Notorious Jazz

JAZZ DIALOGUE OPEN JAM
2023-10-08 21:00 - 23:59 (America/New_York) | Ornithology Jazz Club, 6 Suydam Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11221, United States
Grant Stewart (ts)

Tardo Hammer (p)
Ilya Lushtak (g)
David Wong (b)
Phil Stewart (d)

RANDY PORTER TRIO
2023-10-09 18:00 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | The 1905, 830 N Shaver Sreet, Portland, OR, 97227, United States
Randy Porter: Piano | Garrett Baxter: Bass | Charlie Doggett: Drums

Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Randy Porter has a refined understanding of improvisation and the spontaneous communication between musicians. As a Steinway Artist, Randy Porter draws from a rich palette of sonorities found within his imagination and the depths of the piano.

Lynn Darroch of The Oregonian states, “Porter has built a reputation as a musician’s musician, a knowledgeable, inventive, and sophisticated player with a remarkable sense of time and gorgeous keyboard facility…”

Two Show ~ 6:00pm & 8:00pm

CHRISTOPHER BROWN QUARTET
2023-10-11 19:00 - 22:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | The 1905, 830 N Shaver Sreet, Portland, OR, 97227, United States
Featuring Noah Simpson

Noah Simpson: Trumpet | Matt Sazima: Piano | Garrett Baxter: Bass | Christopher Brown: Drums
Christopher Brown is an acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, and educator who seeks to be a voice within the advocacy of Jazz music and American culture. And through the expansive range of groups that he has assembled and/or performed with—which span from duos to Jazz big bands to military marching bands and orchestras—his musical and personal experiences have led him towards an interest in synthesizing the principles of Jazz with the day-to-day practicalities of life. However, given that businesses shape the global market economy that everyone lives and participates in, is why he has found it useful to integrate business philosophies with that of music to help develop himself and his band. Which as he likes to say, “we’re all in the same business…the people-trusting-people business. No people, no business.”

NICHOLAS PAYTON & NEW WORLD ORDER
2023-10-11 19:00 - 2023-10-15 23:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Black Cat, 400 Eddy Street, San Francisco, CA, 94109, United States
As a leading voice in American popular music, the 2x Grammy Award-winning and 5x Grammy nominee, Nicholas Payton is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, producer, arranger, essayist, and social activist who defies musical and artistic categories.

All the while, he honors the tradition of what he terms “postmodern New Orleans music,” as well as the spirit of Black American Music, of which he states, “There are no fields, per se. There are lineages.”

LEWIS NASH & THE NY ALL~STARS
2023-10-13 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Phoenix) | The Nash, 110 E. Roosevelt Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, United States
11th Anniversary House Party
Paul Bollenback: Guitar | Dave Kikoski: Piano | Essiet Essiet: Bass | Lewis Nash: Drums
Join us for this spectacular private party for 60 guests featuring an intimate performance by Lewis Nash & The NY All-Stars, complimented by a panoramic birds-eye view of Phoenix. Includes hosted wine and hors d’ouevres.

TINA RAYMOND TRIO
2023-10-13 19:30 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | The Royal Room, 5000 Rainier Avenue S,, Seattle, WA, 98118, United States
Based in Los Angles, Tina Raymond is an accomplished drummer, composer, and bandleader. Known as a unique voice in the contemporary music scene Raymond melds jazz with African polyrhythms, and classical percussion technique. Serious about education, Raymond was the recipient of a DownBeat Educator Award in 2020 and currently teaches as Director of Jazz Studies at California State University, Northridge. Performing across the nation and worldwide both a side player and a leader, Raymond has performed with many noted artists including Eric Revis, Jeremy Siskind, and Cathlene Pineda among others. Last year’s Earshot Jazz Festival featured Raymond in the quartet Esthesis led by one of Seattle’s favorite pianists Dawn Clement.
This year Raymond will lead her own ensemble with Andrew Renfroe on guitar and Karl McComas-Reichl on bass. The trio will be releasing an album—Divinations in the Fall on Imani Records.
Doors ~ 6:30pm

