Notorious Jazz

AKUA ALLRICH
2023-08-26 15:00 - 15:45 (America/New_York) | Marcus Garvey Park, 6316, Mt Morris Park W,, New York City, NY, 10027, United States
Charlie Parker Jazz Festival 2023
Jazz vocalist and DC-native Akua Allrich has proven herself to be a musician of extraordinary talent and crowd-moving passion. With finesse and charisma, this vocalist, composer and teacher, has successfully etched out a place for her unique musical expression, electrifying audiences in and around the nation’s capital with sold-out performances.
With the launch of her independently produced albums, A Peace of Mine in 2010, Uniquely Standard, Akua Allrich Live! in 2012, and her latest release Soul Singer, the young artist’s music and concerts created a significant buzz with critics and music-lovers alike. Said Franz Matzner of All About Jazz, “Akua Allrich’s music flows with a free, natural energy as engaging as her equally ingenuous personality.” Her appeal soon reached across US borders and attained international attention. In early 2011, Allrich signed a distribution deal with Japanese record label AGATE/Inpartmaint Inc. Her debut CD, A Peace of Mine, was released in Japan during their “Golden Week” of May 2011. Music lovers and tastemakers from around the world expressed their appreciation and excitement for this new music.
Allrich’s style is fluid and ever evolving. Her musical roots run deeply into blues, soul and rhythm and blues, with a clear grounding in jazz and pan-African music. She sings in many languages including Portuguese, French, Spanish, English, Xhosa, and Twi. Given her ability to capture the essence of a broad range of musical genres, Allrich is often likened to legendary artists such as Oscar Brown, Jr., Miriam Makeba and Nina Simone. She has developed popular tribute programs involving the latter two women and other great African American women of jazz.
Akua Allrich was educated at Howard University, where she obtained her BM in jazz vocals and a master’s degree in social work. She was taught, coached and mentored by talented musicians such as world-renowned singer Kehembe V. Eichelberger, singer/drummer Grady Tate, and pianist Charles Covington.
Joining her is The Tribe: Kris Funn ~ bass, Samuel Prather ~ keys, Tyler Leak ~ drums

GEORGE V. JOHNSON JR.
2023-08-31 18:00 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Kennedy Center | Millenium Stage, 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20566, United States
Tribute To Charlie Parker | AH~LEU~CHA
Native Washingtonian, jazz vocalist-songwriter, and recording artist George V. Johnson Jr. will perform (alongside his bandmates) excerpts from the “jazzical” Jazz Iz Really Classical Music, a.k.a. Ah-Leu-Cha, a spirited tribute to Charlie Parker featuring Johnson’s original lyrics.
Deemed “Next in Line” by Eddie Jefferson, the father of the art of jazz vocalese, Johnson continues the legacy of writing lyrics to improvised solos and telling stories we love and appreciate. The performance will be an unforgettable evening celebrating the music of Charlie Parker.
Imagine listening to a seasoned jazz musician rip into a bebop solo so sizzling and smooth it makes your senses tingle. Close your eyes and play along. Try and picture the sweat bouncing off the performer like the notes that leap through the air. See if you can hear the mesmerizing melodies go up and down, bringing you through joy and sadness, taking your emotions on a sensory experience unlike any other. Now picture that musician and his beloved instrument: his voice.
Band members Donvonte McCoy (trumpet), Elijah Easton (tenor saxophone), Allyn Johnson (piano), Herman Burney (bass), and Dana-j Hawkins (drums) are seasoned visionaries who’ve performed across the globe. Join us for a memorable performance.

LIZZ WRIGHT
2023-09-07 19:30 - 2023-09-10 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | SFJazz Center | Miner Auditorium, 201 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA, 94102, United States
A steward of American music, acclaimed vocalist Lizz Wright reclaims her legacy with the launch of an independent record company, Blues & Greens Records. Wright’s label venture is designed to forge an innovative business model where artists are positioned to build sustainable and wholesome careers. Blues & Greens Records launches with the June 15, 2022 release of Holding Space, a brilliant live album capturing a Berlin, Germany concert where Wright and her band close out their 2018 European summer tour. In a short film companion piece, Wright reflects with her bandmates about what it actually feels like to have the presence of a listening world in her life.
Rising out of the pandemic and returning to stages across the globe, Wright embraces her career through an inspired initiative where she is at the helm of her business. After 20+ years of major and indie label contracts, Wright sees the imbalances of power and unfairnesses in artistic ownership. Blues & Greens Records creates a healthy ecosystem for Wright, and inspires her to imagine and develop offerings for emerging artists. Her debut release, Holding Space, becomes the first master recording she owns.
THIS EVENT IS AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS ONLY
In addition to early access to tickets and Members-Only events, Members at the $80 Supporter Level and higher enjoy the following ticket discounts:
25% off select concerts
10% off orders of 10+ tickets
FREE Listening Parties
No Ticket Service Fees (up to $9.50 per ticket)

JAZZ TOUR OF THE SUMMER
2023-09-15 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach, CA, 92660, United States
Dave Koz & Friends Featuring Candy Dulfer, Maysa & Eric Darius
Parking: $30.00 advanced purchase | $35.00 day of
Valet: $40.00 advanced purchase | $45.00 day of (if not sold out)

