Billy Strayhorn News

Get all the details on all of the exciting jazz programming at Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater running December 6 through December 18.

Award-winning singer and actor, Darius de Haas (Rent, Kiss of the Spider Woman, this past summer’s highly acclaimed Public Works As You Like It, the singing voice of Shy Baldwin on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) will return to 54 Below in an encore performance of his Holiday Concert.

Few musical works or theatrical productions are as inextricably tied with the holidays as The Nutcracker, and to make this holiday season extra special, Stage Access – the streaming service dedicated to classical music, ballet, opera and the performing arts – is offering a dazzling array of 10 different variations on this wintertime spectacular.

Get details for all the jazz programming at Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater running November 29 through December 11. 

In a special holiday musical tribute to 'A Charlie Brown Christmas,' 17-year-old piano prodigy Brandon Goldberg will perform live with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra on Sunday afternoon, December 4 at 4:30 p.m., at Chicago's Studebaker Theater.

The Music Institute of Chicago presents its holiday tradition, Duke It Out! Nutcracker, featuring the classical (Tchaikovsky) and jazz (Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn) versions of the holiday favorite in a music and dance performance Saturday, December 10 at 2 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston. The performance is also available via livestream.

The married musical team of Julie Benko and Jason Yeager will celebrate Hand in Hand – their debut duet album from CLUB44 RECORDS – with two very special New York concerts at 54 Below on Monday, November 7 at 9:30 PM and Sunday, December 4 at 7:00 PM.

​​​​​​​Music Institute of Chicago piano faculty and well-known Chicago musical artist Matthew Hagle returns to Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, on Saturday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m. with “Brahms and His Contemporaries,” an evening of late 19th and early 20th century short piano works.

Austin Shakespeare's upcoming season brings back their most popular playwrights and a new collaboration. 

Davenport's Piano Bar & Cabaret, Chicago's premier location for enjoying music in an intimate setting, announces its roster of September performances in its Cabaret and Piano Bar. Davenport's, 1383 North Milwaukee Ave., is open Thursdays 7 - 11 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 7 p.m. - 12 a.m. and Sundays from 6 - 11 p.m. 

Music Institute of Chicago Artist-in-Residence and Chicago jazz favorite Tammy McCann will return to Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, on Saturday, October 29 at 7:30 p.m. with Yes, Mahalia!, a homage to gospel pioneer and Chicago legend Mahalia Jackson.

Celia Berk, the multi-award winning vocalist, has just released her much anticipated third studio album, Now That I Have Everything. Music Director/Pianist Tedd Firth revives the classic format of the Nat King Cole trio with bassists David Finck and Jay Leonhart and guitarist Matt Munisteri, along with percussionist Rex Benincasa on several tracks.

HAND IN HAND is a sweet way for this musical partnership to round out what has been a whirlwind ride for their household.

Hand In Hand, as an album and as a show, are pretty good reasons for Jason Yeager and Julie Benko to celebrate.

that Hand in Hand – the debut duet album from the married musical team of Julie Benko and Jason Yeager – is now available. Listen here!

Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater are open this September with a full slate of nightly performances!

Hand in Hand – the debut duet album from the married musical team of Julie Benko and Jason Yeager – is available for pre-order. The full album will be released on CD and in digital and streaming formats on Friday, August 26.

Maestro Louis Scaglione, President and Music Director of Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute (PYOMI), has announced the launch of the Philadelphia Youth Jazz Orchestra (PYJO), a new program division of the Institute.

The married couple's upcoming album, 'Hand in Hand,' includes theater favorites (“People” from Funny Girl, “All I’ve Ever Known” from Hadestown), jazz standards (“The Nearness of You,”), and pop hits (“Mercedes Benz”), in addition to Yeager’s original songs. Watch a feature on the making of the album and listen to the new single now!

Fresh on the heels of smash-hit cabaret show Celia Berk will release a new album on the Grammercy Nightengale Music label.