Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers and More to Play Blue Note Napa This January

By: Dec. 09, 2016
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Newly opened in October 2016 the Blue Note Napa is a jazz club/gourmet restaurant venue occupying the first floor of the historic Napa Valley Opera House.

The Blue Note Napa seamlessly blends the quintessentiAl Greenwich Village jazz club experience - an intimate atmosphere where the stage is so close to you that you feel as if the performers are playing in your very own living room - mixed with the Northern California wine country ambiance and the historic architecture of the ninetieth century Napa Valley Opera House. The Blue Note Napa spotlights "Four Creative Pillars"; world class music, gourmet farm to table cuisine, spectacular local wines and exciting art.

Scroll down for January's lineup at Blue Note Napa!

Wed 1/4 Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers
Two Showtimes (6:30p and 9pm)($15-25)[8 years & over]

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers are internationally recognized as one of the top bands performing classic American jazz, swing, blues and R&B from the mid-20th century. Long-time Bay Area favorites, they are lead by the sultry chanteuse Lavay Smith, whose vocals recall the best of Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith and Dinah Washington. The band is guaranteed to provide a good time and will surely rock the house at Blue Note Napa. http://www.lavaysmith.com

Thu 1/5 Sandy Cressman & Homenagem Brasileira (Homage to Brazil)
Two Showtimes (6:30p and 9pm)($10-20)[8 years & over]

While many an American jazz singer flirts with the Brazilian Songbook, San Francisco vocalist Sandy Cressman made a name for herself as a true devotee of the country's greatest contemporary composers, interpreting songs by post-bossa masters like Milton Nascimento, Hermeto Pascoal, Gilberto Gil, and Filó Machado in Rio-accented Portuguese. The friendships forged with Brazilian musicians during her musical travels course through her captivating new album Entre Amigos, a project that marks a major new chapter for Cressman as a tunesmith. Entre Amigos features a gorgeous array of new songs created with a far-flung cast of collaborators, including the celebrated Pernambuco frevo composer/bandleader Spok, rising Brazilian-American guitarist Ian Faquini, pianist/composer Jovino Santos Neto, and pianist Antonio Adolfo, a Brazilian jazz master who got his start at the center of Rio's early 1960s bossa nova scene.

Wed 1/11 Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers
Two Showtimes (6:30p and 9pm)($15-25)[8 years & over]

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers are internationally recognized as one of the top bands performing classic American jazz, swing, blues and R&B from the mid-20th century. Long-time Bay Area favorites, they are lead by the sultry chanteuse Lavay Smith, whose vocals recall the best of Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith and Dinah Washington. The band is guaranteed to provide a good time and will surely rock the house at Blue Note Napa. http://www.lavaysmith.com

Thu to Sun 1/12-15 Karrin Allyson
Two Showtimes (6:30p and 9pm)($35-45)[8 years & over]

Five-time Grammy nominated jazz singer Karrin Allyson has confirmed concert dates through the end of 2016. The live performances will feature songs from her canon of acclaimed album releases, as well as a selection of new, original tracks.Recent tour stops have included Turkey, New Zealand, and a riveting visit to Greene Space in NYC. http://www.karrin.com

Wed & Thu 1/18-19 Amendola vs. Blades feat. Scott Amendola & Wil Blades
Two Showtimes (6:30p and 9pm)($15-25) [8 years & over]

"The breadth of what we do is so wide we don't have to think about it," says longtime Bay Area drummer Scott Amendola, when talking about fellow local organist Wil Blades--the other half of the dynamic music duo known as Amendola vs. Blades. "The cool thing is we can play swingin' old school jazz, funk and rock, African music, to playing free." Such dynamic range would prove challenging for any band, let alone one consisting merely of eight limbs, two analog keyboards and a drum kit. But it's a challenge the two friends have eagerly met gig after gig since their auspicious first show together, a performance of Duke Ellington's "Far East Suite" as an organ and drums arrangement, ten years ago. "It's all about keeping it fresh," adds Amendola. "And keeping the audience engaged. These two Young Turks of the San Francisco jazz scene are bringing the organ-drum duo into the 21st century. Apart from maintaining his own hectic touring schedule, Lington has toured alongside such stars as Barry Manilow, Bobby Caldwell, Randy Crawford and Michael Bolton.

Fri & Sat 1/20-21 Michael Lington
Two Showtimes (6:30p and 9pm)($25-45) [8 years & over]

Michael Lington is a Danish-American contemporary saxophonist, songwriter, producer, recording artist and a purveyor of soul and contemporary jazz.

Thu to Sat 1/26-28 Eric Johnson Solo- An Evening of Acoustic Guitar & Piano
Two Showtimes (6:30p and 9pm)($45-55) [8 years & over]

Eric Johnson, long hailed as one of the world's preeminent electric guitarists, celebrates his acoustic side with EJ, his 12th album as a leader. Emphasizing Johnson's formidable skills as a singer-songwriter, his first completely unplugged album is also his most immediate and intimate.

UPCOMING SHOWS:

Wed 2/8 Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers
Two Showtimes (6:30p and 9pm)($15-25)[8 years & over]

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers are internationally recognized as one of the top bands performing classic American jazz, swing, blues and R&B from the mid-20th century. Long-time Bay Area favorites, they are lead by the sultry chanteuse Lavay Smith, whose vocals recall the best of Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith and Dinah Washington. The band is guaranteed to provide a good time and will surely rock the house at Blue Note Napa. http://www.lavaysmith.com

Wed 2/15 The Cookers feat. Billy Harper, Eddie Henserson, George Cables, Cecil McBee
Two Showtimes (6:30p and 9pm)($35-45)[8 years & over]

The Cookers bring the expressive language of experienced jazz players to the bandstand and to their four critically acclaimed recordings, Warriors, Cast the First Stone, Believe and Time and Time Again (which was the iTunes Jazz CD of the year in 2014). This exciting new all-star septet summons up an aggressive mid '60s spirit with a potent collection of expansive post-bop originals marked by all the requisite killer instincts and pyrotechnic playing expected of some of the heaviest hitters on the scene today.

Thu to Sun 2/16-19 Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra
Two Showtimes (6:30p and 9pm)($25-45)[8 years & over]

Wed 2/22 Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers
Two Showtimes (6:30p and 9pm)($15-25)[8 years & over]

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers are internationally recognized as one of the top bands performing classic American jazz, swing, blues and R&B from the mid-20th century. Long-time Bay Area favorites, they are lead by the sultry chanteuse Lavay Smith, whose vocals recall the best of Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith and Dinah Washington. The band is guaranteed to provide a good time and will surely rock the house at Blue Note Napa. http://www.lavaysmith.com

Fri 2/24 Dirty Cello Band
Two Showtimes (6:30p and 9pm)($10-20)[8 years & over]

From China to Italy, and all over the U.S., Dirty Cello brings the world a high energy and unique spin on blues, jazz, and traditional American music. Led by vivacious cross-over cellist, Rebecca Roudman, Dirty Cello is cello like you've never heard before. From down home blues with a wailing cello to original and unique takes on American standards, Dirty Cello is a band that gets your heart thumping and your toes tapping!



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