JONATHAN KREISBERG QUARTET
2023-10-13 19:30 - 23:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | The 1905, 830 N Shaver Sreet, Portland, OR, 97227, United States
Jonathan Kreisberg, Guitar Martin Bejerano, Piano Phil Donkin, Bass Colin Stranahan, Drums Guitarist and composer Jonathan Kreisberg has built a strong worldwide following and has influenced the next generation of musicians with his unique combination of timeless melodicism and forward thinking lines and textures. He is recognized as a player who has studied the Jazz language deeply while infusing it with fresh new ideas, expanding the possibilities of the guitar. Jonathan has led various groups with star players and performed as a sideman with such notables as Lonnie Smith, Joe Locke, Ari Hoenig, Yosvany Terry, Larry Grenadier, Bill Stewart, Gary Versace, Will Vinson, Kevin Hays, Mark Ferber, Matt Penman, and Martin Bejerano among others.

He has released 11 critically acclaimed CD’s including “The South of Everywhere”, “Shadowless”, “One” (his first all solo guitar recording), “Wave Upon Wave”, “Kreisberg Meets Veras”, and “Capturing Spirits – JKQ Live!”. He has received the ASCAP Plus Award annually for 15 years. For 12 years Jonathan had also been a constant collaborator with NEA jazz master Dr. Lonnie Smith, who says of Kreisberg “He is a passionate musician with great vision, and he is constantly in fiery pursuit of innovation.” Jonathan worked as performer and associate producer for Dr. Smith’s recent works on Blue Note Records.

He has performed 20th century works with the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas. In addition to his work as a Jazz composer his music was also featured in many scores for Playwrights Horizon in NYC, the Goodman theater in Chicago, and Hartford Stage. Jonathan is also a respected educator with over 20 years of experience. In 2017 he released his first book of compositions and transcriptions,

ROY HARGROVE BIG BAND: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROY!
2023-10-14 17:00 - 2023-10-16 23:00 (America/New_York) | Dizzy’s Club, 10 Columbus Circle, New York City, NY, 10019, United States
The Roy Hargrove Big Band celebrates what would have been his birthday — and the magnitude of his contribution — by sharing his expression with new listeners and longtime fans. Always energetic, always swinging, the outfit’s repertoire includes Hargrove originals, standard tunes, and new music from current band members. Come celebrate a true champion of the music.
Performance Lineup:

Willie Jones, Danton Boller, Saul Rubin, Freddie Hendrix, Wayne Tucker, Duane Eubanks, Camerahn Alforque, Jason Jackson, James Burton, Rashaan Salaam, Max Seigel, Bruce Williams, Mark Gross, Mike Lee, Keith Loftis, Jason Marshall

HOT CLUB KC
2023-10-14 18:30 - 22:30 (America/Chicago) | Johnnie’s Jazz Bar & Grille, 1903 Victory Drive, Liberty, MO, 64068, United States
Hot Club KC plays swinging gypsy jazz in the style of Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club of France. Acoustic guitars, violin, bass and vocals create a unique and captivating sound, not to be missed!

SOMETHING ELSE!
2023-10-14 19:00 - 23:00 (America/Phoenix) | The Nash, 110 E. Roosevelt Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, United States
Vincent Herring-alto sax, James Carter-tenor sax, Wallace Roney Jr.-trumpet, Paul Bollenback-guitar, Dave Kikoski-piano, Essiet Essiet-bass, Lewis Nash-drums
“…the band wears its hard-bop heart on its sleeve …It practically dares audiences to sit still and remain on their best behavior.” – Steve Futterman, The New Yorker
A Soul Jazz Revue led by Vincent Herring, featuring some of the very best musicians today, playing the most iconic toe-tapping Soul Jazz songs ever created. Something Else presents new arrangements and original compositions in the same genre.

VINCENT HERRING
2023-10-15 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Phoenix) | The Nash, 110 E. Roosevelt Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, United States
11th Anniversary with the SCC Jazz Orchestra
Saxophonist Vincent Herring’s intense, soulful, multi-noted style and ebullient swing have excited audiences worldwide. On stage, Herring and his band often make an incendiary sound over fine and controlled rhythms of modern times.
Vincent tours frequently with his projects around the in the United States, Europe, Japan, China and around the world. Vincent continues to share his distinct voice and musical knowledge, as a performer and jazz educator. He is currently on staff at William Paterson University and at Manhattan School of Music.

