Sarah Vaughan News

The 54 Below WBGO Jazz Series will feature weekly Tuesday evening shows by jazz artists curated by the famed veteran Jazz programmer, Todd Barkan. Just around the corner from Swing Street, these seasoned jazz performers come to Broadway's Nightclub to play and sing the night away in grand style. The series is sponsored by the WBGO, the country's premier jazz radio station, promising a truly classic only-in-New York experience.

The Apollo Theater and Manhattan School of Music previously announced that actor Roger Guenveur Smith and singer-songwriter and musician Meshell Ndegeocello have been added to the cast of Ask Your Mama, a multimedia symphonic work based on Langston Hughes' epic poem.

Regina Carter and Nnenna Freelon will replace the previously announced Tony and Grammy winner Dee Dee Bridgewater in a December 14, 2013 concert celebrating the 90th birthdays of Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan. The Royal Conservatory congratulates Ms. Bridgewater on her role in the upcoming off-Broadway production of Lady Day, in which she will portray legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday. The production begins September 12, which is the reason Ms. Bridgewater had to cancel her Conservatory appearance in December.

The Apollo Theater and Manhattan School of Music announced today that actor Roger Guenveur Smith and singer-songwriter and musician Meshell Ndegeocello have been added to the cast of Ask Your Mama, a multimedia symphonic work based on Langston Hughes' epic poem.

Expect the unexpected from cabaret stylist Patricia Racette. Yes, I said 'cabaret.' If you've only heard her at the Met or San Francisco Opera as Tosca or Madama Butterfly, you'll probably find her performance in 'Diva on Detour' a revelation. It's 'a high-note-free zone'--which doesn't give a hint that its owner spends most of her time on some of the world's great opera stages.

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, the performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. 54 Below also launches its new series of late night events this March. Joining Tuesday nights' popular "Backstage" with Susie Mosher will be the "54 Piano Bar," a new vocal competition - 'The Callback," singing sensation Marilyn Maye, performance legend Charles Busch, cabaret's own Ricky Ritzel, performance artist James Jackson, Jr. and more!

Infusing the rhythm and syncopation of the legendary jazz greats with the power and brashness of a Broadway belter, this legendary vocalist's MAYE-den Voyage at 54 Below features a program of jazz and Broadway standards not to be missed. When Ella Fitzgerald was asked to name her favorite singers, she named Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae and "marvelous Marilyn Maye," who brings her new show MAYE-den Voyage to 54 Below for ten performances only. Check out photos from her opening night concert below!

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, the performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. 54 Below also launches its new series of late night events this March. Joining Tuesday nights' popular "Backstage" with Susie Mosher will be the "54 Piano Bar," a new vocal competition - 'The Callback," and more, including Telly Award winner Jamie DeRoy & Friends, Broadway star Chester Gregory, singing sensation Marilyn Maye, Late Night at 54 Below, Tony nominee Adam Pascale, actor/screenwriter/playwright Charles Busch, Broadway's Caissie Levy, Walking the Line - Music of Johnny Cash.

Nearing its fourth decade, the internationally acclaimed, award-winning female African-American a cappella group Sweet Honey In The Rock was ready to follow its adventurous spirit and undertake a new challenge - to honor some of the seminal songs that first inspired its unique blend of folk, blues, jazz, gospel and ethnic music in a concert presentation utilizing an instrumental backing trio for the first time.

Award winning jazz singer, Martha Lorin, brings 2013 in with a new show at the Metropolitan Room in New York, NY, featuring jazz greats guitarist Vic Juris and bassist Harvie S. Martha Lorin's 'Love Songs for Jazz Lovers' will play one show only tonight, February 11th, 2013 at 9:30 p.m.

Nearing its fourth decade, the internationally acclaimed, award-winning female African-American a cappella group Sweet Honey In The Rock was ready to follow its adventurous spirit and undertake a new challenge - to honor some of the seminal songs that first inspired its unique blend of folk, blues, jazz, gospel and ethnic music in a concert presentation utilizing an instrumental backing trio for the first time.

The music alone is reason enough to see this show.

Award winning jazz singer, Martha Lorin, brings 2013 in with a new show at the Metropolitan Room in New York, NY, featuring jazz greats guitarist Vic Juris and bassist Harvie S. Martha Lorin's 'Love Songs for Jazz Lovers' will play one show only on Monday, February 11th, 2013 at 9:30 p.m.

In celebration of Koerner Hall's fifth anniversary, Dr. Peter Simon, President of The Royal Conservatory, and Mervon Mehta, Executive Director of Performing Arts, revealed today some of the details of the 2013-14 concert season. As always, the upcoming season will include pop, world music, and new special series. Classical and jazz concerts are being announced now, and the rest of the season of over 70 concerts will be released in June. The Conservatory is thrilled to welcome Broadway star Audra McDonald; soprano Natalie Dessay with composer and pianist Michel Legrand; cellist Mischa Maisky; violinists Midori, Isabelle Faust, and Leonidas Kavakos; pianists Yuja Wang, András Schiff, Kirill Gerstein, and Menahem Pressler; Europa Galante with Fabio Biondi; and jazz musicians Joe Sealy, Jackie Richardson, Arlene Duncan, Ranee Lee, Ramsey Lewis Quintet, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Terri Lyne Carrington, Lalah Hathaway, Nona Hendryx, John Pizzarelli, Daniela Nardi, and The Manhattan Transfer.

Molly Holm has been a visionary presence on the Bay Area music scene-as an original member of Bobby McFerrin's Voicestra, as a featured singer with Terry Riley and Zakir Hussain, as a Mills College adjunct faculty member-for more than three decades. Her far-ranging artistic pursuits, however, have not included recording an album of her own-until now. Holm's overdue and highly anticipated debut, 'Permission,' showcases her unique, fully-formed jazz vocal artistry. The CD will be released February 19 on her Rinny Zin imprint.

DC's remarkable jazz vocalist Sharon Clark is adding a performance to the reprise engagement of her daring new show, "Blame it on My Youth," running at the Metropolitan Room from January 22 to February 2. The added date is on Monday January 28 at 9:30pm. This five-night run marks her fourth appearance at the Metropolitan Room, where she is clearly on the brink of something big.

Sara Gettelfinger, who plays Morticia Addams in THE ADDAMS FAMILY stage musical (the first national tour ends on December 30 at Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center for the Arts) agreed to answer a few silly, rapid-fire questions from BroadwayWorld's Michael Lawrence Quintos before the show bids a final, un-dead adieu.

The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing will celebrate its sixth annual GRAMMY Week event titled 'An Evening of Jazz' honoring 27-time GRAMMY winner and multi-talented music producer Quincy Jones and 18-time GRAMMY-winning producer/engineer Al Schmitt for their commitment to excellence and ongoing support for the art and craft of recorded music. The event will be held onWednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, at The Village Studios in West Los Angeles. GRAMMY Week culminates with the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, airing live on the CBS Television Network, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. For updates and breaking news, please visitwww.grammy.com, and The Recording Academy's social networks on Twitter and Facebook:www.twitter.com/thegrammys, www.facebook.com/thegrammys.

Vicky's of Santa Fe in Indian Wells is described as 'the locale for the most exciting jazz series in the Desert presenting 6 Jazz Programs by The American Jazz Institute, proceeds of which benefit The American Jazz Institute's in school mentoring and music scholarship program in the Coachella Valley.'