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Twelve Hours of Nonstop Hot Jazz, Stride Piano and Film at
Sunday, May 18 – 1:00pm to 1:00am
Featuring
VINCE GIORDANO AND THE NIGHTHAWKS with CATHERINE RUSSELL,
KEN PEPLOWSKI’S NEW SWING w/ special guest, THE HOT SARDINES, FRANK VIGNOLA & VINNY RANIOLO,
DAVID OSTWALD’S LOUIS ARMSTRONG ETERNITY BAND,
ADRIAN CUNNINGHAM’S OLD SCHOOL
BRIA SKONBERG’S BRASS KICKER
plus another dozen bands, surprise special guests,
films and other entertainment to boot!
Building on the success of last year’s sold-out inaugural festival, this year’s show, produced by Michael Katsobashvili, performer/producer Bria Skonberg, and producer/composer Patrick Soluri (of The Salon) promises even more all-star players, multiple rooms filled with live Hot Jazz, Ragtime and Stride piano, and the Hot Jazz Film Festival. NY Hot Jazz Fest will feature Grammy Award-winners VINCE GIORDANO AND THE NIGHTHAWKS with special guest vocalist CATHERINE RUSSELL; star swing clarinetist KEN PEPLOWSKI and his NEW SWING quartet (with a special surprise superstar vocal guest); Gypsy Swing guitar god FRANK VIGNOLA, joined by VINNY RANIOLO; one of the Hot Jazz Renaissance leaders, trumpeter, and a co-founder of the New York Hot Jazz Festival BRIA SKONBERG leading BRASS KICKER brass band; and, the only returning band from last year’s Festival, the exhilarating HOT SARDINES. To go along with the vanguard, audiences will be treated to up and comers like 2013 Sarah Vaughan Vocal Rising Star award-winner KATE DAVIS, Gypsy Swing violinist ADRIEN CHEVALIER with the HOT CLUB OF NEW YORK, as well as 22-year-old “eloquent trumpet prodigy” MIKE DAVIS and his NEW WONDERS.
Also joining in this year’s festivities will be Birdland regulars DAVID OSTWALD’S LOUIS ARMSTRONG ETERNITY BAND, banjo virtuoso CYNTHIA SAYER & SPARKS FLY with Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s own Vincent Gardner, swing stars DAN LEVINSON’S GOTHAM SOPHISTICATS with rising star vocalist MOLLY RYAN and wunderkind vocalist / multi-instrumentalist JERRON “BLIND BOY” PAXTON, exciting Hot Jazz reedman ADRIAN CUNNINGHAM with PROFESSOR CUNNINGHAM AND HIS OLD SCHOOL (who will be joined by tap dance star ANDREW NEMR), alongside many more. The night will be capped by an all-hands-on-deck jam session led by DENNIS LICHTMAN, a multi-instrumentalist founder of the storied Mona’s hot jazz jam sessions. This year’s NY Hot Jazz Festival will include a multinational contingent of young musicians that have embraced Hot Jazz in recent years, with players hailing from Australia, Canada, France, Israel, Brazil, Sweden, and beyond. All told, The Festival will give the audience a rare chance to hear the entire breadth and scope of early jazz, from the beginnings in New Orleans, through the music’s glorious migration to Chicago and then Harlem, up through the Roaring ’20s, Prohibition, and into the beginning of the Swing era.
This year’s festival will also devote more stages for continual live music. Two rooms will host featured bands, while another room will be dedicated to Ragtime and Stride Piano music, featuring pianist (and host of NPR’s Piano Jazz) Jon Weber, alongside musicians Ehud Asherie, Mark Shane, Dalton Ridenhour, Jesse Gelber, and Peter Yarin. In yet another room, The Festival will showcase a pair of special film showings, curated by Louis Armstrong scholar and archivist of the Louis Armstrong House Museum, Ricky Riccardi. The first — THE SATCHMO-THON — will be six hours of footage of vintage Louis Armstrong performances. During The Festival’s second half, THE HOT JAZZ CLIP FEST takes over the projector, featuring all things Hot Jazz as presented in film.
