. Enjoy his trio for this two-night engagement!
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 22 (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; with her 2021 record Daring Mind, Lee painted portraits of her New York life. Daring Mind received worldwide acclaim from the likes of the New York Times, NPR, Jazzwise, Jazz Times and more. Her latest recording is 2024’s Infinite Connections (Motema) featuring special guest and international sensation, Ambrose Akinmusire, on trumpet with her orchestra. Her ensemble performs for one special night at Birdland.
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 22 (Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Miss Maybell & the Jazz Age Artistes
Miss Maybell and the Jazz Age Artistes play “old music for the young at heart,” and it’s a sight to behold. Offering an exuberant mix of ragtime, early jazz, blues, and country classics, Maybell (the talented Lauren Sansaricq) and crew transport audiences to a different time, but in their expert hands, the music feels as fresh as ever. Vocalist/washboardist Sansaricq’s lovely connection with pianist Charlie Judkins—called a “genius piano player” by the Syncopated Times—radiates an infectious energy. Their toe-tapping romps will leave audiences smiling. Brian Nalepka (bass and tuba) and Andy Stein (saxophone) round out the group, which was recently featured on The NPR Show “Person Place Thing” with Randy Cohen. Don’t miss this delightful one-nighter!
$35 tables / $25 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 23 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Amanda McBroom – “Wintersong”
Amanda McBroom returns to her favorite Manhattan boite to celebrate the release of her brand-new recording, Wintersong, a collection of songs to mark ALL the winter holidays. There will be cherished holiday standards, musical classics by Dan Fogelberg, Joni Mitchell, Ken Hirsch, and of course, Amanda’s own collaborations with her beloved writing pals Michele Brourman and Ann Hampton Callaway. McBroom has been composing music since her teens, and her songwriting and concert careers were launched by her Golden Globe-winning song “The Rose” – the mega-hit recorded by Bette Midler for the 1979 film of the same name, about a Janis Joplin-esque character. Since then, McBroom has appeared all over the world in concert, and her music has been recorded for TV, films and by major recording artists including LeAnn Rimes, Betty Buckley, Barbara Cook and The Manhattan Transfer.
$40 tables / $40 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 24 (Tuesday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Champian Fulton Duo
A great jazz singer is something special, and something special indeed is Champian Fulton. Daughter of trumpeter Stephen Fulton, Champian grew up inside the world of music, and as she grew she developed a swinging sound on the piano and a voice beyond her years—a sound reminiscent of the old master vocalists. Named the Hot House Readers Poll 2019 Pianist and Vocalist of the Year, and with 16 albums to her name, she is understandably a Birdland fan favorite. Fulton recorded “Birdsong” in 2020 with the great bassist and drummer team of Hide Tanaka and Fukushi Tainaka. Her latest album “Meet Me At Birdland” is out now and was recorded live at the famed venue. Join Champian at this special duo performances in September.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 24 (Tuesday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Phillip Officer – “You Fascinate Me So”
Acclaimed vocalist Phillip Officer’s new show “You Fascinate Me So” is an homage to cabaret legend Mabel Mercer. “You Fascinate Me So” explores the evolution of American popular music, and a creative coterie of songwriters crafting a contemporary style of song in the early 20th Century. Phillip will be joined by Mark Hartman on piano, Jonathan Michel on bass, Kevin Kuhn on guitar, and Molly Rose on violin. Officer built a commanding reputation for his arresting commitment to lyrics. The New York Times complimented him as “a master of lyric interpretation…a textbook example of pop understatement.” Phillip made his Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated musical Side Show. He was featured in the original cast of Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, and is the recipient of multiple New York Nightlife, Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs, and Backstage Bistro Awards. Rex Reed proclaimed, “In a world often devoid of authenticity, the engaging performer, Phillip Officer, is the real deal.”