THE BAD PLUS
2023-10-18 18:30 - 19:45 (America/New_York) | The Jazz Station, 124 W Broadway, Eugene, OR, 97401, United States
The Bad Plus
Reid Anderson bass
David King drums
Chris Speed tenor saxophone
Ben Monder guitar
As part of their fall 2023 international tour, The Bad Plus are performing at The Jazz Station on Broadway in downtown Eugene. A breakout worldwide phenomenon when they appeared in the early 2000’s, the group has been together for over 20 years and played every major jazz venue and festival in the world multiple times.
The Bad Plus has won critical acclaim and a legion of fans worldwide with their unique sound and flair for live performance. They seek musical inspiration from all musical genres, having recorded versions of songs by Nirvana, Blondie, Pink Floyd, Ornette Coleman, The Pixies, Rush, Tears For Fears, Neil Young, David Bowie, Yes, Interpol, Johnny Cash, The Bee Gees, Burt Bacharach, Cyndi Lauper and Black Sabbath, to name a few.
As founding member drummer Dave King puts it, “If it comes down to it and you had to put us in a category, we are most certainly part of the jazz canon. The new band—all of us come from an improvisational background. We have all played different types of jazz. But the influences—they push out the corners of what people think of as jazz.” These influences form the basis for King and bassist Reid Anderson’s original compositions, which are the backbone of TBP’s repertoire.

THE BAD PLUS
2023-10-18 21:00 - 22:15 (America/New_York) | The Jazz Station, 124 W Broadway, Eugene, OR, 97401, United States
The Bad Plus
Reid Anderson bass
David King drums
Chris Speed tenor saxophone
Ben Monder guitar
After working as a trio for nearly 20 years, the Bad Plus now is a quartet with saxophonist Chris Speed and guitarist Ben Monder joining the group in 2021. Compared with the group’s original piano trio instrumentation, the addition of saxophone and electric guitar allows TBP to explore new degrees of melodic lyricism, and a broader sonic palette. These new members have a long history with the original members and are prolific performers in their own right. Monder played with Paul Motion and is a current member of the Maria Schneider Orchestra, and even contributed guitar charts to David Bowie’s final album. Speed is a longtime NYC resident with a massive list of eclectic ensembles with which he performs from folk to avant garde to jazz.
In contrast to the large venues where the Bad Plus will be performing in the region (Portland and Seattle over 800 seats, Bend 450 seats), The Jazz Station, with 70 seats, offers an intimate experience unlike any other on their current tour.

WAYNE ESCOFFERY QUARTET
2023-10-19 19:00 - 2023-10-21 23:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Black Cat, 400 Eddy Street, San Francisco, CA, 94109, United States
Playing music from the saxophonist’s latest release “Like Minds”

Wayne Escoffery is a 2014 & 2021 Downbeat Critics Poll Winner for both the tenor and soprano saxophones and a Grammy Award-winning musician. He is considered one of the jazz world’s most talented saxophonists and in-demand sidemen. Escoffery leads his groups, which tour internationally and has made several highly acclaimed studio recordings with said groups.
His current working quartet features pianist David Kikoski, bassist Ugonna Okegwo, and drummer Mark Whitfield Jr., who took over for the late great Ralph Peterson Jr.
The band’s 2020 album The Humble Warrior on the Smoke Sessions Records label has gotten rave reviews and received four stars in the June 2020 issue of Downbeat Magazine. Full band lineup: Wayne Escoffery: Tenor Saxophone | David Kikoski: Piano | Ugonna Okegwo: Bass | Marvin “Smitty” Smith: Drums

