Every May, the sounds of Duke Ellington fill the halls of the House of Swing as hundreds of high school students across the country participate in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington High School Competition and Festival. These students graduate and often join some of the most prestigious jazz programs in the country, in schools including The Juilliard School and William Paterson University. In May, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola will feature today’s finest jazz musicians who are alumnus of the program as they perform over five nights of Ellington, starting with the Essentially Ellington Alumni Band (May 9) followed by the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra: Music of Duke Ellington (May 10-13).
Additional highlights for the month include Bruce Forman’s first NYC performance in 20 years with the Bruce Forman Trio (May 3), Elio Villafranca: On Any Given Night in Havana featuring Claudia Acuña (May 4-6), the Sean Jones Quintet (May 18-20), Kenny Rampton’s Paradise Blue Suite (May 21), Gerald Cannon Septet (May 25-27), and Ignacio Berroa Trio: Straight Ahead from Havana (May 29-30).
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola is located in Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, located at 60th Street and Broadway. For additional information, visit jazz.org/dizzys.MAY 2018 DIZZY’S CLUB COCA-COLA LINEUP:
WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY JAZZ ORCHESTRA AND ENSEMBLES WITH SPECIAL GUEST BILL CHARLAP
May 1 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Part of the William Paterson University Department of Music, the elite Jazz Studies Program emphasizes arranging, composition, and solo performance, offering a well-rounded education to its dedicated young musicians. The 7:30pm set features the Orchestra, and the 9:30pm set features various small ensembles, so you can pick your preference or make a full night out of two unique shows.
Cover: $35
Student: $20
DARCY JAMES ARGUE SECRET SOCIETY
May 2 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society is a postmodern big band that has received Grammy Award nominations for every one of its original albums (2009, 2013, and 2016). Led by Guggenheim Fellow Darcy James Argue, the 18-piece Secret Society band brings together many of New York’s finest soloists as a razor-sharp able to fulfill Argue’s unique sonic vision. The band’s here for one night only, so make the most of this spring evening and join us at Dizzy’s Club!
Cover: $35
Student: $20
BRUCE FORMAN TRIO
May 3 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola welcomes Bruce Forman for his first New York City appearance in over 20 years. Forman is a master of jazz guitar fundamentals who honed his skills with the likes of Ray Brown, Freddie Hubbard, and Joe Henderson before embarking on a decades-long career as a leader. Tonight he makes his New York City return in perfect style, playing a trio gig with two of the city’s top musicians: Rufus Reid and Matt Wilson. Stop by Dizzy’s to welcome Forman back and enjoy the exquisite sound of a straight-ahead jazz and bop expert with a classic hollow-body guitar.
Cover: $40
Student: $25
ELIO VILLAFRANCA: ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT IN HAVANA
FEATURING CLAUDIA ACUÑA
May 4–6 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Cuban pianist and composer Elio Villafranca is an audience favorite at Jazz at Lincoln Center known for conceptually ambitious projects that fuse Western jazz with a cross-continental array of influences. In On Any Given Night in Havana, he explores the music of the 1940–50s Descargas, led by legendary artists like Cachao, Frank Emilio, and Pedro “Peruchín” Justiz. Villafranca will utilize his vast knowledge of Latin rhythms and percussion traditions to celebrate this period which revolutionized the role of the congas in Cuban music. The project’s special guest vocalist is Claudia Acuña, a renowned multilingual musician and regular Jazz at Lincoln Center headliner. Villafranca is often featured in The Appel Room, one of our larger venues, so make sure to check him out in our most intimate room: Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.
Cover: Fri, Sat $45 / Sun $30
Student: $25
JEFF HAMILTON TRIO
May 7–8 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Drummer Jeff Hamilton is well known as a bandleader, a co-leader of the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra, and a sideman for such artists as Ray Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Monty Alexander, and Diana Krall. Tonight, he leads his regular trio, featuring pianist Tamir Hendelman and bassist Christoph Luty. The group performs original compositions by each member, plus tunes by Thelonious Monk, Ray Brown, and the occasional (and wholly rewritten) pop hit. Hamilton is regarded as a master drummer, and his trio is a sure bet for fans of hard-swinging, straight-ahead jazz.
Cover: $35
Student: $20
ESSENTIALLY ELLINGTON ALUMNI BAND
May 9 | 10:00pm
The Essentially Ellington Alumni Band is a 16-piece big band comprised of top alumni of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington program. It features some of the most outstanding young artists in the greater New York City area, from seasoned pros who have toured the world to current students at renowned schools like The Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music. Join us at the club for this swinging part of our Essentially Ellington festivities.
