LANGSTON HUGHES & HIS QUARTET

Experience an unforgettable evening of modern jazz with saxophonist Langston Hughes IIand his Quartet. Rooted in gospel and shaped by the rich traditions of jazz, Langston’s music is a soulful, high-energy journey through sound, storytelling, and spirit. With a style that is both deeply expressive and rhythmically driven, the quartet delivers performances filled with passion, beauty, and joy.

Hughes is an accomplished saxophonist, woodwind doubler, composer, and educator, rapidly emerging as one of the most exciting young voices in jazz today. Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, Langston began his musical journey in the Prince George’s County public school system before studying at Howard University under the mentorship of Charlie Young III and Cyrus Chestnut. He recently earned his Master’s degree in Jazz Studies from The Juilliard School. Langston has toured with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, performs with Cyrus Chestnut, Rufus Reid, and is a member of Ulysses Owens Jr.’s Generation Y Band.

Langston is also an in-demand woodwind performer on and off Broadway, with recent credits including A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical and Just in Time: The Bobby Darin Story. A former Strathmore Artist in Residence and a graduate of the Kennedy Center’s Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead, he is also a dedicated educator, teaching privately and through FAME, committed to uplifting the next generation of artists.

Langston Hughes II ~ saxophone
Robert Papachica ~ guitar
William Hill III ~ piano
Eytan Schillinger-Hyman ~ bass
Quincy Phillips ~ drums

Tickets: $35.00 ~ $40.00 +fee
Streaming: $15.00 +fee

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BRAXTON COOK

Maryland’s own Braxton Cook is an Emmy Award-winning, two time Grammy Award winning, NAACP Image Award-nominated artist, known for his world-class skills as an alto saxophonist, vocalist, songwriter, producer and composer. With a blend of jazz, soul, and alt-R&B, he has carved out a unique, melodic sound that has made him one of the most exciting voices of his generation. A Juilliard-trained, genre-jumping artist whose music feels both contemporary and timeless, Braxton studied saxophone under the renowned Paul Carr. During this time, Braxton was selected as a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition.

He has performed on major stages around the world, from Coachella to international jazz festivals, and collaborated with artists like Rihanna, Solange, Christian McBride Big Band, Tom Misch, Christian Scott, Marquis Hill, and Jon Batiste, performing on his soundtrack for Pixar’s Oscar-winning film, Soul. His albums garner critical acclaim from outlets like Billboard, BET, NPR Music, FORBES, and The Washington Post, cementing Braxton as both a “jazz marvel” and a cultural influencer shaping modern music. His newest album, Not Everyone Can Go, drops August 29th. Musically, the album conjures images of bright evening sunshine, when the temperature begins to cool.

Braxton Cook ~ saxophone & vocals
Mike King ~ keyboards
Paul Reinhold~  bass
Curtis Nowosad ~ drums

Tickets: $35.00 ~ $40.00 +fee
Streaming: $15.00 +fee

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EITHER/ORCHESTRA

In the decades since the Either/Orchestra debuted on December 17, 1985 at the Cambridge MA Public Library, the group has made over 1000 performances in 38 of the United States and 12 foreign countries, as well as releasing a dozen albums and being nominated for a Grammy, winning five Boston Music awards and numerous Downbeat Critics Poll placements, among many other honors. From prestigious festivals like Glastonbury Pop and Chicago Jazz to tiny clubs, schools and churches in out of the way places, the group has been “dependably marvelous,” according to the Village Voice.

No obstacles deterred leader Russ Gershon and his intrepid musical explorers from visiting new musical worlds – until the Covid pandemic. The band’s most recent performance was in December of 2019 at Tufts U., with one of their distinguished Ethiopian collaborators, vocalist Teshome Mitiku. But now, they’re coming back!

To celebrate the exact 40th anniversary of their first show, the Either/Orchestra returns to the stage not a mile from where they started. The E/O began playing the Regattabar when the club was band new in the ’90’s. There is no better and more appropriate venue for them to inaugurate their fifth decade.

The E/O will be making selections from their vast catalog of originals and original arrangements of classic and obscure jazz, as well as dipping into their unparalleled repertoire of Ethiopian music in honor of their upcoming release, éthiopiques 32: Nalbandian the Ethiopian.

Their second release on the legendary éthiopiques series features music by Nerses Nalbandian, a teenage refugee of the Armenian genocide who rose to become music director of Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie’s National Theater in Addis Ababa. Nalbandian’s interest in American music helped set the stage for the birth of the modern Ethiopian pop music which has bewitched music aficionados the world over the past couple of decades. His music has seldom been played since the totalitarian revolution which deposed Haile Selassie in 1974, and the E/O was asked by the Nalbandian family and éthiopiques producer Frances Falceto to reconstruct and play it at the National Theater of Ethiopia. The album is a record of that labor of love.

E/O personnel:

Tom Halter | trumpet
Dan Rosenthal | trumpet
Joel Yennior | trombone
Sam Spear | alto sax
Russ Gershon | tenor sax
Charlie Kohlhase | baritone sax
Alexei Tsiganov | piano
Rick McLaughlin | bass
Brooke Sofferman | drums
Vicente Lebron | congas

Cover: Sold Out

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TEDD BAKER TRIO

Tedd Baker has worked with a wide variety of jazz greats and contemporary artists including Barry Harris, David Sanborn, Arturo Sandoval, Slide Hampton, Eddie Daniels, George Duke, Victor Lewis, Orrin Evans, Jason Moran, Wycliffe Gordon, Kurt Elling, Allison Miller, Fitz and The Tantrums, Sean Jones, Michael Mossman, Warren Wolf, 8-Bit Big Band, Ryles Jazz Orchestra w Jon Faddis, Artie Shaw Orchestra, and Donny McCaslin among others. He has also recorded with David Sanborn, Bobby Caldwell (“After Dark”), New York Voices (“Let It Snow”), Bohemian Caverns All-Stars, Amina Figarova Sextet, and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra under the direction of David Baker.

He began playing professionally around Boston’s Back Bay, North End, and downtown in his teens. In 2000 he won the Hilton Head Jazz Society Competition and led a quartet of past awardees. In 2001 he toured 8 weeks in South America, Central America, and Jamaica for the State Department Jazz Ambassador Program as part of the Richard Johnson trio. In 2002 he joined the Airmen of Note, USAF Premier Band, Washington, D.C. and has been featured on many of the “Note’s” performances and recordings.

Dining & Jazz Cover: $10.00 per person

Bar & Jazz: No Cover

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HOLIDAY JAZZ VESPERS

Come celebrate the holiday season with the timeless sounds of jazz at the 2025 Holiday Jazz Vespers at historic First Congregational Church in downtown Atlanta. The Holiday Jazz Vespers has become a highly anticipated treat and an annual favorite among jazz enthusiasts.

All Proceeds benefit the Education and Outreach Programs of the First Church CDC.

Featured Guest Artists:
Kathleen Bertrand ~ Vocal
Doc Powell ~ Guitar
Will Scruggs ~ Bariton Saxophone
Phil Davis ~ Piano
Dwight Andrews ~ Flute
Atlanta Jazz Chamber Chorus

Tickets: $28.52

 

 

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