Count Basie News

?Georgia Ensemble Theatre (GET), North Fulton's only professional theatre company, is proud to announce that it will be presenting a series of big band concerts through the 2014-2015 season.

The Garden Theatre has announced UCF's Flying Horse Big Band concert, Friday, October 17, 2014 at 8pm as part of the 35th anniversary of WUCF-FM 89.9 Jazz & More.

59E59 Theaters will host the US premiere of CAFE SOCIETY SWING, written by Alex Webb and directed by Simon Green. Produced by Richard Darbourne Ltd (producer of last season's Drama League nominated All That Fall) and The Copasetic Foundation, CAFE SOCIETY SWING begins performances on Tuesday, December 16 for a limited engagement through Sunday, January 4. Opening Night is Sunday, December 21 at 7 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7 PM; Friday at 8 PM; Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM; Sunday at 3 PM & 7 PM.

Birdland is proud to announce the return of Broadway icon Chita Rivera in Chita's Back! this week, October 7 - 11, 2014.

Cafe Carlyle will welcome back acclaimed husband-and-wife duo John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey for a four-week engagement, October 28 - November 22. They'll make their annual fall pilgrimage to The Carlyle with an all-new show entitled Grown Up Songs. Grown Up Songs features sophisticated selections for the most sophisticated venue in New York City with music by Stephen Sondheim, Johnny Mercer, Paul McCartney, Alan Jay Lerner, Adam Guettel, Billy Joel and more.

Birdland Jazz Club is pleased to announce their amazing line-up of talent for October 13 - October 19, including Benny Green Trio, Jenna Esposito & The City Rythym Orchestra, Barbara Carroll, and more!

This October and November 54 BELOW presents a lineup of the brightest talent from Broadway and beyond. Located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54thStreet. For a detailed schedule of upcoming performances at 54 Below and to purchase tickets, visit www.54Below.com.

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.

Feinstein's at the Nikko is proud to announce the upcoming lineup for November 2014. Performers include Tony Award winning actress and singer Betty Buckley; Tony Award winner Laura Benanti; jazz legend Freddy Cole; acclaimed performance artist Jeffrey Johnson; star of stage and screen Telly Leung; Award-winning cabaret singer -- and Bay Area native -- Carly Ozard. Additional performers for November 2014 will be announced at a later date.

Birdland Jazz Club is pleased to announce their amazing line-up of talent for October 6 - October 12, including Chita Rivera, Miss Coco Peru, Barbara Carroll, and more. Details below!

The Utah Symphony performs with Doc Severinsen, the trumpeter and bandleader for Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show, this weekend, September 26 and 27 in Abravanel Hall at 8 PM.

Lincoln, Neb., Sept. 22, 2014 -- The Lied Center for Performing Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will celebrate opening night of its 25th anniversary season with one of the best-known and most critically-acclaimed musicians on the planet. Led by nine-time Grammy Award winner Wynton Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will perform on the Lied Center Main Stage at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26.

DJ Lance Rock and the colorful cast of characters from Yo Gabba Gabba! will join REVERB at the Westside Global Awareness Magnet School on September 30th to help students with projects to improve their school garden program.

Legendary jazz vocalist Marlena Shaw will make her debut at Feinstein's at the Nikko for two performances only - Saturday, October 11 (7 p.m.) and Sunday, October 12 (7 p.m.) Backed by the Marlena Shaw Quartet, Shaw will feature an evening of her greatest hits from throughout her 40-plus year career. Tickets for Marlena Shaw range in price from $35 - $50 and are available now by calling 866.663.1063 or visiting www.ticketweb.com.

Joe Piscopo took the stage at The Ciccone Theatre recently, and BroadwayWorld was on hand to snap some photos! As Joe Piscopo tells it, NBC in a moment of insanity replaced the original cast of Saturday Night Live (Dan Aykroyn, John Belushi, Gilda Radner etc) with Joe Piscopo and a new cast which included Eddie Murphy. After seeing Joe's act at a great venue in Paramus New Jersey named The Ciccone Theatre, I witnessed first hand the brilliance of the network's decision to put Joe in SNL in 1980.

The Utah Symphony performs with Doc Severinsen, the trumpeter and bandleader for Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show, on September 26 and 27 in Abravanel Hall at 8 PM.

John Mellencamp has announced dates for his upcoming Plain Spoken tour beginning in January 2015 throughout the summer.

Paste Magazine is premiering a new song from Kat Edmonson, “Oh My Love,” from her upcoming album The Big Picture (due out September 30 via Sony Music Masterworks)

Music Director Jacques Lacombe and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra open the NJSO's 2014-15 concert season October 10-12 with Orff's Carmina Burana in Newark, New Brunswick and Morristown. The concert opens with New Jersey composer George Antheil's McKonkey's Ferry as part of both the NJSO's New Jersey Roots Project and NJ350--a celebration of the Garden State's 350th anniversary in 2014. Debussy's Nocturnes rounds out the opening program.

Between the two legendary bastions of great jazz, the Blue Note on West 3rd street, and Birdland on 44th Street, is another music stage on 22nd street. The kind of music usually associated with those two clubs was heard at the Metropolitan Room last night. With swinging and elegant singing, Kathy Sledge brought the music of Billie Holiday to the standing room only crowd that packed operating partner Bernie Furshpan's Cabaret venue. With a band that seemed to stretch the entire length of the room, a group of musicians called "Somebody Tell Joe & The Chops" turned on an engine of sound which was akin to hearing Count Basie and crew at the Sands in Las Vegas. As the leader shouted out the tempo cue, 1-2-3-4, horns raised and John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" and Gillespie and Paparelli's "Night In Tunisia" lifted the musically elite audience out of their seats.