NYC ~ Blue Note Jazz Club Announces February 2014 Artist Schedule!

New York, NY - January 31, 2014 - Blue Note Jazz Club, one of the world's most iconic jazz and blues venues based in Greenwich Village, is proud to announce an impressive schedule of acts for February 2014.

 

Highlights include: Ron Carter in two settings - with his Quartet and with Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth Band; Bill Evans Soulgrass with guests John Popper, John Medeski, Eric Krasno & Neal Evans, Tim Carbone, and Marco Benevento; Valentine's Week programs with vocalists Nicole Henry and Rachelle Ferrell; Les McCann with Javon Jackson; Patricia Barber; and a special all-star benefit concert for Earthquake/Tsunami Relief in Japan, among others.

FEBRUARY 2014 ARTIST SCHEDULE

Saturday - Sunday, February 1 - 2

Maceo Parker

Saxophonist Maceo Parker kicks off Blue Note's February schedule, closing out a six-night run with his working band. Parker is best known for his collaborations with artists such as James Brown, George Clinton and Ray Charles. As The New York Post declared, "Maceo Parker wrote the book on funk."

Music Charge:

Saturday: $30 - Bar, $45 - Table

Sunday: $20 - Bar, $35 - Table

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Monday, February 3

Roy Nathanson's Jazz Passengers & Sotto Voce Present:

"Subway Moon, A Poetic Reverie"

Featuring The Students of I.C.E.

Saxophonist/Poet Roy Nathanson's Jazz Passengers and Sotto Voce band will join his students from New York City's Institute for Collaborative Education's (I.C.E) in a poetic, musical reverie about the subway. Over the last year, students in this 6-12th grade New York City public school have taken parts of poems and prose pieces and transformed them into songs about romance, loss and angst with the backdrop of the NYC subway - providing a generational contrast to songs from his Nathanson's 2009 Enja release, Subway Moon. Performed together around a backdrop of Andrew Gurian's video, they give a broad sense of the diverse magic of our underground imagination. We are proud to present this 10th incarnation of Nathanson's Subway Moon project featuring songs, musical improvisation as well as tight arrangement, choral singing and video image at Blue Note.  

*Show Times: 7:30PM & 9:30PM* 

Music Charge: $10 - Bar, $15 - Table

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Tuesday - Sunday, February 4 - 9

Ron Carter Quartet

Among the most original, prolific, and influential musicians in jazz, bassist Ron Carter is scheduled to appear at Blue Note in multiple settings over the coming weeks - with Roy Haynes (2/25-26) and Donald Harrison & Billy Cobham (3/4-9). However he'll kick off this unofficial Blue Note residency with a six-day run featuring his working Quartet (comprised of pianist Renee Rosnes, drummer Payton Crossley, and percussionist Rolando Morales-Matos).

Music Charge: $20 - Bar, $35 - Table

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Monday, February 10

International Guitar Night

The International Guitar Night (IGN), founded in 1995, is the world's premier touring guitar festival, each show bringing together the world's most interesting and innovative acoustic guitarists to exchange musical ideas in a public concert setting. For each tour, IGN founder Brian Gore invites a new cast of guitar luminaries to join him for special evenings of solos, duets, and quartets that highlight the dexterity and diversity within the world of acoustic guitar. This year IGN's North American tour features Pino Forastiere, Mike Dawes, Quique Sinesi and Gore.

Music Charge: $15 - Bar, $25 - Table

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Tuesday - Wednesday, February 11 - 12

Valentine's Week:

Nicole Henry

Vocalist Nicole Henry will kick off Blue Note's Valentine's Week. Henry's passionate, soulful voice and heart-felt charisma has earned her a 2013 Soul Train Award for "Best Traditional Jazz Performance" (for her recent album, SO GOOD, SO RIGHT: NICOLE HENRY LIVE) three Top-10 U.S. Billboard and HMV Japan jazz albums, and rave reviews both domestically and internationally by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Japan Times, JazzTimes, Essence and more.

