Blue Note New York
Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band

$20 Minimum Per Person
Full Bar & Dinner Menu
NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES.

  • All seating is first come, first served. 
  • Bar Area seating is limited and first come first served. When all available seats are occupied, the remaining bar area is standing room only.
  • Table Seating is all ages, Bar Area is 21+. Bar Area tickets for patrons under 21 will not be honored. 
Group Reservations:
  • Groups larger than 8 must purchase a group package at club@bluenote.net, or by calling 212.475.8592.
  • Groups larger than 8 without a group package will be subject to group surcharges added to your bill. 
  • Groups arriving late or separately are not guaranteed to be seated together. All seating is first come, first served. Arrive early for best seats.
Tickets for Blue Note New York shows are only available for purchase on Ticketweb. We are not affiliated with any third-party sellers. Tickets purchased on third-party sites will not be honored. The credit card used for original purchase of tickets will be required at the door upon entry.
 
 

  • Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band

    History has produced its share of great artists and great people— John Birks“Dizzy”Gillespie was both.
    As a performer, he left behind an incredible record of innovation and inspiration.
    As a composer, a broad repository of musical masterpieces, and as a man, a legion of friends, colleagues and compatriots who remember him with the same degree of love and esteem they reserve for his work.

    For Dizzy Gillespie, playing in a small combo was never enough. His artistry compelled him to seek and to create larger ensembles because as a composer and arranger, a big band was the ultimate vehicle for self-expression. Given that the majority of his career took place after 1950 when the big band era was over, it’s especially notable that Dizzy Gillespie continued to create brilliant music using the grand-scale formats of jazz big band and orchestra right up to the end of his life in 1993.

    The Dizzy Gillespie Big Band is a direct descendant of those ventures and happily, the tradition lives on. Nurtured by Gillespie alumnus, executive director and producer, bassist John Lee. Together they continue to delight audiences around the world with the enduring power and freshness of Dizzy Gillespie’s music. This is the legacy the master would have wanted—and a living tribute from the many extraordinary musicians in this group who exemplify his style, range, passion, and commitment.

    The band now features some of the fastest rising next generation talents in jazz today including vocalist Roberta Gambarini, pianist Cyrus Chestnut, trumpeters Frank Greene, Freddie Hendrix, Charlie Porter and Diego Urcola. Saxophonists Don Braden, Sharel Cassity, Mark Gross, Tim Ries, and Gary Smulyan. Trombonists Steve Davis, Jason Jackson, Jeff Nelson, Altin Sencalar, Ron Wilkins, and drummer Evan Sherman. All of them band leaders and recording artists in their own right.

    Executive director John Lee had a close association with Dizzy, serving as his bassist for the last decade of Dizzy’s life, in his small groups as well as his Grammy Award winning United Nation Orchestra and Dizzy’s classic Big Band. The Dizzy Gillespie Big Band has recorded three critically acclaimed CDs: “Things to Come” (MCG Jazz), “Dizzy’s Business” (MCG Jazz), and “I’m Beboppin Too” (Halfnote). The Dizzy Gillespie Big Band has performed at major concert halls and music festivals in North America including; Boston Symphony Hall, Massachusetts’ Tanglewood Music Center, the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Chicago’s Ravinia, Washington, DC’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, New York State’s Saratoga Springs, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, CA, the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, CA, Detroit’s Symphony Hall, Denver’s Newman Center and Boettcher Concert Hall, Vancouver’s Chan Center, Cleveland Symphony Hall, New York ’s Lincoln Center, and the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild in Pittsburgh, Pa.

    The have also performed at major concert halls and jazz festivals in Australia, Austria, Aruba, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Curacao, England, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Monaco, Morocco, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, and Wales.

    John Lee - director
    Roberta Gambarini - vocals
    Cyrus Chestnut - piano
    John Lee - bass
    Evan Sherman - drums
    Mark Gross - alto sax
    Sharel Cassity - alto sax
    Don Braden - tenor sax
    Tim Ries - tenor sax
    Gary Smulyan - baritone sax
    Frank Greene - lead trumpet
    Freddie Hendrix - trumpet
    Diego Urcola - trumpet
    Charlie Porter - trumpet
    Jason Jackson - lead trombone
    Steve Davis - trombone
    Ron Wilkins - trombone & vocals
    Altin Sencalar - trombone
    Jeff Nelson - bass trombone
     

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