NICOLE HENRY | DECADES OF DIVAS
World-renowned, award-winning jazz vocalist Nicole Henryreturns to 54 Below for the NYC debut of her new show Decades of Diva, celebrating an array of music made famous by THE Divas we know and love: Diana, Ella, Barbra, Donna, Celine, Mariah, Chaka, Whitney, Shirley, Sarah, and more.
Henry’s versatile and emotionally driven performances have wowed 54 Below audiences since 2016, including with her BroadwayWorld nominated show I Wanna Dance with Somebody: The Songs of Whitney Houston (Best Tribute Show). Henry also remains a vocal leader in the jazz world with her latest album, Time to Love Again, reaching #4 on the U.S. JazzWeek Radio Chart and remaining in the TOP 40 for 20 weeks.
Among her numerous accolades, Henry received the Soul Train Award for “Best Traditional Jazz Performance,” “Best New Jazz Artist” by HMV Japan, and “Best Solo Musician” by the Miami New Times. Henry has enjoyed four TOP 10 CDs and has headlined stages in 20 countries throughout her career.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Joe Thomas was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma on December 23, 1908 and was the brother of Walter “Foots” Thomas. He first went to New York City with Jelly Roll Morton in 1929.
During the 1930s he worked with Blanche Calloway and other bands. The early Forties saw him working with jazz musician Dave Martin. He gave up playing to become a vocal coach and songwriter and later an A&R executive.
Alto saxophonist and songwriter Joe Thomas transitioned on April 15, 1997.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Leonard “Red” Balaban was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 22, 1929 to Barney Balaban, former president of Paramount Pictures. By the Fifties he was residing in the Florida panhandle, working as a farmer and playing in regional ensembles. He moved to New York City in the mid-1960s and held a regular gig at the Dixieland jazz club Your Father’s Mustache.
He worked extensively as a sideman, for musicians such as Wild Bill Davison, Eddie Condon, Gene Krupa, Dick Wellstood, and Kenny Davern. He opened the third incarnation of Eddie Condon’s Jazz club on W. 54th Street after arranging permission for using Eddie’s name from Condon’s widow. He co-led the house band with Ed Polcer from 1975, with whom he later shared ownership of the club. Other musicians in this outfit included Vic Dickenson, Warren Vache, and Connie Kay. The club closed in the mid-1980s.
Tubist, sousaphonist, gui Red Balaban, who also played banjo, stand-up bass, slide trombone, ukulele and rhythm guitar, transitioned on December 29, 2013 at his lakefront home in West Haven, Connecticut.
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The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is leaving the Big Apple by way of JFK is crisscrossing the country once again to check out a new venue called the Mississippi Studios in Portland, Oregon. Situated in the Boise neighborhood of the city it is both a recording studio and a music venue presenting not only local but national talent.
Tonight I’m going to see a long time favorite who I met when she was emerging as an artist and I played her on the air. She is saxophonist and composer Hailey Niswanger. After graduating in 2011 with a B.A. in Jazz Performance from Berklee College of Music this Texas native who grew up in Portland, Oregon returns home to perform. She leades her own band and has shared the stage with Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, Harvey Mason, Mike Clark, Michael Wolff, Ralph Peterson Jr., and others.
Mississippi Studios is located at 3939 N Mississippi Avenue 97227. You can get more information at https://notoriousjazz.com/event/hailey-niswanger.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Marshall Richard Brown was born on December 21, 1920 in Framingham, Massachusetts and graduated from New York University with a degree in music. He was a band teacher in New York City schools, and one of his school bands performed at the Newport Jazz Festival in the 1950s.
With George Wein, he went to Europe to look for musicians for the International Youth Band. In the late 1950s he started the Newport Youth Band and his students included Eddie Gomez, Duško Gojković, George Gruntz, Albert Mangelsdorff, Jimmy Owens, and Gabor Szabo.
He worked with Ruby Braff, Bobby Hackett, Lee Konitz, and Pee Wee Russell. Valve trombonist and teacher Marshall Brown transitioned on December 13, 1983 in New York City. He was 67.
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