BIRDLAND Announces Programming Through April 24th

Birdland Theater and Jazz Club has announced their programming for April 12th through April 24th. Below is the full schedule.

April 12-16 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (4/12-14); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (4/15-16) - Birdland Jazz Club / Thursday, April 7 at 9:30 - Livestream Event
Mingus Big Band: Celebrating 100 Years of Charles Mingus
For this special week, Birdland presents The Mingus Big Band celebrating the 100th birthday of its namesake, the inimitable composer, bassist, author and activist Charles Mingus. One of the longest working New York ensembles, the Big Band held weekly performances in New York for a whopping 17 years, changing to biweekly performances for another 11 years at the Jazz Standard, trading off weeks with the Mingus Dynasty band. Stopping for the pandemic, the band is now back, performing at the Roxy Hotel each week. They have recorded 12 albums-six nominated for Grammys. The band features striking arrangements of Mingus compositions played by the best jazz personalities in the business.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

April 13 (Wednesday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Theater
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 18th 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!
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

April 13 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola's Guitar Night - Livestream Event
One of the world's most exciting jazz guitarists for the last 25 years, Frank Vignola's virtuosity and pan-stylistic expertise has led to work with such stars as Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Tommy Emmanuel, and the Boston and New York Pops. Every Wednesday Frank takes the Birdland Theater stage with the guitar band featuring Jimmy Bruno and Ken Smith (guitars), Harvie S (bass), and Vince Cherico (drums). Join us on FlyMachine for a livestream set here.
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

April 14-17 (Thursday-Sunday) 8:30 PM (4/14); 7:00 & 9:30 PM (4/15-17) - Birdland Theater
Steve Wilson Analog Band
One of jazz's most celebrated figures on the alto saxophone, the ever inventive and endlessly passionate Steve Wilson-the leader on 7 acclaimed recordings and sideman on over 130-brings his Analog Band to Birdland Theater for four nights. In 2017, the GRAMMY-winning Wilson released Sit Back, Relax, and Unwind (JMI Recordings) on vinyl only, a totally "analog" session using no digital equipment, as was customary in earlier epochs of recording history. The band from that session, featuring pianist Ray Angry (The Roots, D'Angelo), drummer Willie Jones III (Roy Hargrove), and bassist Corcoran Holt (Kenny Garrett) joins Wilson for this engagement at the Theater. Wilson, who Jazz Times hails as "one of the finest alto and soprano saxophonists of our time," has served as an integral part of trailblazing bands by Maria Schneider, Chick Corea, George Duke, Dave Holland, Christian McBride, and so many more. Don't miss this great artist!
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

April 15 (Friday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
The Birdland Big Band
Every Friday, and for two headlining weeks a year, the "BBB" roars into action playing a thrilling and original mix of jazz, funk, Brazilian, Latin and world music for sold-out audiences. Featured weekly guest artists drop-in from television bands (David Letterman, Saturday Night Live) and pop music touring bands (Rob Thomas, Rod Stewart). Come see for yourself why Time Out New York called the BBB, "a completely unique experience... there isn't another band like this anywhere," and yelp.com proclaims, "if you hear one band in NYC make sure this is it... and prepare to be blown away!"
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum

April 17 (Sunday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Jin Joo Trio
The late, great jazz drummer Jimmy Wormworth exclaimed of pianist Jin Joo: "I LOVE her playing and compositions!!! I hear Thelonious, Bud, John Lewis from her," he stated. "Jinjoo does not show off. She tells a lot of big story with fewer notes than most young artists of her age." An internationally-regarded performer, she has played across the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, Spain, Poland, Hungary, and South Korea, and in 2017, the famed Baku Jazz Competition selected her as a Finalist. On her debut album, 2018's I'm Curious (Gut Strings Records), Joo is backed by the great Wormworth and revered bassist Neal Miner. She brings a swinging trio to Birdland playing songbook standards and inspired originals.
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

April 17 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble
Pianist, composer and educator Arturo O'Farrill-leader of the "first family of Afro-Cuban Jazz" (New York Times)-leads the GRAMMY® award winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) and the pared down, appropriately socially-distanced ensemble, who bring together the drama of big band jazz, the culture of Latin music, and the virtuosity of eighteen of the world's most accomplished solo musicians. Twelve years of critically-acclaimed performances internationally have firmly established the ALJO as the standard-bearer for creative interpretation of Latin jazz greats such as Tito Puente, Frank "Machito" Grillo, and Chico O'Farrill, as well as the driving force behind new commissions from Latin music's most talented composers and arrangers.
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum

April 19-23 (Tuesday-Saturday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM (4/19-21); 8:30 & 10:30 PM (4/22-23) - Birdland Jazz Club
Cyrille Aimée
International singing sensation Cyrille Aimée possesses a spritely, joyous presence and an astounding vocal technique. Her daring, witty performances have taken her from street corners in Europe to the Apollo Theater to 1st place at both the Montreux and Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competitions. After co-starring with Bernadette Peters in a Sondheim tribute at New York's City Center, Aimée took a deeper dive into Sondheim's work, which led to 2019's Move On: A Sondheim Adventure (Mack Avenue) and a GRAMMY nomination for her rendition of his "Marry Me A Little." Cyrille has certainly become a "rising star in the galaxy of jazz singers," as The New York Times put it; and at Birdland, where she has performed regularly for many years, she is sure to bring audiences into faraway lands and back again.
$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