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 24-28 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (9/24-26); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (9/27-28) – Birdland Jazz Club
Coltrane Revisited
A special all-star tribute to the saxophonist that many have called the greatest musician in American history. “Coltrane Revisited”—now in its 23rd consecutive year—has brought sold out audiences to Birdland Jazz Club for over two decades and counting. This year, the great Jimmy Greene leads on saxophone, with pianist Helen Sung, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, and drummer Billy Kilson forming the rhythm section. A hard-hitting, spiritually-inclined event, this week of performances is not to be missed.
$45 tables / $35 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 26 (Thursday) 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Ted Rosenthal Trio: “Rhapsody in Jazz,” George Gershwin Birthday Celebration and “Rhapsody in Blue” Centennial Celebration
The Ted Rosenthal Trio plays an eclectic mix of the pianist’s innovative arrangements of jazz and Great American Songbook standards, original compositions and reimaginings of classical themes into jazz. Winner of the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition, Rosenthal has released 15 critically acclaimed CDs as a leader. His trio features Rosenthal alongside bassist Noriko Ueda and drummer Tim Horner. Rosenthal’s latest, Rhapsody in Gershwin, reached #1 on iTunes and Amazon. He has been a featured soloist with major American orchestras including the Detroit Symphony and Boston Pops; and he has had work commissioned by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, and The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony. He is renowned for his work with Art Farmer, Gerry Mulligan, Phil Woods, James Moody, Bob Brookmeyer, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis and others.
$35 tables / $25 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 27-29 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM – Birdland Theater
“Bouncin with Bud” Bud Powell Centennial Birthday Celebration
Over his life in music, the singular master drummer Steve Smith has proven himself a dedicated practitioner of big band, rock, fusion, South Indian music, and straight ahead bebop. In this annual engagement, he celebrates the life of American piano genius Bud Powell, the modern jazz innovator of the 1940s and 50s. Joined by bassist Ben Allison (bass) as well pianist Manuel Valera (of Smith’s Vital Information band), Smith presents Bud Powell’s seminal music, canonized as fundamental and unavoidable for the last 60 years of jazz. Bud Powell was born on September 27th, 1924 and would be 100 for this birthday celebration. Help Steve and crew wish the beloved pianist a happy centennial birthday as they bounce through his radiant music.
$35 tables / $25 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 29 (Sunday) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Adi Yeshaya Big Band
Israeli-American composer and arranger Adi Yeshaya has worked with major artists such as Prince, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Lena Horne, Doc Severinsen and Burt Bacharach, as well as major programs such as The Swiss Jazzaar Jazz Festival and NBC’s The Voice. He currently sits on faculty at Berklee College of Music. For his Big Band, Adi writes and arranges with a wide stylistic range: from a toe-tapping swinging aesthetic to a modern funk-Latin-fusion sound, Yeshaya gets the most out of his arrangements—both danceable and sensitive, adventurous and classic. The group performs for one Sunday evening at Birdland.
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 30 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Bill Russell – “Divas I Love Singing Lyrics I Wrote”
Tony Award-nominated writer Bill Russell will host Lillias White, Alice Ripley, Erin Davie, and Charity Angél Dawson in this special evening. The Broadway veterans will perform songs from Side Show; Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens; Pageant and other musicals with Mr. Russell talking about how those songs came to be. Music director Mark Hartman, drummer Jeff Potter, and bassist John Loehrke will provide accompaniment. Bill Russell is an internationally produced librettist who received Tony nominations for the book and lyrics for Side Show. Lillias White won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for The Life and recently completed a long run as Hermes in Hadestown. Alice Ripley won the same award for Next to Normal and starred as Violet Hilton in the original production of Side Show. Erin Davie and Charity Angél Dawson each have multiple Broadway credits, and both appeared in the revival of Side Show in 2014.
$40 tables / $40 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
Monthly Engagements:
September 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 (Mondays) 5:30 & 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks
Catch Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks every Monday evening in January at 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!
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 (Mondays) 9:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
“Jim Caruso’s Cast Party,” a New York institution for 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 2003. Called “show-business heaven” by The New York Times and “the gold-standard of open mic nights” by The Wall Street Journal, “Cast Party” presents 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). Eric Adams, the Mayor of the City of New York, recently proclaimed, “Whereas, I am enormously proud to lead a city renowned as a global capital of the arts, ‘Jim Caruso’s Cast Party’ has enriched our dynamic cultural landscape since 2003, and on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, I am pleased to recognize the weekly show’s tremendous contributions to our performing arts and nightlife sectors.”
