SMOKE Jazz Club, New York City, Programme for December 2024.

Friday, November 01, 2024

SMOKE Jazz Club has announced its schedule for December 2024. Incorporating the annual Coltrane Festival the list of performers includes Ravi Coltrane, Vincent Herring, George Cables, Louis Hayes.

We have received the following press release;

Just Announced - 12th Annual Coltrane Festival, New Year’s Eve All-Stars and More This December at Smoke Jazz Club

Announcing SMOKE Jazz Club’s December Line-up Featuring the 12th Annual Coltrane Festival with Ravi Coltrane’s SMOKE Debut, a Spectacular New Year’s Eve Celebration, Catherine Russell & Sean Mason, and More.

Catherine Russell / Sean Mason (Dec 5-8)

Coltrane Festival: Ravi Coltrane featuring Gadi Lehavi and Elé Salif Howell (Dec 11-15)

Coltrane Festival: Eric Scott Reed featuring Nicholas Payton and Eric Alexander (Dec 18-22)

Coltrane Festival:
Special Guest Artists: Louis Hayes (Dec 25-26),
Eddie Henderson (Dec 27-28),
and Steve Turre (Dec 29-30)
with the Vincent Herring Quartet featuring George Cables

Coltrane Festival: New Year’s Eve Celebration with Jazzmeia Horn, Vincent Herring, Cyrus Chestnut, Yasushi Nakamura and Johnathan Blake (Dec 31)

“Entering its second quarter century as committed as ever to pure jazz (All About Jazz),” SMOKE Jazz Club continues its 25th anniversary season with an exciting line-up in December. The holiday season kickstarts with “A Nat King Cole Christmas” featuring singer Allan Harris (Dec 4). SMOKE is thrilled to welcome acclaimed vocalist Catherine Russell in her club debut in a thrilling duo with pianist Sean Mason (Dec 5-8) performing repertoire off their latest album My Ideal.

Over the course of three weeks (Dec 11-31), some of today’s top musicians join forces to celebrate the life and musical legacy of the great saxophonist and composer John Coltrane. SMOKE’s 12th annual Coltrane Festival “Countdown 2025” features Ravi Coltrane, in his debut at SMOKE, Eric Scott Reed, Nicholas Payton, Louis Hayes, and more in what has become a seasonal highlight in the world of jazz. It also includes the New Year’s Eve Celebration (Dec 31) with one of the best line-ups yet: Jazzmeia Horn, Vincent Herring, Cyrus Chestnut, Yasushi Nakamura, and Johnathan Blake. For the complete December schedule and most updated calendar, please visit http://www.smokejazz.com.

December 2024 Concert Schedule (subject to change):

Wed December 4: Allan Harris “A Nat King Cole Christmas”
Allan Harris – vocals
Alan Grubner – violin
John di Martino – piano
Brandi Disterheft – bass
Willy Rodriguez – drums
Allan Harris returns with his perennially popular seasonal performance of “A Nat King Cole Christmas,” featuring some of the holiday classics made famous by the legendary singer. Harris is a magnetic vocalist whose stylistic range runs from rock ‘n’ roll and blues to jazz and everything in between. It might be his captivating interpretations of standards that are the most unforgettable. Variety calls Harris “a velvet-voiced jazz singer, with a savvy manner and music in his veins,” and The Miami Herald adds that his voice and demeanor “project the warmth of Tony Bennett, the bite and rhythmic sense of Sinatra, and the sly elegance of Nat King Cole.