DELFEAYO MARSALIS & MARTHA REEVES
2023-10-20 19:00 - 2023-10-22 23:00 (America/New_York) | Keystone Korner Baltimore, 1350 Lancaster Street, Baltimore, MD, 21231, United States
Motown Meets The Big Easy – Delfeayo Marsalis & Martha Reeves will bring a magical evening, filled with music from two of America’s iconic cities and their complex musical cultures, to Keystone Korner Baltimore!
Grammy-winner Delfeayo Marsalis is one of the top trombonists, composers and producers in jazz today. Known for his technical excellence, inventive mind and frequent touches of humor, he is “one of the best, most imaginative and musical of the trombonists of his generation,” (Philip Elwood, San Francisco Examiner). In 2011, Delfeayo and the Marsalis family (father Ellis and brothers Branford, Wynton and Jason) earned the nation’s highest jazz honor – a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award. Marsalis has toured internationally with jazz legends such as Ray Charles, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Elvin Jones and Slide Hampton, as well as leading his own groups. As a cultural activist, he has founded three non-profits – Uptown Music Theatre, Uptown Jazz Orchestra and Keep New Orleans Music Alive – all of which are designed to strengthen the community in his hometown of New Orleans.
Martha Reeves has made her imprint in the history books and in pop culture for her string of hit Motown songs in the 1960’s and early 1970’s including such hits as “Dancing in the Street”, “My Baby Loves Me”, “Come and Get These Memories”, “Nowhere to Run”, “Quick Sand”, “(Love is Like a ) Heatwave”, “Jimmy Mack” and “Bless You”. Martha was front and center as the lead singer of the legendary Motown girl group, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, who are listed among Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Immortal Artists of all time. Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance for “Heat Wave”. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and is also the recipient of the Dinah Washington Award, a Rhythm n’ Blues Foundation Pioneer Award, and a Black Woman in Publishing Legends Award. 2023 marks Martha’s 60th anniversary of her first two albums with Motown both from 1963, Come and Get These Memories and Heat Wave.

VERONICA SWIFT
2023-10-21 18:15 - 22:15 (America/New_York) | Middle C Jazz, 300 South Brevard Street, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
Veronica Swift’s new eponymously titled album, her third for Mack Avenue Records, is a masterful coming-out story. On her previous albums, Confessions (2019) and This Bitter Earth (2021), she ascended to the upper echelon of early 21st century jazz singers because of her virtuosic brilliance, interpretive ingenuity, bracing songwriting, and keen arrangements. Simply put, Swift is not only one of the most dazzling singers to emerge in her generation, she’s one of the most versatile.
While her first two albums solidified her position in modern jazz, Veronica Swift shows that she’s more than a jazz singer, exploring French and Italian opera, European classical music, bossa nova, blues, industrial rock, funk, and vaudeville. She pulls the feat off without the results sounding callow or pastiche. Swift’s expansive artistic voice remains firmly intact regardless of genre.
Swift describes this personal artistic statement on her new album as “transgenre.” “I grew up immersed in the culture of jazz music, blessed to have had some of the greats as mentors, and I felt a deep familial duty to uphold that tradition,” she says, reflecting on her parents – jazz singer and educator, Stephanie Nakasian, and bebop pianist, Hod O’Brien.
“But as rooted in jazz as I’ve been, there’s a uniquely visceral power in rock and soul music that’s always fueled my creative passion, and rather than mask or confine that part of my identity, the people I admire most show themselves unabashedly and that’s the kind of tradition I want to be a part of.”

BENNY BENACK III
2023-10-22 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | CA
The Band: Benny Benack III – trumpet & vocals | TBA – piano | Russell Hall – bass | Joe Peri – drums
By age 32, Emmy-nominated trumpeter and singer Benny Benack III has proven to be that rarest of talents: not only a fiery trumpet player with a stirring command of the postbop trumpet vernacular in the vein of Kenny Dorham and Freddie Hubbard, but also a singer with a sly, mature, naturally expressive delivery in the post-Sinatra mold, performing standards and his own astute songs with a thrilling sense of showmanship. This duel-threat ability was recognized by the 2022 Downbeat Critics Poll where he appeared as not only the #2 Rising Star Male Vocalist, but a top Rising Star Trumpeter as well. His superb intonation and bracing virtuosity enable him to handle astounding feats of originally composed vocalese (complex solos with written lyrics). On top of it all, he’s a highly capable pianist as well.
Benny has performed internationally as an Emcee/Host for the Youtube sensation Postmodern Jukebox, and achieved his own viral success amassing millions of views for his crooning alongside the Grammy-award winning “8-Bit Big Band”. In early 2020 he released A Lot of Livin’ to Do, the follow-up to his well-received 2017 debut One of a Kind. This sophomore effort, richly varied in mood and brimming with bop inflection, features bassist extraordinaire and Jazz ambassador Christian McBride (whose Grammy-award winning Big Band frequently calls upon Benny in the trumpet section) and drummer/producer Ulysses Owens, Jr., as well as the radiant Takeshi Ohbayashi on piano and Rhodes. His vocalese duet on “Social Call” from this album alongside fellow young star vocalist Veronica Swift became an instant smash hit single, being transcribed and learned by Jazz vocalists around the world.
Alongside his global touring as a straight-ahead/contemporary bandleader, Benny has appeared as a trumpet soloist in more commercial circles alongside Josh Groban, Ben Folds, fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi, Ann Hampton Callaway and more. He’s been featured at Birdland, Jazz @ Lincoln Center, Mezzrow, Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle and other leading New York venues, and has also been a special guest with the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops Orchestra, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra and the Minsk Philharmonic Orchestra. He made his television debut in NBC’s short-lived, SNL-inspired variety show “Maya & Marty” playing in the in-studio band led by acclaimed bassist & Broadway arranger Charlie Rosen. More recent TV credits include “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” where he frequently performs in the House Band. His global recognition has been bolstered by recent live-streaming concerts at Smalls Jazz Club, where he maintains a weekly residency, as well as frequent appearances on fellow young lion Emmet Cohen’s “Emmet’s Place” weekly show.

