Notorious Jazz

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,

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

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.

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.

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.

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)

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) | MA
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.

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)
