John Patitucci, Danilo Pérez, Terri Lyne Carrington, and More Will Come to Smoke Jazz Club
The NYC venue will also feature Eric Alexander with Brad Mehldau and Nicholas Payton
SMOKE Jazz Club has announced its line-up for June 2026. The month's opener is one of the finest bassists of his generation, John Patitucci, making his bandleader debut at SMOKE with special guests Steve Wilson, Chris Potter and Michael Rodriguez.
The Panamanian pianist Danilo Pérez leads an all-star trio of Ben Street and Adam Cruz followed by the return of NEA Jazz Master Terri Lyne Carrington at the helm of her exceptional quartet.
The month's closer is bebop saxophonist Eric Alexander leading two different groups: first a Quartet featuring Brad Mehldau followed by a Quintet featuring Nicholas Payton. For the most updated June schedule, please visit . As always, all Friday night concerts are livestreamed!
John Patitucci Quartet featuring Special Guests
Wed-Sun June 3-7
Joey Calderazzo – piano
John Patitucci – bass
Adam Cruz – drums
With special guests
Steve Wilson – alto saxophone (Wed)
Chris Potter – tenor saxophone (Thu-Fri)
Michael Rodriguez – trumpet (Sat-Sun)
Bassist John Patitucci makes his highly anticipated bandleader debut at SMOKE with an exciting quartet featuring pianist Joey Calderazzo and drummer Adam Cruz, as well as special guest saxophonists Steve Wilson (Wednesday), Chris Potter (Thursday & Friday), and trumpeter Michael Rodriguez. Patitucci—a multiple Grammy Award winner, accomplished on acoustic and electric basses—is a prolific powerhouse in the music world. He is well known for his extensive tenures with legendary artists Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, and Herbie Hancock, Patitucci also recorded or performed with Stan Getz, Pat Metheny, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Michael Brecker, McCoy Tyner, and scores of others. Some of the many pop and Brazilian artists he has played with include Sting, Joni Mitchell, Milton Nascimiento, Astrud and Joao Gilberto, Airto and Flora Purim. His virtuosity and ability to span these genres have made him a vital force in music. He is also an accomplished and decorated composer who has written for film, chamber, and orchestral groups, as well as for jazz. While Patitucci earns frequent applause and praise from audiences and critics alike, perhaps it's his fellow artists who are most enthusiastic.
Danilo Pérez Trio featuring Ben Street & Adam Cruz
Wed-Sun June 10-14
Danilo Perez – piano
Ben Street – bass
Adam Cruz – drums
Pianist Danilo Pérez, lauded as one of the most creative forces in contemporary music, leads an all-star trio with bassist Ben Street and drummer Adam Cruz. Panamanian-born Pérez has toured and/or recorded with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Jack DeJohnette, Steve Lacy, Lee Konitz, Charlie Haden, Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, Tito Puente, Wynton Marsalis, Tom Harrell, Gary Burton, and Roy Haynes. With jazz as the anchoring foundation, Pérez's music is a blend of his Panamanian roots, Latin American folk music, West African rhythms, and European impressionism. As National Public Radio reports, “Danilo Perez is a man with some serious jazz cred. The Panamanian pianist got his start playing with Dizzy Gillespie and continued with Wayne Shorter. As a composer and bandleader himself, he's practically peerless.”
Terri Lyne Carrington Quartet
Wed-Sun June 17-21
Caroline Davis – alto saxophone
Orrin Evans – piano
Matt Brewer – bass
Terri Lyne Carrington – drums
Drummer and bandleader Terri Lyne Carrington leads an exceptional quartet with saxophonist Caroline Davis, pianist Orrin Evans, and bassist Matt Brewer. Carrington—an NEA Jazz Master, four-time Grammy winner, and the 2019 Doris Duke Award recipient—is a former child prodigy who, at 10 years old, became the youngest person to receive a union card in Boston. While still in her 20s, she toured extensively with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, among others. To date, Carrington has performed on over 100 recordings and has toured or recorded with luminary artists such as Al Jarreau, Stan Getz, Woody Shaw, Clark Terry, Diana Krall, Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves, James Moody, Yellowjackets, and Esperanza Spalding, among many others.
Eric Alexander
Quartet Featuring Brad Mehldau (June 24-25)
Quintet Featuring Nicholas Payton (June 26-28)
Wed–Thu
Eric Alexander – tenor saxophone
Brad Mehldau – piano
Alexander Claffy – bass
Carl Allen – drums
Fri–Sun
Eric Alexander – tenor saxophone
Nicholas Payton – trumpet
David Kikoski – piano
Alexander Claffy – bass
Carl Allen – drums
Saxophonist Eric Alexander spends the week leading not one, but two extraordinary groups: A quartet on Wednesday and Thursday featuring the great pianist Brad Mehldau with bassist Alexander Claffy and drummer Carl Allen; and a quintet on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with the acclaimed trumpeter Nicholas Payton, pianist David Kikoski, as well as Claffy and Allen. Since he emerged in the early '90s, Alexander has been “one of the finest bebop saxophonists in the world,” according to National Public Radio, producing an impressive discography, often collaborating with his one-time teacher, the late great Harold Mabern. In addition to leading his own groups, Alexander has worked notably with Pat Martino, Horace Silver, McCoy Tyner, George Coleman, Freddie Cole, and with the cooperative sextet, One for All.
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