RAVI COLTRANE
2023-10-24 20:00 - 2023-10-29 23:30 (America/New_York) | Village Vanguard, 178 7th Avenue S, New York City, NY, 10014, United States
He bears the name of jazz royalty, and he’s spent many hours curating, archiving and producing his parents’ recordings. But when he picks up his own saxophones, Ravi Coltrane blows an original and distinctly modern strain of jazz, distilling but never seeking to imitate his family’s adventurous improvising spirits. Now one of today’s top saxophonists.
The Band: Ravi Coltrane – Saxophone | Jonathan Finlayson – Trumpet | Luis Perdomo – Piano | Robert Hurst – Bass | Mark Whitfield Jr. – Drums
All Show Sold Out Except The 10:00pm Shows On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Sunday

MARIE-CLAIRE GIRAUD
2023-10-25 18:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | Parker’s At Thompson Central Park, 119 W 56th St,, New York City, NY, 10019, United States
Marie-Claire Giraudis a soprano, jazz singer, musical theater singer, songwriter, composer, playwright, and actor. Born on the island of Dominica and raised in The Bronx. Marie-Claire started her operatic training in Rome, Italy. The pandemic afforded Marie-Claire the luxury of time to reflect, and she overcame obstacles that were blocking her creative path.
With her creativity freed, Marie-Claire wrote her first musical, discovered her true voice of soprano. With the musical finished Marie-Claire has many more projects in the works, screenplays, novels, EP’s, musicals and more.
Program: The Great American Songbook At The Movies

QUIANA PARLER & THE LAVON STEVENS TRIO
2023-10-25 18:30 - 23:00 (America/New_York) | The Jazz Corner, 1000 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island, SC, 29928, United States
As lead vocalist, lyricist, and composer for internationally and critically acclaimed two-time Grammy Award-winning roots music group, Ranky Tanky, Quiana Parler spent weeks at #1 on several Billboard Jazz charts. Quiana has spent over 20 years as the most sought-after vocalist in the Lowcountry. Known locally for years prior, she rose to national prominence after her success on the 2003 season of American Idol. Quiana has worked and collaborated with diverse artists and producers such as Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Bobby McFerrin, Miranda Lambert, David Foster, Walter Afanasieff and many more.
Her performances have been featured on national broadcasts like The View, NBC’s TODAY, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show, The Tyra Banks Show, and Saturday Night Live, as well as the Academy of Country Music Awards and the American Music Awards. Lavon Stevens has traveled and performed all over the country including Aspen, Colorado, Atlanta, Georgia and Orlando, Florida. The resort vacation destination of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina has been his home since 1981. He is one of the premier entertainers on Hilton Head Island. He is producing a variety of shows and recording projects including other R&B, Jazz and Gospel artists.
Cover: $10.00 ~ $15.00

KERMIT RUFFINS & THE BBQ SWINGERS
2023-10-25 20:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | Chickie Wah Wah, 2828 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA, 70119, United States
Halloween Special
American jazz trumpeter, singer, composer, and actor from New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been influenced by Louis Armstrong and Louis Jordan and says that the highest note he can hit on trumpet is a high C. He often accompanies his songs with his own vocals. Most of his bands perform New Orleans jazz standards though he also composes many of his own pieces.