STEVE TYRELL & DAVID BENOIT
2023-09-22 08:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach, CA, 92660, United States
Steve Tyrell
GRAMMY Award-winning producer and vocalist Steve Tyrell is the definition of a renaissance man. In his nearly five decades in the music business, he has achieved success as a singer, songwriter, producer, music supervisor, and most recently, radio host. His breakthrough performances in Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride II helped Tyrell reinvent and re-popularize classic pop standards for a modern-day audience. His hits, The Way You Look Tonight, The Simple Life, Crush On You, and The Sunny Side of The Street, have launched millions of romances and been played at thousands of weddings, including Chelsea Clinton’s!
As an artist, all 9 of his American Standards albums have achieved top 5 status on Billboard’s Jazz charts. His first album, A New Standard, was amongst the best selling jazz albums for more than 5 years. Steve’s latest album, That Lovin’ Feeling, debuted in the top 5. On it, he celebrates what he calls the Great American Songbook 2, featuring seminal rock era classics penned by legendary songwriters, including Carole King, Burt Bacharach, Neil Sedaka, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber, among others. He teamed with Judith Hill of 20 Feet From Stardom, as well as Neil Sedaka, Bill Medley, and B.J. Thomas for duets that put a new spin on their signature songs.
In August 2015, Tyrell added radio host to his long line of credits. Every Monday thru Friday, he can be heard on The Steve Tyrell Show, from 5PM to 8PM/PT on KJAZZ 88.1 in Los Angeles and online at jazzandblues.org.
Steve has had the pleasure of singing for Heads of State, including Presidents Bush and Clinton, Prime Minister Tony Blair, President Santos of Columbia, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In 2014, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales invited Steve and his band for a command performance at Buckingham Palace.
As for American royalty, the Sinatra family has long embraced Steve and his music. Together with Quincy Jones, they handpicked Steve to be the featured performer with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at their season opening concert in which Frank Sinatra was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame. Also at the request of the Sinatra family, he reprised that performance at Carnegie Hall. This was one of the rare times the family has reached into the vault of original Sinatra arrangements to share them with another artist.
Although Steve tours mainly with his band, he also enjoys playing with some of the most renowned orchestras in the world, and has had multiple performances with The Boston Pops, The New York Pops, The Nashville Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, and The Houston Symphony, among many others. In 2005, after the passing of the legendary Bobby Short, Steve was asked by New York City’s Cafe Carlyle to take over their revered holiday season of November and December, which Mr. Short had not missed for 36 years. Tyrell’s work in the studio as a record producer has included collaborations with such diverse and legendary artists as Rod Stewart, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Linda Ronstadt, Aaron Neville, Bonnie Raitt, Blood Sweat and Tears, Mary J Blige, Chris Botti, Dave Koz, Dolly Parton, Smokey Robinson, Burt Bacharach, Bette Midler, and Stevie Wonder, among many others. He produced Woody Allen’s classic comedy album, Woody Allen – Stand Up Comic, as well as an album with the late Andy Griffith, which won the Grammy in 1995 for Gospel Album of the Year.
As a music supervisor and music producer for film and TV, Tyrell has worked with such distinguished directors as Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Nancy Meyers, Steven Soderbergh, Charles Shyer, and Hugh Wilson. His song, How Do You Talk To An Angel, written and produced for Aaron Spelling’s Fox television series The Heights, was a No. 1 hit on Billboards Top 100 Pop Charts.
Aside from being a GRAMMY Award winner, Tyrell is a Daytime Emmy Award winner and has earned two Prime Time Emmy nominations. He’s also garnered three Ace Nominations, the 2004 American Society of Young Musicians All That Jazz Award, a 2004 The Wellness Community Human Spirit Award, a 2006 Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award, 2008 Los Angeles Jazz Society’s Jazz Vocalist of the Year, and 2013 City of Hopes Goodwill Ambassador Award. His productions have earned over 11 GRAMMY Awards themselves. The music he produced for the children’s special, Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue, which aired on all three major networks simultaneously, was given a special certificate of recognition by the Emmys.
Though Steve was born and raised in Texas, he has called Los Angeles home for more than 30-years. The production he cherishes most is his ever expanding family!
David Benoit
For four decades, the GRAMMY®-nominated pianist/composer/ arranger David Benoit has reigned supreme as one the founding fathers of contemporary jazz. When he was coming up, Benoit worked with singers Patti Austin, Connie Stevens, Ann-Margaret, and Lainie Kazan as her musical director/conductor. In 1976, Benoit released albums on the AVI label from 1977 to 1984. He later released several chart-topping recordings for GRP, including Freedom at Midnight (1987), Waiting for Spring (1989) and Shadows (1991), which both topped Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Charts at #5, #1, and #2, respectively. His other noteworthy recordings include Letter to Evan (1992), his tribute to another piano influence, Bill Evans, and Here’s to You, Charlie Brown: Fifty Great Years (2000). Benoit also recorded with Russ Freeman on their album The Benoit/Freeman Project (1994), and on their follow-up collaboration, 2 (2004), which was released on Peak Records. His other recordings for the label include American Landscape (1997) and Orchestral Stories (2005), which featured his first piano concerto, “The Centaur and the Sphinx,” and a symphonic work, “Kobe”.
He has received three GRAMMY® nominations in the categories of Best Contemporary Jazz Performance for “Every Step of the Way” (1989), Best Large Ensemble Performance for GRP All-Star Big Band (1996), and Best Instrumental Composition for “Dad’s Room,” the latter from the album Professional Dreamer (2000) and in 2010, David Benoit received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Smooth Jazz Awards. He has also worked with an impressive potpourri of musicians including the Rippingtons, Emily Remler, the late Alphonse Mouzon, Dave Koz, Faith Hill, David Sanborn, CeCe Winans, Keiko Matsui, Hiroshima, and Brian McKnight.

