BIRDLAND SCHEDULE
Concert Grand Piano Courtesy of...
Since June 2004, Birdland's 9 foot Concert Grand Piano has been made available through the support of Gerhard Feldmann Grand Piano Works. The instrument was selected by the late Dr. Oscar Peterson for his first New York Engagement in many years. Since then, the piano has been enjoyed by some of the greatest pianists in Jazz including Toshiko Akiyoshi, Monty Alexander, Geri Allen, Kenny Barron, Richie Beirach, Carla Bley, Paul Bley, Bill Charlap, Freddy Cole, Marc Copland, Connie Crothers, Barry Harris, Andrew Hill, Hank Jones, Roger Kellaway, Frank Kimbrough, Steve Kuhn, Michel Legrand, Bill Mays, Sal Mosca, Arturo O'Farrill, Danilo Perez, Enrico Pieranunzi, Cedar Walton, Randy Weston, and others. For more information about Gerhard Feldmann Grand Piano Works, visit their website.
ARTURO O'FARRILL SEXTET
Thursday through Saturday, January 1-3 @ 8:30pm & 11pm
Music Charge: $30 General Admission, $40 OrchestraKick off the new year right here with a three-night-only run of Arturo O'Farrill's quintet! Son of the legendary bandleader Chico O'Farrill, Grammy-nominated pianist and composer Arturo O'Farrill directs Symphony Space's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Birdland's weekly Chico O'Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, and formerly the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
TOCHO SWING BEATS ORCHESTRA
Sunday, January 4 @ 6:00pm
Music Charge: $25
DAVID OSTWALD'S LOUIS ARMSTRONG CENTENNIAL BAND
Every Wednesday from 5:30pm-7:15pm
Music Charge: $10
THE BIRDLAND BIG BAND directed by TOMMY IGOE
Every Friday from 5:15-7pm
Music Charge: $20
Featuring the finest musicians in New York! The BBB roars into action every Friday, playing the finest Jazz, Latin and Brazilian music from the world's best arrangers. After work or before a show, drinks or a great dinner, come hear one of the world’s best drummers driving the hardest swinging band in New York. Experience why the BBB is fast becoming the must-see weekly jazz event in New York and kick off your weekend with what critics are calling “the best live music bargain in all of NYC!” Visit TOMMYIGOE.com for our surprise special guest line-up.
ANDY FARBER & HIS ORCHESTRA
featuring Vocalist Hilary Kole
Sundays January 18 & 25 at 6pm- Music Charge: $25
Award winning composer/arranger and saxophonist Andy Farber leads his 17-piece jazz orchestra through a program of original compositions and new arrangements of standards. Featured with the big band is vocalist Hilary Kole, who the New York Observer hails as a “musical marvel.” In reviewing Kole's performance in the New York Times, Stephen Holden wrote, "swinging...sultry....sexy with a sharp-edged hint of brass in her voice...Kole locates the desperation and impatience lurking in Cole Porter's besotted lyrics."
CHICO O'FARRILL'S AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Directed by Arturo O'Farrill:
Sundays January 4,18,25 - 9 & 11pm shows
Music Charge: $25Arranger-bandleader Arturo “Chico” O’ Farrill, Sr. began introducing Afro-Cuban rhythms into jazz in the 1940’s. The band that bears Chico’s name (and is directed by his son Arturo) “continues to showcase the most seamless blend of clavè rhythm and bebop harmony anywhere.” (Time Out)
JIM CARUSO'S "CAST PARTY"
with pianist Billy Stritch
Mondays January 5,12,19,26
9:30pm until 1am, $10 admission + $10 minimum"No one can call themselves a true New Yorker until they've been to the 'Cast Party,' which is to Broadway what the Conde Nast cafeteria is to publishing. Divas and dapper-dans insouciantly sip cocktails while watching each other sing and perform at the open-mic event during Broadway's dark night." (Next Magazine) Broadway impresario Jim Caruso hosts a combination open-mic, networking event and party in which the biggest stars on Broadway relax on their night off by performing their favorite songs in an informal setting.