Music Charge: $15 - Bar, $25 - Table

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Thursday - Sunday, February 13 - 16

Valentine's Week:

Rachelle Ferrell

Equally gifted as a vocalist, pianist, and songwriter, Rachelle Ferrell returns to Blue Note to close out Valentine's Week. While Ferrell has an established fan base in the contemporary jazz community, she has also made her mark as a crossover artist on the pop/urban contemporary scene, singing backup for Lou Rawls, Patti LaBelle, Vanessa Williams and George Duke to name a few. Having released albums as a leader on both Blue Note and Capitol record labels respectively, Ferrell's talents transcend generic classification.

Music Charge:

Thursday, Saturday & Sunday: $30 - Bar, $45 - Table

Friday: $30 - Bar, $55 - Table

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Monday, February 17

Mino Cinelu World Jazz Ensemble

Composer, multi-instrumentalist, programmer, and producer, Mino Cinelu has performed with world renowned artists such as Miles Davis, Sting, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Lou Reed, Vicente Amigo, and Stevie Wonder, among others. At Blue Note, he leads his new quartet, the World Jazz Ensemble, featuring keyboardist/vocalist/percussionist, Jamshied Sharifi, bassist Mamadou Ba, tubist/percussionist Jose Davila, and trumpeter Bria Skonberg. The ensemble offers a unique repertoire of instrumental, percussion and vocal works, a mélange that bridges world and jazz orchestrations.

Music Charge: $10 - Bar, $20 - Table

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Tuesday - Thursday, February 18 - 20

Les McCann With Javon Jackson Band

Iconic jazz/funk keyboardist-vocalist Les McCann returns to Blue Note with saxophonist Javon Jackson, following their successful collaboration on Jackson's recent release, Lucky 13. McCann is best known for his work in the late 1960s/early 1970s with partner/saxman Eddie Harris, whom he first encountered at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The resulting album, Swiss Movement (1960), was a top selling jazz record, and the single "Compared to What" sold platinum. Known for his work with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Jackson has worked with Elvin Jones, Freddie Hubbard, Betty Carter, Donald Byrd, Ron Carter, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Bobby Hutcherson, and Ben E. King. He released five albums as a leader on Blue Note Records in the 1990s.

Music Charge: $20 - Bar, $35 - Table

OPENING ACT: Joe Alterman/James Cammack - Tuesday, February 18 Only - 6:30PM

Purchasing a ticket to Les McCann with Javon Jackson Band's February 18, 8:00PM set will allow access to the above opening act.

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Friday - Sunday, February 21 - 23

Patricia Barber

"Few performers in or out of jazz are as consistently brilliant as Patricia Barber." - JazzTimes. A savvy bandleader who has honed a tight, telegraphic style with her quartet, vocalist/pianist Barber is known for transforming unlikely pop tunes into sleek jazz numbers, reinventing Cole Porter, and constantly reworking her impressive book of originals. Her latest critically acclaimed album is titled Smash (released on Concord Jazz in 2013).

Music Charge: $20 - Bar, $35 - Table

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Monday, February 24

"Music For Tomorrow: A Benefit For Japan"

Hosted by Bob James

Featuring: Makoto Ozone + Kenny Barron (piano), John Scofield + Mike Stern (guitar), 

James Genus (bass), and Clarence Penn (drums), Among Others

March 2014 will mark the three-year anniversary of The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011. To remember the tragedy and show how music has the ability to raise up spirits in the most difficult of times, Blue Note Jazz Club, Bob James, and NHK Enterprises (Japan's national public broadcasting organization) present "Music For Tomorrow: A Benefit For Japan," a benefit concert to support Tohoku (the severely damaged area in northern Japan), with special guests (listed above). The concert will be recorded by NHK, broadcast throughout Japan (including the Tohoku area) and internationally through NHK channels. All admission proceeds will be delivered as a charity to The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami victims.