Parking: $30.00 advanced purchase | $35.00 day of
Valet: $40.00 advanced purchase | $45.00 day of (if not sold out)

EUGENIE JONES JAZZ QUARTET
2023-09-22 19:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | Admiral Theatre, 515 Pacific Avenue, Bremerton, WA, 98337, United States
2nd Annual Jazz Black & White Party | Black and/or White Attire Suggested
Through inspiration and​ an inexhaustible work ethic Eugenie Jones has transformed herself into a jazz vocalist of impeccable quality, with a respect for the jazz tradition and the courage to try something she had never imagined​​​​​​​​​​​​. ​​

OSCAR PEÑAS
2023-10-13 20:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Avenue, Delray Beach, FL, 33444, United States
Oscar PeñasGuitarist/composer Oscar Peñas is a Barcelona, Spain native and a U.S. naturalized citizen. Leader of his ensembles, Peñas first started taking guitar lessons at eight and got acquainted with jazz at seventeen years old. At twenty-one, he left law school for his “mistress,” music, and at twenty-four, he moved to Boston, where he graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1999 and New England Conservatory of Music in 2007. Since then, he has lived in NYC.
Peñas’ innovative compositions, whose training began with classical studies and later progressed to jazz, have won the USA’s press and audiences’ attention, attracting a wide variety of fans through its unique combination of different grooves over the American jazz base. He leads his band with harmonic imagination and authenticity, writing his original compositions with minimalistic and sensitive musical strokes and exchanging spontaneous creativity with his bandmates. Though his early work was rooted in bebop, he later developed a more personal style thanks to a few conversations with the latest pianist Cecil Taylor in 2008, who advised him to embrace his cultural heritage. Subsequently, Peñas’ began crossing jazz with Iberian, South American, and classical strains.
His precise finger-picking technique is not a flashy one. It gives his fellow band members space for improvisations and shows all its artistry work, retaining considerable humility that remains no less impactful.
Frequently, he creates arrangements using the guitar, resulting in a sonic mix that never sacrifices clarity for density or volume despite the added layers of complexity. His compositions are visual with a story tale and improvisation. Oscar’s clever musical experimentation is the essence of his style. His diverse use of different genres to express ideas beyond those in his writings creates extraordinary musical experiences through novelty and particular artistic excellence when performing with his band. Peñas’ intuition and ear drive him into an amalgam of melodies aiming for the innovative unexpected.
Oscar does not look for cohering to a single signature style, sharing his five recordings with renowned American jazz masters Gil Goldstein, Paquito D’Rivera, Esperanza Spalding, and Ron Carter.
He is using his uniqueness in writing his originals for non-traditional instrumentation in jazz. As an independent artist who self-produces all his work it is astonishing to see his access to the best venues in the U.S. to showcase his work.
Oscar’s newly released album, “Almadraba,” features legendary bassist Ron Carter, is available to buy in L.P. and digital formats ONLY at CDBaby. The work is Peñas’ first arranged jazz-classical suite for a jazz quartet and string quartet (eight-piece ensemble). “Almadraba” premiered at BAM Next Wave Festival in 2018.
Sara CaswellViolinist Sara Caswell is from Bloomington, Indiana, USA. A Grammy Nominee, jazz educator. Rooted in early exposure to various musical genres, Sara’s technical facility intertwined with her gift for lyricism continues to attract growing attention to her artistry as a jazz soloist, sideman, and teacher.
Sara is currently faculty at Berklee College of Music and the Manhattan School of Music. She was raised in a musical family and began playing violin at age 5. A graduate of Indiana University, which she attended under full scholarship as a Wells Scholar, Sara received B.M. Degrees with High Distinction and an Artist Diploma in Violin Performance and Jazz Studies. In 2006 Sara completed her M.M. Degree in Jazz Violin at the Manhattan School of Music.
Sara has been performing with Oscar Peñas at different prestigious venues, and she is part of Peñas’ album “Music of Departures and Returns” 2014.
Motohito FukushimaBorn in Kobe, Japan, based in NYC, six-string bass player, composer, and shamisen player Motohito Fukushima was given the Outstanding Performer Award before graduating Summa Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music. He studies Western Classical music, Japanese traditional music, and the African-inspired musical sensibilities of South American tunes in his jazz improvisations. Moto’s playing is a fantastic combination of finesse, subtlety, and power seen in his performances as a sideman with many other artists.
Motohito has enjoyed playing with Oscar Peñas since 2011 at Peñas’ quartet, and he is part of two of Peñas’ albums recordings, “From Now On,” 2011 and “Music of Departures and Returns,” 2014. Fukushima is an endorsed bass player by: Aguilar Amplification.
Richie BarshayRichie Barshay began drumming inside kitchen cabinets early and continues banging on things worldwide. Born in Connecticut, he has led outreach projects across five continents as an American Musical Envoy with the U.S. State Department. Richie has recorded over 80 albums as a sideman and his two self-produced albums. Based in New York City and Northampton, MA, he is an AmSAT certified Alexander Technique teacher and maintained a private practice for performing artists and others to regain better mind-body coordination and ease of movement.
Barshay and Oscar have been performing together since 2009. Richie is on both U.S. albums releases, “From No On” and “Music of Departures and Returns.” Also, on the coming out, “Almadraba.”
BAND MEMBERSOscar Penas – Leader, Composer, Electric GuitaristSara Caswell – ViolinistMotohito Fukushima – Electric BassRichie Barshay – Drums

WABERI JORDAN
2023-10-19 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | The Buttonwood Tree, 605 Main Street, Middletown, CT, 06457, United States
Waberi Jordan is a vocalist and songwriter whose signature is rooted in the Leimert Park Jazz Community of Los Angeles. Raised on a steady diet of straight-ahead jazz, at a time when R&B dominated the airwaves, Waberi’s sound bridges two pivotal eras of artistic expression.