WYCLIFFE GORDON & FRIENDS
2023-10-26 17:00 - 2023-10-29 23:00 (America/New_York) | Dizzy’s Club, 10 Columbus Circle, New York City, NY, 10019, United States
Wycliffe A. Gordon jazz trombonist, arranger, composer, band leader, and music educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. Gordon also sings and plays didgeridoo, trumpet, soprano trombone, tuba, and piano.
His early works as a professional were with Wynton Marsalis, but in 2010 he has expanded beyond swing and has experimented with new instruments. The strongest example of this might be The Search where he plays didgeridoo and covers Thelonious Monk songs. He has also played Gospel music.
In 1995, Gordon arranged and orchestrated the theme song for NPR’s All Things Considered. Gordon’s arrangement and orchestration is the third version of the melody composed in 1971 by Donald Joseph Voegeli (1920–2009).
On September 24, 2004, Gordon conducted the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in the premiere of his new, original score for “Body and Soul”, the 1925 silent film directed by Oscar Micheaux.
He has recently gained more worldwide popularity, being featured in South Australia’s Generations In Jazz 2016 and 2017, playing alongside artists such as James Morrison, Jazzmeia Horn, Gordon Goodwin and Ross Irwin among others. For over a decade, he has also worked with visual artist and educator Ligel Lambert on numerous collaborative projects.

CLARK TRACEY QUINTET
2023-10-26 20:00 - 21:30 (America/New_York) | Spicejazz Soho, 6 Moor Street, London, England, W1D 5NA, United Kingdom
Line-up:
CLARK TRACEY drums
JAMES OWSTON double bass
GRAHAM HARVEY piano
ALEX CLARKE alto/tenor sax
EMILY MASSER vocals
Much acclaimed jazz drummer Clark Tracey has been leading his own bands since 1981 and currently leads an ever evolving quintet as well as tribute bands to his father, the late Stan Tracey. His latest quintet features a few of the most exciting young musicians today.
Alex Clarke on alto and tenor sax is aged 23. She won the Rising Star in the British Jazz Awards 2 years ago and was runner up in the BBC Young Jazz Musician last year. Last year she successfully released her debut CD “Only A Year” with Dave Newton, Dave Green and Clark Tracey.
Emily Masser is an astonishing vocalist, still 19 years of age and attending Trinity. Her vocalese skills have already introduced her to hardened jazzers like Claire Martin and Liane Carroll who have both endorsed her and invited her to sit in with them. Daughter of Dean Masser, her years belie her enormous talent, which began at Chethams School of Music.
Graham Harvey is one of the UK’s most experienced pianists, studied at Berkley, MD of Incognito, Stacey Kent’s pianist and much sought after as a freelancer.
James Owston on bass is 25, a graduate of Birmingham Conservatoire and again a runner up in the BBC Young Jazz Musician Finals a few years ago. Considered by Clark to be one most technically gifted upright bassists in the UK and is now working with a variety of musicians.

JACKIEM JOYNER
2023-10-27 06:00 - 2023-10-28 23:00 (America/New_York) | Middle C Jazz, 300 South Brevard Street, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
Contemporary saxophonist, author, and music producer Jackiem Joyner has set the bar high in his close 20 years as a performer. With a number one jazz album, several Billboard chart-topping hits, and a series of critically acclaimed booksto his name, he has shown himself to be the rare artist capable of transcending his instrument and reaching a mainstream audience.
Now, as he begins the 18th year of his career during a time of unprecedented change in the entertainment industry, he remains as focused on his art as ever.
Jackiem was born in Norfolk, VA. At an early age, he began to show signs of the restless creativity that would later define his career. Despite his humble upbringing, he was able to get his hands on a saxophone as a child. The instrument quickly became his constant companion. After years of practice, he emerged in style with 2007’s ‘Babysoul.’ A masterclass in seductive smooth jazz, the album marked the arrival of a brilliant instrumentalist, and set the stage for a prolific recording career that would include Grammy runner ups, hit singles, and no shortage of critical adoration, right up through 2019’s ‘Touch’, and on to 2020’s EP “Journey of Passion”
As a performer, he has toured over 30 countries and performed with the likes of the late George Duke, Marcus Miller, Keiko Matsui, Donnie McClurkin, Angela Bofill, Najee, Kirk Whalum, Peter White, and many others.

