ANTOINETTE MONTAGUE

JAZZ VESPERS - BETHANY BAPTIST CHURCH - NEWARK, NJ / MARCH 1

Antoinette Montague leads a quartet, called “The Great City of Newark Jazz & Blues All-Stars,” which will perform as part of New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s free monthly concert series at the Bethany Baptist Church on Market Street in Newark. In addition to being a crowd-pleasing entertainer, Antoinette is an educator, producer, and talk radio host on WHCR 90.3 FM. She headlines at many top venues including the Blue Note, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Charlie Parker Festival and Jazzmobile, and has worked with many great artists including Earl May, Winard Harper, Warren Vaché, Wycliffe Gordon and Bobby Sanabria. Much in demand, she serves on the Advisory Boards of WBGO and International Women in Jazz. Joining Antoinette will be saxophonist Leo Johnson, pianist Brandon McCune, and drummer Earl Grice. DJS

GABRIELLE STAVRELLI

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB NYC / MARCH 1, 8, 15, & 22

Gabrielle Stavrelli is a vocalist’s vocalist, whose rich and sonorous voice is just a starting point in the qualities that make her a jazz performer par excellence. Her vocal style combines dazzling technique with heartfelt emotion. A New York Times reviewer said “she recalls Ella Fitzgerald in her prime.” Gabrielle’s repertoire captures her genuine love and knowledge of the material that she’s chosen, which is something that shines through to her audience. Gabrielle can also scat with the best of them. With three leader albums to her credit over the last decade, Gabrielle has appeared on world and national concert stages, played with artists such as Wynton Marsalis and Fred Hersch, and toured abroad as a U.S. Department of State Jazz Ambassador. She has numerous awards to her credit and currently conducts masterclasses. At any of her shows, her audience can expect a masterclass in great singing from this jazz diva. JZ

MARIANNE SOLIVAN QUARTET

SMALLS / MARCH 2

Marianne Solivan, the Brooklyn-based vocalist and Syracuse University assistant professor, is a supple and subtle-voiced singer who has worked with Jeremy Pelt, Steve Nelson, Xavier Davis, Christian McBride and Orrin Evans, the latter of whom featured her at his Club Patio Jazz Day Celebration last Labor Day weekend. A graduate of the New England Conservatory and Berklee College of Music, Marianne’s first record, Prisoner of Love (HiPNOTIC), a potpourri of duo, trio and quartet selections, was released in 2012, followed by her big band album, Spark (HiPNOTIC, 2014), Mood for Love (Venus, 2023) Re-Entry (Mighty Quinn, 2024), and her latest record, Break’s Over (2025). Marianne comes to Smalls leading a quartet with drummer Jay Sawyer, pianist Brandon McCune and bassist Steve Wood. Check out this under-the-radar talent, because she won’t be for very long. E.H.

BERTHA HOPE TRIO FT. ROCHELLE THOMPSON

ORNITHOLOGY / MARCH 4

The Bertha Hope Trio will perform at Ornithology in Brooklyn, presenting a measured exploration of jazz in an intimate setting. Featuring Rochelle Thompson, whose calm yet expressive style contributes a distinct voice to the ensemble, the show offers a reflective journey through melodic improvisations and subtle rhythmic shifts. The performance is designed as a quiet conversation among musicians, focusing on the interplay of thoughtfully arranged compositions and spontaneous moments of creativity. Listeners are invited to experience a blend of tradition and modern interpretation, where each note is carefully considered and delivered with precision. The trio’s understated approach emphasizes musical dialogue over showmanship, inviting a deeper engagement with the art form. The evening promises a balanced atmosphere of introspection and innovation, offering a space to appreciate the nuanced textures and evolving narrative of jazz. This performance invites thoughtful reflection and celebrates jazz as a living, breathing dynamic dialogue. CLR