She studied and played with Horace Tapscott along with The Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra and The Great Voice of UGMAA (Union of God’s Musicians and Artists’ Ascension), many notable performers and scholars like Dr. Art Hillary, McCoy Tyner, Azar Lawrence, Nate Morgan, Pharoah Sanders and many more.
Waberi has also performed around the world with various bands and ensembles, from SoulBop (an L.A. based collective of jazz musicians), R&B to West African Drum and Dance bands; 50-piece Jazz arkestras in L.A. and Europe to solo acapella sets. She has also been featured on numerous recordings, including the Jazz CD “Living Water” by extraordinary vocalist DWIGHT TRIBLE, and classic Reggae CD “Good’s Gonna Happen” Sahra Indio.
In 2009 Waberi released her debut album, The Trajectory of Starah. The accompanying video, Sunflowers in my Garden premiered the same year, to critical acclaim. The song has become beloved worldwide. Her second video release, Put it Right There was released in 2014, and as an added bonus, was co-directed and shot by Tim Russ, noted for his role as Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager.

EL DEBARGE & AVERY*SUNSHINE
2023-10-20 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach, CA, 92660, United States
El DeBarge
Five-time GRAMMY-nominee El DeBarge got his start as the lead singer of the family group DeBarge, who were on par with The Jacksons in terms of sheer family talent, releasing a string of chart-topping hits such as “Rhythm of the Night”, “Stay With Me”, “Time Will Reveal”, “I Like It” and “All This Love”. Known for his unique high tenor register and strong falsetto, DeBarge went solo, collaborating with artists like Dionne Warwick, Chanté Moore and Babyface. His comeback album “Second Chance” was nominated in three GRAMMY categories, and in 2023 Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him 137 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
Avery*Sunshine
Singer-songwriter and pianist Avery*Sunshine released her first self-titled album in 2010, which was praised by the media including The Washington Post who called it “a radiant brand of soul”. She’s been a choral director for performances with artists like Michael Bublé, David Foster, and Anthony Hamilton.
Parking: $30.00 advanced purchase | $35.00 day of
Valet: $40.00 advanced purchase | $45.00 day of (if not sold out)

PETER WHITE, MINDI ABAIR, VINCENT INGALA
2023-10-29 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach, CA, 92660, United States
Over the years, Peter White has maintained a reputation as one of the most versatile and prolific acoustic guitarists on the contemporary jazz landscape. Armed with an unparalleled combination of lyricism and energy, he combines elements of jazz, pop and classical guitar to create a sound that is singular and at the same time accessible to a broad audience.
Born in 1954 in Luton, a small town north of London, White and his family moved to nearby Letchworth shortly after he was born. As a child, he learned to play several musical instruments, including the clarinet, trombone, violin and piano. And of course, like so many youngsters growing up during the heyday of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, he gravitated to the guitar.
He learned his first chords on an acoustic guitar, then bought his first electric guitar in his early teens and studied the recordings of the reigning guitar gods of the day – Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. But his musical aspirations ultimately veered back in an acoustic direction following an accident that doomed his beloved electric guitar. The axe was destroyed in a fire, one that White’s younger brother Danny – an aspiring pianist – accidentally started.
“The funny thing is that Danny didn’t actually admit to setting that fire for at least twenty-five years,” says White. “I had been kind of obsessed with the electric guitar at that point in my life, so that episode kind of forced me to go back to playing the acoustic. In retrospect, that’s a good thing.”
Indeed, White’s interests after the accident shifted more toward the music of acoustic artists like Crosby, Stills and Nash, James Taylor, and Joni Mitchell. Plugged or unplugged, he had decided by his late teens that music was his calling, and his first professional gig was at a holiday resort in England when he was 19 years old.
Barely a year later, he was invited to join Al Stewart’s band as a keyboardist for a tour of England, Scotland, and the U.S. in 1975. In addition to opening for artists like Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel and Queen, White worked with Stewart in the studio in the making of Year of the Cat, which became a huge hit for Stewart in 1976. The tour and the album marked the beginning of a twenty-year association with Stewart. In that time, the two musicians co-wrote numerous songs, including Stewart’s 1978 hit, “Time Passages.”
By the beginning of the ‘80s, White and Stewart had relocated to Los Angeles, formed a band called Shot in the Dark, and established a music publishing company called Lobster Music. Around the same time, Danny White – he of the burning guitar incident several years earlier – formed a group called Matt Bianco, which included a talented Polish singer named Basia Trzetrzelewska. Danny White and Basia splintered off to launch the singer’s solo career with the 1987 debut album, Time and Tide, which featured Peter White on guitar.
After fifteen years as a backup musician and a session player, White launched his solo recording career with the 1990 release of Reveillez-Vous (French for “Wake up,” a title chosen by White in honor of his French mother). The album included several unused songs that White had written for Stewart, and it became a favorite among contemporary jazz radio stations.
He followed with three records on the Sindrome label – Excusez-Moi (1991), Promenade (1993) and Reflections (1994) – before signing with Columbia for the 1996 release of Caravan of Dreams. He maintained an ambitious release schedule through the ‘90s and beyond, but also found time to appear on recordings by many of his friends, including Dave Koz, Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, Jeff Golub, Lee Ritenour, Kirk Whalum, Boney James and many others.
On the road, he has participated in numerous “Guitars and Saxes” tours with the aforementioned players, and has established an annual “Peter White Christmas Tour” – the latter enterprise fueled by the success of his two highly regarded holiday albums, Songs of the Season (1997) and A Peter White Christmas (2007).
Good Day, released in 2009 on Peak Records, a division of Concord Music Group, was White’s first collection of original songs in several years. “I just started going through my backlog of material – songs that I’d never finished, some going as far back as ten or fifteen years – and I discovered that I had a lot of gems that I really wanted to show to the world,” he says. “I wanted to record them in my own time and in my own way, without any outside influence or interference.”
White released Here We Go in 2012 on Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group. The 11-song set, produced by White and DC (George Benson, Larry Carlton, Bob James, Patty Austin), featured several high-profile guest musicians, including saxophonists David Sanborn and Kirk Whalum, and pianist Philippe Saisse, and included a range of original material written in the recent and distant past. “I wanted variety,” says White. “I wanted songs that moved me, in the hopes that they’ll move the listener as well. I’m on a journey, and I want to bring with me anyone who’s willing to follow.”
Smile, released on October 7, 2014, is the final CD in White’s trilogy of albums consisting entirely of his own material. Co-produced with DC, the recording features ten tracks – some were written recently, some White wrote along the way with close friends and some were from the vault. Special guests include Mindi Abair (vocals), Rick Braun (horns), Euge Groove (soprano sax) and Philippe Saisse (keyboards, piano and orchestra programming). White’s daughter, Charlotte, plays violin on one song.
In a career that spans nearly four decades, over a dozen solo recordings and countless performances, White insists that it’s the faces in the crowd and the fans that keep the experience fresh. “I’ll play a live show, and someone will come to me afterward and say, ‘Oh, I loved this CD,’ or ‘This song helped me through a bad time,’” he explains. “Or I get emails from people saying, ‘Oh, I love the way you covered one of my favorite songs on your record back in 1994.’ The idea that someone can write me an email and tell me about something I did on a record that was released fifteen years ago – you can’t buy that. That’s priceless. That’s what keeps me going – the idea that people out there really care about what I do, the idea that I’ve made a difference for someone.”
Parking: $30.00 advanced purchase | $35.00 day of
Valet: $40.00 advanced purchase | $45.00 day of (if not sold out)

