Count Basie News

Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho-winner of the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition-performs Chopin's Second Piano Concerto in his New Jersey Symphony Orchestra debut, October 11-14 in Englewood, Newark and Morristown. The program also features Dvo?ak's Seventh Symphony and the NJSO premiere of Ligeti's Romanian Concerto.

The nation's foremost civil rights organization mourns the passing of jazz great Randy Weston, a modern-griot and powerful unifier of African culture in the Diaspora.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra has added additional performances of the first two films in the Star Wars: Film Concert Series. The NJSO presents screenings of the complete films Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back with Oscar-winning composer John Williams' musical scores performed live in November 2018 and January 2019, respectively. Tickets for the added performances go on sale to the public on September 7 at 10 am.

Flashback to 1966 Las Vegas & join powerhouse vocalist Chris Pinnella along with a 14-Piece Big Band as they perform the iconic live album 'Sinatra at the Sands' from beginning to end. Featuring the Quincy Jones & Count Basie arrangements and led by jazz bassist Gary Mazzaroppi (Stan Getz, Buddy Rich, Les Paul Trio)

With the opera 'The White Bird of Poston' noted conductor Jason Tramm is reunited once again with Los Angeles Opera composer/director Eli Villanueva and librettist Leslie Stevens in collaboration with the Count Basie Center for the Arts, for the East Coast premiere of the opera, in association with the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts for two performances August 25th at 2:00pm and 6:00pm in Toms River, New Jersey.

Ready or not, her comes Kristin!  Stage and screen star Kristin Chenoweth just announced a slew of concert dates at venues all around the country, launching from Houston, Texas next month. Check out the full itinerary below:

The GRAMMY Museum Experience Prudential Center, in association with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), will launch a new program series this fall, beginning with “An Evening With Lenny Kravitz,” a four-time GRAMMY® winner, on Sept. 18, 2018, in NJPAC's Victoria Theater in Newark, N.J. The program will feature a conversation between the iconic rock musician and special guest moderator, five-time GRAMMY winner Questlove about the creation and inspiration behind Kravitz's new release, Raise Vibration. The series will continue with “An Evening With Wyclef Jean,” a three-time GRAMMY winner and founding member of the New Jersey-based Fugees Oct.16, 2018.  The acclaimed musician, producer, and songwriter will discuss his illustrious career and current projects with the Los Angeles GRAMMY Museum's Founding Executive Director, Bob Santelli, which will be followed by a special performance.

Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with the following acts:

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, the 15-time Emmy Award-winning show that sparked America's fascination with dance, returns to the road this fall with the installment of its blockbuster annual tour, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE LIVE! 2018.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, the 15-time Emmy Award-winning show that sparked America's fascination with dance, returns to the road this fall with the installment of its blockbuster annual tour, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE LIVE! 2018.

Nearly a decade ago a story ran in NJ's most widely circulated print newspaper which opened with the statement "New Jersey doesn't have a state music director, but it would seem that Jason Tramm is out to create the position… as he leads opera, choral and orchestral concerts from Morris County to Ocean Grove." Prescient in their observations, The Star Ledger's 2009 article provided a snapshot of Tramm at the beginning of his career.  In spirit, the image resonates today, albeit with a decidedly expanded geographic reach.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with Count Basie Orchestra, Natalie Douglas Tributes: Ella Fitzgerald, The Renee Manning/Earl McIntyre Septet, Nina Storey at the Birdland Theater, and more!

All tickets are now on sale for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's 2018-19 season. Classical, pops and family concerts feature works that bring to life great stories, poems and speeches, from Kate Whitley's Malala Yousafzai-inspired Speak Out to Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade to sarod master Amjad Ali Khan's Samaagam to Star Wars: A New Hope, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Disney's Mary Poppins performed live to picture.

Sponsored by Thornapple Consulting LLC, 'Geoffrey Mark Sings ELLA' is a celebration of what would have been Ella Fitzgerald's 101 on April 25th, a new show and book about the Legendary Ella Fitzgerald, with full support of the Fitzgerald estate and foundation, has been produced and written by Emmy(R) Award winner, Grammy(R) Award nominee and best selling author, Geoffrey Mark.

Sponsored by Thornapple Consulting LLC, 'Geoffrey Mark Sings ELLA' is a celebration of what would have been Ella Fitzgerald's 101 on April 25th, a new show and book about the Legendary Ella Fitzgerald, with full support of the Fitzgerald estate and foundation, has been produced and written by Emmy(R) Award winner, Grammy(R) Award nominee and best selling author, Geoffrey Mark.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with John Pizzarelli and Swing 7, Ladybugs, The Larry Fuller Trio, and more!

The New Orleans Ballet Association announces its 2018-2019 dance season packed with stellar performances by four brilliant and world-renowned dance companies, including Diavolo | Architecture in Motion, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and BODYTRAFFIC, and a special 50th Anniversary Evening of Stars that will kick off NOBA's golden season (1969-2019).

Marvelous Marilyn Maye has moved into the brand-new Birdland Theater for two weeks, much to the delight of the club's staff, as well as Marilyn's legion of fans. The "Queen of Cabaret" will be in residence for two weeks, running Tuesday to Saturday through August 4, with shows at 7pm each night.

The Broadway at Birdland concert series presented the return of Broadway singer/actor Max von Essen in concert last night, July 23. Max von Essen, currently starring in the hit Broadway production of Anastasia, returned with his old fashioned, new show celebrating the best of Broadway and the American songbook. Once again, Billy Stritch was musical director for the evening, with Steve Doyle on bass, Daniel Glass on drums, and Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf on cello.