Esperanza Spalding News

Festival General Director Nigel Redden announces the program for the 43rd annual Spoleto Festival USA, taking place May 24 through June 9, 2019. For 17 days and nights, a variety of artists converge in Charleston, South Carolina, filling the city's theaters, churches, and outdoor spaces with wide-ranging performances and concerts.

Gabrielle Stravelli - the celebrated pop/jazz vocalist and songwriter described as a "lighthouse of emotional integrity" by Downbeat and as a "quadruple threat and force to be reckoned with" by jazz icon Bob Dorough - will preview her upcoming album "Pick Up My Pieces: Gabrielle Stravelli Sings Willie Nelson" with four concerts at Birdland Theater today, January 1 and Wednesday, January 2 with shows at 7:00 PM and 9:45 PM. The CD is dedicated to the music and life of the "Red Headed Stranger," and covers the full spectrum of Nelson's catalogue: from early hits like "Three Days" and "Blame It On The Times" to favorites from his blockbuster album of American standards like "Stardust," and eternal classics like "Crazy" and "Nightlife." Stravelli will weave in stories from Nelson's famously colorful personal life and storied 50-plus year career, while honoring and reimagining the music of one of America's greatest songwriters. She will be joined by Joshua Richman on piano, Art Hirahara on organ, Pat O'Leary on bass, Eric Halvorson on drums and Scott Robinson on saxophone and trumpet.

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

Gabrielle Stravelli - the celebrated pop/jazz vocalist and songwriter described as a "lighthouse of emotional integrity" by Downbeat and as a "quadruple threat and force to be reckoned with" by jazz icon Bob Dorough - will preview her upcoming album "Pick Up My Pieces: Gabrielle Stravelli Sings Willie Nelson" with four concerts at Birdland Theater on Tuesday, January 1 and Wednesday, January 2 with shows at 7:00 PM and 9:45 PM. The CD is dedicated to the music and life of the "Red Headed Stranger," and covers the full spectrum of Nelson's catalogue: from early hits like "Three Days" and "Blame It On The Times" to favorites from his blockbuster album of American standards like "Stardust," and eternal classics like "Crazy" and "Nightlife." Stravelli will weave in stories from Nelson's famously colorful personal life and storied 50-plus year career, while honoring and reimagining the music of one of America's greatest songwriters. She will be joined by Joshua Richman on piano, Art Hirahara on organ, Pat O'Leary on bass, Eric Halvorson on drums and Scott Robinson on saxophone and trumpet.

Gabrielle Stravelli - the celebrated pop/jazz vocalist and songwriter described as a "lighthouse of emotional integrity" by Downbeat and as a "quadruple threat and force to be reckoned with" by jazz icon Bob Dorough - will preview her upcoming album "Pick Up My Pieces: Gabrielle Stravelli Sings Willie Nelson" with four concerts at Birdland Theater

Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with the following acts:

 Superstar recording artists Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Dierks Bentley, Halsey, Marshmello and Bastille, Panic! At The Disco, Season 14 winner Brynn Cartelli and more are set to perform on the live two-hour Tuesday, Dec. 18 season finale (9-11 p.m. ET/PT) of NBC's four-time Emmy Award-winning musical competition series “The Voice.” 

Pete Muller, who has performed his winsome combination of jazz, folk and pop everywhere from the Montreux Jazz Festival to the late, great Caffe Vivaldi in Greenwich Village (where he was a longtime resident artist), will be in concert at the Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3 in New York City on December 12 at 7:00pm.

Following are honoree, presenter, performer and production credits for THE 41st ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS, an entertainment special to be broadcast Wednesday, Dec. 26 on the CBS Television Network.

McCarter Theatre Center will present Elevator Repair Service's multi-award-winning play, Gatz, the critically-lauded performance of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, for three performances, February 15 - 17 on the Berlind Stage. Gatz will be presented as a marathon eight-hour event, including two intermissions and a dinner break.

Songbird Dianne Reeves rings in the holidays at The Soraya with timeless jewels from her album Christmas Time is Here. The reigning diva of jazz was recently designated as a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. Join us for an evening with the five-time Grammy Award-winner for an unmatched holiday treat.

NBC has announced a full line-up of special celebrity guests appearing in 'A Legendary Christmas with John and Chrissy,' an hourlong holiday special airing Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 10-11 p.m.; repeat Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 10 p.m.

McCarter Theatre Center is proud to announce the return of A Christmas Carol, directed by Adam Immerwahr. This family-friendly production runs December 4 - 29 in the Matthews Theatre. A popular annual event for families all across the region, McCarter Theatre Center's production brings Charles Dickens' timeless story of memory and redemption beyond the stage and out into the aisles and lobbies. Of special note this year is the addition of a sensory-sensitive relaxed performance on December 28 (details below).

As part of the string quartet's 20th anniversary season, ETHEL returns to BAM with Circus: Wandering City, a multimedia musical journey into the history of the iconic Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus that explores and honors the complex relationship between circus troupes, their performers, and the audiences they inspired. 

Singer Lynn Henderson just announced the addition of a very special guest for the final performance of her show, A Skitch in Time: My Friendship with Maestro Skitch Henderson. The show is a tribute to the New York Pops founder who built the Pops from an idea to a beloved international institution. For the November 17th performance at Don't Tell Mama, 2018 Grammy nominee and New York Pops Violinist, Sara Caswell, will appear.  Sara is a Skitch Henderson discovery who joined the Pops right out of college.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with Veronica Swift and Emmet Cohen Trio, Carole Sloane "Still Autumn in New York," Ken Peplowski Big Band, and more!

The hypnotic fusion of American jazz and Arabic tarab music arrives in Harlem as the Tarek Yamani Trio presents “Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic” on Friday, November 16, at Aaron Davis Hall. Presented by City College Center for the Arts (CCCA), the 7:30 p.m. concert will offer music lovers a wonderful mix of re-arranged late 19th century songs from the Arabic repertoire, jazz standards and original compositions based on Levantine rhythms by trio leader Tarek Yamani.

Musician and Producer Matt Oestreicher recently found himself mired in a troubling paradox. While mentoring kids in his music program, he realized he was encouraging children to aspire high, but he wasn't pursuing his own dreams. Despite becoming an accomplished sideman musician, he had yet to fulfill his desire to record and release any of his work.

McCarter Theatre Center has announced a participatory community reading of Emily Mann's Greensboro: A Requiem on McCarter's Matthews Stage on Wednesday, November 14 at 6:30 p.m.

Jazz at Princeton University presents guest artist and Blue Note Records trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire in the world premiere of Slightly Left of Sorrow's Song, commissioned by Jazz at Princeton University to commemorate the 150th anniversary of W.E.B. DuBois' birth. Akinmusire will perform the 8-movement suite with the school's Small Group I under the leadership of saxophonist and program director Rudresh Mahanthappa.