RENÉ MARIE
2023-11-01 19:30 - 2023-11-05 23:00 (America/New_York) | Harold & Dorothy Steward Center For Jazz, 3536 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63103, United States
In a span of two decades, 11 recordings, and countless stage performances, vocalist René Marie has cemented her reputation as not only a singer but also a composer, arranger, theatrical performer and teacher. Guided and tempered by powerful life lessons and rooted in jazz traditions laid down by Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington and other leading ladies of past generations, she borrows various elements of folk, R&B, classical, and country to create a captivating hybrid style. Her body of work is musical, but it’s more than just music. It’s an exploration of all corners of the human experience, an affirmation of the power of the human spirit.
While neither of her parents were formally trained musicians, radio and records of all kinds – blues, folk, bluegrass and classical – made up the soundtrack to her childhood. René had just one year of formal piano training at age nine, then another year of lessons at age 13. During her teenage years, she sang in a few R&B bands at musical functions in her community. She composed and sang her first piece with a band when she was 15.
But René put her musical aspirations aside to make room for the obligations and responsibilities of adulthood. She married a former bandmate when she was 18, and by the mid-1990s, she was the mother of two and working in a bank. When she was 41, her older son convinced her to start singing again, and she took a few tenuous steps into her local music scene, singing for tips one night a week in a hotel bar. It would be several months before she actually earned any real living as a singer.
René made a series of profound course corrections that steered her back toward a full-time career in music. René’s self-produced CD, Renaissance, was released in 1999 and soon after in 2000, she signed onto the MaxJazz label and recorded four more over the next four years.
Perhaps more than most artists, René understands music’s capacity to heal and inspire. Not only has she herself been the beneficiary of it, but she has made every effort along the way to extend those same benefits to others.
Prepaid Parking: $15.00

THE BAYLOR PROJECT
2023-11-03 19:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | Ray Charles Performing Arts Center, 900 West End Avenue SW, Atlanta, GA, 30310, United States
Join us for The Gathering 2023 kick off with a concert to benefit Hammonds House Museum featuring 6X Grammy Award nominated husband and wife duo, The Baylor Project, at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center on the campus of Morehouse College at 8:00 PM. In addition to an evening of amazing and masterful performance, there will be a silent auction, an opportunity to win a fine art print by one of Atlanta’s critically acclaimed visual artists and VIP meet and greet with The Baylors at a pre-reception at 7:00pm.
A husband. A wife. An astonishing duo built on love, family, faith, culture and community.
These are the things that power The Baylor Project featuring Jean Baylor and Marcus Baylor. This enticing collaboration is steeped in the heart and soul of jazz. As the children of Pastors, Marcus’ and Jean’s musical roots were planted deep within the church, and it was there that the road was paved for the influence of jazz, gospel, blues and soul to make it’s mark. Their debut CD “The Journey“, released on their own label, Be A Light, topped the Billboard Jazz Chart at Number 8 in 2017 and a year later garnered 2 GRAMMY® Nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance. Two years later during one of the most challenging years in recent history, The Baylors released their single, “Sit On Down” in 2020 which earned a 3rd GRAMMY® Nomination for Best Traditional R&B Performance, solidifying The Baylor Project as an undeniable force. Their second album, “Generations,” released in 2021 earned the duo its first NAACP Image Award win for Outstanding Jazz Album-Vocal and it’s 4th GRAMMY® Nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. And their first live album, “The Evening : Live At APPARATUS” earned The Baylors their 5th and 6th GRAMMY® Nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Improvised Jazz Solo.
Marcus and Jean Baylor signed an exclusive distribution agreement, in partnership with their artist-owned label, Be A Light with Motown Gospel (a division of Capitol CMG/Capitol and Universal Music Group) making The Baylor Project’s catalogue available for the first time across all streaming platforms.

