Saxophone Summit, Eric Comstock & Sean Smith and More Coming Up at Birdland This Summer

By: Jun. 16, 2017
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Birdland Jazz Club has announced its lineup for June 26-July 2, including Saxophone Summit with Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, and Greg Osby, Nancy Valentine, Eric Comstock and Sean Smith, and more. Scroll down for details!

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with the following acts:

June 26 (Monday) at 7:00PM

Steve Ross in "Come On And Hear," An Irving Berlin Celebration

he Broadway at Birdland concert series is proud to announce the return of pianist/singer Steve Ross in "Come On And Hear," An Irving Berlin Celebration. What better way to celebrate America than a program of this prolific composer's wonderful songs - ranging from the lively vaudeville numbers like his first great hit "Alexander's Ragtime Band" through the beautiful, heartbreaking ballads like "How Deep Is the Ocean" to the dazzling rhythmic dancing songs written for Fred Astaire "Puttin' On the Ritz."

All tickets $30-40, $10 food/drink minimum

June 26 (Monday) at 9:30PM

Jim Caruso's Cast Party

Jim Caruso's Cast Party is a wildly popular weekly soiree that brings a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to the legendary Birdland in New York City every Monday night. It's a cool cabaret night-out enlivened by a hilariously impromptu variety show. Showbiz superstars, backed by Steve Doyle on bass, Billy Stritch on piano and Daniel Glass on drums, hit the stage alongside up-and-comers, serving up jaw-dropping music and general razzle-dazzle.

All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum

June 27-July 1 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 8:30PM and 11:00PM

Saxophone Summit with Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, and Greg Osby

Saxophone Summit's focus on "late Coltrane" is a corrective celebration of music that has been "largely underappreciated and unexplored." In his final years, Coltrane's music included amazingly beautiful, lyrical melodies offset by intense, abstract and dissonant free group improvisation. Along with saxophonist Joe Lovano, and newest addition, alto saxophonist and St. Louis native Greg Osby, Saxophone Summit is more than a cutting contest or saxophone battle. It has become a multi-faceted musical equation greater than the sum of its parts.

All tickets $40, $10 food/drink minimum

June 28 (Wednesday) at 5:30PM

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 14th 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!

All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum

June 29 (Thursday) at 6:00PM

"Afro Latin Jazz Alliance Fundraiser" featuring Arturo O'Farrill

Grammy Award winning pianist, composer and educator Arturo O'Farrill -- leader of the "first family of Afro-Cuban Jazz" (NY Times) - The Fat Afro Latin Jazz Cats and students from the Afro Latin Jazz Academy of Music perform at Birdland from the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance 2017 Education Benefit.

All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum

June 30 (Friday) at 5:15PM

The Birdland Big Band

Founded by drummer and musical director Tommy Igoe, the Birdland Big Band features the finest musicians in New York! Celebrating 10 years at the club, 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 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!"

All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum

July 1 (Saturday) at 6:00PM

Eric Comstock and Sean Smith

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. Join them at Birdland for a cool spring party where the music and stories are equally great.

All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum

July 2 (Sunday) at 6:00PM

Nancy Valentine Sings Billy Strayhorn

Nancy Valentine, who makes her Birdland debut on Sunday July 2, has studied and championed Billy Strayhorn's music for years. At Birdland, Nancy Valentine will be leading a sextet with maestro John di Martino gracing the stage featuring trumpeter Joe Magnarelli, Dan Block on tenor and alto saxophones, bassist Marco Panascia and drummer Vince Cherico. They will be celebrating both the release of her LOVESOME CD and her "September Rain" single, and the rich musical legacy of Billy Strayhorn.

All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum

July 2 (Sunday) at 9PM & 11PM

Arturo O'Farrill Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra

Grammy Award winning pianist, composer and educator Arturo O'Farrill -- leader of the "first family of Afro-Cuban Jazz" (NY Times) -- was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. Son of the late, great composer Chico O'Farrill, Arturo was Educated at Manhattan School of Music, Brooklyn College Conservatory and the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. He played piano in Carla Bley's Big Band from 1979 through 1983 and earned a reputation as a soloist in groups led by Dizzy Gillespie, Steve Turre, Freddy Cole, Lester Bowie, Wynton Marsalis and Harry Belafonte.

All tickets $40, $10 food/drink minimum

Purchase tickets at www.BirdlandJazz.com , and for more information and reservations call 212-581-3080. Ticket prices will vary by performer. At the tables, there is a $10 food/drink minimum per person in addition to the music charge. At the bar, the music charge will include one complimentary drink with no additional minimum.

Named for alto saxophonist and jazz pioneer Charlie "Bird" Parker who dubbed it "The Jazz Corner of the World," Birdland opened on December 15th 1949. For 60 years it has been home to jazz legends, from Parker, John Coltrane Duke Ellington and Count Basie to Oscar Peterson, Hank Jones, Diana Krall and everyone in between. The original 52nd street location was a cultural barometer and meeting place, inspiring the songs "Birdland" and "Lullaby of Birdland," and serving as a regular haunt for celebrities and cultural figures. The modern incarnation is a state of the art nightclub featuring award winning Southern and Cajun cuisine, first rate sound and lighting and a who's who of contemporary musical artists, 7 nights a week.

Birdland is located at 315 West 44th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues), New York, NY 10036. Students (with current ID) & Broadway Theatre-Goers (with Broadway ticket stub from same day of performance): 50% off music charge at 11PM shows only. Birdland serves American Fare with a Cajun Flair nightly from 5PM until Midnight and until 1AM on Friday and Saturdays. Parking is available across the street at 332 West 44th Street. Concert Grand Piano By: Yamaha.

Visit www.BirdlandJazz.com or follow BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB on Twitter: @birdlandjazz, Facebook, Instagram, and on Pinterest.



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