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Birdland Jazz Club Announces September 2008 Schedule

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Birdland (315 West 44th Street - between 8th & 9th Aves.) is pleased to announce an exciting line-up of extraordinary entertainment for the month of September. A detailed schedule follows:

  • Charley Krachy Quintet
    Along with Lenny Popkin, Connie Crothers, and others, saxophonist Charley Krachy is one of the New York area musicians who has become known for not only keeping the teachings of late pianist and theorist Lenny Tristano alive ,but also for introducing his music to a new generation of fans. Krachy's Quintet features Ted Brown (sax), Virg Dzurinko (piano), Alex Gressel (bass), and Bill Chattin (drums)
    Monday, September 1 at 7pm ($25)

  • John Abercrombie Quartet
    John Abercrombie possesses a unique voice as a jazz guitarist, combining evolving technologies with a tradition well represented by jazz standards. “Carrying on the tradition of jazz guitar from Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt to the present day is a very important aspect of my music... I'd like people to perceive me as having a direct connection to the history of jazz guitar, while expanding some musical boundaries which may not always involve the guitar itself," John stated in a 1988 Jazziz interview.
    Wednesday- Saturday, September 3-6 at 8:30 & 11pm
    ($30 General Admission, $40 Orchestra)

  • The Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook
    Broadway stars join acclaimed composer Jeff Blumenkrantz to sing “The Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook." This Tony-nominated composer's work has been heard in the New York productions of Urban Cowboy, The Audience, and Audra McDonald's song cycle “The Seven Deadly Sins" at Carnegie Hall. Blumenkrantz also received a commission from the Guggenheim Works and Process Inc. to write a musical setting of a Paul Muldoon poem for their Muldoon celebration. He has written several settings of the poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay. Megan Mullally recorded one of these songs, “Lament," on her CD, Big as a Berry.
    Monday, September 8 at 7pm ($25)

  • Heath Brothers Quartet
    With Jimmy Heath (sax), Tootie Heath (drums), Jeb Patton (piano), David Wong (bass). The Heath Brothers have been contributing mightily to the language of jazz since the 1940s. Jimmy Heath, contemplating his family's long-standing presence in jazz history, remarked “We're lucky enough that [we] are still here. Among us, we've got more than 150 years of experience and more than 900 recordings. We've all played with the jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, J.J. Johnson, Miles and the Modern Jazz Quartet. That seems to make us the elders of the surviving families of Jazz." Which, in typical Heath Brothers fashion, is a cool and modest understatement. These are jazz's elder statesmen who are swinging hard and having fun, excited to be carrying on the legacy.
    Wednesday- Saturday, September 10-13 at 8:30 & 11pm
    ($30 General Admission, $40 Orchestra)

  • Laurel Mass
    Laurel Mass, founding member of Grammy award-winning vocal group “The Manhattan Transfer," toured internationally for seven years with the group and recorded five albums. The first two of her solo albums, Alone Together and Easy Living, both hit the Billboard Jazz charts, and the third, Again, was a People magazine pick. Feather and Bone, her 2000 release, was chosen by audiophile magazine The Absolute Sound as “a recording of extraordinary musical and sonic value." The Chicago Tribune has called her “one of the best vocalists in jazz.... Indeed, there is something almost otherworldly about Mass's emotional magic...as though like Fred Astaire she seemed merely to be down here on a visit," and The New York Times has praised Laurel for a “marvelous sense of style, a purity of tone that is evident in everything she does and uses it to a brilliant effect, a technical tour de force, a dazzling performance."
    Monday, September 15 @ 7pm ($25)

  • OREGON
    For over three decades, the Grammy nominated jazz-fusion quartet OREGON (Ralph Towner: guitar, piano, synthesizer, trumpet; Paul McCandless: woodwind instruments; Glen Moore: double bass, violin, piano; and Mark Walker: drum kit) has inspired audiences worldwide in renowned concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, and Vienna's Mozartsaal; at international jazz clubs and major festivals such as Montreux, Pori, Berlin, Montreal, and Newport Jazz. OREGON established itself as one of the leading improvisational groups, blending Indian and Western classical music with jazz, folk, space music and avant-garde elements. Blending musical inspiration from around this world and beyond, it is no surprise that OREGON's music has even been enjoyed en route to the moon by Apollo astronauts, who named two lunar craters after their compositions “Icarus" and “Ghost Beads." Tuesday- Saturday, September 16-20 at 8:30 & 11pm
    ($30 General Admission, $40 Orchestra)

  • Michele Lee- A Benefit for the Actors Fund
    Tony and Emmy nominated singer, dancer, actress, producer and director Michele Lee is probably best known for her role as Karen Cooper Fairgate MacKenzie on the 1980s prime-time soap opera, Knots Landing. By the age of 19, Lee had made it to the Broadway stage as Rosemary in How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, opposite Robert Morse and the late Rudy Vallee, a role she reprised in the film version. She has also appeared in plays such as the Los Angeles production of Jerry Herman's Parade and the Broadway productions of Bravo Giovanni and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Seesaw, and in films such as The Comic and Love Bug.
    Monday, September 22 at 7pm
    ($40 General Admission, $75 Orchestra)