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum
September 3,10,17 (Tuesdays) 5:30 PM – Birdland Theater
Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano
Hailed as “smart, funny, and utterly delightful” and “a hotbed of pleasure” by The New York Times, ERIC COMSTOCK (piano/voice) and BARBARA FASANO (voice) bring their singular, soulful showmanship home to Birdland for two Tuesday nights in September. Drawing from an ever-evolving American Songbook – Jazz and pop classics by Ellington, Arlen, and Porter to singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Bruce Springsteen, plus surprising gems – the married musical couple’s electrifying combination of warmth, wit, swing, and sensuality have made them the nightclub world’s most celebrated team. Their performances have taken them from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to Saratoga Jazz Festival, Music Mountain Twilight Jazz, London’s Pizza Express, Italy’s Monteverdi Tuscany, and nightclubs and music festivals across the country. Their new CD, PAINTING THE TOWN, featuring tenor saxophone legend Houston Person, drops later this year. Joining them will be eminent bassist Sean Smith, known for his collaborations with Jacky Terrasson, Bill Charlap, Benny Carter, and Gerry Mulligan. Barbara, Eric, and Sean have been performing together for 15 years, and their connection with each other and their audiences makes for an exhilarating blend of passion and joy.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 3, 17 (Tuesdays except 9/10 & 9/24) 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.
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum
September 4, 11, 18, 25 (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
September 4, 11, 18, 25 (Wednesdays) 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 Quartet, featuring pianist Ted Rosenthal, bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, and drummer Alex Raderman, perform tunes from the standard repertoire, bringing in special guests weekly. In September, catch Olli Soikkeli (guitar, 9/4), Vinny Raniolo and Olli Soikelli (guest hosts/guitars, 9/11), Jonathan Stout (guitar, 9/18), Karrin Allyson (vocals, 9/25). *Guitar night streams live every week at: YouTube.com/RadioFreeBirdland
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 5, 19, 26 (Thursdays except 9/12) 5:30 PM – Birdland Theater
The High Society New Orleans Jazz Band
Led by veteran trumpeter Simon Wettenhall and Grammy winning pianist Conal Fowkes, The High Society New Orleans Jazz Band are a New Orleans style Jazz band which for decades have been Woody Allen’s band of choice for his movies, concert tours and weekly performances. The band have appeared on all the premiere concert stages of Europe and the United States. Band members have appeared in and provided music for Woody Allen movies including: Wild Man Blues, Sweet and Lowdown, Midnight in Paris, Blue Jasmine, Cafe Society, Magic In The Moonlight, and A Rainy Day In New York. With Conal Fowkes (piano/vocals co-leader), Simon Wettenhall (trumpet/vocals co-leader), Tom Abbott (clarinet), Harvey Tibbs (trombone), Josh Dunn (banjo), Brian Nalepka (bass/vocals), Kevin Dorn (drums).
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 6, 13, 20, 27 (Fridays) 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!”
$40 + $25 food/drink minimum
September 7, 14, 21, 28 (Saturdays) 5:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
Pasquale Grasso Trio
Praised by Pat Metheny as “maybe the best jazz guitar player I’ve heard in my entire life,” the stunning guitarist Pasquale Grasso is one of the most beautiful and innovative musical voices of a generation. Grasso’s eloquent classical technique, jazz phrasing, bebop rhythms and nimble fret fireworks have distinguished him as a celebrated 21st century virtuoso. He has recorded 11 albums on the Sony Masterworks label, showcasing Grasso in solo-guitar format; and he performed on the 2x-Grammy-winning Samara Joy’s two recordings, Linger Awhile and Samara Joy.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum
September 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 (Sundays) 8:30 & 10:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club
The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) brings 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. Thirteen 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.
$40 + $30 food/drink minimum