The Music of Duke Ellington & More...
with David Berger & The Sultans of Swing
Tuesdays January 6,13,20,27 - Showtimes @ 8:30 & 11pm
Music Charge: $25
In an ongoing Tuesday night Birdland residency, David Berger -- acclaimed bandleader, composer/arranger, and historical expert on all things Ellington -- leads his 16 piece “Sultans of Swing” Big Band in a program of authentic, swinging arrangements by Ellington, Basie and other big band icons.
JULIE HALSTON
"Holiday Mufuletta"
Monday, January 5 @ 7pm
Music Charge: $25 General Admission; $50 Orchestra
Julie Halston has decided, for one night only, to throw caution to the wind and just go CRAZY with new material, old material and of course new clothes! Don't miss the fabulous comedienne in this one night only post holiday bash called HOLIDAY MUFFULETTA it's crammed with goodies!
DAVE HOLLAND OCTET
Wednesday through Sunday, January 7 - 11 @ 8:30pm & 11pm
Music Charge: $30 General Admission, $40 Orchestra
At the pinnacle of his career, Dave Holland has settled into the unassuming role of jazz master. Grammy-winner, bandleader, and bassist phenom, Holland has one of the most celebrated and accomplished legacies in contemporary jazz. He has been a band leader for the better part of two decades taking cues from Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn and Charles Mingus. He commands attention as few bassists ever have, and has collaborated in two of the top jazz collectives of the decade: the ScoLoHoFo Quartet comprised of Holland, John Scofield, Joe Lovano and Al Foster, and the Herbie Hancock-piloted all-star Quartet including Wayne Shorter and Brian Blade. The London native returns to Birdland with his newly-formed octet. Holland is sure to entertain with his octet's various styles that on any given evening can range from bebop to free jazz.
Special APAP Showcase Performances
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Erin Bode @ 5:30pm
KARRIN ALLYSON @ 6:30pm
With over forty years as an active arts service organization, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters is the nexus for the performing arts community and the innovators in the field. This year, APAP brings together the exquisite talents of jazz vocalists Erin Bode and two-Grammy-Award-nominated Karrin Allyson at Birdland as a part of their 2008 conference in NYC. This winning combination makes for a must-see presentation of two of today's top female jazz performers.
Music Charge: $25
SCOTT ALAN
Monday, January 12 @ 7pm
Music Charge: $30 General Admission; $50 Orchestra
Join composer and lyricist Scott Alan (http://www.scottalan.net) as he returns to Birdland to celebrate the release of his latest CD offering, "Keys: The Music of Scott Alan," with the help of many of his friends. Some of today's brightest Broadway stars will join him to sing his original songs, including Lisa Brescia, Heidi Blickenstaff, Jenn Colella, Erin Davie, Merle Dandridge, Hadley Fraser, Crystal Monee Hall, Nikki M. James, Marcus Paul James, Megan McGinnis, Carrie Manolakos, Kenita Miller, Patti Murin, Lauren Thomas, Katie Thompson, Allie Trimm, Natalie Weiss and The Broadway Boys. The performance will also feature selections from Alan's debut CD, "Dreaming Wide Awake."
PAT MARTINO ORGAN QUARTET
Eric Alexander (sax) Clarence Penn (drums) Tony Monaco (organ)
Wednesday through Saturday, January 14 - 17 @ 8:30pm & 11pm
Music Charge: $30 General Admission, $40 Orchestra
Virtuoso guitarist Martino got his start on the "chitlin' circuit" with organ groups led by "Groove" Holmes, Jack McDuff, Don Patterson, Trudy Pitts, Charles Earland and others. Having fully recovered from a life-threatening illness in the 1980's that caused him to forget how to play the guitar and relearn by listening to his own 1960's recordings, Martino has re-emerged as a veteran presence on the jazz scene due in part to a successful association with Blue Note Records. His playing is as fiery and technically brilliant as ever and he constantly challenges himself with new music and exciting young bandmates.