The Players Club is the new home of The New York Hot Jazz Festival. Overlooking Gramercy Park, this clubhouse holds more than a century of social club history, boasting founding members such as Mark Twain, Laurence Hutton, and William Tecumseh Sherman. Today, the venue’s goal is to cultivate an ambiance of conviviality, culture, history and comfort; in other words, a perfect setting for the New York Hot Jazz Festival.
After the music ends, it starts right back up again with a jam session at the Late Night Supper After-Party at Mona’s (224 Avenue B, b/t E. 13th and E. 14th Street) from 1am – 4am.
Complete artist lineup and artist bio information follows. The New York Hot Jazz Festival welcomes all press inquiries regarding artists, curation or the venue space. For more information about The Festival, the event’s producers, any of our performing artists or to request press access, please contact John Seroff at GreenHousePublicity@gmail.com.
2014 New York Hot Jazz Festival Facebook invite page: www.facebook.com/events/856127397747756
If you’re using Gmail and this email gets truncated please click on “View Entire Message” in bottom left corner.
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Vince Giordano
and the Nighthawks
with Catherine Russell
Ballroom 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Grammy-winner VINCE GIORDANO AND THE NIGHTHAWKS have played in New York nightclubs; appeared in films (The Cotton Club, The Aviator, Revolutionary Road); headlined HBOs Boardwalk Empire; and performed live at the Town Hall, JALC and the Newport Jazz Festival. Recording projects include soundtracks for Ghost World, The Savages, The Good Shepherd, Away We Go, Public Enemies, Kill Your Darlings, HBO’s Grey Gardens, Mildred Pierce and the upcoming film Carol. Giordano has amassed an amazing collection of over 60,000 band arrangements, 1920’s & 30’s films, 78 recordings and jazz-age memorabilia. Vince’s passion, commitment to authenticity, and knowledge led him to create a sensational band of like-minded players, the Nighthawks. Vince Giordano has single-handedly kept alive an amazing genre of American music that continues to spread the joy and pathos of an era that shaped our nation.
Joining the band will be Grammy-winning jazz vocalist CATHERINE RUSSELL. Jazz is in Russell’s blood– her father was Louis Armstrong’s longtime musical director, while her mother performed with Mary Lou Williams. After a warm critical reception to her debut album, Cat, Russell’s next album, Sentimental Streak, was universally praised by critics, winning her the coveted German Record Critics’ Award. To couple with her jazz exploits, Russell has also performed and recorded with David Bowie, Steely Dan, Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, Jackson Browne and Roseanne Cash. Russell released her latest album, Bring It Back, earlier this year.
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Ken Peplowski’s New Swing
With Special Guests
Ballroom 7:15pm – 8:15pm
KEN PEPLOWSKI is one of the greatest and most well-rounded swing clarinetists playing today. Peplowski began in elementary school in his hometown of Cleveland, where he and his brother were part of a Polish Polka band for weddings and parties. He soon joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, which would be his introduction to big ensembles and the touring rules of the road. Afterward, Peplowski settled in New York City, where he played everything from Traditional Jazz to Avant-Garde; when Benny Goodman came out of retirement to start a new band, Peplowski was one of his hand-picked musicians. Since, he has played for a staggeringly eclectic stable of musicians: Charlie Byrd, Madonna, Woody Allen, Marianne Faithfull, Isaac Delgado, Cedar Walton and more. In March, he was awarded a Highlights in Jazz concert in New York City, honoring him for “his matchless musical achievements.”
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Frank Vignola
with Vinny Raniolo
Library 5:15pm – 6:15pm
FRANK VIGNOLA is one of the most extraordinary jazz guitarists performing today and one of the greatest masters of Gypsy Swing. His stunning virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Donald Fagen, Wynton Marsalis, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops, Tommy Emmanuel, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola one of his “Five Most Admired Guitarist” list. Vignola’s jaw-dropping technique explains why the New York Times deemed him “one of the brightest stars of the guitar.” In 1988 Vignola led his famed Hot Club of France tribute, which forged the way for the many Django Hot Club groups that followed. Some of Vignola’s best-loved albums include his collection of Gershwin pieces, Vignola Plays Gershwin, and his collaborations with Tommy Emmanuel (Just Between Frets) and David Grisman (Frank-n-Dawg, Melody Monsters). He has performed hundreds of clinics and masterclasses at major universities and colleges throughout the world, including Julliard and Boston University.
