Julie Benko to Celebrate Mardi Gras at Birdland Jazz Club

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present the return of Julie Benko – direct from Broadway's Funny Girl and Harmony – with her band Euphonic Gumbo on Monday, February 12 at 7:00 PM. Benko will march her band out to celebrate Mardi Gras with six instrumentalists, including her jazz-pianist spouse Jason Yeager, in addition to Michael O'Brien on bass, Jay Sawyer on drums, Andy Warren on trumpet, Evan Harris on clarinet, and Rebecca Patterson on trombone. She is joined by her former Funny Girl castmate and tap dancer extraordinaire John Manzari as special guest. There is a $30-40 music charge. Birdland is located at 315 West 44th Street in New York.

Performing in the classic New Orleans jazz style, Julie lets the good times roll with a delightful potpourri of tunes inspired by her love of the Crescent City. Songs include selections from Hand in Hand, Benko and Yeager's recent album from Club44 Records (“Louisiana Fairy Tale,” “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?”), Benko's debut album (“Love for Sale”) and other classics (“Basin St. Blues,” “When the Saints Go Marching In”). There will be trivia, there will be prizes, and there will be sequins. Grab your beads and join the parade – nobody's gonna rain on this one!

Julie Benko joined the annals of theatrical lore for her sensational understudy-to-star trajectory as Fanny Brice in the recent Broadway revival of Funny Girl. Between her tenure as the standby, alternate, and full-time Fanny, she played the role over 180 times and received numerous accolades for her interpretation, including Theatre World's Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theatre. She was also called the 2022 “Breakout Star for Theater” in The New York Times, named among “10 Broadway Stars to Watch for 2023” by Variety, honored as one of “40 Under 40” for Crain's New York Business, hailed by CBS Mornings as “Broadway's breakout star,” and profiled in numerous national media outlets such as The New York Times and Time. She is currently back on Broadway originating the role of Ruth in the Barry Manilow/Bruce Sussman musical Harmony. Her recent album Hand in Hand (Club44 Records), a duo effort with her pianist-composer spouse Jason Yeager, won the BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award for “Best Commercial Album” and received a MAC Award nomination for “Best Major Album.” Other recordings include Christmas with You (Club44 Records) and Introducing Julie Benko. She has played leading roles in many Off-Broadway and regional productions and enjoys a vibrant concert career, having headlined sold-out solo shows at venues around the country.

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present Julie Benko with her band Euphonic Gumbo on Monday, February 12 at 7:00 PM. There is a $30-40 music charge and a $20 food and beverage minimum. Birdland is located at 315 West 44th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues) in Manhattan. For reservations, please call (212) 581-3080 or visit www.BirdlandJazz.com. 

UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS AT

BIRDLAND THEATER AND BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB

Every Monday at 9:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club

Jim Caruso's Cast Party

“Jim Caruso's Cast Party,” a New York institution for two decades, is a wildly popular weekly open mic night/variety show that has brought a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to Birdland since 2003. Called “show-business heaven” by The New York Times and “the gold-standard of open mic nights” by The Wall Street Journal, “Cast Party” presents a potent mix of Broadway stars, jazz swingers and cabaret legends, in addition to new faces and rising talent from every genre. The buoyant, sharp and charming Caruso guides the entire affair, while musical genius Billy Stritch (Liza Minnelli, Tony Bennett) holds court at the ivories and leads the Cast Party Symphony Orchestra (Steve Doyle on bass and Daniel Glass on drums). Eric Adams, the Mayor of the City of New York, recently proclaimed, “Whereas, I am enormously proud to lead a city renowned as a global capital of the arts, ‘Jim Caruso's Cast Party' has enriched our dynamic cultural landscape since 2003, and on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, I am pleased to recognize the weekly show's tremendous contributions to our performing arts and nightlife sectors.”

$30 + $20 food/drink minimum

Every Tuesday at 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater

The Lineup with Susie Mosher

“The Lineup with Susie Mosher” is a wild, anything-goes variety show featuring entertainers from the Broadway, cabaret and comedy scenes, ranging from today's hottest headliners to the best up-and-coming stars of tomorrow. Mosher – the noted actress and singer from Broadway and beyond, called “one of those talents you need to see to believe” by Time Out New York – hosts the spontaneous extravaganza every Tuesday, and each Lineup is unique and promises to deliver an unforgettable night of quintessential New York City entertainment.

$20 + $20 food/drink minimum

  

January 25 (Thursday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater

Joie Bianco and Friends

After three sold-out solo performances, “Joie Bianco and Friends” makes a comeback to

showcase Bianco's own arrangements of favorite standards, debuting vocal trio/duo arrangements as well as debuting some of her original lyrics. Bianco will be joined by talented musicians and friends she's befriended during her four years of music school. Bianco is a 22-year-old jazz singer from NYC and recently received her degree in jazz vocal performance at the University of Miami, Frost School of Music. Joie has appeared in many of NYC's jazz and cabaret clubs, including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland and Carnegie Hall. Joie was the 2019 winner in the jazz vocal category in Young Arts, and the recipient of the 2023 DownBeat Student Music Award for Best Solo Jazz Vocalist. Stephen Holden of The New York

Times referred to her as a “prodigious discovery.”

$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

January 29 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club

Ari Axelrod

Most recently seen at Paper Mill Playhouse in their critically acclaimed production of Fiddler on the Roof, Ari Axelrod returns to his artistic home to debut a new show. See Ari put his signature and heartfelt spin on some of your favorite songs from musical theater, the great American songbook, the pop world, and beyond. This evening will send you home whistling a new favorite tune or humming a treasured gem. Lawrence Yurman will accompany him on piano. The Jewish Week awarded Ari the prestigious "36 to Watch Award." He received the 2022 Bistro Award for Best Theatrical Artistry in Song. Hailed by BroadwayWorld as "genuinely one of the finest shows this writer has ever seen," his award-winning show, "A Place For Us: A Celebration of Jewish Broadway," has grown to international acclaim, performing to sold-out audiences around the world. Ari's critically acclaimed debut album, Ari Axelrod: Live at Birdland, is available on all streaming platforms.

$30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

February 5 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club

Scott Alan

Songwriter Scott Alan returns to Birdland after a five-year absence to celebrate his most acclaimed works. Joined by collaborator Ben Cohn (Wicked, Dear Evan Hansen, Once Upon a One More Time), along with Mairi Dorman-Phanuef on cello, Kiku Enomoto on violin, David Fallo on viola, Sean McDaniel on drums, Vivi Rama on bass, and Tim Basom on guitar. Alan's work will be celebrated by some of today's brightest stars including: Charity Angél Dawson, Alyssa Fox, Jenn Gambatese, Luke Islam, Robin de Jesús, Tommy Kaiser, Diva LaMarr, Ginna Claire Mason, Mauricio Martínez, Mary Kate Morrissey, Lindsay Pearce, Jake Pedersen, Henry Jacob Platt, Jelani Remy, Adam Roberts, Talia Robinson, Nic Rouleau, Analise Scarpaci, Kate Shindle, Talia Suskauer, and Eleri Ward. After the 2007 release of his debut album Dreaming Wide Awake, Alan has gone on to release seven follow-up albums that include Keys, What I Wanna Be When I Grow Up, Live, Anything Worth Holding on To, Cynthia Erivo and Oliver Tompsett Sing Scott Alan, Lifeline, and Nothing More. His compositions have been featured on “American Idol,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” “Entertainment Tonight,” HBO, MTV, and VH1.

$50 tables / $40 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

                                                                                                      

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