PATRICK DEGENNARO
Monday, January 19, 2009 @ 7pm
Music Charge: $25 General Admission; $35 Orchestra
Multi Award winning singer songwriter Patrick DeGennaro returns to Birdland to rock the house! DeGennaro's last two Birdland appearances were sold out smash hits! His debut (The Bacharach Songbook) earned him the 2007 MAC Award for Outstanding Male Vocalist, and his last show's opener, "Friend" garnered a 2008 MAC nomination for Song Of The Year. Often compared to Billy Joel and Elton John for his classic pop rock style, DeGennaro's vocals are in a league of their own. From hard-edged pop-rock, gospel and funk to silky smooth R&B, and romantic ballads, DeGennaro's concerts are always a satisfying mix of musical styles. DeGennaro and his band (Alec Berlin: Guitar, Randy Landau: Bass, Clayton Craddock: Drums, John Roggie: Keyboards) have more original tunes planned for this outing, plus the usual touch of classics.
Also for this performance, DeGennaro has invited a special guest: Annie Golden, star of the films "Hair" and "12 Monkeys," and the Broadway shows "The Full Monty" and "Assassins". The two have some show stopping duets planned as well as their first original collaboration "Letting Go."
MONTY ALEXANDER Wednesday through Saturday, January 21 - 24 @ 8:30pm & 11pm
TRIO (1/21-22) JAZZ & ROOTS ENSEMBLE (1/23-24)
HERLIN RILEY (drums) HASSAN SHAKUR (bass)
Music Charge: $30 General Admission, $40 Orchestra
Monty Alexander blends American and Jamaican musical styles, drawing on jazz, ska, big band, swing and reggae influences. His unique abilities have enabled him to work with a diverse assortment of talented artists including Frank Sinatra, Ray Brown, Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Ernest Ranglin, Quincy Jones, Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar and Natalie Cole. Alexander explains, "My goal is to uplift. The piano, to me, is a vehicle for connecting to other human beings. I'm very open to all forms of music. I'm not a bebop musician, I'm not a calypso musician, I'm not a reggae musician. I'm a musician who loves it all."
JEREMY SCHONFELD
Monday, January 26, 2009 @ 7pm
Music Charge: $25 General Admission
Jeremy Schonfeld's singular blend of tuneful pop, hard-edged rock, gospel, soul and blues has drawn him comparisons to Billy Joel and Jonathan Larson in the New York Times, and has made him one of today's most sought after singer/songwriter talents and musical theater composers. Smart and contemporary with intelligent lyrics, Schonfeld attended the Berklee College of Music and participated in the BMI Lehman-Engel Musical Theater Workshop. Joined by top Broadway talent, Jeremy returns to the Birdland stage for one night only to showcase songs from previously released albums "37 Notebooks," "Blue Skies and All" and "Drift," as well as unreleased originals and songs from forthcoming projects.
DAVE LIEBMAN GROUP
RANDY BRECKER (trumpet) MARC COPLAND (piano)
BILLY HART (drums) DREW GRESS (bass)
Wednesday through Saturday, January 28 - 31 @ 8:30pm & 11pm
Music Charge: $30 General Admission, $40 Orchestra
The quintessential contemporary jazzman, saxophonist David Liebman has spent his whole career playing with some of the best in the business. He spent extensive periods as a member of the Miles Davis and Elvin Jones groups. Since 1970 he as been associated as a leader with a succession of extraordinary groups from Open Sky Trio to Lookout Farm to Quest each of which has framed a distinct phase of his musical evolution. The Dave Liebman Group was formed in 1991 and pursues a very eclectic contemporary style. With Liebman, Randy Brecker (Trumpet), Marc Copland (Piano), Drew Gress (Bass), and Billy Hart (Drums), each member brings forth a wide range of talents, enabling the music to move in many exciting directions. Larry Nai of All About Jazz writes, "the Liebman Group is a closely-attuned band that plays challenging, colorful music, that seems capable of drawing the most blase of audiences into it's orbit."
AMANDA GREEN
Monday, February 2 @ 7pm
Music Charge: $30 General Admission; $50 Orchestra
Amanda Green in "Who's Worse Than People? (And Other Songs of the Season) With David Pittu, Jenn Colella, Jonathan Dokuchitz & Jenifer Foote.