Cover: $30
Student: $15
JUILLIARD JAZZ ORCHESTRA: MUSIC OF DUKE ELLINGTON
May 10–13 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
The Juilliard School has been a destination for world-class music education since its founding, and these incredible young musicians will exemplify that legacy at Dizzy’s. The Juilliard Jazz Orchestra features some of the world’s most talented emerging jazz artists, many of whom are already professional musicians, and they are taught by some of today’s most active, innovative, and respected jazz musicians. No stranger to Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola (which they regularly sell out), the Orchestra has also performed at noted venues such as the Blue Note and Alice Tully Hall. These gifted young musicians are proof of jazz’s bright future, and they honor an essential part of its living legacy in this celebration of Duke Ellington.
Cover: Thurs, Fri $40 / Sat $45 / Sun $35
Student: $25
JAVON JACKSON’S BERKLEE SEXTET
May 14 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Saxophonist Javon Jackson brings us the next event in Berklee’s Masters on the Road series, in which master musicians return to teach and lead touring ensembles. Jackson’s Berklee Sextet is an eclectic group of musicians, featuring some of the best musicians at the college, and tonight’s repertoire was selected specifically for this group. Jackson’s long, flourishing career has included recordings with Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Ron Carter, Freddie Hubbard, and many of today’s top musicians. This series has recently brought exciting young groups to Dizzy’s led by Ingrid Jensen, Donny McCaslin, Donald Harrison, and Chris Cheek, and we’re looking forward to hearing this latest iteration.
Cover: $30
Student: $15
GLENN ZALESKI TRIO
May 15 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Glenn Zaleski is one of New York’s most in-demand young pianists, playing with artists such as Ravi Coltrane and Lage Lund, and he’s a regular sideman at Dizzy’s. Tonight, Zaleski leads his own trio featuring Pablo Menares and Craig Weinrib. Zaleski has released several albums over the past few years, including his brand-new solo piano record, showcasing original numbers as well as tunes by Charlie Parker, Ornette Coleman, Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane, and Jerome Kern. For a top contemporary voice well-versed in the jazz tradition, swing by Dizzy’s Club and check out the Glenn Zaleski Trio.
Cover: $30
Student: $15
LAUREN SEVIAN’S LSQ CD RELEASE PARTY
May 16 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Baritone saxophonist Lauren Sevian has been holding down the low end in some of the best big bands around, including the Mingus Big Band, Count Basie Orchestra, DIVA Jazz Orchestra, and Christian McBride Big Band. The visceral power she brings forth through the saxophone is always captivating, but everything she plays is equal parts brains and bravado. Sevian is also a bandleader with several acclaimed albums that showcase her contemporary twist on straight-ahead jazz. Tonight she brings her hard-hitting LSQ quartet to Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola to celebrate her latest release as a leader. The band features three award-winning musicians, Robert Rodriguez, Johnathan Blake and Marcus Varela, who have packed Dizzy’s Club numerous times. Catch them here for one night only and experience the true might of the baritone saxophone.
Cover: $30
Student: $15
AMERICAN PIANISTS AWARDS SNEAK PREVIEW
May 17 | 7pm & 9:30pm
The American Pianists Awards is an elite jazz competition that names a new Cole Porter Fellow once every four years, after a unique 13-month competition process. The winner receives a cash prize, concert bookings, a recording contract with Mack Avenue Records, and more. This exclusive sneak preview at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola features performances by this year’s five finalists: Kenny Banks, Jr., Emmet Cohen, Keelan Dimick, Dave Meder, and Billy Test. Each of them is a phenomenal talent, and this is a rare chance to check out their unique gifts in a single event. The past five winners of this competition have been Sullivan Fortner, Aaron Diehl, Dan Tepfer, Adam Birnbaum, and Aaron Parks, all of them now well-established professionals and true artists. Join us at Dizzy’s for a preview of five more pianists you’ll be hearing about for years to come.
Cover: $40
Student: $25
SEAN JONES QUINTET
May 18–20 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Sean Jones is one of the great jazz trumpeters of our time. A former first trumpet player for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and a current member of the SFJAZZ Collective, Jones is also a renowned leader of hard-swinging small groups. He has appeared at Dizzy’s Club as a high-profile special guest and sideman over the years, but this is a rare chance to see him lead his own group, made up pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Luques Curtis, drummer Mark Whitfield, Jr. and saxophonist Brian Hogans, in our most intimate concert space. Watching Jones perform is always a masterclass in trumpet technique and bold but tasteful improvisation. He’s here Friday through Sunday, so make a reservation early or try your luck at the door!