Joining Vignola will be his touring partner VINNY RANIOLO, one of the few guitarists who can keep up with Vignola note for note; together, New York Times called them “stars of the guitar.” Even at his young age, Raniolo has already performed and recorded with Bucky Pizzarelli, Tommy Emmanuel and David Grisman just to name a few. Since Frank and Vinny teamed up in 2008 they have performed thousands of shows at some of the most prestigious concert halls and festivals in the world, including the Sydney Opera House, Lincoln Center, Liverpool Philharmonic, Quebec Music Festival and Italy’s Teatro Olimpico.
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The Hot Sardines
Ballroom 2:45pm – 3:45pm
Named “one of the best jazz bands in New York today” byForbes, THE HOT SARDINES take hot jazz and standards from the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s, sprinkle in the Dixieland sounds of New Orleans, add a dash of wartime Paris flavor, and infuse performances with a wealth of musical surprises (including a tap dancer) that hold audiences captive. Led by Parisian-born frontwoman/composer Miz Elizabeth and stride pianist/composer/bandleader Evan “Bibs” Palazzo, the Sardines have brought their blustery brass lineup, dynamic rhythm section, and playful energy to audiences around the world. They’ve sold out 11 straight shows at Joe’s Pub, graced the stage at Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night Swing, and in 2014 will be backed by the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall, play the Montreal Jazz Festival, headline on the TCM Classic Cruise and head out on their first national tour.
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David Ostwald’s
Louis Armstrong Eternity Band
With Special Guests
Ballroom 8:30pm – 9:30pm
Bandleader and tuba player DAVID OSTWALD has become a familiar face for NYC jazzheads; since 2000, his Louis Armstrong Eternity Band has held a continual weekly residency at Birdland Jazz Club. Over those years, many of New York City’s top young Hot Jazz bandleaders have played in this band under Ostwald, including Bria Skonberg, Adrian Cunningham, and Will Anderson. Ostwald has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Dick Hyman, Nicholas Payton, Clark Terry, Benny Waters, Woody Allen, Jon Hendricks, Leon Redbone and the Oxford University Orchestral Society under Sir Jack Westrup.
David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band: Video / Website
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Bria Skonberg’s BRASS KICKER
Ballroom 11:00pm – Midnight
One of the top performers from the Hot Jazz Renaissance generation, trumpeter, vocalist, composer and bandleader BRIA SKONBERG returns to this year’s Hot Jazz Festival with not only a brand-new album, Into Your Own, but also being backed by an explosive, festival-only New Orleans-esque brass band made from Hot Jazz Festival talent, BRASS KICKER. Last year was a big one for Skonberg, who was named a Rising Star by DownBeat, an Up and Coming Jazz Artist by Jazz Journalist Association. This year, Skonberg has already racked up a Bistro Award for an Outstanding Jazz Artist and appeared as one of the star performers in Marian McPartland’s memorial concert (along with Tony Bennett, Jon Faddis and Kenny Barron). Hailing from Chilliwack, British Columbia, Skonberg moved from her native Canada to New York City and, in just a few years, has appeared in concert halls and clubs such as Symphony Space, Birdland, The Iridium, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola and The Town Hall, among the likes of Nicholas Payton, Bucky Pizzarelli and Scott Robinson. Bria focuses on innovating while honoring tradition; she has studied with Warren Vache, experimented with fuzz pedals and presented a gig fusing jazz and stand up comedy. It’s no mistake that Wall Street Journal jazz critic Will Friedwald said that Skonberg “looks like a Scandinavian angel, plays trumpet like a red hot devil, and sings like a dream.”