*Show Time: One Show Only - 8:00PM*

Music Charge: $35 - Bar, $45 - Table, $65 -VIP Seating

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Tuesday - Wednesday, February 25 - 26

Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth with Ron Carter

Blue Note Jazz Club proudly presents eminent drummer Roy Haynes and his Fountain of Youth Band with bassist Ron Carter: two jazz legends, two nights only. Haynes and Carter performed together at George Wein's 2009 CareFusion Jazz Festival 55 in Newport, RI. Pianist Ethan Iverson (The Bad Plus) witnessed the Newport performance and described it on his blog, Do The Math, as "...a rare chance to hear jazz today like they used to make it." Haynes, 88, is a GRAMMY® Lifetime Achievement Award-winner and a NEA Jazz Master. This marks Carter's second appearance at Blue Note in February, appearing with his Quartet earlier in the month.

Music Charge: $30 - Bar, $45 - Table

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Thursday - Saturday, February 27 - March 1

Bill Evans Soulgrass with Special Guests

Described by NPR as "a supergroup of virtuoso musicians," saxophonist Bill Evans' Soulgrass returns to Blue Note for a three night residency, joined by a number of special guests: Railroad Earth's Tim Carbone, Soulive/Lettuce's Neal Evans and Eric Krasno (February 27), John Medeski (February 28), Blues Traveler's John Popper (February 28 - March 1), and Marco Benevento (March 1). With more than 20-years under his belt as a solo artist, Evans and his Soulgrass project are known for exploring a variety of musical settings that go well beyond the confines of traditional jazz, including rock, hip-hop, jam, fusion, reggae, Brazilian and funk. This run marks the one-year anniversary since their last summit at Blue Note.

Music Charge: $20 - Bar, $35 - Table

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LATE NIGHT GROOVE SERIES

Blue Note Jazz Club proudly presents its Late Night Groove Series, which showcases New York's up-and-coming jazz, soul, hip-hop, R&B and funk artists. Shows are on Friday and Saturday nights.  Doors open at midnight and shows begin at 12:30AM. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 day-of-show, unless otherwise noted. The upcoming schedule features:

• February 1 - Chris Rob
• February 7 - Sean Schulich, Peter Levin, Aaron Maxwell, David Diamond, w/ Maritri
• February 8 - Thiefs
• February 14 - Kelli Sae (All tickets $15)
• February 15 - iLLspokinn
• February 21 - Akim Funk Buddha
• February 22 - Ty Stephens (All tickets $20)
• February 28 - Farah Siraj 

SUNDAY BRUNCH SERIES

Sunday Brunch at Blue Note Jazz Club is $29.50 per person and includes a live performance, brunch and cocktail. Each performer is scheduled for two shows, at 11:30AM and 1:30PM. The upcoming schedule features:

• February 2 - Dave Pietro's NYU Brazilian Ensemble

"Who Dat! @ Blue Note: Sunday Mardi Gras Brunch"

Three Sunday Brunches In The Spirit of New Orleans Music & Culture

• February 9 - The New Orleans Swamp Donkeys Traditional Jass Band
• February 16 - Jason Prover & the Sneak Thievery Orchestra
• February 23 - High & Mighty Brass Band!

ABOUT BLUE NOTE JAZZ CLUB

Blue Note Jazz Club, based in the heart of Greenwich Village, is a New York City cultural institution and one of the premier jazz clubs in the world. Jazz is undoubtedly America's music, and while Blue Note strives to celebrate the music's great history, the club is a place where progression and innovation - the foundation of jazz - are encouraged and practiced on a nightly basis. Blue Note is open for concerts 365 days a year.

Location: 131 W. 3rd Street, between 6th Ave and MacDougal St., New York City.

Tickets/Reservations: Call 212-475-8592 or visit www.bluenote.net

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