VIVIAN SESSOMS

DJANGO / MARCH 8

There is only one way to describe the experience of listening to Vivian Sessoms sing and that would be “absolutely unforgettable.” Vivian is a once-in-a-generation talent whose prodigious musicianship has attracted a diverse array of artists and producers – from the legendary Ryuichi Sakamoto to Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Sinéad O’Connor, Stevie Wonder and many others. Those performances betray nothing of what a concert by Vivian might be. Listening to her is like ascending an evanescent realm in a Holy Rollin’ Church, then returning to earth to boogie to the visceral rhythms or the blues, jazz and every colorful, rollicking rhythm wrought by Black American music. An experience to live (or die) for. RDG

TAMUZ NISSIM

BEAN RUNNER CAFE / MARCH 8

Tel Aviv-born and Bronx-based Tamuz Nissim sings, scats, swings, all the while as she shows off her talent in drums and the piano. She brings jazz to the Boogie Down, where she performs and curates a weekly jazz series and jam session. Her discography includes five albums While Birds Fly (Street of Stars, 2023), Capturing Clouds (Street of Stars, 2020), and Echo of a Heartbeat (Street of Stars, 2018). On International Women’s Day and as part of the Lady Got Chops Women’s Music Festival, Tamuz, on vocals and drums, guitarist George Nazos and bassist Dan Asher will perform music from Tamuz’s discography with selections from the Great American Songbook. The trio will also play a couple of new songs from a project for which Tamuz is composing. SBL

MIHO SASAKI

ORNITHOLOGY CAFE / MARCH 10

Miho Sasaki is a New York-based jazz pianist who hails from Tokyo, Japan. Her electric playing style reflects the depth and scope of work she’s put into mastering jazz piano. One can hear influences – McCoy and Cedar are two of many – and yet the synthesis she creates is clearly stamped with her own identity. While fully capable of virtuosic technique, what really impresses are the creative choices Miho brings into her improvisation. There are no wasted notes, and every nuance is there by intention. Especially poignant is the balance she strikes between head and heart in her music, which includes some strikingly beautiful original compositions. Miho’s mentor was piano great Donald Vega, with whom she studied while on a James Moody Jazz Scholarship. If you want to hear a future jazz star in the making, catch Miho’s trio at Ornithology Café with bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Aaron Seeber. JZ

MELANIE CHARLES

BLUE NOTE / MARCH 10 & 24

Melanie Jean-Baptiste Charles has Haitian ancestry, and it has served her spectacularly well as she mines the evocative spirituality of Vodou, melding its deepest mysticism into the realm of heartfelt, deep song of the blues, the rippling rhythms of jazz and the pulsations of rhythm & blues. Anyone who viewed her iconic broadcast on her NPR Tiny Desk concert would have been held breathless by her ability to scat and vocalize in patois, French and English, improvising with elegance as she invented melodic lines with inspired rhymes, harmonizing it all in an ambient electronic palette. That concert featured Melanie on flute; her younger brother, saxophonist Rogers; bassist Jonathan Michel, and drummer Diego Ramirez on drums. With any luck, we’ll get to hear this band at the Blue Note too. RDG

JAVON JACKSON QUARTET

JAZZ FORUM / MARCH 14-15

Tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson, a graduate of Berklee College of Music and currently the artistic director of the Jazz in the Valley festival in upstate New York, was a bona fide Young Lion with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the late ’80s. Blessed with raw-boned and riveting sound, Javon worked with many jazz leaders including pianist Hank Jones, trumpeter Thad Jones and bassist Ron Carter, and he recorded with over fourteen records as a leader. In 2022, Javon released The Gospel According To Nikki Giovanni (Solid Jackson), a critically acclaimed, spiritually-themed album, with the late poet Nikki Giovanni, and he heads the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford. Jackson leads a quartet at the Jazz Forum for a solid night of mainstream swing. E.H.

