Billy Taylor News

Bravo dives back into the dating pool with its reboot of the iconic series 'Blind Date,' premiering Monday, November 18 at 11:30pm ET/PT. In the age of social media where preconceived notions dominate and dating apps thrive on a swipe left or right, hopeful singles looking to form a true connection - or perhaps just any connection - take the ultimate plunge when they embark on a blind date. A nod to the original format with a modernized twist to match social media trends, each half-hour episode focuses on two couples of varying ethnicity, sexual orientation and age. As each unpredictable date progresses, only time will tell if these strangers struggle to connect or find their perfect match. For a sneak peek, please look below.

On Saturday, October 19, Flushing Town Hall and Jazzmobile, Inc. will presentTaylor Made to celebrate the renowned Dr. Billy Taylor and Jazzmobile@55, bringing established NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Owens, Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, other jazz greats and rising stars to the stage together for a hard-swinging concert.

Hot House Magazine, in partnership with Jazzmobile is excited to announce the 6th New York City Readers Jazz Awards on Sunday, November 24th at New York City's famed Birdland Jazz Club, located at 315 West 44th Street.

Singer Lynn Henderson will reprise her performance of A Skitch in Time: My Friendship with Maestro Skitch Henderson, on Nov. 2nd at Don't Tell Mama, at 4pm. A Skitch in Time tributes the New York Pops founder who built the Pops from an idea to a beloved international institution. Lynn Henderson and Skitch were not related a?" they shared a surname and admiration of the Great American Songbook. After bonding over music at a benefit in their Connecticut town,

Flushing Town Hall's got Hart! On Saturday, October 5, the Antonio Hart Quintet will perform at the historic Queens venue, the first stop on their Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation Jazz Touring Network tour. Recognized as one of the most talented instrumentalists of his generation, Hart will perform on saxophone, joined by Duane Eubanks on trumpet, Miki Yamanaka on piano, Alex Ayala on bass, and Jerome Gillespie II on drums.

ARBORS RECORDS will celebrate the music of iconic composer Frederick Loewe this fall with two new albums of songs from the legendary musicals of Lerner & Loewe performed by an astonishing array of jazz heavyweights.  Counterpoint Lerner & Loewe features Dick Hyman on piano andKen Peplowski on clarinet and tenor sax.

We are all aware of those great music scores created by gifted composers for the movies but last night at Dizzy's Club, Christine Tamburr, a gifted composer and virtuoso vibraphonist led a world class group of musicians and jazz great Clint Holmes in a performance of his score “The Awakening “ Sounds For Sculpture”. Just as you can't imagine a movie without the underlying music, something tells me I won't be able to enjoy a “silent” Sculpture anymore after the experience of listening to Christian Tambour's breathtaking music inspired by the Sculpture of world renowned Seward Johnson.

Fall gets festive at Flushing Town Hall! The global arts venue will present over 30 programs to entertain audiences of all ages and backgrounds this September through December. From a Diwali dance party to a marionette Nutcracker, there will be something for everyone to celebrate this season, including Flushing Town Hall's first-ever presentation of six NEA Jazz Masters together on stage for a once-in-a-lifetime concert.

Jazzmobile once again partners with Central Park Conservancy to present GREAT JAZZ ON THE GREAT HILL (GJGH), this Saturday, August 10, 4:00 - 7:00 pm on the Great Hill, 106th Street & Central Park West. Don't miss trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, the all-female jazz and blues ensemble Sage, award-winning jazz vocalist Alyson Williams(the GJGH Mistress of Ceremony) and the dynamic Harlem Renaissance Orchestra.

New York Youth Symphony (NYYS), is proud to continue its mission of educating and inspiring young musicians through its Orchestra, Jazz, Chamber Music, Composition, Musical Theater Composition, Apprenticeship Conducting, and First Music commissioning programs. This season includes seven world premieres of new works commissioned through the First Music program, composed for the Orchestra, Jazz, and Chamber Music ensembles. The season also features renowned and up-and-coming soloists including prodigy pianist Harmony Zhu, 2019 Sphinx Competition winner cellist Sterling Elliott, and leading young pianist Michelle Cann in the Carnegie Hall premiere of Florence Price's recently re-discovered Piano Concerto in One Movement with NYYS Orchestra, as well as in-demand drummer Matt Wilson, celebrated saxophonist Steve Wilson, and trombone virtuoso Wycliffe Gordon with NYYS Jazz. The complete NYYS 2019-2020 concert calendar follows at the end of this press release.