Thu-Sun December 5-8: Catherine Russell / Sean Mason SMOKE debut
Catherine Russell – vocals
Sean Mason – piano
“A piano and a voice, nothing else – done right, it never gets old. Catherine Russell and Sean Mason do it right.” – Relix
Vocalist Catherine Russell makes her SMOKE Jazz Club debut in a thrilling duo with pianist Sean Mason. This inspired collaboration, a convergence of sage experience and youthful virtuosity, resulted in the acclaimed 2024 release My Ideal. They perform repertoire spanning the jazz tradition from the early beginnings of the music with homages to James P. Johnson and Fats Waller to the confluence of jazz and popular music with tributes to Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra. In addition to her impressive jazz career, Russell has toured and recorded with Steely Dan, David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, Michael Feinstein, Levon Helm, and Rosanne Cash, among others, appearing on over 200 albums. Her jazz career has been at least as successful, with celebrated performances worldwide at major jazz festivals, clubs, and concert halls. NPR says her voice “wails like a horn and whispers like a snake in the Garden of Eden,” All Music Guide adds, “Russell emerged as a retro old-school vocalist for the ages.” Mason was hailed by NPR’s “Youngbloods” series as a musician on the rise, and Branford Marsalis says, “Watch out for this kid.”

Wed-Sun December 11-15: COLTRANE FESTIVAL: Ravi Coltrane featuring
Gadi Lehavi and Elé Salif Howell SMOKE debut
Ravi Coltrane – saxophones
Gadi Lehavi – piano
Elé Salif Howell – drums
“A worthy heir to his father, jazz legend John Coltrane.” – The Telegraph (UK)
Critically acclaimed, GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist and composer Ravi Coltrane makes a highly anticipated SMOKE Jazz Club debut with his inspired trio featuring pianist Gadi Lehavi and drummer Elé Howell. An artist whose career occupies a singular niche in modern jazz, Ravi Coltrane has established a sound and concepts that stand undeniably on their own, extending far beyond the shadow of his iconic name. Over a 20-plus-year career, Coltrane has worked as a sideman to many and recorded noteworthy albums for himself and others, including McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Terence Blanchard, Geri Allen, and many more. All About Jazz reviewed his group, saying, “The band is dynamite. Coltrane mainly played tenor, on which his sound is massive but softer-edged and less biting than that of his father.” The New York Times adds, “There are few saxophonists in jazz today as silvery and deft as Ravi Coltrane.”

Wed-Sun December 18-22: COLTRANE FESTIVAL: Eric Scott Reed Quintet featuring Nicholas Payton & Eric Alexander
Nicholas Payton – trumpet
Eric Alexander – tenor saxophone
Eric Scott Reed – piano
Peter Washington – bass
Joe Farnsworth – drums
“Reed is one of those tremendously gifted players.” – Downbeat
The Coltrane Festival continues with an exciting Coltrane-inspired quintet assembled by piano master Eric Scott Reed, who All About Jazz reports has “fully established himself in the forefront of jazz pianists.” A child prodigy who grew up playing in his father’s storefront Baptist Church, Reed has been one of the most important ambassadors of the music for over 30 years. Ahmad Jamal called him “one of my very favorite pianists.” Joining Reed is a virtuoso front line, trumpeter Nicholas Payton and saxophonist Eric Alexander, and an all-star rhythm section, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Joe Farnsworth.

Wed-Thu December 25-26: COLTRANE FESTIVAL: Special Guest Louis Hayes
with Vincent Herring Quartet featuring George Cables
Vincent Herring – alto saxophone
George Cables – piano
Yasushi Nakamura – bass
Louis Hayes – drums
Drum icon and NEA Jazz Master Louis Hayes has worked and recorded with John Coltrane. A treasure of American music, Hayes’s career spans seven decades. His impeccable feel and propulsive swing have helped to define the art of jazz drumming. The Guardian reports, “Hayes has an unmistakable style: excitement tempered by poise.” All About Jazz adds, “Today, Louis is one of the last men drumming from jazz’s galloping hard-bop era. Best of all, [he] hasn’t lost an ounce of energy or style.”

Fri-Sat December 27-28: COLTRANE FESTIVAL: Special Guest Eddie Henderson
with Vincent Herring Quintet featuring George Cables
Eddie Henderson – trumpet
Vincent Herring – alto saxophone
George Cables – piano
Yasushi Nakamura – bass
Joe Farnsworth – drums
The eternally youthful Eddie Henderson has proven again that he is still making some of the most important music of his career into his 80s. The New York Times says Henderson’s “deft feel and plush sound madehim a central figure in the worlds of jazz-funk and hard-bop in the 1970s. The Chicago Reader adds, “Hisprogressive, assured, and imaginative improvisations roll out in a glorious sun-splashed tone… he seems to dance through his solos, balancing his quick clockwork technique with bursts of bluesy soul.”