ANDREA WOLPER

BEAN RUNNER CAFE / MARCH 15

Andrea Wolper brings her talent in storytelling and phrasing to her professional musical career, rooted in her singing of jazz standards. Natural in the art of hosting, this vocalist is a regular across the NYC jazz scene, oozing with warmth towards her audiences and putting them at ease. Andrea, alongside Roberta Piket on piano and Ken Filiano on bass, will be performing songs from her most recent album, Wanderlust (Moonflower Music, 2024), as well as other favorites, presenting a mix of jazz standards, originals, and her arrangements of songs from other genres. Paying homage to Women's History Month, Andrea will be sure to highlight several songs written by women including Joni Mitchell, Abbey Lincoln and others. SBL

MIGIYA "MIGGY" MIYAJIMA AUGMENTED ORCHESTRA

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER / MARCH 17

New York based composer, pianist and bandleader Migiya “Miggy” Miyajima has been nominated for six GRAMMY Awards, received numerous grants and media awards, and high praise from critics and fans for justifiable reasons. Miggy leads a 17-piece jazz ensemble, dubbed the Augmented Orchestra. Her compositions are complex, well thought out arrangements that suggest a sophisticated approach to big-band harmonies and dynamics. It may be a tall order to deliver all that while still maintaining a satisfying underlying groove, but Miggy’s music does just that. Often, it suggests a narrative based around a storyline. Her first album, Colorful (2018), is a nod to the idea that diversity creates richness. Other works are inspired by her mother’s life struggles or about surviving disasters. Her writing allows for much individual expression from her ensemble players. The best way to appreciate this music is to experience it in a live performance. JZ

BILLY COBHAM

BLUE NOTE JAZZ CLUB NYC / MARCH 18-23

Drummer Billy Cobham’s Time Machine takes over the Blue Note for a week in mid-March with a version of his group from the mid-’70s, which featured the Brecker Brothers and John Abercrombie. They will revisit Billy’s music from that period, including “Total Eclipse,” “Solarization” and “Moon Germs.” Billy made his reputation with Miles Davis and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. When that group disbanded in the early ’70s, Billy released his debut solo album, Spectrum (Atlantic, 1973), which is regarded as one of the most significant and influential recordings in jazz fusion. Inducted into the Halls of Fame for Modern Drummer and for Classic Drummer, Billy is widely acclaimed as fusion’s greatest drummer. Time Machine includes bassist Will Lee, trumpeter Randy Brecker, trombonist Marshall Gilkes, saxophonist Brandon Wilkins and Oz Ezzeldin on keyboards. DJS

AKIKO TSURUGA

DIZZY'S CLUB / MARCH 19-20

One of the top organists active today, Akiko Tsuruga is inspired by the greats who preceded her, like Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Shirley Scott and Dr. Lonnie Smith. Born and raised in Japan, Akiko was playing already professionally in her teens. After moving to the U.S., her big break came when Lou Donaldson heard her in a club and immediately hired her for his band. Over the past two decades, Akiko has released many records; her most recent is Beyond Nostalgia (SteepleChase, 2024). Her recordings showcase the diversity of her stylistic interests along with her formidable chops, which use the full capabilities of the Hammond B-3. Akiko’s quintet includes trumpeter Joe Magnarelli, Myron Walden (tenor and baritone saxophone plus flute), guitarist Charlie Sigler and drummer Byron Landham.—KD

JANE MONHEIT

JAZZ FORUM / MARCH 21-22

One of the best-known voices in jazz, vocalist Jane Monheit returns to Tarrytown with her widely acclaimed interpretations of the Great American Songbook. During her more than two decades of international touring, she has headlined at nearly every legendary jazz club in the world and has collaborated with iconic jazz luminaries such as John Pizzarelli, Ron Carter and Christian McBride. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, Jane attained attention by finishing second in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition. She has now released more than a dozen critically acclaimed albums and tours worldwide when not at home in California with husband, drummer Rick Montalbano, and their son. A GRAMMY Award-nominated, Billboard chart-topping singer, Jane will be joined at the Jazz Forum by pianist Michael Kanan, her long-time accompanist and arranger. DJS