Cover: Fri $40 / Sat $45 / Sun $35
Student: $25
MONDAY NIGHTS WITH WBGO: KENNY RAMPTON’S PARADISE BLUE SUITE
Featuring members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
May 21 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra trumpeter Kenny Rampton presents a suite of original music composed for award-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau’s Paradise Blue (running April 24–June 3 at The Signature Theater). The band is comprised entirely of Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra members and frequent JLCO guests, including Rampton, fellow trumpeter Marcus Printup, saxophonists Sherman Irby and Victor Goines, trombonist Sam Chess, pianist Dan Nimmer, bassist Carlos Henriquez, and drummer Marion Felder. Seeing this group perform anything at Dizzy’s is always a treat, and they will be in top form to play Rampton’s new suite of original music.
Cover: $35
Student: $20
Live webcast and artist interview with WBGO host Rhonda Hamilton will begin at 7:15pm EST on jazz.org/live.
WBGO is proud to partner once again with Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola on Monday Nights with WBGO. The series features talented new artists as well as groups from some of the area’s great college jazz programs. Each performance is hosted by WBGO announcer Rhonda Hamilton.
TIA FULLER QUARTET
May 22 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Described as “one of the finest…musicians on the scene” by AllAboutJazz and “a versatile, creative voice on alto saxophone, soprano, and flute” by legendary trumpeter Jon Faddis, Tia Fuller is a respected bandleader with multiple critically acclaimed albums to her name. As a saxophonist, she has performed with numerous bands, including Esperanza Spalding, the Ralph Peterson Septet, T.S. Monk Septet, Wycliffe Gordon Septet, and pop icon Beyoncé’s all-female touring band. Tonight, she steps back into the spotlight and brings the swing to Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola with a quartet of her own.
Cover: $35
Student: $20
DON BRADEN QUARTET
May 23 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Saxophonist Don Braden has toured the world as a bandleader for over 30 years, recording 20 albums as a leader thus far, and performing as a sideman with Wynton Marsalis, Betty Carter, Freddie Hubbard, Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, and others. Renowned as a composer, arranger, and improviser, Braden brings together a broad repertoire of original works and pieces by Chick Corea, Billy Strayhorn, Charles Mingus, George Gershwin, and Earth, Wind & Fire, to name just a few. Braden will be here with his quartet for only night only, and it will be an evening of soulful, swinging jazz.
Cover: $35
Student: $20
MIKE RODRIGUEZ QUINTET
May 24 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
In addition to performances with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and co-leading the Rodriguez Brothers with his brother Robert, trumpeter Mike Rodriquez has performed and toured with Clark Terry, Quincy Jones, Carla Bley, Harry Connick Jr., Eddie Palmieri, and countless more. Rodriguez has also worked extensively with Charlie Haden, including on his Grammy Award-winning Land of the Sun. Through these diverse experiences, Rodriguez has developed a serious reputation as a resourceful soloist and a composer of straight-ahead, postbop, and Latin jazz. Recent Jazz at Lincoln Center audiences might recognize him as a member of Nuevo Jazz Latino super-group or as a sideman with Steve Miller, and this show is a great opportunity to hear him as a bandleader.
Cover: $35
Student: $20
GERALD CANNON SEPTET
May 25–27 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Gerald Cannon has been one of the most respected and formidable bassists of the past several decades. He’s performed and toured with artists including Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Dexter Gordon, Roy Hargrove, Chuco Valdes, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Abbey Lincoln, Cyrus Chestnut, and many more. With bandleaders across multiple generations, he’s the go-to bassist; after his time in Roy Hargrove’s band, Cannon held the bass chair for iconic drummer Elvin Jones until his passing in 2004, and he is now the music director and bassist for the McCoy Tyner Trio. Tonight he leads a powerhouse septet featuring an array of his regular cohorts and top contemporaries: saxophonists Steve Slagle (Friday only) and JLCO member Sherman Irby, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, pianist Rick Germanson, drummer Willie Jones III, and guitarists Russell Malone (Friday only) and Paul Bollenback (Saturday and Sunday). This is a rock-solid group and an easy recommendation for any jazz fan in town.