AUDREY SHAKIR QUARTET
2023-10-27 20:00 - 2023-10-28 23:00 (America/New_York) | Good Times Jazz Bar, 107 W. Broughton St, Savannah, GA, 31401, United States
Audrey Shakir was born into a musical family in Cleveland, Ohio – her mother was a great pianist, organist and vocal coach, and her father, whose idol was Billy Eckstine, loved to sing. She began her professional career as a pianist in a group that played the tunes of Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan and others. Eventually, Audrey started leaning towards Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, all the while adding singing to her playing talents, with the vocal influences of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Joe Williams and Jon Hendricks.
After moving to New York, she was introduced to Barry Harris, which led to numerous gigs with him. While playing the New York scene, she became a regular performer at The Village Gate and had numerous dates at Town Hall, the Apollo Theater and Tavern on the Green among many others.
She has toured with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra, including sold-out performances in New York at the Rose Theatre in Jazz At Lincoln Center, and played to sold-out audiences at the Center’s famed sister nightspot, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.
Audrey Shakir is a world-class vocalist, affectionately known as “Atlanta’s First Lady of Jazz”. She has performed with many noted jazz artists over the years in numerous clubs and concert halls throughout the United States and internationally during her successful professional career. An accomplished pianist in her own right, she has sung with small groups and with large orchestras in intimate and grand settings.
Most recently, she had a tremendously successful tour of Big Band Holidays, featuring Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra, including four sold-out shows in New York at the Rose Theatre in Jazz At Lincoln Center, and followed that date up with two evenings of sold-out shows at New York’s famed jazz nitespot, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.
She has entertained at several Jazz Festivals, notably Atlanta and Savannah, and has headlined at clubs and private events in New York and throughout the southeast. Audrey’s CD, If You Could See Me Now, from Hot Shoe Records, has met with great critical acclaim, and she’s heading into the studio soon to record her next CD for Hot Shoe entitled Come Swing With Me, a celebration of the great vocalists of the Big Band Era.
Her Trio: Eric Jones ~ Piano | Marc Chesanow ~ Double Bass | Robert Britton Saunders ~ Drums

THE HEAVY HITTERS
2023-10-27 20:30 - 2023-10-28 22:00 (America/New_York) | The Side Door, Old Lyme Inn, 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT, 06371, United States
The Heavy Hitters is a sextet co-led by pianist Mike LeDonne and tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander. The band is rounded out by some of the premiere purveyors of straight-ahead swinging jazz: Vincent Herring on alto saxophone, Joshua Bruneau on trumpet, Peter Washington on upright bass, and Kenny Washington on drums.
The music is built to tickle your mind, hit you in the heart and get your head swaying back and forth. The Heavy Hitters make soulful kickass swinging music that you might have heard on a Blue Note record back in the day. Not to look back… this is a band that is all about the NOW because it’s happening right now!
The Heavy Hitters have been swinging hard their whole lives! Their debut record was recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio, a place we are so lucky to still have up and running and that is putting out the same great sound we have all loved for all these years. It’s a true “Jazz” sound, recorded by some of the greatest jazz musicians of their generation.
Tickets Fees: $3.07~$4:05