NNENNA FREELON

DIZZY'S / MARCH 21-23

Acclaimed jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon will grace Dizzy’s NYC with a series of reflective performances that explore the subtleties of modern jazz. Across these three evenings, Freelon invites listeners to engage with an intimate conversation between tradition and innovation, where every note is a measured expression of artistic insight. Her performance emphasizes thoughtful improvisation, drawing on a deep understanding of jazz history while allowing spontaneous creativity to emerge. In the warm, inviting atmosphere of Dizzy’s NYC, the sound of her voice melds with carefully arranged compositions to create a narrative that is both contemplative and dynamic. The multi-night engagement offers a unique opportunity to experience jazz as a living dialogue, where understated emotion and precise musical interplay come together in a refined celebration of the genre. Each performance reflects Freelon’s commitment to honest musical expression and deep engagement with the timeless language of jazz, truly. CLR

MICHELLE WALKER

MEZZROW / MARCH 23

Valentine's Day may be over in a proverbial jiffy, but Michelle Walker will continue to romance one and all on this day in March. If there was such a thing as a “jazz diva,” then there is no one more eminently qualified to have that title bestowed on her than Michelle. She will melt the hearts of her audiences, her earth-toned chocolatey contralto making hearts beat faster as she takes a simple song lyric and rhapsodies its narrative with both literal and metaphorical beauty. Her words are like arrows aimed straight at the heart, and she can bend and sculpt phrases and lines with abandon. Michelle’s long inventions have come to be known as her signature style called “elastic singing.” Come, listen, and be seduced. RDG

ALBA PUJOLS

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER / MARCH 25

When she was between 3 and 4 years old, the fiery Catalan musician, Alba Pujols, wanted to be a flutist, a singer, and an orchestral conductor. Fortuitously, her mother said to her, “Alba, listen... Wouldn't you like to play the trombone?” While it did take some convincing, Alba listened, began to learn the instrument, and the rest is history. Playing with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis when she took New York by storm, she won the hearts of the audience with the inspired and inventive virtuosity of her solo playing, and melted into the ensemble when called for. Alba returns to JALC, leading her ensemble while also breathing lyrical fire and making combustible music through the 9 feet of trombone pipe once again. RDG

KIMBRA

BLUE NOTE JAZZ CLUB / MARCH 25-26

Kimbra is a GRAMMY Award-winning singer and songwriter from New Zealand known for her blend of eclectic pop vocals and soulful storytelling. You may know her from the 2013 megahit, Somebody that I Used to Know, a collaboration with artist Gotye which became a viral sensation and won the GRAMMY Award for record of the year. Many people consider it one of the biggest hits of the decade as it broke records for digital distribution. It’s natural for an artist as talented as Kimbra to seek to transcend the typecasting generated by having such a signature song, and she has. Kimbra is praised for her agility as a singer, and critics have noted her unique vocal style of bending notes around vowels. As a composer, she uses sampling and blurring of genres, working around art-pop, R&B and jazz idioms in her music. Her most recent album is titled Idols and Vices (2024), and she will be performing songs from it at her much-anticipated upcoming shows at the Blue Note. JZ

DIVA JAZZ ORCHESTRA

DIZZY'S CLUB / MARCH 27-30

Drummer Sherrie Maricle has led the Diva Jazz Orchestra, the acclaimed all-women big band, since its inception over three decades ago, providing a showcase for numerous talented female instrumentalists. Diva has served as an incubator for many up-and-coming players and composers who have gone on to successful careers as leaders themselves, including the late Clare Daly, Ingrid Jensen, Sharel Cassity, Anat Cohen and Alexa Tarantino. Of course, some veterans have found a home in the band, including trumpeter Jami Dauber, tenor saxophonist Laura Dreyer, pianist Tomoko Ohno and bassist Noriko Ueda. With their wide repertoire and extensive library of inventive arrangements, Diva has music to delight everyone. Diva will feature guest vocalist Clint Holmes, as they interpret brilliant settings of Broadway favorites and jazz standards with their formidable chops.—KD