Cover: Fri, Sat $45 / Sun $35
Student: $25
WILL CALHOUN: CELEBRATING ELVIN JONES
May 28 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Grammy Award–winner Will Calhoun is best known as the groundbreaking drummer in the band Living Colour, but he has performed across multiple genres, working with everyone from Pharoah Sanders, Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, and other jazz greats to Public Enemy, B.B. King, and Dr. John. Tonight Calhoun is bringing his jazz quartet to Dizzy’s Club to perform music from his latest release on Motéma Records, Celebrating Elvin Jones. Alongside saxophonist Troy Roberts, pianist Donald Vega, and bassist Buster Williams, Calhoun will draw from his unusually large musical toolkit to pay tribute to master drummer Elvin Jones.
Cover: $45
Student: $25
IGNACIO BERROA TRIO: STRAIGHT AHEAD FROM HAVANA
May 29–30 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
One of the greatest drummers on the scene, Ignacio Berroa was born in Havana, Cuba in 1953 and by 1975 had become Cuba’s most sought-after drummer. He came to New York City in 1980, joined the Dizzy Gillespie Quartet in 1982, and remained the drummer for Gillespie’s multiple bands until his death in 1993. Berroa has also performed and recorded with McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Marsalis, Tito Puente, and Mario Bauzá, to name a few. Tonight he leads pianist Martin Bejerano and bassist Josh Allen in a program called Straight Ahead from Havana. As an educator, Berroa has released the instructional video Master the Art of Afro-Cuban Drummer and books Groovin’ In Clave and A New Way of Groovin’, and his latest program, called Afro-Cuban Jazz & Beyond, is an overview of Afro-Cuban and Cuban music that goes back to the arrival of slaves in Cuba and explores the music’s mutually influential relationship with jazz. Berroa is a dedicated expert of this music, and we’re thrilled to have him back at Dizzy’s.
Cover: $35
Student: $20
BENNY GREEN TRIO
May 31–June 3 | 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Benny Green is a hard bop pianist carrying on the swinging jazz tradition. A former member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Green also learned under the tutelage of Betty Carter, Freddie Hubbard, and Ray Brown. This experience is evident in his playing and leadership. His internationally touring trio is a shining example of first-rate, no-frills hard bop that captures the driving energy of the canon’s best practitioners. This weekend of music will be a great introduction for jazz newcomers as well as an impressive showcase sure to please longtime fans of the music.
Cover: Thurs, Fri $40 / Sat $45 / Sun $35
Student: $25
MAY 2018 LATE NIGHT SESSIONS LINEUP:
Doors open at 11:15pm every Tuesday through Saturday for the Late Night Sessions featuring some of the most talented up and coming jazz artists, with jam sessions on Thursdays and Saturdays hosted by Julian Lee.
Tuesday-Saturday, May 1–5
LATE NIGHT SESSION: Danny Janklow
Tuesday-Saturday, May 8–12
LATE NIGHT SESSION: Nate Sparks Big Band (5/8-5/11)
LATE NIGHT DANCE SESSION: Nate Sparks Big Band (5/12)
Tuesday-Saturday, May 15–19
LATE NIGHT SESSION: Anthony Hervey
Tuesday-Saturday, May 22–29
LATE NIGHT SESSION: Matt Dwonszyk
WHERE:
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, 5th floor, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, on Broadway at 60th Street, New York City.
HOW:
Call 212-258-9595 or visit jazz.org/dizzys.
Dinner and drinks served nightly. Minimum of $10 applies to all.
General Admission: $20-$45 (unless noted otherwise)
Students: $5-$30 with valid student ID (selected sets only)
Late Night Session: $5-$20.
WHEN:
Headliner sets are 7:30pm, 9:30pm (unless noted otherwise).
Many of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s concerts stream live in high-definition audio and video for free to a global audience. The concerts will also be available on Livestream’s mobile and connected TV applications with real-time DVR, chat, photos and other materials available to fans worldwide at jazz.org/live.
For more information about Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 30th anniversary season, go to jazz.org.
Additional information may be found at jazz.org |
Facebook: facebook.com/dizzysclubcocacola |
Twitter: @jazzdotorg
|Instagram: @jazzdotorg |
YouTube: youtube.com/jalc | Livestream: jazz.org/live
Jazz at Lincoln Center proudly acknowledges its major corporate partners:
Bloomberg, Brooks Brothers, Centene Charitable Foundation, The Coca-Cola Company, Con Edison, Entergy, SiriusXM, Steinway & Sons, The Shops at Columbus Circle at Time Warner Center, and United Airlines.