Louis Armstrong News

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with the following acts:

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

Lincoln Center Moments, a program for individuals with dementia and their caregivers, launches on Friday, March 17, with a performance of a Schumann piano trio featuring musicians of the New York Philharmonic. Created to bring Lincoln Center's unparalleled artistry to an intimate and supportive setting, the free performance series is designed to address the needs of the rapidly growing population affected by dementia and provide meaningful connections to the arts for an audience that may be unable to attend mainstream performances. The spring 2017 season features six performances representing genres across the Lincoln Center's campus. Participants enjoy one-hour-long chamber music, jazz, and theater performances, each followed by a one-hour, interactive workshop to share their experience with their fellow concertgoers. All programs start at 1 pm and take place at The Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, Frederick P. Rose Building, 10th floor, 165 West 65th Street, between Amsterdam and Broadway.

Piano phenomenon Elio Villafranca will bring the next generation of his popular "Letters to Mother Africa" concerts, the second in his series on the African continent's powerful influence on jazz and folk Cuban music, to Aaron Davis Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 31.

Bridgeport's Downtown Cabaret Theatre will host the East coast premiere of Stars in Concert, for three performances beginning Friday, April 7 at 7:30pm plus two additional performances on Saturday, April 8 at 5pm and 8:15pm. The Downtown Cabaret Theatre is located at 263 Golden Hill Street in downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut.

BROADWAY BY THE YEAR, the musical revue series created, written, directed, and hosted by Scott Siegel and which pays tribute to a different era of Broadway composers each program, is a stroke of brilliance. Occurring once a month, each evening is dedicated specifically to one decade of American musical theater, and features some of the most talented stars currently working in American musical theater. The series' most recent installment (and the first of 2017) on February 27 at its usual home, The Town Hall, paid tribute to the 1920s. The decade, which inducted into the theatrical cannon the likes of George and Ira Gershwin and Richard Rodgers, brims with melodically-rich scores including songs of yearning and joviality. The tunes selected for the evening certainly felt of their era; however, put into the hands of such skilled performers as Carolee Carmello, Beth Malone, and Robert Cuccioli (to name a few), they could be heard with fresh and non-cynical ears.

The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, America's longest running festival of new orchestral music, celebrates the arrival of its brilliant new Music Director and Conductor, Cristian M?celaru, with a sensational series of commissioned works that continue the Festival's forward-looking tradition and opens creative doors for its dynamic young conductor.

 The nationally regarded Fulton Theatre adds five performances to the existing run of In The Heights as presales break records. Added performances include Sunday, March 19 at 7:30 pm, Thursday, March 23 at 2:00 pm, Sunday, April 2 at 7:30 pm, Monday, April 3 at 7:30 pm and Tuesday, April 4 at 7:30 pm. In The Heights must close April 4.

The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, Verve Label Group and UMe are pleased to announce some of the major initiatives confirmed as part of this year's Ella 100 centennial celebration honoring one of the most beloved and influential vocalists of all time, Ella Fitzgerald. T

Named for alto saxophonist and jazz pioneer Charlie 'Bird' Parker who dubbed it 'The Jazz Corner of the World,' Birdland opened on December 15th 1949. For 60 years it has been home to jazz legends, from Parker, John Coltrane Duke Ellington and Count Basie to Oscar Peterson, Hank Jones, Diana Krall and everyone in between. The original 52nd street location was a cultural barometer and meeting place, inspiring the songs 'Birdland' and 'Lullaby of Birdland,' and serving as a regular haunt for celebrities and cultural figures. The modern incarnation is a state of the art nightclub featuring award winning Southern and Cajun cuisine, first rate sound and lighting and a who's who of contemporary musical artists, 7 nights a week.

Today, San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC) and Dr. Timothy Seelig, Artistic Director, announced the spring concert for Season 39: Community, featuring four performances of Paradise Found, running March 30 - April 1at the Herbst Theatre (401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco 94102). Performances are Thursday, March 30 at 8 p.m., Friday, March 31 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, April 1 at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets range in price from $25-65 and are available now on www.SFGMC.org or by calling City Box Office at (415) 392-4400.

SOULSKIN Dance is proud to present a brand new work SATIN & SWING as part of their 4th Season in San Francisco. Artistic Director and Choreographer Adrianna Thompson seeks to engage audiences in a study of two eras, the 1920s and the present. Dance Mission Theatre transforms into a time machine, transporting us back to the 1920s. Glitz and glam sparkle from the dingy corners of a speakeasy. Raucous jazz blares, bringing bejeweled and sequined dancing flapper girls to life. An evening of indulgence has begun. The entry notes of Prince's 'Erotic City' ring in your ears, an echo from another time. Suddenly you notice the writing on the wall. The crash of overindulgence is imminent.

SOULSKIN Dance will present a brand new work SATIN & SWING as part of their 4th Season in San Francisco.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents famous duets and solos of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, including "Love is Here to Stay," "Just One of Those Things" and highlights from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, April 21-23 in Red Bank, Newark and New Brunswick. Vocalist Marva Hicks and trumpeter Byron Stripling bring Armstrong and Fitzgerald's legendary partnership to life; Lee Musiker conducts.

Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director/CEO Allen D. Cornell and Managing Director/COO Jon R. Moses, present the classic Broadway hit, Mame, which performs on the Stark Stage from March 7-26, 2017. Mame is sponsored by the O'Haire Fessler Group - Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers Group.

 The Ridgefield Playhouse and Ridgefield Magazine Broadway and Cabaret Series presents a night with the Legendary Tony Award-winning actor Ben Vereen on Sunday, May 21 at 8 p.m.  Ben Vereen's performances transcend time and are woven into the fabric of this country's artistic legacy. In this special evening, partially underwritten by Adam Broderick Salon and Spa,  you will take a whirlwind trip through Vereen's career and favorite songs - including numbers from Pippin (for which he won the Tony Award) and Jesus Christ Superstar, interspersed with loving and sometimes hilarious anecdotes about some of the Broadway greats he has worked with.  The night winds its way through various autobiographically-inspired segments.  Media sponsor for this special event is CPBN Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its lineup for March 13-March 19, including Kurt Rosenwinkel and Caipi CD Release Celebration, "Songwriter Circle" featuring Paul Scott Goodman, Neil Berg, Gabe Violett, Rita Harvey, Selda Said & Derek Gregor, Eric Comstock, and more. Scroll down for details!

Madame Tussauds, the world-renowned wax attraction slated to open its newest location in Nashville on April 14, and Luke Bryan teamed up to reveal the country superstar's new wax figure in Time Square on March 1 prior to his sold-out show at Madison Square Garden this evening.

In honor of Jazz Appreciation Month and to mark the centennial of Ella Fitzgerald's birth, the Philly POPS will celebrate the First Lady of Song's musical legacy with her frequent collaborator Louis Armstrong in a swinging lineup of their biggest solo hits and duets. Master jazz trumpeter Byron Stripling and R&B sensation Marva Hicks join the POPS for Ella, Louis & All That Jazz March 31-April 2, 2017 at the Kimmel Center.

The legendary jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke will be celebrated by cornetist Mike Davis and his all-star group with our popular Bix Beiderbecke Birthday Bash on Monday, March 13, at 8:00 p.m. Joining Davis will be Dan Levinson on clarinet, Joe McDonough on trombone, Jared Engel on banjo, Dalton Ridenhour on piano, Jay Rattman on bass saxophone, and Jay Lepley on drums.