LEWIS NASH QUINTET
Wednesday through Saturday, February 4 - 7 @ 8:30pm & 11pm
Music Charge: $30 General Admission, $40 Orchestra
"Perhaps the most talented drummer of his generation, equally effective in small group or big band," (Ira Gitler, The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz) Lewis Nash has been the drummer of choice for an incredible array of artists, including Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, Oscar Peterson, Betty Carter, Sonny Rollins, Ray Brown, Gerald Wilson, Horace Silver, Ron Carter, Hank Jones, Benny Carter, Milt Jackson, Art Farmer, McCoy Tyner, Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry, Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson, Kenny Burrell, Jimmy Heath, John Lewis, and many others. Nash can be heard on over 300 recordings, interjecting his own unique voice and energy into straightforward jazz with a jackrabbit-like technique. Along with Lewis Nash on drums, the quintet features Renee Rosnes (piano), Peter Washington (bass), Jimmy Greene (saxophone), and Jeremy Pelt (trumpet). "In Lewis Nash's drum patterns there was such acute attention to timbre and melodic grace that at times he sounded more as if he were playing composed lines on a vibraphone..." wrote Ben Ratliff of the New York Times.
THE MARCY & ZINA SHOW
Monday, February 9 @ 7pm
Music Charge: $30 General Admission
The team voted "Best Knocking on Broadway's Door Songwriting Team" in the Village Voice, comprised of Award-winning songwriters Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich, will once again bring the intimate The Marcy & Zina Show to Birdland! Goldrich and Heisler are currently working on the musical adaptation of Ever After, (the Drew Barrymore Cinderella movie produced by 20th Century Fox) which is slated for a Spring 2009 Broadway opening. The Marcy & Zina Show features the duo's best-loved songs written for theater and cabaret, and also introduces new songs from upcoming productions of Ever After and Love Has Strings.
HILARY KOLE
with Special Guest JOHN PIZZARELLI (2/10-12)
Celebrating Ms. Kole's New CD Release and Valentine's Week!
Tuesday through Saturday, February 10 - 14 @ 8:30pm & 11pm
Music Charge: $30 General Admission, $40 Orchestra
Vocalist Hilary Kole began her professional career at the legendary Rainbow Room as the youngest singer ever to grace the stage. From there, Hilary co-wrote and starred in the long running Off Broadway hit, "Our Sinatra," as well as headlined at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, as well as international venues such as the Umbria Jazz Festival and the Nairn Jazz Festival. Hilary has also performed and recorded with the late Oscar Peterson, Hank Jones, and Michel LeGrand, to name but a few. Rex Reed calls her "hip and lovely, a musical marvel," and Time Out New York notes that "Kole presents her own distinctive style. She is the best at selling a song."Join Hilary and the band for the official CD release of "Haunted Heart," which is due out in stores on February 10th. With special guest guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli, this show is the perfect event to add to your Valentine's Day week festivities!
KATIE THOMPSON
Monday, February 16 @ 7pm
Music Charge: $25 General Admission
Join Singer/Songwriter/Actress Katie Thompson in her Birdland debut as she is joined by some of today's brightest Broadway stars singing her songs and praises. Katie recently returned from the Los Angeles's sold-out run of her first musical R.R.R.E.D., which was Pick of the Week in Backstage Magazine, LA Weekly, Stage Scene LA, and Burbank Leader. Thompson and a bevy of Broadway stars will perform songs from the debut CD, 'What I've Done Right,' as well as songs from 'KT: Live' and 'R.R.R.E.D.' Backstage West said Thompson has "knockout vocal calisthenics, and segues from Merman to Buckley to Tori Amos with beautifully constructed songs." The Glendale News called Thompson "gloriously beautiful and indisputably talented."