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Cynthia Sayer & Sparks Fly
Library 1:45pm – 2:45pm
CYNTHIA SAYER single-handedly brings the 4-string banjo to the forefront of jazz. Celebrated as the top 4-string banjoist in the world today and praised for her “drive and virtuosity” by the New York Times, Cynthia is a founding member of Woody Allen’s New Orleans Jazz Band, with whom she played and toured for over 10 years. Cynthia’s extensive career includes performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the White House, while she has also appeared with The New York Philharmonic, played on feature film and TV soundtracks including Bullets Over Broadway, Purple Rose Of Cairo, andSophie’s Choice. She is also the official banjoist for the New York Yankees. She has worked with a variety of leading jazz, popular, and roots artists, including Bucky Pizzarelli, Dick Hyman, Wynton Marsalis, Les Paul, Marvin Hamlisch, Kenny Davern, Charlie Giordano (Springsteen’s E Street Band), Milt Hinton, Marian McPartland, Scott Robinson, Randy Sandke, Kenny Davern, Tony Trischka, and many more.
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| Molly Ryan |
Dan Levinson’s
Gotham SophistiCats
with Molly Ryan and Jerome “Blind Boy” Paxton
Ballroom 5:15pm – 6:15pm
A specialist in Traditional Jazz and Swing during his twenty-year career, clarinetist, saxophonist and bandleader DAN LEVINSON has appeared alongside such prominent artists as Dick Hyman, Mel Tormé, Wynton Marsalis, Ed Polcer, Howard Alden, and many more. Equally at home as both a leader and sideman, Levinson has become one of the most prolific musicians on the scene. He has been a member of Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, and has been featured with them on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion radio program and at Carnegie Hall. Levinson has also accompanied esteemed vocalists Banu Gibson, Daryl Sherman, Janet Klein, Cynthia Sayer, and most notably, his wife, vocalist MOLLY RYAN, who will also be joining his Gotham SophistiCats. Ryan has become a sought-after vocalist in New York City’s Swing Jazz world, Molly has appeared at numerous jazz festivals, including the Sweet and Hot Music Festival in Los Angeles, and headlined in Paris at jazz clubs such as the famed Le Petit Journal and Autour de Midi. She frequently headlines at Birdland Jazz Club’s Sunday evening vocalist series and has recently made her debut at the legendary Cafe Carlyle with Gotham SophistiCats as part of Hot Jazz at the Carlyle series. Tonight’s lineup will also feature a special appearance from the inspiring up-and-coming multi instrumentalist and vocalist JERRON “BLIND BOY” PAXTON.
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Professor Cunningham and
His Old School
Ballroom 9:45pm – 10:45pm
With fluent command of the saxophone, clarinet, and flute, ADRIAN CUNNINGHAM is one of the finest young Hot Jazz Renaissance multi-instrumentalists around; as All About Jazzsays, “[Cunningham is] a young artist who plays as if he has been playing for over a century.” Since relocating to New York City from his native Australia in 2008, he has played New York City’s finest Jazz clubs– Dizzy’s, Birdland, Blue Note, Smalls, Apollo Theatre, and more. Cunningham’s band, PROFESSOR CUNNINGHAM AND HIS OLD SCHOOL, will feature esteemed tap dancer Andrew Nemr, who is one of the top disciples of Gregory Hines.
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Baby Soda
Library 7:45pm – 8:45pm
BABY SODA is a collective of talented musicians featuring a revolving cast of players (most players also play with other groups) and has become an incubator of young Hot Jazz musicians in New York City. Drawing from influences ranging from 1930s era swing, New Orleans jazz, and southern gospel, Baby Soda has been known to pack the room at Village Vanguard and Barbes; or, alternately, filling subway corridors and city sidewalks with Hot Jazz.
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The Xylopholks
Library 3:00pm – 4:00pm
Picked as The Village Voice’s“Best Buskers dressed as Animals,” THE XYLOPHOLKS have rapidly become a familiar sight and sound to many around the world. The Xylopholks have appeared at festivals in the United States, India, Canada, and Brazil and Japan. The Xylopholks play novelty ragtime repertoire of the 1920’s dressed in fuzzy animal costumes. They have been featured on the front page of CNN.com, as well as MTV.com’s Daily Detox, NY Magazine’s fashion tips, and numerous photos in the New York Times. In addition to performing, the Xylopholks have conducted classes at various schools and universities including UNESP, Sao Paulo, Queens College-CUNY, and The Boston Conservatory.
