Annie Ross News

In Music Is Forever: Dizzy Gillespie, the Jazz Legend and Me, Dave Usher, white and Jewish, tells the story of how he, at age 14, met the jazz giant, a black man who practiced the Baha'i Faith, and forged a 50-year friendship.

GABRIELLE STRAVELLI - the acclaimed pop/jazz vocalist called 'ingenious' by The Wall Street Journal and known from her tours with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, appearances at the 92nd Street Y and her long-running Soho jazz brunch - will join tenor saxophonist Ed Finkel as he brings a group of well-known New York jazz artists to the Heinz W. Otto Gallery at the Watchung Arts Center in Watchung, NJ tonight, March 28 at 8 PM. A dessert reception will follow the performance.

GABRIELLE STRAVELLI - the acclaimed pop/jazz vocalist called 'ingenious' by The Wall Street Journal and known from her tours with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, appearances at the 92nd Street Y and her long-running Soho jazz brunch - will join tenor saxophonist Ed Finkel as he brings a group of well-known New York jazz artists to the Heinz W. Otto Gallery at the Watchung Arts Center in Watchung, NJ on Saturday, March 28 at 8 PM. A dessert reception will follow the performance.

Maureen McGovern took the stage at 54 Below for 'Celebrating Women Singer/Songwriters' from March 10-14, where she was visited by a slew of stars, including Tony Bennett and Sam Underwood. Check out photos below!

Emerging as a pop diva in the 1970s, Maureen McGovern has been somewhere on the scene for decades. She still has a powerful, well-honed instrument, sufficient to perform confident acapella. However, It's difficult to tell from her new 54 Below show, Sing, My Sisters, Sing! Celebrating Women Singer/Songwriters, whether the artist's range has vastly diminished or arrangements and rhythms, often unsympathetic to original tunes, are so similar as to make an otherwise diverse selection of songs homogeneous.

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Maureen McGovern in 'Celebrating Women Singer/ Songwriters.' Maureen celebrates women singer/songwriters in her powerful new show and forthcoming CD, Sing, My Sisters, Sing!.

The former pop star and Broadway headliner brings her tribute to female singer-songwriters to 54 Below.

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestra's begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven- o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: The Cast of Side Show: Added Attractions; Maureen McGovern: Celebrating Women Singer/Songwriters at 54 Below; Columbia University Songbook featuring David Henry Hwang & More; A Sophisticated Ladies Reunion at 54 Below; and 54 Sings A Man of No Importance.

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551.

This March, 54 BELOW presents an exciting lineup of the brightest talent from Broadway and beyond. Located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street. Below, find the schedule for upcoming events over the next month.

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Maureen McGovern in 'Celebrating Women Singer/ Songwriters.' Maureen celebrates women singer/songwriters in her powerful new show and forthcoming CD, Sing, My Sisters, Sing!.

Rutgers University is now seeking a new executive director to promote the university's jazz program.

The day is finally here! After one month of voting on preliminary nominees in 17 categories, the results of more than 5,000 ballots were considered along with the selections of BroadwayWorld's cabaret section editors to determine the final nominees for the 2014 BroadwayWorld.com New York Cabaret Awards. Joining cabaret icon Marilyn Maye with four nominations is budding star Carole J. Bufford, who made the final ballot for two different shows during 2014 and as 'Best Female Vocalist' and 'Performer of the Year.' Among Maye's nominations were 'Performer of the Year,' two shows in the 'Best Celebrity Show' category, and a 'Best Director' nomination for her work with jazz singer Gabrielle Stravelli (who received two nominations). In addition to her usual nod for 'Best Jazz Vocalist,' jazz star Jane Monheit received two other nominations as 'Performer of the Year,' and as 'Best Host' for her new variety show at Birdland, Jane Monheit's Jazz Party (Monheit also co-starred with Clint Holmes in another nominated show, Frank Wildhorn and Friends in the 'Best Revue' category.) Eric Michael Gillett also earned three nominations for 'Best Show, Male,' 'Best Male Vocalist,' and 'Best Director.'

This coming week, Olivier Award nominee and celebrated Broadway favorite Brent Barrett (Chicago; Kiss Me, Kate; Annie Get Your Gun) will debut his new cabaret act 'LIFE IS: THE SONGS OF KANDER & EBB' at New York's famed Metropolitan Room.

The concept of tribute in jazz has become as common as the use of 4/4 time. But when a tribute is paid to a giant by an artist who has earned her own right to tribute through her personal accomplishments, an entirely new dimension is in play. Such is the case with Annie Ross' stunning To Lady with Love – an extraordinary homage to Annie's personal idol – the immortal Billie Holiday.

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is pleased to announce JUDY CARMICHAEL with her show I Love Being Here with You tonight, October 10. This special evening includes a VIP ticket opportunity to mix and mingle with the artist at a cocktail party following the performance.

The concept of tribute in jazz has become as common as the use of 4/4 time. But when a tribute is paid to a giant by an artist who has earned her own right to tribute through her personal accomplishments, an entirely new dimension is in play. Such is the case with Annie Ross' stunning To Lady with Love – an extraordinary homage to Annie's personal idol – the immortal Billie Holiday.

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is pleased to announce JUDY CARMICHAEL with her show I Love Being Here with You on Friday, October 10. This special evening includes a VIP ticket opportunity to mix and mingle with the artist at a cocktail party following the performance. The show starts at 8 pm. Tickets are available on line at www.baystreet.org or by calling the Bay Street Theater Box Office at 631-725-9500, open Tuesday through Saturday 11 am to 5 pm.

The John Marshall Jazz Quintet will fill Abingdon's June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street) with the sound of Jazz for a one-night-only concert on Sunday, August 17 at 7pm. Set to join trumpeter John Marshall are Grant Stewart on saxophone, Tardo Hammer on keyboard, David Wong on bass and Jimmy Wormworth on drums.

DRG Records celebrates the release of Gerard Alessandrini's Forbidden Broadway: Comes Out Swinging! (2014 Un-Original Cast Album) which is produced by Grammy Award winner Hugh Fordin, and is available in stores and online today, July 22nd. To kick off the CD release, Barnes & Noble (150 East 86 Street) will host an in-store appearance and performance from 4pm - 6pm. This CD marks Forbidden Broadway's 12th cast recording with DRG Records. Featured on the album are cast members Carter Calvert, Scott Richard Foster, Mia Gentile and Marcus Stevens, with David Caldwell on piano.