From Duke Ellington's rocking rhythms, Thelonious Monk's melodious thunks to Mary Lou Williams' spiritual swing and Michel Camilo's island improvisations, the Newport Jazz Festival has been the premier showcase for pianists for decades. This year's edition features a wide variety of keyboardists, shaping the state of jazz to come.

Jazzmobile Inc. and Harlem Jazz Enterprises have entered into a new partnership to present live music at the iconic Minton's Playhouse jazz club, 206 West 118th Street, in Harlem. This open-ended residency will begin on Independence Day with pianist Nat Adderley, Jr. and will continue every Thursday evening with a world-class jazz band. The Summer lineup will be announced at the opening celebration on July 4.

Taylor Swift has released the music video to her newest single, "You Need To Calm Down." The song is off of her upcoming new album "Lover,' which will be released on August 23.

Celebrating 15 years as the only citywide jazz festival in the Mid-Atlantic region, DC Jazz Festival (DCJF) is proud to announce the addition of acclaimed genre-bending vocalist Cassandra Wilson, perennial poll-winning alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett, and tenor sax titan Joshua Redman to its already stellar lineup celebrating Great Masters of Jazz, Sunday, June 16 in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. The DC JazzFest presented by Events DC takes place throughout the District from June 7-16.

DC Jazz Festival (DCJF), with the only city-wide jazz festival in the mid-Atlantic region, today announced that Nick Cannon will host Great Masters of Jazz, on June 16 in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Co-presented by the DC Jazz Festival and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, with support from Events DC, Great Masters of Jazz will celebrate the life and work of the legend Quincy Jones; the trailblazing trumpeter-bandleader Roy Hargrove; the highly influential song stylist Nancy Wilson; and DC's own peerless pianist-vocalist Shirley Horn and saxophonist-educator Fred Foss. Featured performers and presenters include the Roy Hargrove Big Band, Patti Austin, Kenny Garrett, Justin Kauflin, Adam Clayton Powell III, Angela Stribling, Paxton Baker, Sharón Clark, Princess Mhoon Dance Project, and very special guests.

Hylton Performing Arts Center announced today its 2019-2020 season of mainstage performances, featuring a diverse lineup of artists and ensembles across genres, as part of Hylton Presents, Hylton Family Series, Matinee Idylls, and the American Roots Series. The Hylton Center also announced the first Hylton Center EXTRA! for the season: the husband and wife duo and banjo icons, B la Fleck and Abigail Washburn, in a special concert event featuring their unique blend of alternative bluegrass. Season subscriptions are on sale to Friends of the Hylton Center at HyltonCenter.org/preview or by phone at 703-993-7700. For the general public, subscriptions go on sale Wednesday, April 24 and single tickets on Thursday, August 1. More details are available at HyltonCenter.org.

A Little Love, the striking debut album from vocalist extraordinaire Quiana Lynell, will be released by Concord Jazz on April 5th, 2019.

Acclaimed multi-genre recording artist Damien Sneed released a new full-length recording titled 'Damien Sneed: We Shall Overcome' on LeChateau Earl Records on January 18th. The inspiring new project is currently available on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and all other digital retail outlets everywhere. A celebration of R&B classics, civil rights anthems, beloved spirituals, jazz compositions and more, the album arrives on the heels of the 35th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which was made a federal holiday in 1983.

It's millennials only for the Monterey Jazz Festival's fifth national tour, March 15-April 14, 2019. Featuring some of the most critically-acclaimed, GRAMMY-winning and GRAMMY-nominated jazz artists of their generation, including three winners of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour will truly showcase the next generation of jazz legends, including Cecile McLorin Salvant, vocals; Bria Skonberg, trumpet, vocals; Melissa Aldana, tenor saxophone; Christian Sands, piano and musical director; Yasushi Nakamura, bass, and Jamison Ross, drums, vocals.