April 20 (Wednesday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Theater
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 18th 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!
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

April 20 (Wednesday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Frank Vignola's Guitar Night - Livestream Event
One of the world's most exciting jazz guitarists for the last 25 years, Frank Vignola's virtuosity and pan-stylistic expertise has led to work with such stars as Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Tommy Emmanuel, and the Boston and New York Pops. Every Wednesday Frank takes the Birdland Theater stage with the guitar band featuring Jimmy Bruno and Ken Smith (guitars), Harvie S (bass), and Vince Cherico (drums). Join us on FlyMachine for a livestream set here.
$30 tables; $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

April 21 (Thursday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Donald Vega Trio
Nicaraguan-born, Los Angeles-raised, and New York-based Donald Vega is a shining star of jazz piano. Mentored by drumming legend Billy Higgins, taught by piano great Kenny Barron, and regularly employed by bassist extraordinaire Ron Carter, Vega has lived inside the inner circle jazz family for most of his life, and his live concerts and recordings prove as much: Vega's writing, improvisation, and ensemble playing converse joyfully with the history of jazz. On recording, he has teamed up with drum and bass icons Lewis Nash and Christian McBride for Spiritual Nature (Resonance, 2012) and again with Nash for With Respect to Monty (Resonance, 2015), joined by Monty Alexander bassist Hassan Shakur. Vega teaches at The Juilliard School and tours regularly around the globe with the foremost names in jazz.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

April 22 (Friday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
The Birdland Big Band
Every Friday, and for two headlining weeks a year, the "BBB" roars into action playing a thrilling and original mix of jazz, funk, Brazilian, Latin and world music for sold-out audiences. Featured weekly guest artists drop-in from television bands (David Letterman, Saturday Night Live) and pop music touring bands (Rob Thomas, Rod Stewart). Come see for yourself why Time Out New York called the BBB, "a completely unique experience... there isn't another band like this anywhere," and yelp.com proclaims, "if you hear one band in NYC make sure this is it... and prepare to be blown away!"
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum

April 22-24 (Friday-Sunday) 7:00 & 9:30 PM - Birdland Theater
Wycliffe Gordon and His International All-Stars
Widely regarded as one of the foremost voices on trombone in the world today, the great Wycliffe Gordon brings His International All-Stars to Birdland for a weekend of good old New Orleans fun. The band recorded its debut in 2016, entitled I Give You Love, with pianist Ehud Asherie born in Israel; bassist Yasushi Nakamura born in Japan; clarinetist and vocalist Adrian Cunningham born in Australia; and Wycliffe as well as drummer Alvin Atkinson from the United States. The trombonist leader has been presented with some of the jazz's highest distinctions: the 2019 Sonny Award from Suncoast Jazz; the 2018 "Louie Award" by the Louis Armstrong House Museum; the 2017 International Trombone Association Award; the 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014 ASCAP Plus Awards for his composing; Downbeat Magazine's "Best Trombone" Award in 2020, 2018, 2016, 2014, 2013 and 2012; and the Jazz Journalists Association "Trombonist of the Year" Award a whopping 14 times. His signature artistry is a combination of impossible technique, jubilant swagger, and soul-drenched expression.
$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

April 24 (Sunday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Sunday Special! Ashley Pezzotti with the Birdland Big Band
Ashley Pezzotti possesses an elegant, rich tone startlingly reminiscent of the singers from jazz's golden age. Her voice has been featured on Wynton Marsalis's The Ever Fonky Lowdown (2020). As Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra's trumpeter Marcus Printup remarked, "Ashley Pezzotti is a 'singer's singer'" who can "deliver timeless melodies" and whose improvisations allow her to "hold her own with any horn player." She joins the renowned Birdland Big Band for a Sunday night performance of original compositions inspired by American songbook classics. The "BBB" is one of New York's most exhilarating large ensembles, effortlessly running through a jaw-dropping range of styles, from jazz and funk to Latin, Brazilian, and other world musics. Yelp.com proclaims, "if you hear one band in NYC make sure this is it... and prepare to be blown away!"
$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

April 24 (Sunday) 8:30 & 10:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club
Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble
Pianist, composer and educator Arturo O'Farrill-leader of the "first family of Afro-Cuban Jazz" (New York Times)-leads the GRAMMY® award winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) and the pared down, appropriately socially-distanced ensemble, who bring together the drama of big band jazz, the culture of Latin music, and the virtuosity of eighteen of the world's most accomplished solo musicians. Twelve years of critically-acclaimed performances internationally have firmly established the ALJO as the standard-bearer for creative interpretation of Latin jazz greats such as Tito Puente, Frank "Machito" Grillo, and Chico O'Farrill, as well as the driving force behind new commissions from Latin music's most talented composers and arrangers.
$30 + $20 food/drink minimum