Charlie Parker News

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Artistic Advisor at Large Renee Fleming today announced the artists for the inaugural season of Renee Fleming VOICES, a new concert series that heralds the power of the voice across a wide range of genres. The series includes Broadway favorites such as Hamilton Tony Award® winner Leslie Odom Jr., Tony® winner Alan Cumming (Cabaret), and Tony® favorite Megan Hilty, plus acclaimed jazz vocalist Jane Monheit, opera sensation Lawrence Brownlee, multidisciplinary performance artist Rinde Eckert, and composer and jazz pianist Billy Childs, who will bring to life his Grammy Award® Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro.

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the global leader in music rights management, has announced that the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop is now accepting applications for its first year composer/lyricist class. The application deadline is end of day on Monday, August 15, 2016.

?The St. James Studio is delighted to once again be a host venue for the EFG London Jazz Festival. Eight events will take place at the St. James over the course of the festival, which will run from Friday 11 to Sunday 20 November 2016.

On August 22, award-winning opera educator, administrator, researcher and stage director Carleen Graham assumes the position of Director of HGOco, the Houston Grand Opera's community outreach program.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its August 2016 schedule, featuring Django Reinhardt NY Festival, Charlie Parker Birthday Celebration, Steve Kuhn Trio, Renee Rosnes, ShowBiz After Hours with Frank DiLella, Rolando Morales-Matos Sextet, Ken Peplowski Quartet, Eric Comstock and Jay Leonhart, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more. Scroll down for details!

Music Mountain, America's oldest continuing summer chamber music festival, continues its 87th Anniversary Season with a Mid-Summer Benefit Concert on Sunday, July 31 (3PM) featuring the exquisite pianist Richard Goode performing an unforgettable program of Haydn; Janacek; Schumann; and Debussy. Also this weekend, The Catskill Jazz Factory presents the talented Will and Peter Anderson Quintet performing Sax Squared on Saturday, July 30 (6:30PM). Special benefit concerts help make each Music Mountain summer season possible -- there are still many opportunities to hear returning chamber ensembles and musicians, first-time guests, and an array of Jazz ensembles and musicians. See why the New Yorker called Music Mountain 'The Summer Shrine of the String Quartet.' Concerts are scheduled through September 11.

How crazy do you have to be to keep a Jazz Age enterprise going in the 21st Century? 92Y presents the New York premiere of the film that attempts to answer that question.

On July 1, Verve/UMe brings a thrill to jazz lovers worldwide with the release of Unheard Bird: The Unissued Takes

Opera Philadelphia looks forward to launching the 2016-17 season with the world premiere of a new company co-commission, Breaking the Waves (Sep 22-Oct 1).

The BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, a prestigious creative forum for musical exploration and development, will highlight the best new big band and jazz orchestra compositions created during the past year, culminating in a performance at the 28th Annual Summer Showcase Concert.

For Blue Note Hawaii, the state's premier venue for the world's most celebrated artists, June begins with one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters in recent history, Christopher Cross, followed by a Reggae Meets Jazz series with Monty Alexander Harlem Kingston Express, contemporary jazz instrumentalist group Acoustic Alchemy and Grammy Award-winning vocalist Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton. June also brings a host of local talent including Adagio, Willie K, Paula Fuga, Darren Benitez, Hotclub of Hulaville, Rolando Sanchez, Little Albert and Jake Shimabukuro. Blue Note Hawaii also continues Gospel Brunch every Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. show time and doors opening at 11:00 a.m.

On July 1, Verve/UMe brings a thrill to jazz lovers worldwide with the release of Unheard Bird: The Unissued Takes

The Apollo Theater today announced the appointment of Kamilah Forbes as the Theater's new Executive Producer. A director, producer, and co­founder of Hi­ARTS/Hip Hop Theater Festival, Forbes will join the Apollo in September 2016.

The English National Opera has announced its 2016/17 season, showcasing an extraordinary range of work -- from the return of beloved classics to exciting new productions and a world premiere.

Joe's Pub at The Public has announced its nightly performances, May 4-15. Scroll down for details or visit www.joespub.com for a complete list of shows!

The Apollo Theater will present Jazz and Spirit, an evening featuring new jazz works that explore the connections between jazz, spirituality, national politics, and activism on Saturday, May 21 at 8:00 p.m.

Music Mountain, America's Oldest Continuing Summer Chamber Music Festival, announces an exciting new collaboration with The Catskill Jazz Factory! Beginning on Saturday, July 16, a variety of jazz musicians will bring their talents to Music Mountain for a 5-weekend concert series. Artists scheduled to appear include Joanna Wallfisch, Dan Tepfer, Peter and Will Anderson Quintet, Chris Washburne's Ragtime Band and Chris Pattishall Octet. Concerts are scheduled Saturday evenings (6:30pm) beginning July 16 and running thru August 13. 'We are absolutely thrilled to have the Catskill Jazz Factory for five consecutive weeks. These not to be missed concerts will lift our Saturday Twilight series to new heights of excitement and popularity, 'announced Nicholas Gordon, President, Music Mountain.

Local Playwright Willard Manus' Joe & Marilyn: A Love Story, a new play about the troubled relationship between baseball great Joe DiMaggio and Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe, debuts this Saturday, April 23rd at 8:00 pm, runs April 23 - May 22, produced by John Lant and Anne Mesa, directed by T.J. Castronovo and starring Rico Simonini and Emily Alicia Low, produced by Write Act Rep@TheBrickhouse Theatre in North Hollywood. The play was developed at the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit (West Coast), where Manus and Castronovo are fellow-members. He shared with us a bit about the play and quite a bit about his life.

For the last year and a half, San Francisco Bay Area woodwind expert Steven Lugerner has been digging into the music of jazz legend Jackie McLean with Jacknife, Lugerner's hard-hitting West Coast post-bop quintet. The group has completed work on an album, 'The Music of Jackie McLean,' slated for release today, April 22 by Primary Records, and will be touring the West Coast next month with special guest Larry Willis, the virtuoso pianist and former McLean sideman.

Concert aficionados from around the country will want to mark their calendars for Music Mountain, America's oldest continuing summer chamber music festival, when it kicks off its record-breaking 87th Anniversary Season beginning Sunday, June 5th!