DAVID JANEWAY

JAZZ FORUM ARTS / MARCH 28-29

Veteran jazz pianist David Janeway grew up in Detroit, but he’s been New York-based for several decades. David is an accomplished musician who brings a wealth of talent and character to his playing, which can range from straight ahead to contemporary, free swinging or Latin. His repertoire includes some memorable originals, and his recordings often combine those with other interesting picks from the jazz canon. Over his career, David has played with a host of greats, such as Benny Golson, Michael Urbaniak, Art Farmer, Sonny Fortune and others. And while he’s often played with ensembles, his preferred vehicle as a leader is the piano trio. His most recent album, released last year on Steeplechase Records, is aptly titled Forward Motion (2024) and features bassist Cameron Brown and drummer Billy Hart. David leaves his sidemen plenty of room to showcase their own talents, while always creating a cohesive and energetic groove with them. JZ

TOSHIKO AKIYOSHI

Toshiko Akiyoshi: A Life in Jazz, A Legacy Beyond Labels

by Sarah Belle Lin

When I told Toshiko Akiyoshi that we would be featuring her as part of our Women’s History Month coverage, she responded with a single word: “Whatever.”

It’s no surprise. At 95, Toshiko has long seen herself as a musician first, a member of society second, and only distantly, if at all, as a “female artist.” Why should gender matter? “Maybe it’s necessary in order to get some platform, I don't know,” she tells me. “But basically speaking, I'm not for the separation of anything.”

Labels never did much to define Toshiko, but her achievements speak for themselves. She is recognized as one of the first Asian women jazz pioneers, the first Japanese woman to graduate from Berklee College of Music, and the first woman to win Best Arranger and Best Composer in DownBeat Magazine’s Readers Poll. Over the course of her career, she has been nominated for 14 GRAMMY Awards, from her first in 1976 (Long Yellow Road, RCA Records) with the Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band, to her most recent in 1994. She’s won Best Jazz Instrumental Performance ten times and Best Arrangement on an Instrumental four times. She was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2007, and her six-hour oral history interview is preserved in the Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program.

JUDY CARMICHAEL

Judy Carmichael: A Life in Jazz, A Career of Her Own Making

By Ken Dryden

From her teenage years, Judy Carmichael has been an artist who creates her own opportunities. Initially known for her stride piano chops, she has since carved out a multifaceted career as a vocalist, bandleader, composer, radio host, and author.

A German major in college, Judy played piano—especially ragtime—purely for fun. Then, a classmate suggested she audition for a Newport Beach gig, filling in for the regular pianist on his night off. She landed the job with a single ragtime tune. But at that point, she was still memorizing pieces from sheet music, not improvising. That all changed when she heard a Count Basie record featuring Benny Moten’s “Prince of Wales.”

“That was the first time I was really motivated to play the piano,” Judy recalls. “I started teaching myself by ear, playing that record over and over. I began seeing the patterns in the chord changes, and whenever a musician came up to the piano, I’d ask them what key I was in so I could start to understand how it all worked.”

She immersed herself in the recordings of Fats Waller, Earl Hines, James P. Johnson, and Art Tatum, developing a love for stride piano that would define her early career.

RENÉE MANNING

Renée Manning: The Quiet Superstar Who Redefined Jazz

Interview by Raul da Gama

Vocalist, musician and quiet superstar Renée Manning recounts how she came to play Bessie Smith in a jazz opera, with music by George Gruntz and a libretto by the Rabelaisian Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, also featuring Sheila Jordan and Mark Murphy. “I remember, I was told that George was looking for a singer with an operatic background for Cosmopolitan Greetings,” she says.

