Michael Feinstein, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Director of the Jazz & Popular Song series, brings back American Songbook classics for the sixth consecutive year with three unique programs in The Appel Room this spring – The Unforgettable Nat “King Cole (April 5-6), The Music of Mel Tormé (May 3-4), and Ella On My Mind (June 7-8). Joining Feinstein on stage will be the Tedd Firth Big Band and a star-studded guest roster of talent from the Great White Way and beyond, including Denzal Sinclaire, who joined the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis’ 2015 Big Band Holidays tour; frequent Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola headliner Loston Harris; Grammy Award winner Billy Stritch; 2016 Broadway World New York Cabaret Award nominee Ann Hampton Callaway; and 2013 Soul Train Award winner Nicole Henry. Tony Award winning actress Jessie Mueller will join Feinstein as a guest vocalist for Ella On My Mind, marking one of the few New York City appearances the vocalist will make after her departure from the musical Waitress in March.
The Jazz & Popular Song Series line-up:
THE UNFORGETTABLE NAT “KING” COLE
April 5–6
With hits such as “The Christmas Song,” “Unforgettable,” “Nature Boy,” and “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66,” Michael Feinstein – known as the Ambassador of the Great American Songbook – explores the artistry of quintessential crooner Nat “King” Cole. With the Tedd Firth Big Band and special guest vocalists, Feinstein will channel the qualities that made Cole a star on stage and on screen. Vocalists include crooner Denzal Sinclaire and Loston Harris. Sinclaire joined the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis in 2015 for its Big Band Holidays tour, and he recently performed a critically-acclaimed tribute to Nat “King” Cole. Harris is a vocalist and gifted pianist, an Appel Room veteran, and a 2017 headliner at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. The program will highlight the songs, stories, charismatic showmanship, and masterful piano playing that defined Cole’s career.
THE MUSIC OF MEL TORMÉ
May 3–4
The second concert of the Jazz & Popular Song series, this performance is a dedication to Mel Tormé, an iconic songwriter called the “Velvet Fog” in reference to his enchantingly smooth voice. Tormé was a remarkable singer with the soothing sound of a classic crooner, deep musical sophistication, and emotional intensity in his treatment of melody. Special guest vocalists include Billy Stritch and Ann Hampton Callaway, both of whom are award-winning stars and Great American Songbook masters. The Tedd Firth Big Band will round out this insightful, moving, and highly entertaining foray into the world of Tormé.
ELLA ON MY MIND
June 7–8
In Michael Feinstein’s final Jazz & Popular Song concert of the season, the multi-platinum selling interpreter of American song will perform classics made famous by Ella Fitzgerald. The “First Lady of Song” was an impeccable singer and endlessly influential improviser. Drawing broadly across the Great American Songbook, she shaped definitive versions of countless tunes written by top composers like Irving Berlin and the Gershwins. Feinstein combines his knowledge and expertise with Ella’s timeless repertoire and the swinging Tedd Firth Big Band for the final performance of the season in The Appel Room.
The Jazz & Popular Song Series will take place in The Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall, located at Broadway at 60th Street, New York, NY.
Tickets prices start at $60 and can be purchased on jazz.org 24 hours a day or by calling CenterCharge on 212-721-6500, open daily from 10am – 9pm. Tickets can also be purchased at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, located on Broadway at 60th Street, ground floor. Box office hours are Monday- Saturday from 10am to 6pm (or 30 minutes past curtain) and Sunday from noon to 6pm (or 30 minutes past curtain).
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