Sun-Mon December 29-30: COLTRANE FESTIVAL: Special Guest Steve Turre
with Vincent Herring Quintet featuring George Cables
Steve Turre – trombone
Vincent Herring – alto saxophone
George Cables – piano
Yasushi Nakamura – bass
Joe Farnsworth – drums
The incredible trombonist and seashell innovator Steve Turre is “perhaps the leading trombonist of this generation (Rolling Stone).” His storied career includes work alongside music legends Ray Charles, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Woody Shaw. He has consistently won both the Readers’ and Critics’ polls in JazzTimes, Downbeat, and Jazziz for “Best Trombone” and “Best Miscellaneous Instrumentalist (shells).” He is a versatile master and a true jazz original. Downbeat says, “Few artists’ own’ their instrument to the degree that trombonist Steve Turre does. Whether playing the music of Rahsaan Roland Kirk, performing as a member of the Saturday Night Live house band, or with one of his own groups, his voice is distinctive and memorable.”

Tuesday, Dec 31: COLTRANE FESTIVAL: New Year’s Eve Celebration featuring
The Countdown All-Stars
Jazzmeia Horn – vocals
Vincent Herring – tenor saxophone
Cyrus Chestnut – piano
Yasushi Nakamura – bass
Johnathan Blake – drums
SMOKE’s year-end Coltrane Festival “Countdown 2025” converges with SMOKE’s annual New Year’s Eve Celebration, a perennially popular night of music and revelry. And, this year features one of its best lineups, the Countdown 2025 All-Stars, featuring vocalist Jazzmeia Horn, saxophonist Vincent Herring, pianist Cyrus Chestnut, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and drummer Johnathan Blake, who will combine their considerable musical talents to ring in the New Year. A special holiday prix-fixe menu and a festive atmosphere will complement the celebration.
Billboard reports that Horn is “undoubtedly among the jazz world’s most exciting young vocalists.” Chestnut, Nakamura, and Blake are reunited with Herring from his celebrated 2021 album Preaching to the Choir, which NPR’s Fresh Air said: “is aimed at folks who like their jazz with a dollop of swing, rhythm, and blues feeling, music steeped in the African American vernacular and played by a soloist with swagger.” These four instrumentalists know how to deliver a good time, and augmented by the great Jazzmeia Horn; they will, of course, do just that.
Two Seatings:
7:00 p.m. includes 4-course holiday dinner and one show ($250 + tax & tip)
9:30 p.m. includes 4-course holiday dinner, two shows, midnight celebration with prosecco champagne toast, hats & noise makers ($350 plus tax & tip)

About SMOKE
Located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side at the junction of Broadway and 106th Street (aka Duke Ellington Boulevard), Smoke Jazz Club is one of New York City’s premier live music venues. Renowned for offering top-notch programming of accessible, timeless jazz featuring legendary performers, modern masters, and rising stars, Smoke stands apart with its candlelit dining room, stellar acoustics, and classic American cuisine. Founded in 1999, SMOKE also boasts a GRAMMY-nominated label, Smoke Sessions Records, and a celebrated streaming concert series, Smoke Screens. For everything else, visit http://www.smokejazz.com.

Ticketing + Information:                                                                                 
When: Wednesday-Sunday @ 7:00 p.m. + 9:00 p.m. and additional 10:30 p.m. (Fri & Sat only). Doors open at 5:00 p.m. (unless otherwise noted).
Where: SMOKE Jazz Club, 2751 Broadway (between 105/106th Streets), New York, NY,
Train: 1 to 103rd Street.
Tickets: In-Person $25+. Livestream $15. For more information and to make reservations, please visit http://www.smokejazz.com.