Valerie Simpson News

Nine-time GRAMMY nominee and saxophonist extraordinaire Dave Koz and a trio of special guests - Jonathan Butler, Kenny Lattimore and Ashford & Simpson's Valerie Simpson - will capture the magic of Christmas in the 19th anniversary edition of Koz's holiday tour that arrives in New York City on Tuesday, December 6th at Town Hall at 7:30pm, 123 West 43rd Street. 

Nine-time GRAMMY® nominee and saxophonist extraordinaire Dave Koz and a trio of special guests - Jonathan Butler, Kenny Lattimore and Ashford & Simpson's Valerie Simpson - will capture the magic of Christmas in the 19th anniversary edition of Koz's holiday tour that arrives in New York City on Tuesday, December 6th at Town Hall at 7:30pm, 123 West 43rd Street. 

Nine-time Grammy nominee and saxophonist extraordinaire Dave Koz returns to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall today, November 25, 2016 at 8PM with a trio of special guests- Jonathan Butler, Kenny Lattimore and Ashford & Simpson's Valerie Simpson.

Nine-time Grammy nominee and saxophonist extraordinaire Dave Koz and a trio of special guests—Jonathan Butler, Kenny Lattimore, and Ashford & Simpson's Valerie Simpson—will capture the magic of Christmas in the 19th anniversary edition of Koz's holiday tour. Together, these four remarkable artists will put a fresh spin on holiday classics as well as other selections that beautifully capture the spirit of the season.

The 59th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival wrapped up Sunday, September 18 after a weekend of debut artists, returning masters and new favorites. Over 36,600 fans came through the gates of the Monterey County Fairgrounds during the weekend of September 16-18. The weekend featured a festival record-breaking 115 performances of diverse styles of music from around the globe, from tributes and piano trios; big bands to modern jazz, Cuban, blues and fusion groups, mixed with historic conversations, films, and exhibits.

Nine-time Grammy nominee and saxophonist extraordinaire Dave Koz returns to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Friday, November 25, 2016 at 8PM with a trio of special guests- Jonathan Butler, Kenny Lattimore and Ashford & Simpson's Valerie Simpson.

Evelyn must follow her dreams ... by leaving her family. Come down for some hot times with THE JOINT at Theatre for The New City's Dream Up Festival this September.

Evelyn must follow her dreams ... by leaving her family. Come down for some hot times with THE JOINT at Theatre for The New City's Dream Up Festival this September.

When New York cabaret community insiders and frequent club goers heard that Marissa Mulder was planning a Marilyn Monroe-themed show, the consensus was the vocalist's naturally breathy voice paired with a roster of songs from Monroe's films would be a good fit. Sidestepping expectations, Mulder and Director Sondra Lee have instead put together a one-woman theater piece with almost as much monologue (using Monroe's own words) as music. Equally surprising, the impressionistic show (currently in the midst of a four-show run at the Laurie Beechman Theatre after launching in February at the Metropolitan Room) features not Monroe's familiar material, but rather songs that reflect what its creators intuit as her internal life.

?The Kennedy Center today announced R&B singer Kenny 'Babyface' Edmonds and Broadway star Leslie Odom, Jr. will replace Michael Buble as the headline talent for its upcoming Spring Gala, How Sweet It Is: A Tribute to Marvin Gaye, on Sunday, June 5, 2016 in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Due to required vocal cord surgery, Buble has withdrawn from this performance.

Three-day Arena and Grounds Ticket Packages for the 59th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival, September 16–18 go on sale Monday, May 9. Tickets can be purchased online at montereyjazzfestival.org or by calling 888.248.6499.

Ebony Jo-Ann, a 'Blackgold' acclaimed Blues vocalist, multiple award winning Broadway, Film and television actress and social activist, is in residence during the month of April at Ashford & Simpson's Sugar Bar, 254 W. 72nd St. in New York, for the first time since 2011, to reprise Nuttin' But the Blues, the Sugar Bar's weekly Blues series, which she co-created with the late Nick Ashford.

Multiple Grammy-winning drummer, composer, producer, and bandleader Terri Lyne Carrington and her group play dense, intense jazz with elusive melody. Ornette Coleman's 'Chronology' arrives like a wall of sound. An adamant and up-tempo 'Body and Soul' (Edward Heyman/Robert Sour/Frank Eyton/Johnny Green) is almost tribal, at odds with familiar mood and lyric intention. Towards the end of Saturday night's show--Mosaic Project: Love and Soul--in the American Songbook Series at Lincoln Center's Appel Room, Ms. Carrington executes a lengthy solo spotlighting her extraordinary musicianship, but instrumental arrangements escape me.

In their continuing effort to broaden its musical scope, Lincoln Center's American Songbook series at The Appel Room Saturday night presented two-time Tony Award nominee Andy Karl (Rocky, On the Twentieth Century) and his Tony-Award nominee wife Orfeh (Legally Blonde) performing together in concert for the first time.

Macy's has partnered with couture and ready-to-wear designer B Michael to produce the first b Michael America runway fashion show at this year's NAACP Image Awards luncheon, which honors the nominees of the 47th annual NAACP Image Awards, on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, CA. Actress and singer Brandy Norwood, known for her work on 'Moesha,' 'I Still Know What You Did Last Summer,' and 'Cinderella,' will walk in the fashion show. B Michael previously dressed the star for her media junkets during her run in 'Chicago' on Broadway and also collaborated with her costume designer on her new series for BET, 'Zoe Ever After.'

This just in! Rita Moreno has cancelled this evening's Lincoln Center Performance.

Returning for its 17th season, Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook continues to broaden its scope in celebrating the best in American singing and songwriting as interpreted by top performers and rising stars, with events at three Lincoln Center venues. The Appel Room series opens with Vanessa Williams performing in the breathtaking space in Frederick P. Rose Hall tonight, January 20, 2016.

Euweb.com reports that a 'lost' album of Diana Ross performing songs from the 1978 big screen adaptation of THE WIZ will be released today, November 27th.

A 'lost' album of Diana Ross performing songs from the 1978 big screen adaptation of THE WIZ will be released on November 27th.

Fresh from her stint as Roxie Hart in the Broadway production of Chicago, Rumer Willis and her "nonsexual life partner" Tye Blue took Feinstein's/54 Below by storm with Homage, their soulful and decidedly jazzy cabaret show. Thoroughly enjoying their New York City cabaret debuts, the talented duo had no high concept for the evening. "We're not trying to reinvent cabaret," Blue said. They sang the songs they love to sing in the car when driving around Los Angeles together. As eye rolling and groan inducing as this concept may sound, it must be noted that this simplicity ensured that each and every number had the enthusiastic audience energized and left them applauding and cheering with abandon.