Louis Armstrong News

Australian Pianist Matt Baker has performed at jazz festivals, clubs and concert halls in Australia, Europe, USA and the Pacific. Aside from performing as a solo artist, he is fast becoming one of the most sought after accompanists, sidemen and Musical Directors on the New York scene.  Now he joins Centenary Stage Company to close out the January Thaw Musical Festival with 'An Oscar Moment' on Saturday, January 30 at 8pm in the Lackland Center. 

Tenor and soprano saxophone virtuoso and visionary composer Matt Parker made a vivid impression with his 2013 debut recording, 'Worlds Put Together.' "Restlessly inventive" (Down Beat), Parker is "a fully formed artist with his own unique voice [who] sounds comfortable promenading down multiple paths" (All About Jazz).

Hailing from West Coast Canada and now living in New York City, award winning trumpeter, vocalist and composer Bria Skonberg is 'poised to be one of the most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation.' (Wall Street Journal).  Now she joins Centenary Stage Company's January Thaw Music Festival on Saturday, January 23 at 8pm in the Lackland Center.

Court's production of Satchmo will be part of a community-wide Louis Armstrong Festival, happening in partnership with The Beverly Arts Center, The Logan Center at the University of Chicago, The Promontory, South Shore Jazz Coalition, The Louis Armstrong House Museum and the Louis Armstrong Archives at Queens College New York. This community-wide festival will help audiences deepen their understanding of Armstrong's life through musical performances, historical exhibits, symposium, talk-backs and film.

The Seacoast Repertory Theatre launches its 2016 schedule with a look behind the joyful, bright-eyed image of jazz pioneer Louis Armstrong to reveal the deeper life of one of America's cultural treasures.

American Conservatory Theater continues its 2015-16 seasonwith THE UNFORTUNATES (February 3-April 10, 2016), a darkly comic musical that uses a unique mix of early 20th century American blues and gospel stylings fused with modern and syncopated rhythms to transport audiences to a world of memory and mythmaking.

The Louis Armstrong House Museum's new exhibit Hotter Than That: 90 Years of Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five celebrates these landmark recordings that were the first records ever to be issued under Armstrong's own name. This exhibit represents the ground breaking recorded legacy of Louis Armstrong and this immortal group, whose music will continue to influence future generations. As Armstrong himself said of his Hot Five recordings in 1970, 'Ain't nothing like it since, and can't nobody play nothing like it now. My oldest record, can't nobody touch it.'

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

Music permeates Centenary Stage Company's Lackland Center during the month of January with the January THAW Music Festival. Featuring the music of legends and some of New York's hottest artists this year's festival includes; 'Duke Ellington: Composer Beyond Category' by The Duke Ellington Center Big Band under the direction of Mercedes Ellington, the Bria Skonberg Quintet and 'An Oscar Moment' with the Matt Baker Quartet.

“If they wrote'm like that today,” Catherine Russell sighs after a particularly saucy number during her show last night at Birdland, “I wouldn't have to go back 90 years.” A Russell show is like actually being there then--primarily from the early 1900s through the 1940s. Which is not to say the artist sacrifices her own, original phrasing for imitation, but rather that feelings evoked by stylish arrangements and spot-on attitude transport us. She offers her audiences vivid authenticity, musical backbone.

All the verses and their titles are constructed solely of jazz tunes with two exceptions. The title exception is 'Jazz Haiku.' The content exception is 'Vibraphonissimo,' a chronological block of vibraphone players whose music I've come to know, resting upon the two pioneers of the instrument. Commas separate titles within the verses, but interior commas from song titles have been removed to prevent confusion.

Highlights of the tour include a five-night run at Birdland in New York City, with appearances at major performing arts centers and colleges in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Virginia.

Described as “An Afternoon of Famous Duets,” Saturday's Urban Stages Winter Rhythms presentation (Day Four of the 11-day, 20-show festival) was unexpectedly sweeping in its approach, covering duos that sang pop, folk, jazz, Great American Songbook, and musical theater tunes. With veteran cabaret singer Sue Matsuki serving as producer and host, and Musical Director Gregory Toroian on piano, the show encompassed both the predictable and the surprising and was a genuine pleasure.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its lineup for December 14 - 20, featuring Catherine Russell Sextet, Apollo Link, Birdland Big Band, and more. Scroll down for details!

Louis Armstrong House Museum today announced that Dr. John, music icon; Cyril Neville, legendary musician and activist; Jerome Chazen, Chairman of Chazen Capital Partners, Chairman Emeritus of Liz Claiborne, Inc. and Trustee of the Louis Armstrong House Museum; and Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners and noted philanthropist and jazz aficionado, will be presented with the 'Louie Award' for their dedication to preserving and promoting the cultural legacy of Louis Armstrong at the Museum's annual gala tonight, December 2, 2015.

Broadway In Chicago and Emerald City Theatre are pleased to announce that MAGIC TREE HOUSE: A NIGHT IN NEW ORLEANS based on the best-selling book series by Mary Pope Osborne will play the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place March 19 through April 10, 2016. MAGIC TREE HOUSE is directed by Samuel Roberson with book and lyrics by Will Osborne and Murray Horwitz and music and additional lyrics by Allen Toussaint.

The Palmer House Hilton is proud to announce dinner, dancing and an all-star performance in celebration of the centennial of Frank Sinatra's birth, tonight, Nov. 28 in the legendary Empire Room within the Palmer House Hilton, 17 E. Monroe St. The event begins at 6 p.m. with a cocktail hour followed by, a three-course gourmet dinner with choice of entrée, and wine service then a special “Tribute to Frank”  featuring Chicago's top cabaret performers Joan Curto, Shelley MacArthur, Paul Marinaro, Beckie Menzie, Tom Michael, and Johnny Rodgers. The birthday party concludes with dancing to The City Lights Orchestra conducted by Rich Daniels until 11 p.m.  Single tickets are $125, with VIP tickets, which include premium seating and an open bar throughout the night, are $150. Reservations may be made at celebrating100yearsofsinatra.brownpapertickets.com.

Sometimes a flop Broadway show is better appreciated after closing, and may even return as a hit!

The Milton Berle Room heard the sounds of past Friars, Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan, and Louis Prima last night as Danny Bacher brought his show Swing That Music to the club.  BroadwayWorld was there for the fun.  The club has been home to many of the music world's past legends and Danny Bacher's music added to that storied tradition. Joining Danny for the evenings music and comedy were comedian Marla Schultz and jazz vocalist Alexis Cole along with Danny's 7 piece band.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its lineup for December 7 - 13, including Eliane Elias, Daniel Reichard, Birdland Big Band, and more!