  • Betty Buckley
    Betty Buckley made her Broadway debut in 1969, and her rendition of “Memory" in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats not only won her a Tony Award, but established her reputation as the singer New York magazine calls “The Voice of Broadway." Her other Broadway credits include Hesione in Triumph of Love, Norma Desmond in the London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard, and Mama Rose in the great American musical Gypsy. Buckley has appeared on screen in films such as Stephen King's Carrie, Bruce Beresford's Tender Mercies, Roman Polanski's Frantic, Woody Allen's Another Woman, and Lawrence Kasden's Wyatt Earp, and television series including Monk, Oz, and Eight is Enough. In addition to her credits on screen and stage, Betty has recorded 11 solo albums (her first recording contains mostly songs she wrote) and is featured on many Broadway compilation recordings. Now touring the U.S., Betty brings one of the most powerful and legendary instruments in musical theater, her voice, to the Birdland stage for a five-night engagement.
    Tuesday- Saturday, September 23-27 at 8:30 & 11pm
    ($40 General Admission, $50 Orchestra)

  • Alexander Gemignani
    As the son of award winning Broadway musical director Paul Gemignani, actor and singer Alexander never strayed far from the stage. His Broadway credits include John Hinckley in Roundabout's Assassins (Theatre World Award for outstanding Broadway debut), the original Jean Valjean in the revival of Les Misrables (Drama League nomination); the Beadle in Sweeney Todd (Drama Desk nomination), Brian in Avenue Q, and Sweeney Todd in the 2007 national tour of Sweeney Todd (Toronto and Columbus). In Concert, Alexander has performed in Sondheim's 75th at the Hollywood Bowl and “Wall to Wall Sondheim" at Symphony Space, and he has appeared on screen in “Live from Lincoln Center's production of Passion"; PBS' production of South Pacific and the film The Producers. He is currently playing Boatman and Dennis around the corner from Birdland in Broadway's Sunday in the Park with George.
    Monday, September 29 at 7pm ($25)

    REGULAR MONTHLY ENGAGEMENTS

  • ANDY FARBER & HIS ORCHESTRA, Featuring Hilary Kole
    Award winning composer/arranger and saxophonist Andy Farber leads his 17-piece jazz orchestra through a program of original compositions and new arrangements of standards. Featured with the big band is vocalist Hilary Kole, a star in the midst of a meteoric rise. The NY Observer calls her, “Hip and lovely...a musical marvel... sexy, charming and funny." While the NY Post raves, “Kole is drop dead gorgeous." And Time Out NY notes, “Kole has a sophisticated sex appeal...and presents her own distinctive style. She is the best at selling a song."
    Sundays, September 7, 14, 21, 28 at 6-6:45pm, 7-7:45pm ($20)

  • CHICO O'FARRILL'S AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA (directed by Arturo O'Farrill, Jr.)
    Arranger-bandleader Arturo “Chico" O' Farrill, Sr. began introducing Afro-Cuban rhythms into jazz in the 1940's. The band bearing Chico's name (directed by his son Arturo) “continues to showcase the most seamless blend of clav rhythm and bebop harmony anywhere." (Time Out) Sundays, September 7, 14, 21, 28 @9 & 11pm ($25)

  • JIM CARUSO'S “CAST PARTY"
    “No one can be called a true New Yorker until they've been to the 'Cast Party,' (2007 Nightlife Award Winner) which is to Broadway what the Conde-Nast cafeteria is to publishing. Divas and dapper-dans insouciantly sip cocktails while watching each other sing and perform at the open-mic event during Broadway's dark night," says Next Magazine. Broadway impresario Jim Caruso hosts a combination open-mic, networking event and party in which the biggest stars on Broadway relax on their night off by performing their favorite songs in an informal setting.
    Mondays, September 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 at 9:3opm
    ($10 cover/$10 minimum)

  • THE MUSIC OF DUKE ELLINGTON...w/David Berger & The Sultans of Swing
    This Tuesday night residency has David Berger -- acclaimed bandleader, composer/arranger, and historical expert on all things Ellington - leading his 16 piece “Sultans of Swing" Big Band in a program of authentic, swinging arrangements by Ellington, Basie and other big band icons.
    Tuesdays, September 2, 9, 30 at 8:30pm & 11pm ($25)

    IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE NOTE:

    Music charges vary by performer
    At the tables, there is a $10 food/drink minimum per person in addition to the music charge.
    At the bar, the music charge includes one complimentary drink, no additional minimum.
    American Fare w/ a Cajun Accent served nightly from 5PM-Mid. & until 1am Fri. & Sat.
    Discount parking garage across the street at 332 West 44th Street.
    For further information and reservations call (212) 581-3080


    PRE-THEATRE SPECIALS

    EVERY WEDNESDAY, 5:30-7:30PM
    “DAVID OSTWALD'S LOUIS ARMSTRONG CENTENNIAL BAND"
    $10 music charge

    EVERY FRIDAY, 5:15-7:00PM
    “THE BIRDLAND BIG BAND" W/ TOMMY IGOE
    $20 music charge/$10 minimum

    DISCOUNT ADMISSION SPECIALS (subject to availability)
    STUDENTS (with current ID): 50% off music charge, 11PM shows only.

    50% off music charge for all 11PM shows with Broadway ticket stub (day of performance) when presented at door.

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