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Emily Asher’s Garden Party
Ballroom 1:30pm – 2:30pm
EMILY ASHER’S GARDEN PARTY is a dynamic musical ensemble led by Emily Asher’s tenacious trombone and sweet vocals. The band’s diverse repertoire draws from Louis Armstrong’s enchanting Hot Fives through his explosive All-Stars and from Duke Ellington’s sophisticated melodies, to the funky and soulful music of New Orleans brass bands. Recently, Asher has been touring with her program Carnival of Joy!, a celebration of Hoagy Carmichael’s music.
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The Ladybugs
Library 11:30pm – 12:30pm
Based in New York City, THE LADYBUGS, led by Martina DaSilva, is a Trad Jazz-inspired group known for their intricate harmonies and experimental arrangements. All members of the Ladybugs double on vocals in addition to instrumental (trumpet, ukulele, guitar, bass, and drums). Playing standards from the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s, the Ladybugs infuse old-school swing with bluesy flavor. One of the Ladybugs, KATE DAVIS, has recently won the 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition Rising Star award.
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Mike Davis’ New Wonders
Library 9:00pm – 10:00pm
Trumpeter MIKE DAVIS has been called an “eloquent trumpet prodigy” by Wall Street Journal. He has appeared throughout New York City with Gordon Webster, Emily Asher’s Garden Party, Dan Levinson’s Millennial All-Stars, and with many other Trad and Swing Jazz bands. Composed of some of the most exciting young hot jazz musicians around, Mike’s Band, The New Wonders, have approached hot jazz with a singular determination for authenticity. This performance will take you back to the days of Jimmy Walker’s New York and Big Bill Thompson’s Chicago.
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Adrien Chevalier’s
Hot Club of New York
Library 10:15pm – 11:15pm
The HOT CLUB OF NEW YORK is a multinational collaborative jazz project of musicians based in New York City brought together by mutual admiration for the original Quintette du Hot Club de France and led by French composer and violinist ADRIEN CHEVALIER. Chevalier comes from a long lineage of violinists, and began his musical training at age six; just nine years later, on his 15th birthday, he was sent to the Vatican to play for Pope John Paul II. After graduating from the prestigious Avignon Conservatory, Chevalier moved to Paris to perfect his knowledge of non-classical music, especially Balkan folklore and Le Jazz Hot or Gypsy Swing. When Chevalier moved to New York City to co-found the Avalon Jazz Band and, later, Hot Club of New York, he brought the rhythms and early jazz ambiance along with him. Joining the Hot Club of New York as a special guest will be French washboard virtuoso, DAVID LANGLOIS.
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Scrub Board Serenaders
Library 4:15pm – 5:05pm
Drawing from beautiful forgotten tunes from the ’20s and ’30s, the SCRUB BOARD SERENADERS are Brad Lail (washboard/bones), Adam Brisbin (resonator guitar), Sean Cronin (bass) and Evan Arntzen (reeds). Although newly formed, the Serenaders already feature strong three-part vocal harmonies to go along with their distinctive washboard-driven percussive sound and street-style music.
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| Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton |
Ragtime and Stride Piano Room
This year’s Hot Jazz Festival features a stage devoted to the continual performance of Ragtime and Stride piano music, featuring pianist (and host of NPR’s Piano Jazz), JON WEBER. On top of his radio hosting duties, Weber is an accomplished musician in his own right, having released two critically acclaimed studio albums, Jazz Wagon and Simple Complex, and the live album Flying Keys. Weber will be joined by pianists Ehud Asherie, Mark Shane, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, Dalton Ridenhour, Peter Yarin, and Jesse Gelber, who, for one of his sets, will partner with wonderful Hot Jazz vocalist Tamar Korn.
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ABOUT THE VENUE
THE PLAYERS CLUB is a members-only club located at 16 Gramercy Park South in Manhattan, NYC. Overlooking Gramercy Park, this clubhouse holds more than a century of social club
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Ahmed Abdullah’s Diaspora (Alex Harding, baritone sax, D.D. Jackson, piano, Radu, bass, Reggie Nicholson, drums, Monique Ngozi Nri, poetry and vocals and TC the III, vocals) performs at Sistas’ Place 456 Nostrand Avenue on May 10th@ 9 and 10:30pm.