HENRY MANCINI 100TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
2023-11-03 20:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | Adrienne Arsht Center | Knight Concert Hall, 1300 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL, 33132, United States
Starring Monica Mancini with special guests John Pizzarelli, Shelly Berg, Gregg Field and Frost School of Music’s Henry Mancini Institute
From “Moon River” to “The Pink Panther Theme,” “Baby Elephant Walk” and “Days of Wine and Roses,” Henry Mancini composed some of the most beloved music of our time, while revolutionizing the art of film scoring.
The Frost School of Music’s Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra will be joined onstage by Henry’s daughter, two-time Grammy-nominated vocalist Monica Mancini, and eight-time Grammy winner Gregg Field, plus other surprise guest artists in a multimedia event to kick off the centenary celebration of Mancini’s birth.

JAZZMEIA HORN
2023-11-07 19:30 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Gusman Concert Hall, 1314 Miller Drive, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, United States
With Frost Jazz Orchestra, the Frost Sextet, The Dafnis Prieto Artist Ensemble | John Daversa and Chuck Bergeron, directors
Billboard says she is “the jazz world’s most exciting young vocalist” and DownBeat praises herfor striking “a deft balance between mid-century jazz and contemporary neo-soul.” Award-winning vocalist Jazzmeia Horn joins forces with Frost Jazz Orchestra for an evening of jazz.

LAUFEY
2023-11-07 20:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA, 30307, United States
Laufey (pronounced lāy-vāy) is a 24-year-old, Los Angeles-based singer, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist whose jazz songs are about young love and self-discovery. Raised between Reykjavík and Washington, D.C. with annual visits to Beijing, the Icelandic-Chinese artist grew up playing cello as well as piano and became hooked on the jazz standards of Ella Fitzgerald after digging through her father’s record collection.
In 2020, while still a student at Berklee College of Music, Laufey released her debut single “Street by Street,” which went on to top the Icelandic radio charts. Following the release of her 2021 Typical of Me EP, Laufey was named Best New Artist in Jazz and Blues at the Icelandic Music Awards and hosted her own show on BBC Radio 3/BBC Sounds. Her debut full-length Everything I Know About Love, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Alternative New Artist Album chart, and the lead single “Valentine” peaked at #1 on the Spotify Jazz Chart. In 2022 Laufey was the most streamed jazz artist on Spotify, with 425 million streams across all platforms.

ANAT COHEN & MARCELLO GONÇALVES
2023-11-18 18:30 - 22:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | The 222, 222 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg, CA, 95448, United States
The perennial winner of “Clarinetist of the Year” titles from DownBeat, JazzTimes, and the Jazz Journalists Association, Fresh Air’s Terry Gross credits Cohen with “bringing the clarinet to the world” and The New York Times hails her a “Master.”

Acclaimed clarinetist Anat Cohen and 7-string guitarist Marcello Gonçalves team together in a series of intimate, lyrical duets. Breathtaking melodies, Brazilian grooves, and elements of jazz highlight the intricate talents of both Cohen and Gonçalves. In their second duo album, Reconvexo, Brazilian 7-string guitar player Gonçalves and New York-based clarinetist Cohen turn their attention to music from the Música Popular Brasileira (MPB) songbook. Against the backdrop of a country and world turning inward, the duo set out to record an album inspired by the beauty of Brazil and the spirit of its people. The result is at once intimate and virtuosic, mournful and hopeful, soaked with the feeling expressed uniquely in the Portuguese language as saudade – bittersweet, at once deeply happy and sad, and full of emotion.

WYCLIFFE GORDON
2023-11-29 08:00 - 2023-12-03 17:00 (America/New_York) | Harold & Dorothy Steward Center For Jazz, 3536 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63103, United States
American jazz trombonist, arranger, composer, band leader, and music educator Wycliffe Gordon will light up the bistro stage this November and December!
Wycliffe took an interest in jazz in 1980 when he was thirteen, while listening to jazz records inherited from his great-aunt. The collection included a five-LP anthology produced by Sony-Columbia. In particular, he was drawn to musicians like Louis Armstrong and the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens. His early works as a professional were with Wynton Marsalis and he later conducted the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in the premiere of his new, original score for the 1925 silent film Body and Soul, directed by Oscar Micheaux.
Known affectionately as “Pinecone,” the Georgia-born trombonist also sings and plays didgeridoo, trumpet, soprano trombone, tuba, and piano. In 1995, Gordon arranged and orchestrated the theme song for NPR’s All Things Considered. Make sure to catch these spirited performances that are sure to be bad to the bone!
Prepaid Parking; $15.00

COWBOY BEBOP LIVE
2023-11-30 20:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA, 30307, United States
Cowboy Bebop LIVE is a complete multimedia experience highlighting the story of critically acclaimed anime, COWBOY BEBOP, on the big screen accompanied by live music from the soundtrack performed by the Bebop Bounty Big Band.
This 14-piece jazz ensemble features world-class musicians with members from the world famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Jazz Orchestra at Dr. Phillips Center, and the Walt Disney Company. This show is a completely one-of-a-kind production specifically designed to deliver an experience anime fans have never had before. Travel the solar system with anime’s most iconic soundtrack at Cowboy Bebop LIVE!

NICOLE HENRY WINTER CONCERT
2023-12-05 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, FL, 33139, United States
This is her 10th Anual Winter Concert to benefit SAVE Foundation and Miami Music Project.
About The Benefiting Non-Profits

SAVE Foundation: SAVE Foundation is recognized as South Florida’s longest-serving organization dedicated to protecting people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) against discrimination. Since 1993, SAVE has advocated for equal rights for persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
Miami Music Project: Since 2009, Miami Music Project has emerged as a model for music education programs nationally, offering after-school programming free of charge using music as an instrument of social change. Through the study and performance of music, they empower children to acquire values and achieve their full potential, positively affecting their society.

DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER WITH SEAN JONES
2023-12-06 19:30 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Stern Auditorium @ Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave,, New York City, NY, 10019, United States
NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater with bandleader and trumpeter Sean Jones and the NYO Jazz All-Star Big Band. The program consists of:

Feldman | Fitzgerald ~ “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” (arr. Slide Hampton)

Santamaría ~ “Afro Blue” (arr. John Clayton)

Ellington ~ “Cotton Tail” (arr. Slide Hampton)

Newley | Bricusse ~ “Feeling Good / I Got You (I Feel Good)” (arr. Emily L. Fredrickson)

John Beasley ~ “Fête dans la tête” (World Premiere, commissioned by Carnegie Hall)

Holiday | Herzog Jr. ~ “God Bless the Child” (arr. Edsel Gomez and Cecil Bridgewater)

Higginbotham | Drake | Fisher ~ “Good Morning Heartache” (arr. Edsel Gomez and Cecil Bridgewater)

John Clayton ~ “I Be Serious ‘Bout Dem Blues”

Nichols | Holiday ~ “Lady Sings the Blues” (arr. Edsel Gomez and Cecil Bridgewater)

Bley ~ “Lawns” (arr. Javier Nero)

Lee | Goodman ~ “Let the Good Times Roll” (arr. Frank Foster)

Sean Jones ~ “Touch and Go” (arr. Dave Morgan)

CYNTHIA ERIVIO & FRIENDS
2023-12-06 20:00 - 21:10 (America/New_York) | KennedY Center | Eisenhower Theater, 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20566, United States
Cynthia Erivo has taken the world by storm since bursting onto the West End and Broadway stages in The Color Purple. An actress, singer, author, and producer, Erivo has received worldwide critical acclaim for her work, including Grammy®, Emmy®, and Tony® Awards as well as Academy Award®, Golden Globe®, and SAG nominations.
Erivo has starred in Harriet, Genius: Aretha, Luther: The Fallen Sun, and the 2022 Pinocchio, and will star as Elphaba in Universal’s upcoming film adaptation of the hit musical WICKED. She also starred in, executive produced, and cowrote and sang a feature song for her upcoming film Drift, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
In addition to her illustrious acting career, Erivo released her debut album Ch. 1 Vs. 1 in 2021. Her vocal prowess and dynamic stage presence have led her to headline sold-out shows, symphonies, and music spaces, including the 2016 & 2019 Kennedy Center Honors, the 2017 Governor’s Ball, the 2017 Grammy Awards®, and 2020 Academy Awards®.
In 2020, Erivo launched her production company Edith’s Daughter, which focuses on projects expressing the beauty in overlooked and underrepresented people and their stories. The following year, she released her first children’s book Remember to Dream, Ebere.
Erivo will be joined by friends Joaquina Kalukango and Ben Platt.
Kalukango is an actress and singer, who has won a Tony®, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award for Broadway performances in Paradise Square and Slave Play. She was a SAG Award nominee for her part in the film One Night in Miami, and has recurring roles in television, including Lovecraft Country and upcoming series Bass Reeves.
Platt is a Tony®, Grammy®, and Emmy® Award–winning actor and recording artist. Acclaimed for his groundbreaking performance as Evan in Dear Evan Hansen, he later reprised the role in the Universal film adaptation. His movie and series highlights include Theater Camp, The Politician, and Pitch Perfect 1 & 2. Last year, Platt wrapped his Reverie Tour and continues to work on new music after the success of two chart-topping albums.

SUTTON FOSTER
2023-12-19 20:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | The Parker, 707 NE 8th St, , FL, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33304, United States
Tony Award®-winning actress and singer Sutton Foster returns to The Parker with Sutton Foster: Christmas Time Is Here! This show will feature her singing a collection of songs that includes a mixture of holiday classics and her own personal holiday favorites.
Foster is one of her generation’s most celebrated Broadway actresses, having won two Tony Awards® for her performances in Anything Goes and Thoroughly Modern Millie. She has starred in numerous other Broadway productions, including Violet, Young Frankenstein, Shrek the Musical, and most recently concluded a lauded run in The Music Man.
Other notable stage performances include Into the Woods, Sweet Charity, and The Wild Party. In addition to her work on stage, Foster is known for her performances on television, including the hit series Younger, Bunheads, The Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

SAMARA JOY
2023-12-20 19:30 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Murphy Fine Arts Center, 2201 Argonne Drive, Baltimore, MD, 21218, United States
Featuring The McLendon Family
Samara Joy McLendon is a Grammy Award-winning American jazz singer from the Castle Hill neighborhood of the Bronx, New York. She released her self-titled debut album in 2021 and was subsequently named Best New Artist by JazzTimes. Her second album, Linger Awhile, was released in September 2022, winning the award for Best Jazz Vocal Album and herself for Best New Artist at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
Celebrating the release of her new festive EP, “A Joyful Holiday”, this double Grammy-winning jazz singer takes the stage with members of her talented musical family for ONE NIGHT ONLY in Baltimore, Maryland on December 20th! Sharing the influences of gospel, Motown, and jazz across the generations, Joy delivers a sparkling evening brimming with the most time-honored songs of the season alongside her father, uncle, and cousins.
Ticket Fees: $2.40~$3.00

JAZZMEIA HORN
2024-01-17 20:00 (America/New_York) | Faena Hotel Theater, 3201 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL, 33140, United States
Jazzmeia Horn is a spectacularly talented and important young jazz artist and returns to Miami Beach for a one night performance for the hotel’s 6th annual series.
The Grammy winner and multiple Grammy nominee, winner of the Sarah Vaughn Vocal Jazz Competition, the Thelonius Monk Institute International Jazz Competition, and the NAACP Outstanding Image Award, is an accomplished artist including being a consummate musician, composer, big band arranger and educator.