“So, I went to meet him in Köln. Not only do I see that he has Sheila and Mark signed up, but then he tells me, ‘I want you to play Bessie…’” she says. “‘What do you mean?’ I ask him, ‘Bessie Smith…?!’ I almost fell off my chair. I was surprised, apprehensive, and I said, ‘Uh, huh! No, I can’t do it!’ But George is, you know, charming and persistent.”

An even bigger challenge was walking into the first rehearsal. “I was greeted by grim, unsmiling faces of the members of the WDR Big Band. Oh, my goodness, they looked at me as if to say, ‘Here comes another Black diva.’ But when I was done, the musicians put down their instruments, stood up, and applauded,” Renée says without a smidge of egotism in her voice.

KIM CLARKE

Kim Clarke : This Lady's Got Chops

by Raul da Gama

It is highly unlikely that the fabled tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson would have hired a prodigious young bassist named Kim Clarke to anchor his harmonic and rhythmic platform when he was at the height of his powers, as far back as 1986. In fact, not only did Joe do just that, but he toured Europe with her, adding the inimitable Joanne Brackeen on piano as well as the then-unknown Keith Killgo on drums. Clearly, the great tenor saxophonist had no misgivings when he threw in a challenge to the band, counting off Charlie Parker’s “Relaxin’ at Camarillo” to be played at breakneck speed—a night bristling with musical genius. The band responded to the test and came through with flying colors.

You would have expected the more experienced Joanne to dazzle with her chops. But your jaw dropped at Kim’s finger-breaking dexterity and unbridled virtuosity. “Who’s that girl?” many in a Hamburg audience might have asked. Joe might simply have announced her: “…on bass, Kim Clarke…” or something like that. A video of that performance circulates on YouTube. Around forty seconds into the song, the camera focuses on the fingers of Kim’s right hand. You feel as if you’re winded, hit right in the center of your chest. Her elegantly pizzicato also thumps right out of the screen as she deploys a rippling groove that builds ferociously under Joe’s complex boppish runs.

DARLESIA CEARCY

Darlesia Cearcy: A Star of Stage and Screen Who Breathes Life Into Every Role

Chrys Roney

In the vast landscape of Broadway and beyond, few performers possess the ability to completely transform the stage with sheer presence and artistic depth. Darlesia Cearcy is one such force. Her voice, a fusion of power and elegance, coupled with an acting range that seamlessly moves from tender introspection to grand theatricality, has made her a defining figure in contemporary theater. Most recently, she has taken center stage in A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical, currently dazzling audiences in New York City. With this latest role, Darlesia once again proves why she remains a vital and magnetic presence in the performing arts.

Darlesia's journey to Broadway was one forged with determination and an insatiable hunger for storytelling. She honed her craft at the University of Akron, laying a foundation of discipline and artistic integrity that would become hallmarks of her career. From there, she immersed herself in the art of performance, continually pushing the boundaries of her talent.

Her stage work reads like a masterclass in versatility. From musicals that demand soaring vocal performances to intimate dramas that require a nuanced emotional touch, Darlesia embodies every role with an uncanny ability to connect with both the material and her audience. Each performance is more than just an interpretation—it’s an act of living, breathing storytelling.

RONDI CHARLESTON

JOE'S PUB / MARCH 30

Vocalist and lyricist Rondi Charleston and pianist and composer Fred Hersch collaborated on Suspended in Time––A Song Cycle (Resilience Music Alliance, 2024) to reflect on the loss of time during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rich and melodic seven-song album is based on Rondi's journal writings and musings that helped her stay sane and make sense of the chaos. With its poignant storytelling and poetry, Rondi's seventh album dives into the nature of time, its elasticity and how it can expose us to our most vulnerable selves. The meditation will be brought to life by Rondi, Fred, vocalists Kate McGarry and Gabrielle Stravelli, and the Crosby String Quartet. Audiences will be treated to a performance inspired by hope and renewal that might inspire them to re-examine how we choose to spend time. SBL