RUSSELL MALONE
2023-10-28 19:00 - 2023-10-29 22:30 (America/New_York) | Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20007, United States
“Obviously, we are in the capable hands of a master. Absolutely fluid touch and beautiful integration between moving lines and harmonic cadences. The sound of the instrument is well-balanced throughout the entire register. The relaxed quality of everything that’s being played gives it such a warm feeling. To play that stuff is extremely hard. This is an absolute master, the best of the best.”— Kurt Rosenwinkel, responding to Russell Malone’s solo performance of “Remind Me” on Playground [MaxJazz, 2004], in a DownBeat Blindfold Test.
Russell Malone is one of the signature guitar players of his generation. The several recordings since 1992, Malone is as well-known on the international circuit for helming a world-class quartet and trio as he is for his long-standing participation in Ron Carter’s Golden Striker Trio, and his recent consequential contribution to the musical production of the likes of Sonny Rollins and Dianne Reeves, who recruited Malone for his singular tone, refined listening skills, limitless chops, and efflorescent imagination.
In all these circumstances, Malone addresses the tradition on its own terms, refracting the vocabularies and syntax of such heroes as Charlie Christian, Chet Atkins, George Van Eps, Johnny Smith, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Pat Martino, and George Benson into an argot entirely his own. A master of all tempos, a relentless swinger, he spins his stories —in idioms ranging from the urban and downhome blues, country, gospel, various corners of the American Songbook, and hardcore jazz—with a soulful, instantly recognizable instrumental voice, and seasons them with sophisticated harmonies that are never “too hip for the room.”
“I take pride on being open enough to play with anybody,” says Malone, citing encounters with such diverse artists as B.B. King, Andy Williams, James “Blood” Ulmer, and Ornette Coleman. “I love to swing, but I won’t turn up my nose at any style of music—or any other musician—because it’s different. I’ll play with anybody, if the music is good.”
Ticket Fee: $7.00 | $15 food/beverage minimum per person not included in ticket price.

TONY HIGHTOWER
2023-10-29 18:00 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Middle C Jazz, 300 South Brevard Street, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
Singer/Songwriter Tony Hightower is taking up the mantle to be a bridge that ushers R&B audiences into Jazz…Real Jazz. With years of experience as a musical performer and actor with familiar roots that place him firmly within the music’s firmament, Atlanta-native Hightower is still just getting started on this benevolent turn in his journey. And he is bringing a lot of young people with him.
​His sophomore project, LEGACY, finds Hightower exploring Jazz vocal stylings from a dazzling prism of angles. The 10-song album moves confidently and assuredly from original compositions such as the soulful scat-laced “All to the Good,” the seductive Brazilian bossa nova of “Rendezvous” and the tender carnal Jarreau-esque love beg “I Need You” to swingin’ covers of Earth, Wind & Fire’s classic Skip Scarborough-penned “Can’t Hide Love,” a mean shuffle boogie groove through Al Green’s “Love and Happiness” and a smoldering upright bass accompanied tiptoe through the 1929 Andy Razaf standard “Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good To You” made further famous in 1944 by one of Hightower’s greatest and earliest Jazz vocal heroes, Nat “King” Cole. That one’ll make the women wiggle.

CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE'S NEW JAWN
2023-10-29 20:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | City Winery Atlanta, Ponce City Market, 650 North Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA, 30308, United States
Christian McBride is an eight-time GRAMMY Award winning bassist, composer, and bandleader. McBride is the Artistic Director of the historic Newport Jazz Festival, New Jersey Performing Arts center (NJPAC) and the TD James Moody Jazz Festival, and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Christian is also a respected educator and advocate as the Artistic Director of Jazz House KiDS, and the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Sessions. In addition to consistent touring, McBride hosts NPR’s “Jazz Night in America” and “The Lowdown: Conversations With Christian” on SiriusXM. Whether behind the bass or away from it, Christian McBride is always of the music. From jazz, to R&B, pop/rock, hip-hop/neo-soul, to classical, he is a luminary with one hand ever reaching for new heights, and the other extended in fellowship—and perhaps the hint of a challenge—inviting us to join him.
Doors ~ 6:30pm

KURT ELLING SUPERBLUE AT UNION CHAPEL
2023-10-31 19:00 - 22:30 (Europe/London) | Jazz Cafe London, 5 Parkway, Camden,, London NW1 7PG, United Kingdom
Grammy winner Kurt Elling is without question today’s preeminent male jazz vocalist, renowned worldwide for his unparalleled virtuosity and flair for trailblazing artistic exploration.
From his stunning reinvention of timeless standards to his own captivating original songcraft, the Chicago-based musician has fused his dazzling talents across a panoply of musical approaches, emblazoning each with signature imagination, insight, and emotional intelligence.
He presents his stunning new LP, SuperBlue: The Iridescent Spree.
The follow up to 2021’s remarkable SuperBlue, the album once again sees Elling joining forces with producer/guitarist Charlie Hunter and multi-instrumentalist duo drummer Corey Fonville and bassist-keyboardist DJ Harrison for a kaleidoscopic collection of new songs, surprising covers, and dynamic reinventions.