MIGUEL ZENÓN QUARTET
2024-01-20 20:00 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | The Jazz Bakery @ Moss Theater, 3131 Olympic Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA, 90404, United States
Multiple Grammy Nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow represents a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often contradictory poles of innovation and tradition. Widely considered one of the most groundbreaking and influential saxophonists and composers of his generation, he has also developed a unique voice as a conceptualist, concentrating his efforts on perfecting a fine mix between jazz and his many musical influences. He will be joined at the Moss Theater by pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig, and drummer Henry Cole.
Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he has released fifteen recordings as a leader, including the Grammy-nominated Música De Las Américas (2022), El Arte Del Bolero (2021) and Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera (2019) and Yo Soy La Tradición (2018). He has worked with luminaries such as The SFJAZZ Collective, David Sánchez, Danilo Perez, Kurt Elling, Joey Calderazzo, Steve Coleman, Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band, The Mingus Big Band and Bobby Hutcherson.
Free parking onsite. Between Centinela and Stewart St. Enter at New-Roads-School sign. Theater is immediately on right.

NICOLE HENRY
2024-01-26 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | DJD Theater, 800 19th Street N, Birmingham, AL, 35203, United States
The New York Times, Miami Herald, and Jazz Times Magazine have compared powerhouse jazz vocalist Nicole Henry to Whitney Houston and Natalie Cole for her dynamic range, impeccable phrasing, and bluesy gospel style. Whether burning through a swing tune or gently caressing a ballad, Nicole truly makes each song uniquely her own and “aims right for the emotional center.” (Billboard) See her perform her latest topping album, “Time to Love Again” and prepare to be entertained!

KENNY BARRON
2024-02-01 19:30 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | SFJazz Center | Miner Auditorium, 201 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA, 94102, United States
Starting his week as Resident Artistic Director in grand style, Kenny Barron performs with his ironclad working trio with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake. Kitagawa’s 27-year association with Barron and Blake’s nearly twenty-year tenure have made them the finest working piano trio in jazz, a unit that has developed a singular depth of communication as captured on Barron’s 2016 Impulse! album Book of Intuition — a sterling session nominated for “Best Instrumental Jazz Recording” at the 2016 GRAMMY Awards.

Called “one of the top jazz pianists in the world” by The Los Angeles Times, Kenny Barron is a 2010 NEA Jazz Master and eleven-time GRAMMY nominee who helped define and extend the jazz tradition since his work with Dizzy Gillespie in the early ‘60s catapulted him into the spotlight. Extensive associations with Freddie Hubbard, Yusef Lateef, Stan Getz, James Moody and Ron Carter built his peerless reputation as a sideman, and he has recorded over 50 albums as a bandleader over his five-decade career. A seven-time recipient of Best Pianst by the Jazz Journalists Association, Barron leads an ironclad trio with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake, and regularly performs as a soloist and settings from duo to big band.

KENNY BARRON QUINTET
2024-02-02 19:30 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | SFJazz Center | Miner Auditorium, 201 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA, 94102, United States
Expanding his stellar working trio to a quintet with the addition of SFJAZZ Collective trumpeter Mike Rodriguez and Bay Area-raised saxophone great Dayna Stephens, Kenny Barron explores new sonorities and textures in a program of originals and fresh takes on standards documented on his 2018 Blue Note album Concentric Circles.
Best known for his work with the Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra and a first-year member of the Collective, Martinez is a veteran of work with Clark Terry, Joe Lovano, and Chico O’Farrill. Stephens is arguably one of the busiest and most buzzed-about saxophonists in modern jazz, working with Taylor Eigsti, Brad Mehldau, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Gerald Clayton among others, and leading eleven albums.
The Band: Dayna Stephens, Mike Rodriguez, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Johnathan Blake

KENNY BARRON: BRAZILIAN EXPLORATIONS
2024-02-03 19:30 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | SFJazz Center | Miner Auditorium, 201 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA, 94102, United States
Called “one of the top jazz pianists in the world” by The Los Angeles Times, Kenny Barron is a 2010 NEA Jazz Master and eleven-time GRAMMY nominee who helped define and extend the jazz tradition since his work with Dizzy Gillespie in the early ‘60s catapulted him into the spotlight. Extensive associations with Freddie Hubbard, Yusef Lateef, Stan Getz, James Moody and Ron Carter built his peerless reputation as a sideman, and he has recorded over 50 albums as a bandleader over his five-decade career. A seven-time recipient of Best Pianst by the Jazz Journalists Association, Barron leads an ironclad trio with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake, and regularly performs as a soloist and settings from duo to big band.
His third night brings the Bay Area premiere of a new sextet project embracing the music of Brazil and beyond. No stranger to Brazilian rhythms, Barron recorded his first album of samba-influenced compositions three decades ago with 1993’s Verve date Sambao.
He is joined for this special night by flutist Anne Drummond and percussionist Valtinho Anastacio from his 2002 Sunnyside release Canta Brasil, along with drummer Rafael Barata, whose scintillating playing propelled the pianist’s 2013 Rio-recorded session Kenny Barron & the Brazilian Knights. Rounding out the band is Barron’s granddaughter, the masterful vibraphonist Nikara Warren, and virtuoso bassist John Patitucci.

SEAN JONES
2024-02-04 18:00 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Zankel Hall @ Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave,, New York City, NY, 10019, United States
Renowned trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and educator Sean Jones leads his NYO Jazz All-Star Quartet in Zankel Hall Center Stage, an intimate setting that invites audiences to sit on all sides of the performers. This communal, “in the round” configuration brings listeners closer than ever to the music—an ideal way to enjoy live jazz performed by a group of master improvisers and ensemble players. As part of the experience, artists and audiences alike will be encouraged to explore concepts of self-care and mindfulness through music.

Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Host