BOBBY CALDWELL
& His 16-piece Big Band
Wednesday through Saturday, February 18-21, 2009 @ 8:30pm & 11pm
Music Charge: $35 General Admission, $45 Orchestra
Tracing a thirty-year history from acclaimed soul stylist to in-demand pop and R&B songwriter, Bobby Caldwell is one of the most revered vocalists and songwriters in contemporary music. As a singer, he's had a successful career with numerous solo releases. His original songs have scored for well-known artists like Chicago, Boz Scaggs, Peter Cetera and Amy Grant, Neil Diamond and Al Jarreau. Bobby's timeless classic, "What You Won't Do For Love" (1978) has been recorded and sampled by more than 100 artists. With a worldwide reputation as an electrifying live performer, you won't want to miss Bobby in this intimate setting.
JASON DANIELEY
Love, In The Key Of Eclectic Americana
Monday, February 23 @ 7pm
Music Charge: $25 General Admission; $40 Orchestra
(Celebrated Broadway Leading Man Tackles Blues, Country, Folk, Showtunes & Standards - All With a Backporch Sound) Broadway star (Curtains, Full Monty, Candide) and lauded concert performer, Jason Danieley, returns to his familial roots by fusing ragtime, blues, country, folk, gospel and Broadway standards in an eclectic back-porch Americana sound that owes much to his St. Louis upbringing, and that fully showcases his dynamic vocal versatility. Celebrating the release of their self-titled debut album, Jason Danieley & The Frontier Heroes (Dan Lipton, Christian Hebel, Damien Bassman, Mark Vanderpoel, Michael Aarons and Theresa McCarthy) will help you forget your Depression Era blues by putting a tap in your foot and a smile on your lips. "Whenever he sings, the heart seems to beat a little faster, an emotional strength that envelops the listener and melts the heart!" - Variety.
GARY PEACOCK TRIO
with MARC COPLAND(piano) and BILL STEWART (drums)
Wednesday through Saturday, February 25 - 28 @ 8:30pm & 11pm
Music Charge: $30 General Admission, $40 Orchestra
The kaleidoscopic double bassist Gary Peacock is known as a one the great calibrators of bass playing, beginning in the1960s. Having cut his chops with the likes of Ornette Coleman, Jimmy Guiffre and Don Ellis on the West Coast, Peacock emerged as the true chameleon musician that he is. Peacock will be joined on stage by Marc Copland (piano) & Bill Stewart (drums). Steve Greenlee of the Boston Globe calls the trio "Transcendent...makes one realize how ordinary, how formulaic, so much of the rest of today's music has become.... these guys don't need a leader. An evening of jazz the way it was meant to be improvised."
JASON ROBERT BROWN
Tuesday through Saturday, March 31 - April 4, 2009
One show nightly @ 7pm
Music Charge: $40 General Admission, $50 Orchestra
If you missed Jason Robert Brown's one night concert at Birdland this fall, or if you caught it and couldn't get enough, you're in luck! Your favorite composer and lyricist will be back before you know it, and this time, for five days of the most exciting and original songs in town! Jason Robert Brown has been hailed as "one of Broadway's smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim" (Philadelphia Inquirer), and his "extraordinary, jubilant theater music " (Chicago Tribune) has been heard all over the world, whether in one of the hundreds of productions of his musicals every year or in his own incendiary live performances. The New York Times refers to Jason as "a leading member of a new generation of composers who embody high hopes for the American musical." Jason is the composer and lyricist of the musical, The Last Five Years, which won Drama Desk Awards for Best Music and Best Lyrics. Jason received a 1999 Tony Award for his score to Parade (1998), and subsequently won both the Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards for Best New Musical. Jason's newest musical, 13, written with Dan Elish and directed by Todd Graff, premiered January 2008 to rave reviews at Los Angeles's Mark Taper Forum, and opened on Broadway on October 5, 2008. Jason is the winner of the 2002 Kleban Award for Outstanding Lyrics and the 1996 Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Foundation Award for Musical Theatre. Jason's first solo album, "Wearing Someone Else's Clothes," was named one of Amazon.com's best of 2005, and is available from Sh-K-Boom Records. His collaboration with singer Lauren Kennedy, "Songs of Jason Robert Brown," is available on PS Classics. Jason's piano sonata, "Mr. Broadway" was commissioned and premiered by Anthony De Mare at Carnegie Hall.
"Birdland, The Jazz Corner of the World" - - Charlie Parker
