Three artists will celebrate their sophomore label releases this year. Iconic drummer Al Foster will release a new album on August 26 featuring Nicholas Payton, Chris Potter, Kevin Hays, and Vicente Archer. Saxophonist Wayne Escoffery will release an album with Tom Harrell, Mike Moreno, David Kikoski, Ugonna Okegwo, and Mark Whitfield Jr. on October 28. Finally, bassist Buster Williams will release an album on December 12 featuring Jean Baylor, Stefon Harris, Bruce Williams, George Colligan, and Lenny White.
Additionally, three more artists return for another round of releases with their longterm label partner. Trombonist Steve Turre has a new record featuring Wallace Roney Jr., Emilio Modeste, Ed Cherry, Isaiah J. Thompson, Corcoran Holt, Buster Williams, Lenny White, and Orion Turre coming on September 23. On October 7, saxophonist Bobby Watson will release an album featuring Jeremy Pelt Cyrus Chestnut, Curtis Lundy, Victor Jones, and special guest Gregory Porter. Trumpeter Nicholas Payton will release a trio record on November 11 featuring Buster Williams and Lenny White.
See below for the full list of releases. More details on all releases and their respective album release performances are forthcoming.
Album Release Schedule:
August 26 - Al Foster
September 16 - Steve Turre
October 7 - Bobby Watson
October 28 - Wayne Escoffery
November 11 - Nicholas Payton
December 2 - Buster Williams
One of New York City’s premier live music venues, Smoke Jazz Club, today announced its long-awaited reopening. After two years spent reorienting to the pandemic with modified operations including livestreams, sidewalk concerts, and outdoor dining, Smoke Jazz Club makes a momentous return as a world-renowned destination for the best in classic and modern jazz. Acclaimed for its essential music programming and inspired setting, this revered institution has undertaken an impressive expansion and renovation that readies the venerable club for the post-pandemic 21st century.
Despite being closed to indoor performances and dining for over two years, Smoke has survived with a renewed sense of mission and now with a spectacularly renovated, newly expanded space. Smoke’s return brings much-needed hope and rejuvenation to the city and the music community. “Smoke Jazz Club has so much history,” says husband and wife co-owners Paul Stache and Molly Sparrow Johnson. “Despite the struggles of the last few years, we just knew that the music couldn’t stop here. The past couple of years have not been easy for anyone, but having live music back in the club with everyone together, musicians and listeners, seems like a turning point. We are very excited to take this next step.”
Guided by their initial attempts to operate under mandated occupancy restrictions, social distancing regulations, and safety protocols for the staff, musicians, and patrons, Smoke’s expansion achieves all of those goals while still retaining its vibrant atmosphere. “We had already agreed, in principle, with our landlord to take on the two adjacent storefronts before the pandemic,” recounts Johnson, “but it quickly became obvious that combining the new spaces with the jazz club was not only a priority but really a necessity to operate safely.”
“We feel very fortunate that our landlord has been so supportive these last two years.”
The addition of these smaller combined spaces serves as an attached lounge featuring the relocated, historic, full-length bar providing more space for audiences and a larger stage for performers in the main listening room– all while preserving the club’s familiar warm ambiance.
A cultural cornerstone of Upper Manhattan, Smoke Jazz Club opened its doors on April 9, 1999. Since that time, this gem of a jazz joint has become an internationally recognized haven for live music and a vital and beloved home for jazz in the city. The club’s stage has played host to legendary artists and rising stars alike, including Wynton Marsalis, Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Hank Jones, Christian McBride, Brad Mehldau, Harold Mabern, Nicholas Payton, Peter Bernstein, Eddie Henderson, Larry Goldings, Chris Potter, Cedar Walton, Steve Turre, Eric Alexander, Bill Charlap, Jimmy Cobb, and countless others.
While the club had already survived economic crashes, fires in the building, and the uncertainty that followed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the pandemic proved to be its most daunting challenge to date. Taking a cue from some of the resourceful performers they’ve presented at the club, Stache and Johnson displayed their own knack for improvisation to steer their club through the COVID-19 era. They inaugurated a streaming concert series, Smoke Screens, along with socially distanced sidewalk concerts and outdoor dining, while continuing to produce new titles on the club’s GRAMMY-nominated record label, Smoke Sessions.
Most importantly, Smoke continues its dedication to presenting scintillating and vibrant programming as a club for jazz lovers run by jazz lovers. “We set the tone on opening night in 1999 with the great George Coleman and Harold Mabern.” says Stache. Fittingly, NEA Jazz Master Coleman returns to christen the new and improved Smoke with a four-night grand reopening concert celebration July 21-24, 2022 (also streaming live worldwide). Other artists slated to perform in the near future include Charles McPherson, Vijay Iyer, Mary Stallings, Bill Charlap, Bobby Watson, Nicholas Payton, Renee Rosnes, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Cyrus Chestnut, Buster Williams, and more.
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